In times of coronavirus and climate change, we must rethink national security.

The catastrophic summer bushfires incinerated the livelihoods and the lifestyles of so many Australians who live along our coastal fringe. And while the landscape is recovering, albeit slowly, their circumstances are not. Indeed, the arrival of the pandemic has smashed their personal and economic security even further. The hit to the national economy from the combined events will be comparable to that of the second world war, the debt taking decades to run down.

Millions of Australians are significantly less secure now
than they were six months ago. And if our citizens
 are not secure, how can the nation be secure?’

Australia has not been at war. We have not been attacked by an enemy using armed force to subject the nation to its will. Yes, some troops were called out in an act of political theatre, and the navy put to sea, but not a shot was fired, nor a bombing sortie flown. Yet millions of Australians are significantly less secure now than they were six months ago. And if our citizens are not secure, how can the nation be secure?

Read the story from The Guardian by Allan Behm - “In times of coronavirus and climate change, we must rethink national security.” 

Florida Republicans confronted with climate change as midterms loom

Caught between recovering from a devastating, unprecedented hurricane and an ongoing algae crisis, Florida Republicans are increasingly facing pressure to address climate change from constituents as election day draws near — but many have found themselves floundering on the issue.

REP. CARLOS CURBELO, R-FLA., SPEAKS
WITH REPORTERS AS HE LEAVES SPEAKER
 RYAN'S OFFICE ON THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018,
AS HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP TRIES TO FIND
 A PATH TO PASS IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION.

Pressure to discuss climate change has accelerated in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, which has killed at least 21 people so far in Northwest Florida and reduced some areas in the Panhandle to rubble. Amid an election cycle that has largely centered environmental crises, all eyes are increasingly on Florida Republicans, many of whom have a lengthy history of downplaying climate change and its risks.

But when asked about the relationship between warming ocean waters and an uptick in deadly and historic hurricanes, several Republicans have tried to deflect the issue.

Read the story by E.A.Cruden from ThinkProgress - “Florida Republicans confronted with climate change as midterms loom.”