Here’s something you don’t see every day: A major ad buy in a swing congressional district about…rising sea levels. A special election in Florida’s 13th congressional district is scheduled for March 11, and the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club are spending $350,000 attacking Republican candidate Dave Jolly for his recent comments on climate change. In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Jolly said, “I don’t think the impact that humans have had on our climate is so dramatic as it requires a significant shift in federal policy.”
Here’s the text:
Ignore the storms. Ignore polar cold. Ignore sea levels rising all around us. Ignore climate change. That’s David Jolly’s view. But Gulf tides are rising, and the risk of flooding has doubled. NASA and the U.S. military agree: Pinellas needs to prepare. The Times says Jolly’s wrong on climate change—that Jolly should go back to his “science books and learn some facts.” David Jolly. Back to school, not to Congress.
It’s not unusual to see the LCV pushing politicians to focus on climate change, but with the race a virtual toss-up, is a sign that environmental groups view it as a winning issue—even in a district that’s been represented by a Republican every year since 1982.
