This post is part of a series examining where 2024 candidates running for public offices in the Southeast stand on key energy and climate issues. Note: The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy does not support or oppose candidates or political parties. Links to reports, candidate websites, and outside sources are provided as citizen education tools.
In this blog post, we examine the policies and positions of Whitney Fox, Democratic Party candidate running for election to the United States House of Representatives from Florida’s 13th congressional district. Also in this series, we profile Republican candidate Anna Paulina Luna. Election Day is November 5, 2024.
Whitney Fox is a first-time candidate running to represent Florida’s 13th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party. Previously, she served as the Communications Director for the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority. Fox was raised in the Tampa Bay area, and earned a degree from the University of Central Florida.
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
Whitney Fox has stated her support for clean energy and energy independence on her campaign website: “Florida’s natural beauty is our greatest asset. I’ll fight for clean energy, environmental protection, and hurricane-resilient infrastructure. This approach will preserve our state for future generations while creating jobs and lowering costs. By embracing sustainable technologies, we can lead in clean energy, achieve energy independence, and secure our economic future. From our beaches to the Everglades, we’ll safeguard Florida’s ecosystems while driving innovation and growth.”
Climate Change
In her campaign material, Fox addresses the issue of climate change: “Florida is on the front lines of climate change. The increasing frequency and severity of storms are no longer just headlines; they are our reality. Our homes are more vulnerable than ever, driving insurance costs to unaffordable levels. In addition, the financial strain from repeated catastrophic losses has led to a wave of insurer bankruptcies.” Fox has proposed the Homeowners’ Expenses and Providing Equitable Rates Act (CHEAPER) Act, as a way to address rising insurance costs by creating a federal homeowners insurance program for natural disaster damage.
Electric Transportation
We were not able to find information on the candidate’s position on this issue.
Energy Equity and Energy Burden
Whitney Fox, has connected her support for renewable energy with the need to lower electricity costs in Florida, including these statements from her Twitter/X feed: “I know we’re all struggling with higher electric bills. Over the last 5 years, the average Tampa Electric bill went up 51%, and the average Duke Energy bill rose 28%. Florida relies on natural gas for 74% of its electricity needs – more than any other state. Consumers would not be so vulnerable to global fuel price swings if more of the state’s energy came from renewable sources. It’s better for our wallets, future, and environment.”
High-Risk Energy: Coal, Nuclear, Oil, Gas
Fox has expressed the need for Floridians to invest in clean energy rather than the continued reliance on gas. “The average electric bill in Pinellas is 5th highest in the nation – due in part to overreliance on natural gas. We need to invest in clean energy and grid updates to reduce costs for all Floridians, become energy independent, and fight climate change.”
Voter Information
Election Day is November 5. Here are important dates and deadlines to consider, from the Florida Division of Elections:
- Deadline for county election offices to send vote-by-mail ballots to UOCAVA voters: September 21, 2024
- Deadline for county election offices to send vote-by-mail ballots to domestic voters: September 26, 2024 – October 3, 2024
- Deadline to register to vote: October 7, 2024 (no deadline to change party affiliation)
- Deadline to request that ballot be mailed: October 24, 2024
- Early voting period (mandatory period): October 26 – November 2, 2024. [In addition, county supervisors of elections have the option to offer more early voting on the 5 days before the mandatory start, and/or 1 day after the mandatory end (i.e. potentially opening Oct. 21-Nov. 3 for early voting)]
- Election Day: November 5, 2024
*Visit Vote-by-Mail and Military and Overseas Citizens Voting for information about deadlines to send a vote-by-mail ballot, to request a vote-by-mail ballot and to return vote by a mail ballot.
Find additional important election information here.
#CandidatesOnEnergy2024
Featured Image Courtesy of Anita Denunzio on Unsplash.
The post Candidate Whitney Fox On Climate & Energy appeared first on SACE | Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
Seminal astrophysicist Carl Sagan explains why uncomfortable ideas may be banned in religion, they must not be shunned in science.
This is an important concept in American life today, as conspiracy theorists are convinced that climate change denial cannot be considered in scientific circles.
I happened to bring this up in my interview with Dr. V. Ramanathan of the Scripps Institution, who has been amassing data on global warming since the 1970s. He laughed, and explained, “If I could prove that human activity was not causing temperatures to rise, I’d be be one of the wealthiest and most famous scientists in world history.”
As suggested at left, a great deal of the hardship that has befallen the U.S. was simply bad luck. Al Gore came within a whisker of victory in 2000, a win that would have forever changed the course of our nation in terms of energy policy, education, healthcare, and international affairs.
If Bernie had become the 2016 nominee, we wouldn’t have had Hillary Clinton telling our country’s most mean-spirited and least-educated people that they were “deplorables,” ushering a criminal sociopath into the White House.
We Came Incredible Close to Averting the Disaster that Is Donald Trump
Social democracies are nations in which the tax base provides everyone with healthcare and education, and where the richest and most powerful people are not free to ruin the environment.
I run into someone from one of these counties a couple of times a month, and I like to ask why their people are consistently at the top of the World Happiness Rankings. The normal response is always some variant of the following:
It’s hard to be happy living in a society that is indifferent to the suffering of others. It’s part of the very nature of human beings to care about one another.
Something else I notice about these places is that very few people are religious. Sweden, e.g., is about 80% atheist.
That means no childish tribalism, no ridiculous dogmas, no worries about eternal damnation, etc.
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