Florida and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been teaming up to address future health effects caused by climate change.
The program tying Florida and the CDC together is called Building Resilience Against Climate Effects or BRACE.
Dr. George Luber with the CDC said its purpose is to anticipate and prepare for how climate change will affect public health.
“Some of those threats might be existing, like heat waves, they might get more intense. Coastal flooding might get more frequent, some of those threats might be new, novel threats. Chikungunya virus in Florida for example… so we’re seeing shifts in the disease landscape and our job is to try to anticipate what those challenges to help will be,” she said.
The Florida Department of Health has taken about $722,000 worth of BRACE money over the last three fiscal years.
Recently, the state agency gave $10,000 dollar grants each to Manatee and Sarasota Counties’ health departments, and to a group in Monroe County.
The Florida Department of Health declined to do an interview for this story.
At the same time the state agency has been overseeing the BRACE program in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott has repeatedly dodged questions on whether or not he believes in man-made climate change.
