Byron Donalds’ plan to lower electric bills could raise them instead, experts say

"What makes electric bills go up is building expensive new power plants and costly capital expenditures such as transmission lines and undergrounding," said Susan Glickman, a longtime Florida clean energy advocate and vice president of policy and partnership at The CLEO Institute, a nonprofit focused on climate change. When it comes to nuclear, "it's a big red flag when Donalds pushes for the most expensive form of power," she added.

By |2026-10-16T10:02:32-04:0016 October, 2026|2026, CLEO News|0 Comments

‘Climate champion’ Annette Taddeo adds endorsement from youth-led Florida eco group

“genCLEO Action is proud to endorse Annette Taddeo as a climate champion because we know she will stand up to (the) state’s largest polluters while advocating for more clean energy and the protection of our natural resources.”

By |2026-10-08T12:25:14-04:008 October, 2026|2026, CLEO News|0 Comments

FAMU School of the Environment Celebrates Nexus Scholars at White Coat and Greening Ceremony

“It gave me the resources to meet the people I need to meet outside the School of the Environment, and it gave me the confidence, academically, to feel like I was capable of taking those positions,” Shenefelt said. “The most meaningful part was becoming president of genCLEO, because that is where I achieved the most hands-on environmental policy work.”

By |2026-10-08T12:15:44-04:008 October, 2026|2026, CLEO News|0 Comments

Byron Donalds On Climate & Energy: Where the Candidates Stand

Tracking from the nonprofit group The CLEO Institute found that Donalds has received $1.79 million in campaign contributions from Florida’s major power utilities while in office. He is the state’s second-highest recipient.

By |2026-10-07T09:58:03-04:007 October, 2026|2026, CLEO News|0 Comments

How the Florida Public Service Commission affects what you pay for electricity

Florida is one of only four states where the law expressly prohibits you from buying energy from anyone other than your government-assigned monopoly utility.

By |2026-09-28T12:37:01-04:0028 September, 2026|2026, CLEO News|0 Comments

Fossil fuels vs. solar: Which should power Florida to lower energy bills?

"Solar is cheaper, and you're taking out the fuel cost,” Glickman said. “We could be doing so much better if there was a push to take advantage of the sunshine."

By |2026-09-28T12:26:26-04:0028 September, 2026|2026, CLEO News|0 Comments

St. Petersburg coalition launches push for city-owned electric utility on 2028 ballot

“Duke Energy gets 90% of its electricity from burning gas or coal,” Maguire said. “They are an extremely dirty and polluting utility, and they essentially get to do that polluting for free because it’s the young people today that are going to deal with a warmer environment and stronger storms and more flooding in the decades to come.” 

By |2026-09-25T11:19:04-04:0025 September, 2026|2026, CLEO News|0 Comments

Report shows Florida’s heat-related deaths may be 40 times higher than CDC estimates

“It may just get reported as something different, because some people may want to skirt any attention or having any regulations,” Glickman said. “And then there’s going to be other times where people just don’t realize what the cause of death was.” 

By |2026-09-23T15:18:17-04:0023 September, 2026|2026, CLEO News|0 Comments

How Florida Ties Localities’ Hands on Everything from Environmental Regulation to Worker Protections

“I see it as a freedom issue,” said Raymer Maguire, Director of Campaigns and Policy at The CLEO Institute, a Miami-based organization focused on climate education and advocacy. “Every year, Florida is getting a little less free.”  SB 180 is Florida’s most expansive preemption law, but it is far from the only one. In the past decade, state lawmakers have passed a spate of prohibitions limiting local control over issues such as firearms, LGBTQ issues and, increasingly, environment and climate regulation.

By |2026-09-23T14:59:10-04:0023 September, 2026|2026, CLEO News|0 Comments

How Seattle and Indigenous Leaders Are Uniting for Authentic Climate Action

“It’s about weakening the foundation that informs emergency management, that informs local planning, that informs infrastructure investment, insurance risk assessments, and quite frankly, public communication,” said Arditi-Rocha. “When research slows, the ability to anticipate future risk also slows. I think when you have fewer resources to tell the public to prepare and to prepare for what you know, the bottom line is we have fewer resources to do so effectively and safely.”

By |2026-09-15T11:42:39-04:0015 September, 2026|2026, CLEO News|0 Comments
Go to Top