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In the News Archive

09/14/2025		Across Florida as many as 54 percent of homeowners are worried about how they will afford insurance because of climate change, according to a recent Florida Atlantic University survey.
10/21/2024		Colin Polsky, professor of geosciences at Florida Atlantic University, noted while the divide is narrower than the national average and has decreased among Floridians compared with previous surveys, it helps explain the slow pace of efforts to reduce emissions in the Sunshine State.
10/14/2024		Floridians are more likely than other Americans to believe climate change is happening and support government actions to address it, surveys show. One recent survey from Florida Atlantic University found that 90 percent of respondents believed climate change was real, compared with 70 percent of Americans who answered similarly on a separate Yale University survey.
10/22/2024		"Floridians are experiencing enough of the weather challenges predicted by climate change researchers that a majority of adults in the state now see value in some kind of collective action to fight climate change," said Colin Polsky, an ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ vice-president and professor of geosciences.
11/1/2024		Colin Polsky, a climate social scientist at Florida Atlantic University, also found that, in a survey conducted shortly before Helene and Milton hit, 52 percent of respondents favored candidates known to take climate action. Though partisanship is on the rise when it comes to climate issues, Polsky said that "we still have a majority of Floridians who support climate action and a candidate who is strong on that issue."
10/13/2024		NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks to Colin Polsky, former director of CES and a professor of geosciences at Florida Atlantic University, about how Hurricane Milton is raising critical questions about the future of the sunshine state.
05/17/2024		Amy Green, the Florida correspondent for Inside Climate News mentioned ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's new survey results in an interview with NPR Host, Steve Inskeep, "A new survey out this week from Florida Atlantic University shows that 90% of Floridians think that climate change is happening, and that's compared with 72% of all Americans who believe the same."
05/14/2024		¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ poll reveals that the percent of GOP voters who believe climate change is caused by human activity has dropped to 40%
05/15/2024		The latest survey by Florida Atlantic University found that 90 percent of Floridians accept that climate change is happening and 69 percent support state action to address it.
05/16/2024		Colin Polsky, founding director of ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability (ECOS), said in a prepared statement after the survey's release on Tuesday, May 14, "The urgency to act means debate over causes is largely irrelevant."
05/14/2024		"Floridians support strengthening our resilience to the effects of climate change because they are experiencing it. The urgency to act means debate over causes is largely irrelevant," said Colin Polsky, director of the ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ Center for Environmental Studies.
05/01/2024		The new report, "The Florida Wildlife Corridor and Climate Change: Managing Florida's Natural and Human Landscapes for Prosperity and Resilience," is a joint project by Florida Atlantic University, Archbold Biological Station, Live Wildly Foundation and brings together scientists, researchers, biologists, and climate experts from across the state.
04/30/2024		The population has increased 26% in just 25 years. "That is not a small rate," Polsky said. "It's exponential. The effects of this set of changes is going to be present probably before we're ready for it. The effort here is to try to get ready for it," Polsky said. In other words, how does Florida absorb all these people and remain climate resilient?
11/13/2023		Dr. Polsky, the school's founding director, says the early momentum comes from the widespread desire to preserve the marine ecosystems throughout the state.
10/28/2023		KCBS's Liz Saint John interviews Colin Polsky about the results from ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's most recent Florida Climate Resilience Survey
10/25/2023		A study by Florida Atlantic University's Center for Environmental Studies in September found that 90% of Floridians say climate change is actually happening right now. And, as the Sun Sentinel wrote in a recent story, that's a greater percentage than Americans overall, if recent studies are a guide.
10/25/2023		A study by Florida Atlantic University's Center for Environmental Studies in September found that 90% of Floridians say climate change is actually happening right now. And, as the Sun Sentinel wrote in a recent story, that's a greater percentage than Americans overall, if recent studies are a guide.
10/19/2023		In this installment of Jeff Berardelli's Climate Classroom, he interviews Dr. Colin Polsky, the researcher behind the Florida Climate Resilience Survey. The survey is conducted twice per year and is designed to gauge Floridians' views on climate change.
10/25/2023		"Floridians might be more likely to believe climate change is happening due to their experiences with hurricanes and other extreme weather," said Colin Polsky, Ph.D., the founding director of ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's School of Environmental, Coastal and Ocean Sustainability.
07/12/23		Dr. Colin Polsky joins several others on NTWC Live, the Storm Science Network, to discuss climate change and the cost of insuring our homes.
06/07/2023		"Early on, I realized the critical need for society to learn more about how climate change was already affecting our communities so we could learn from it and take appropriate actions," explained Polsky. "But I didn't have in mind specific actions because there was so much to learn first. I became a researcher to contribute to the knowledge needed to inform reasonable decision-making."
05/11/2023		WMNF Reporter Chris Young speaks with Dr. Colin Polsky, Director of the Center for Environmental Studies at Florida Atlantic University regarding a new survey by ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ showing that nearly half of Republican Floridians now believe humans have largely caused climate change.
05/11/2023		"There's just no more debating about theoretical differences and causes, or if it's even here. There's really a very solid consensus now that a) climate change is happening in Florida, or amongst Floridians, and b) that it is largely human-caused" - Colin Polsky, CES Director
12/30/2022		CES' Colin Polsky provides a review of 2022 global climate change impacts.
09/28/2022		CES' Colin Polsky discusses that while Florida has some of the best building codes, for buildings built after hurricane Andrew, people on Florida's West Coast don't have much recent experience with hurricanes.
09/20/2022		In this interview conducted by Alhurra, a United States-based public Arabic-language satellite TV channel that broadcasts news and current affairs programming to audiences in the Middle East and North Africa, Dr. Colin Polsky explains how climate change is affecting hurricane patterns, and what might be accomplished at the United Nations annual meeting this week.
08/25/2022		"As you go west from the ridge along the railroad and I-95 you lose elevation towards the Everglades and so yes the western parts of our counties, Broward and Miami Dade, they should experience some serious effects as well," said Dr. Colin Polsky, Director of the Center for Environmental Studies at Florida Atlantic University.
08/08/2022		In this interview conducted by Alhurra, a United States-based public Arabic-language satellite TV channel that broadcasts news and current affairs programming to audiences in the Middle East and North Africa, Dr. Colin Polsky explains how the US administration's initiative on climate and health may impact the midterm elections.
04/08/2022		Young Republicans are the top driving force in the Sunshine State when it comes to shifting beliefs in climate change, according to a study conducted by Colin Polsky of Florida Atlantic University.
11/01/2021		There is a beautiful Arboretum hidden in full sight, waiting to be found on the western end of the ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ Jupiter Campus.
10/13/2021		¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's New Science Documentary Podcast on Coastal Resilience Research in South Florida: Home and High Water From a flooded neighborhood street in urban South Florida to Georgia's salt marshes, ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's Center for Environmental Studies (CES) new podcast dives into research that explores how people adapt in a changing climate.
12/16/2021		A new survey from Florida Atlantic University shows a high degree of support for climate change education in the state's public schools.
12/16/2021		Belief in climate change among Florida conservatives is at an all-time high, according to polling research by Florida Atlantic University. Roughly 9 out of 10 (88%) of Republicans surveyed acknowledge the changing climate. That figure is no small number.
12/09/2021		Climate change has become a major issue on both sides of the political spectrum in Florida, according to an ongoing survey by Florida Atlantic University.
12/09/2021		Dr. Colin Polsky had a hunch, and a new survey by his Center for Environmental Studies at Florida Atlantic University seems to prove it -- climate change is becoming a bipartisan issue in Florida.
12/03/2021		Belief in climate change among Florida Republicans has climbed to nearly 9 out of 10 adults, apparently trending upwards, according to a new analysis of five sequenced surveys since 2019 conducted by researchers at Florida Atlantic University.
12/06/2021		CES' Dr. Colin Polsky discusses that Floridians' shifting attitudes toward climate change was a result of the President Donald J. Trump administration and then the COVID pandemic.
07/01/2021		CES' Dr. Colin Polsky was featured in Boca Magazine’s Winds of Change article to discuss the challenges that South Florida faces on the front lines of the global climate crisis.
05/14/2021		CES' Dr. Polsky warns that experts are bracing for large-scale sea-level rise in the next few decades.
05/14/2021		CES' Dr. Colin Polsky explains the local impacts of sea-level rise and King Tides.
06/26/2020		"Almost overnight, the coronavirus dramatically transformed American life, but it's encouraging to see that climate change remained a hot button issue for Floridians despite the public health crisis that shifted everyone's priorities," said Colin Polsky, Ph.D., director of the ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ Center for Environmental Studies, and lead author of the study.
06/25/2020		Study finds that 55% of Floridians (46% of those living in North Florida) say.....that humans are causing climate change, despite widespread scientific consensus that human activity is the cause.
02/29/2020		"These trends in climate change approval ratings suggest that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' support of environmental issues since taking office in January 2019, which many view as a break from the national GOP, may be paying political dividends already," Polsky said.View PDF.
02/27/2020		"With a strong majority of Floridians [70 percent] saying climate change has them concerned about the well-being of future generations in the state [up slightly from 68 percent in the first ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ Florida Climate Resilience poll in October 2019], it makes sense that Floridians support policies to tackle the issue," said Colin Polsky, Ph.D., director of the ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ Center for Environmental Studies, and lead author of the study.
01/21/2020		According to a statewide survey released by Florida Atlantic University last fall, more than two-thirds of Floridians say that climate change has them concerned about the well-being of future generations in Florida and do not feel government is doing enough to address the impacts.
02/11/2020		Of 1,045 Floridians surveyed by Florida Atlantic University in October, 56 percent agreed climate change is real and caused by people, including 44 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of Democrats.
11/01/2019		¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ reported that 68 percent of Floridians worry that global warming threatened "the well-being of future generations in Florida."
11/01/2019		"In my experience in southeast Florida for the past five years, the private sector leaders are, regardless of party affiliation, not only actively concerned about challenges linked with our changing climate, but also committed to meaningful actions," Polsky said.
10/28/2019		The partisan divide is less pronounced in a state already grappling with rising seas and stronger storms.
10/29/2019		The first-ever Florida Climate Resilience Survey conducted by the Florida Atlantic University Center for Environmental Studies (CES) in ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, and the Business and Economics Polling Initiative (BEPI) in ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's College of Business.
10/28/2019		While a Republican-Democrat split about climate change exists in Florida, it's not as pronounced as in the rest of the nation. "Nationally we tend to expect and see Republicans score much, much lower on that question than independents or Democrats," said Colin Polsky, director of the ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ Center for Environmental Studies, who led the effort. "The results from the Florida survey show much less difference."
10/28/2019		"Since the early 1990s, the climate change question at the national level has become increasingly polarized along party lines," said Colin Polsky, Ph.D., director of the ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ Center for Environmental Studies and lead author of the study. "Yet in recent years a growing number of states and cities have taken meaningful actions to recognize, study, and address climate change. These actions are largely consolidated in blue-leaning states, unlike Florida, and the national-level discourse remains polarized along partisan lines."
10/28/2018		WLRN visited five South Floridians living with king tides. Listen to the story and follow their path on an interactive map.
10/08/2018		From CES' event on Oct. 8, "Transforming a wetter Florida into a better Florida: Sea-level rise resilience collaborations" project showcase, co-hosted by ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ, Congressman Ted Deutch Florida Sea Grant Citizens Climate Lobby and American Flood Coalition.
08/27/2018		CES' Colin Polsky praises local government response to sea level rise.View PDF.
08/23/2018		Tom O'Hara interviews CES' Colin Polsky for "The Invading Sea," a series of editorials, columns and reports to raise awareness about sea-level rise.
06/13/2018		In this opinion piece, Colin Polsky, Director of CES, describes the four things that we can do here in Florida to become more resilient.
05/18/2018		GOP congressman posits theory that it's rocks and soil, not ice melt causing sea level rise. CES' Colin Polsky said that, "the burden of proof is on the Congressman to persuade us that his idea is superior to the explanation already provided and scientifically vetted by NASA and NOAA."
01/09/2018		Dr. Colin Polsky, CES, suggests that we can break the logjam on climate change discourse by understanding three important science concepts.
01/08/2018		Colin Polsky, director of CES, said the annual temperature reports shouldn't be disregarded, especially by Floridians. "More warmth means more ice melting, which means higher ocean levels," Polsky said. "That's a problem for a very low-lying and flat state."
10/12/2017		Dr. Colin Polsky, CES, and Dr. Ben Kirtman, RSMAS, advance the dialogue by respectfully challenging some common misleading arguments made by climate skeptics in this Guest Column.
10/17/2016		Joining the congressman were residents, local business leaders and climate change experts from Florida Atlantic University. King tide raises water levels in South Florida. "We've got evidence that is persuasive," ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ professor of geosciences Dr. Colin Polsky told Local 10 News.
04/29/2016		"While Florida and Alaska are on the opposite ends of the continent, they share mutual concerns of the imminent challenges presented by environmental changes," said Colin Polsky, Ph.D., director of the Florida Center for Environmental Studies at ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ. "The rapid melting of Arctic ice is threatening coastal locations globally, and impacts include increased flooding from sea-level rise in Florida to infrastructure instability from permafrost melting in Alaska."
02/28/2016		Colin Polsky, director of Florida Atlantic University's Center for Environmental Studies, said the historical study of sea level rise released this week is critical because it provides a comprehensive look globally rather than spotty individual stories from singular sites. "It's very provocative," Polsky said. "It's hugely important for all of coastal North America."
04/29/2016		"South Florida is one of the world's most vulnerable areas to climate change, especially sea-level rise," said Colin Polsky, Ph.D., director of the Florida Center for Environmental Studies at ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ. "In Florida, potential adaptation to sea-level rise is complicated by the porous limestone geology of the region, permitting salt water intrusion into important aquifers. The low level terrain in many areas makes even a relatively small sea-level rise problematic."
05/09/2016		"It's a big problem," said Colin Polsky, who organized the Fort Lauderdale conference as head of ¹ú²ú×ÔÅÄ's environmental studies center. "It puts us in another category of risk compared to New Orleans or the Netherlands or London or New York. They have their sea-level-rise challenges, but here we have porous limestone that is permitting the water to come in from below as well as over the top, so it's a double whammy."
04/22/2015		"But even a landmark carbon emissions agreement won’t be enough to stop sea levels around Florida from rising in the short term, Polsky said."View PDF.
09/24/2014
07/27/2014		Interview with Dr. Leonard Berry on the subject of sea level rise in south Florida.
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07/08/2013		"Sea level rise has to be built into the way you think when planning," says Leonard Berry, director of the Florida Center for Environmental Studies at Florida Atlantic University.
06/26/2013		With a population of more than 5.5 million living at an elevation of just 6 feet above sea level, Miami will be one of the nation's first major metropolitan areas to feel the impacts of climate change.
03/11/2013		Sea-rise could cause havoc in South Florida.
02/05/2013		Human activities are affecting the Earth's climate and warming the atmosphere and oceans in ways that cannot be explained just by nature.
02/05/2013		Getting away from the coast reveals the magic of the night sky
02/04/2013		Coastal damage from rising sea levels and storm surge during storms will cost millions to repair.
12/16/2012		Future Florida sea level rise could flood parts of island.