A life-size statue of Ron DeSantis, installed in Tallahassee, began to melt in front of a gathered crowd as part of a symbolic protest against the governor's refusal to act on the climate crisis. The sculpture melted away, revealing a skull beneath DeSantis's face.
The structure was cast from solid gallium, a metal that melts at 29.8 °C. This temperature is lower than the summer highs frequently reached in Tallahassee, the capital of Florida.
Environmental activists behind the protest stated that the melted statue was a fitting monument to DeSantis's eight years in charge of Florida, which end in January. DeSantis has frequently criticised what he calls the "radical climate agenda". He has blocked Florida municipalities from reducing pollution that warms the planet, and removed terms such as "climate change" and "greenhouse gas emissions" from Florida state law.
This law makes it difficult for state agencies to even mention the climate crisis, which poses an extreme threat to Florida. In classrooms, state educational standards also ensure the gradual removal of any reference to climate change. "I am not a person who believes in global warming, I do not want that label on me," DeSantis said in 2018. He unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the US in 2024.
South Florida is extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise, and homes and businesses across the state are increasingly exposed to powerful hurricanes exacerbated by rising global temperatures. The growing damage from storms intensified by warming oceans and atmosphere has proven so costly that some major insurers have completely left Florida.
Florida has become a Republican stronghold in recent years. Byron Donalds, the GOP candidate, holds a significant lead for victory in the gubernatorial election at next month's mid-term elections. Donalds has said he wants to preserve Florida's environment, but does not accept the link between climate change and human action. Scientific consensus holds that burning fossil fuels causes rising temperatures.
"The climate crisis is one of the most important problems our planet faces today. And yet, some candidates running for office still deny that it is happening and deny the bold climate action people want," said Candice Fortin, campaign director at 350Action. The environmental group behind DeSantis's statue is 350Action, together with advertising agency Uncommon. "That is why it is more important than ever that we give them a run for their money at the ballot box," Fortin added. "If everyone who cares about people and our planet casts their vote on election day, we will be too loud to be denied."
"We are bringing common sense to our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of radical green fanatics," DeSantis said in a post on social media platform X when he downgraded climate to a lower state priority in May 2024.
