The air is thick with politics here at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Miami. Agendas are everywhere. Programs are being discussed, plans made and laid. And, appropriately, they have recycling bins in the press room.

Fla. Gov. Charlie Crist has been in office exactly six months and 11 days, and he has already set forth an environmental agenda that makes Jeb Bush look like the piker he was. Working with the state legislature, Crist has signed sweeping legislation that is set to fix problems with Lake Okeechobee and major rivers across Florida, as well as supporting the lagging Everglades restoration project.

And, as was reported yesterday, he plans to sign executive orders tomorrow that will make Florida’s emissions standards look a lot like California’s. Of course, we thought that word of the executive order was released early to gin up attention for this conference, but, as Crist explained at a press conference this morning, because of Florida’s so-called “Sunshine Law,” it’s virtually impossible to keep a secret in Tallahassee, and word of the orders leaked yesterday.

Crist seemed genuinely disappointed, because he admittedly lost some of the potential media impact of the order due to the premature announcement.

Crist says he expects that a lot of the grass-roots work on the environmental front in Florida will be performed by volunteers — “children, adults and retirees,” he said. “Volunteers are a precious resource of renewable energy and enthusiasm,” he said. Hmmmm, sounds like, well, pie in the ozone layer.

More than 600 people — over 200 of them journalists — are attending the summit. When asked at the conference why no Bush administration officials were in attendance, Crist quipped, “I don’t know and I’m not sure why not. But we’re here.”

Asked whether such global matters as climate change might not be better served by working on a national level, Crist replied, “I’m governor of Florida. My opportunity, given to me by the people of Florida, is to try and make a difference in Florida.”

Crist lauded the state legislature and the Public Service Commission for their support of his environmental initiatives: “Somebody [Florida Power & Light] wanted to put a coal plant next to the Everglades — that’s just incredible. The Public Service Commission stepped in and stopped that.”

Crist seems to be sincere and committed and serious about this stuff. But then again, he is a Republican, so we remain skeptical, and like the man from Missouri, we say, Show me!