In Florida, some have already found a solution to climate change: just ignore the damn thing! According to a outrageous report released by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, employees of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have been ordered to stop using key terms like “global warming” or “climate change” in public communications, be them on twitter, PR releases or television.
Ban climate change!
“We were told not to use the terms ‘climate change,’ ‘global warming’ or ‘sustainability,’ ” Christopher Byrd, an attorney with the DEP’s Office of General Counsel in Tallahassee from 2008 to 2013, told FCIR. “That message was communicated to me and my colleagues by our superiors in the Office of General Counsel.”
“We were told that we were not allowed to discuss anything that was not a true fact,” said Kristina Trotta, a former Florida Department of Environmental Protection employee.
Another former employee added, “We were dealing with the effects and economic impact of climate change, and yet we can’t reference it.”
This is an informal policy, but one which seems to be highly effective. It coincides with the coming to office of Governor Rick Scott, a global warming skeptic. Scott has been governor since 2011,
“Deputy General Counsel Larry Morgan was giving us a briefing on what to expect with the new secretary,” recalled Christopher Byrd, a counsel with the state Department of Environmental Protection, saying he gave them “a warning to beware of the words global warming, climate change and sea-level rise, and advised us not to use those words in particular.”
“I did infer from this meeting that this was a new policy, that these words were to be prohibited for use from official DEP policy-making with our clients,” he added.
Both the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the governor’s office have issued statements to the press saying there’s no such policy.
He-Who-Must-Not–Be–Named
If this is true, then those in charge of the DEP, beginning with the governor, are responsible for some serious public manipulation. Scientists agree with 95% confidence that global warming is caused by man. Coincidentally or not, Florida is among the most vulnerable states in the US in the face of climate change. Miami is one of the most threatened coastal cities in the country from sea level rise (another banned term), according to the National Climate Assessment. Nitpicking this whole issue, because it’s not 100% proven, is wrong and evil.
