Subscribe to Receive the Daily Report

Tuesday, March 10th, 2015

Florida Officials Ban The Term ‘Climate Change’

Author:     Katie Valentine
Source:     Think Progress
Publication Date:     March 8, 2015 at 12:27 pm
 Link: Florida Officials Ban The Term ‘Climate Change’
Stephan:   In contrast to the rational policies of Blue value Boston here is the approach of Red value Florida, under a Republican legislature and governor. Florida, one of the states most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, particularly extreme weather and sea rise. Bone ignorance? Low IQ? Cynical hypocrisy? Or some combination of them all? I don't know, but the voters of Florida are about to reap what they sowed, and it is not going to be pleasant, and an awful lot of them are going to be financially devastated.

Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection is tasked with protecting the state’s “air, water and land.” But there’s one environmental threat you won’t hear DEP officials talking about.

Officials at Florida’s DEP have banned the words “climate change” and “global warming” from all official communications, including reports and emails, according to an investigation published Sunday by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting (FCIR).

Four former DEP employees told FCIR that they had been instructed not to use the terms during their time at the state’s DEP.

 “We were told not to use the terms ‘climate change,’ ‘global warming’ or ‘sustainability,’” Christopher Byrd, who served as an attorney with the DEP’s Office of General Counsel from 2008 to 2013, told FCIR. “That message was communicated to me and my colleagues by our superiors in the Office of General Counsel.”

The DEP’s press secretary Tiffany Cowie disagreed with these reports, however, saying that her department “does not have a policy on this.” But according to the former employees’ accounts, the unofficial policy went into place after Gov. Rick Scott (R) took office in 2011 and appointed a new DEP director. Over the last year, Scott has skirted answering questions on his views on […]

Read the Full Article

1 Comment

  1. Anne B. on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 6:53 am

    Typical TP/GOP irresponsible response to climate change. Denial does not change facts or make facts disappear. Apparently, it’s “easier” and takes less effort for the governor and other officials to wait and watch the waters rise to cover parts of the beautiful State of Florida and watch it disappear.