In Florida Scott officials ban use of term "climate change". [View all]

[madfloridian]

In Florida, Officials Ban Term ‘Climate Change’


Shortly after Gov. Rick Scott, pictured here walking in Miami during the annual Three Kings Parade, was elected, officials ordered a prohibition on the terms “climate change” and “global warming,” according to former employees. Low-lying Miami is among the U.S. cities most vulnerable to sea-level rise. (Photo courtesy of Gov. Rick Scott.)

The state of Florida is the region most susceptible to the effects of global warming in this country, according to scientists. Sea-level rise alone threatens 30 percent of the state’s beaches over the next 85 years.

But you would not know that by talking to officials at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the state agency on the front lines of studying and planning for these changes.

DEP officials have been ordered not to use the term “climate change” or “global warming” in any official communications, emails, or reports, according to former DEP employees, consultants, volunteers and records obtained by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

The policy goes beyond semantics and has affected reports, educational efforts and public policy in a department that has about 3,200 employees and $1.4 billion budget.

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

Guess they figure if you don't talk about it, it will go away.