Fla. Agency Bans the Words ‘Climate Change.’ Really?

It’s baaaack. Florida, that wacky state that brought us hanging chads and other irregularities during the 2000 Bush v. Gore presidential election, has returned full force with some new controversy.

Indeed, while the great weight of scientific evidence has persuaded the vast majority of scientists skilled in the field that global warming is real and a looming danger for the planet, government officials at the primary environmental agency in Florida have been prohibited from using the words “climate change,” according to Time.com.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued an unwritten directive to not use the words “climate change” or “global warming” in official reports and communications, claims the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting (FCIR).

Christopher Byrd, an attorney in the DEP’s Office of General Counsel from 2008 to 2013, informed FCIR that “[w]e were told not to use the terms climate change, global warming or sustainability,” and that “that message was communicated to me and my colleagues by our superiors in the Office of General Counsel.”

Moreover, additional former DEP personnel reportedly told the FCIR that this unwritten directive was put in place after Rick Scott, who has rejected the argument that climate change has been caused by humans, took the helm as the governor of Florida in 2011. Continue reading “Fla. Agency Bans the Words ‘Climate Change.’ Really?”

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