Climate Change Censorship: Department of Environmental Protection Prevented From Using Terms ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Global Warming’

Florida is the most susceptible American state to Global Warming according to scientists, with sea levels forecast to rise in the next 85 years and threaten 30% of the beaches there. It would seem that Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection refuses to acknowledge these concerns however: According to former DEP employees, consultants, volunteers and records obtained by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, the officials of DEP had been ordered not to use the terms ‘global warming’ or ‘climate change’ in any emails, reports or official communications.

This sweeping form of censorship affects 3,200 employees of a department that has a $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.”

Kristina Trotta, another former DEP employee who worked in Miami, said her supervisor told her not to use the terms ‘climate change’ or ‘global warming’ in a 2014 staff meeting. “We were told that we were not allowed to discuss anything that was not a true fact,” she said.

This policy came into play after Governor Rick Scott came to power in 2011 and appointed Herschel Vinyard as the DEP director, according to certain former DEP employees. Governor Scott has come out against climate change, claiming that it is not caused by human activity regardless of the beliefs of the scientific community.

Vinyard has since resigned and has said nothing regarding the allegations. “DEP does not have a policy on this,” the department’s press secretary, Tiffany Cowie, wrote in an email. She declined to respond to three other emails requesting more information.

“There’s no policy on this,” wrote Jeri Bustamante, Scott’s spokeswoman, in an email. Four former DEP employees would beg to differ however. One employee who wanted to remain anonymous has said using the terms would bring unwanted scrutiny. “We were dealing with the effects and economic impact of climate change, and yet we can’t reference it,” the former employee said.

Byrd believes that this is more than just simple semantics. “It’s an indication that the political leadership in the state of Florida is not willing to address these issues and face the music when it comes to the challenges that climate change present,” he said.

Established by the United Nations, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change wrote in a 2014 report for world policy makers: “Human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history. Recent climate changes have had widespread impacts on human and natural systems.” The authors of the report were scientists from 27 different countries.

Many conservative politicians seem to view climate change as a form of conspiracy theory however, claiming that evidence supportive of the theory of climate change is inconclusive. It should be noted that a carbon tax and other policies that work to eradicate climate change would be particularly expensive to big industries, which have sponsored many of these pet politicians via contributions.

On the other hand, a carbon tax would not only affect industries. The average person would have to contribute to this tax, and regardless of your scientific principles, this money would be funneled to the government for any use it decides on – it could even use it for another extremely expensive and extremely carbon-friendly war. Those bombs sure don’t release perfume and happiness, I’ll tell you that, yet Al Gore isn’t against war.

Sure, a tax would discourage usage of stuff like electricity which would theoretically reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. On the other hand, it could just be a tax, and a means of the rich to shirk off their personal responsibilities. They can afford the tax, after all, but not the unwashed masses that are, to them, the cause of their problems. But I digress.

Governor Scott is one of the above-mentioned politicians who views climate change as an unproven allegation. During his first campaign for governor in 2010, Scott told reporters who asked about his views on climate change that he had, “not been convinced,” and that he would need, “something more convincing than what I’ve read.”

In 2014, Scott said he, “was not a scientist,” when asked about his views on climate change. In response, a group of Florida scientists requested to meet with Scott and explain the science behind the phenomenon. Scott agreed. The scientists were given 30 minutes.

“He actually, as we were warned, spent 10 minutes doing silly things like prolonged introductions,” geologist and University of Miami professor, Harold Wanless, recalled. “But we had our 20 to 21 minutes, and he said thank you and went on to his more urgent matters, such as answering his telephone calls and so on. There were no questions of substance.”

Christopher Byrd said that he was warned not to use ‘climate change’ and related terms during a 2011 staff meeting, shortly after Scott appointed Vinyard as DEP director. “Deputy General Counsel Larry Morgan was giving us a briefing on what to expect with the new secretary,” Byrd recalled. Morgan 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.” Added Byrd, “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.”

In 2011, Scott tapped Vinyard, a onetime law partner of powerful ex-Sen. John Thrasher, to lead the DEP despite his lack of experience in environmental regulatory agency. Under Vinyard, the DEP muddled its way through controversy after controversy, from the suspension of its top wetlands expert after she refused to approve a permit, to a failed effort to sell off surplus park land. Longtime employees, including Everglades scientists, were laid off or fired, while top jobs went to people who had been consultants for developers and polluters. Meanwhile, the emphasis in regulation shifted from prosecuting violations to helping industry avoid fines.

The DEP dismissed Byrd in 2013, his termination letter stated the following: “We thank you for your service to the State of Florida; however, we believe the objectives of the office will be accomplished more effectively by removing you from your position.” Byrd, now in private practice as an environmental lawyer in Orlando, said he was fired because he repeatedly complained that the DEP was not enforcing laws to protect the environment. “As you can imagine with the state of coral reef protection,” Byrd said, “‘sustainability,’ ‘sea-level rise’ and ‘climate change’ itself were words we used quite often.”

Jim Harper, a nature writer, had been contracted to write an educational series regarding the coral reefs north of Miami and how to protect them. Climate change was one of the issues Harper and his partner on the project, Annie Reisewitz, wanted to address. “We were told not to use the term climate change,” Harper said. “The employees were so skittish they wouldn’t even talk about it.” Reisewitz confirmed Harper’s story. “When we put climate change into the document, they told us they weren’t using the term ‘climate change,’” she said.

Wanless, professor at the University of Miami, said the state government needs to acknowledge climate change as settled science and as a threat to people and property in Florida. “You have to start real planning, and I’ve seen absolutely none of that from the current governor,” he said. In Florida it will be hard to plan for climate change, he said, if officials can’t talk about climate change. “It’s beyond ludicrous to deny using the term climate change,” Wanless said. “It’s criminal at this point.”

Personally, I find censorship of this magnitude levied against this many people to be the real crime here. So much for the freedom of speech.

SOURCE:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article12983720.html