The term “climate change” is reportedly banned in Florida

[Egnever]

http://www.salon.com/2015/03/09/the_term_climate_change_is_reportedly_banned_in_florida/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

As rising seas lap at its shore, Florida’s come up with a fool-proof plan for dealing with climate change: an official policy of ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away.

For officials at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the agency ostensibly in charge in studying and preparing for the impacts of climate change, the term “climate change” itself, along with its counterpart ”global warming,” is reportedly verboten. That’s according to a damning new report from the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, published this weekend in the Miami Herald.

The rationale sounds awfully familiar to Gov. Rick “I’m not a scientist” Scott, who refused to acknowledge the reality of man-made climate change even after a group of Florida scientists sat him down and explained it to him. According to the report, in fact, the climate change ban went into effect after Scott took office in 2011. Neither of the men who served as DEP director during Scott’s time in office would comment for the article; the department’s press secretary, Tiffany Cowie, denied the existence of any such policy.

While there may not have been an official ban on the books, however, the report’s sources say the spoken policy was widely communicated throughout the state — they also say they were warned that, should they use the forbidden terms, it would bring “unwanted attention” to their projects. More tha just an annoyance, they claim it negatively affected their ability to do their jobs. “We were dealing with the effects and economic impact of climate change,” one anonymous source said, “and yet we can’t reference it.” In one emblematic example, nature writer Jim Harper describes the Monty Python-esque experience of attempting to write a report on coral reef protection in 2013:

Just like Shrub and his EPA rules. Such a sad state of affairs.

[Newest Reality]

1. They will have a few other terms to ban

Let's see now...

Inundated
Submerged
Refugees
Abandoned

It may be difficult to report what happens when the ocean levels rise and wipe out large parts of the state if they plan to avoid the problem by creating the Florida Newspeak Dictionary.

"Due to natural changes in the relationship of water and land, there will be some more minor state boundary retraction this month. Officials assure us that there is nothing to worry about though since there is no actual variation in the biosphere causing this. In related news, free boat taxis are being provided at many malls to encourage float shopping. Don't forget to bring a towel."