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babylonsister

(170,962 posts)
Mon Mar 9, 2015, 06:27 PM Mar 2015

It’s ‘Orwellian': Florida Scientists Respond To Report That State Agency Banned ‘Climate Change’

It’s ‘Orwellian': Florida Scientists Respond To Report That State Agency Banned ‘Climate Change’

by Katie Valentine Posted on March 9, 2015 at 4:10 pm

snip//

Kirtman said he thinks the unofficial policy on mentioning climate change at the DEP was a political move on the part of the governor’s office.

“I believe it was a political mistake, that the Scott administration made this political calculation that they would lose political support if they allowed their administration to talk about climate change,” he said, adding that he thought Gov. Scott was following the lead of some members of Congress in trying to ignore the issue of climate change.

Kirtman’s previous experience with Florida agencies may have stifled his surprise at the FCIR report, but David Hastings, professor of marine science and chemistry at Florida’s Eckerd College, said he was shocked by the article.

“At first I thought it was out of the Onion or some other kind of satirical website,” he said. “It was like a page out of 1984. It was Orwellian. That they are not allowing a word to be used…it’s scary.”

Both scientists — along with Jeff Chanton, the John Widmer Winchester Professor of Oceanography at Florida State University — were dismayed by the article’s claims. Chanton said the unwritten rule amounted to “muzzling science,” and Kirtman said he thought it would be difficult for the state to make significant headway on mitigating and adapting to climate change if state agencies like the DEP weren’t allowed to talk about it.

That’s important because, in Florida, the threats surrounding climate change and its impacts are only becoming more dire — the state, especially the Southern region, is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise and the ecological, economic, and infrastructure-related problems that come with it. Though Scott last month announced a proposed effort to mitigate the effects of sea level rise in Florida, Florida’s state government has been slow to act on climate change.

more...

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/09/3631450/scientists-respond-to-florida-climate-censorship/

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It’s ‘Orwellian': Florida Scientists Respond To Report That State Agency Banned ‘Climate Change’ (Original Post) babylonsister Mar 2015 OP
will they talk about it when Florida slips underwater as the ocean levels rise? guillaumeb Mar 2015 #1

guillaumeb

(42,641 posts)
1. will they talk about it when Florida slips underwater as the ocean levels rise?
Mon Mar 9, 2015, 06:32 PM
Mar 2015

or move to a higher floor in their condominiums?

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