Top officials at the Florida state agency tasked with studying and planning for the impacts of climate change are taking a novel approach to avoiding the issue.
Tristram Korten reports that employees of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) "have been ordered not to use the term 'climate change' or 'global warming' in any official communications, emails, or reports…" That information is confirmed by "former DEP employees, consultants, volunteers and records obtained by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting."
The unwritten policy was enacted by high-level officials within the DEP, "after Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011 and appointed Herschel Vinyard Jr. as the DEP’s director…" Vinyard has since resigned, but neither he not his successor, Scott Stevenson, would comment for the article.
A representative from the DEP's press office flatly denied that such a policy exists.
FULL STORY: In Florida, officials ban term 'climate change'
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research