Florida employee punished for using the term "climate change"

[cybercoma]

From the article:

An employee of Florida’s environmental protection department was forced to take a leave of absence and seek a mental health evaluation [emphasis mine] for violating governor Rick Scott’s unwritten ban on using the phrases “climate change” or “global warming” under any circumstance, according to a complaint filed against the state.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/19/florida-employee-forced-on-leave-climate-change

What's the end game here? This is such a huge violation of this person's rights, I don't even know what to say.

[Shady]

I don't see any violation of a person's right, other than the mental health evaluation, if that indeed happen. But who knows what the truth is. Regardless, I don't see the reason to ban that kind of reference during government during work related matters. It seems odd. Also, the articles cite of a 2005 hurricane as a result of so-called climate change is absurd.

[On Guard for Thee]

I think if anyone needs a mental evaluation here, its Gov. Scott. How can he hope to ban universally accepted phrases for heavens sake!

[TimG]

The "mental health evaluation" is ridiculous on its own but the underlying policy seems to trying to break the cycle where resources are mis-allocated because chicken littles fabricate any number of alleged harms due to "climate change". The fact that there was a meeting where Florida managers discussed imaginary links between Keystone XL and "climate change" illustrates how pervasive the chicken little syndrome is and why it needs to be reigned in even if the mechanisms sound heavy handed in this case.

Edited March 20, 2015 by TimG

[On Guard for Thee]

I think when your shorelines, streets, buildings are starting to be washed away due to sea level rise from global warming it may be time quit thinking its a chicken little syndrome ad respond to the situation.

[cybercoma]

I don't see any violation of a person's right, other than the mental health evaluation, if that indeed happen. But who knows what the truth is. Regardless, I don't see the reason to ban that kind of reference during government during work related matters. It seems odd. Also, the articles cite of a 2005 hurricane as a result of so-called climate change is absurd.

When presented with something that makes a conservative look bad, you and TimG will always resort to extreme skepticism. Hell, who knows if we're really here. We might just be brains in jars, hooked up to electrodes producing the stimulus we experience.

[Shady]

When presented with something that makes a conservative look bad, you and TimG will always resort to extreme skepticism. Hell, who knows if we're really here. We might just be brains in jars, hooked up to electrodes producing the stimulus we experience.

Not at all. But like with Ferguson, we should really find out what actually happened. Not just one side of the story. On the face of it, it looks bizarre though. Still not sure it's. Violation of personal rights as to what can be said at work.

[Shady]

However, now you know how conservatives feel on college campus'.

[Guest]

However, now you know how conservatives feel on college campus'.

Not just Conservatives. I imagine the Prof in the first paragraphs of this article is not too much of a Conservative.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/11479761/We-must-listen-to-Trevor-Phillips-and-his-inconvenient-truths-about-race.html

Edit> Thinking on, is this thread about Climate Change or Freedom of Speech? If it's the former I apologize for the drift.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Michael Hardner
Con/Conservative

[Guest]

Then there's this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/11485958/Solar-eclipse-schoolchildren-banned-from-watching-on-religious-and-cultural-grounds.html

Oh dear.

[Guest]

Or this:

http://www.bbc.com/news/31989874

[poochy]

I think when your shorelines, streets, buildings are starting to be washed away due to sea level rise from global warming it may be time quit thinking its a chicken little syndrome ad respond to the situation.

That would be true, were it actually happening. In any case not being able to mention climate change is ridiculous. Of course, when or if we see the 'catastrophic effects' of agw few place will be more affected than Florida.

Edited March 20, 2015 by poochy

[On Guard for Thee]

That would be true, were it actually happening. In any case not being able to mention climate change is ridiculous. Of course, when or if we see the 'catastrophic effects' of agw few place will be more affected than Florida.

Afraid it has already begun. Shorelines eroding. coral reefs dying, salt water intrusion into the fresh water aquifer, etc. So it is pretty silly to outlaw even talking about it.

[Guest]

It's silly to outlaw talking about anything.

[On Guard for Thee]

There seems to be some gaps here though, the employee says he was forced to take a 2 day sabbatical for some sort of evaluation, then reps from the gov.s office say they have no such policy. Hopefully we will hear more.

[poochy]

Afraid it has already begun. Shorelines eroding. coral reefs dying, salt water intrusion into the fresh water aquifer, etc. So it is pretty silly to outlaw even talking about it.

All things that have been happening since well, forever, and have not accelerated to any large degree.

[On Guard for Thee]

All things that have been happening since well, forever, and have not accelerated to any large degree.

Would that be why Miami Beach is planning to spend early half a billion to install a pumping system to control increasing flooding, or why the USGS predicts a 2 foot SL rise by 2060...

[eyeball]

It's silly to outlaw talking about anything.

Try telling that to Edward Snowden's persecutors.

[Guest]

Try telling that to Edward Snowden's persecutors.

Didn't he steal something as well?

[bush_cheney2004]

Much of Florida had been under water before....for obvious reasons:

[On Guard for Thee]

Im sure that will be comforting to condo owners on Floridas shores as it goes under again.

[jacee]

Didn't he steal something as well?

You mean public information paid for by taxpayers and of concern to them, but hidden and kept secret from them?

.

[Guest]

You mean public information paid for by taxpayers and of concern to them, but hidden and kept secret from them?

.

Different Edward Snowden. The one you're referring to was the guy who published the Edmonton roads pot hole repair schedule.

I'm referring to the other one.

[kimmy]

There seems to be a history of this sort of thing in Florida.

But the story of Elizabeth Radke, who in late January got an e-mail from her co-author, a program coordinator with the Florida Department of Health, casts a degree of uncertainty on Scott’s assertions. Before publication, their study needed clearance from the Health Department in Tallahassee. So Sharon Watkins, chief of the department’s Bureau of Epidemiology, marked up the paper, homing in on the phrase “climate change.” It was used four times in the 27-page paper, according to a copy provided to The Post. Each one was underlined.

Researcher forced to rewrite paper to remove the phrase "climate change".

“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.”

(...)

Jeri Bustamante, a spokesperson with the governor’s office, wrote in an email that “There’s no policy on this.”

But four former DEP employees from offices around the states say the order was well known and distributed verbally statewide.

One former DEP employee who worked in Tallahassee during Scott’s first term in office, and asked not to be identified because of an ongoing business relationship with the department, said staffers were warned that using the terms in reports would bring unwanted attention to their projects.

“We were dealing with the effects and economic impact of climate change, and yet we can’t reference it,” the former employee said.

Former state employees say they were under orders not to use the phrase "climate change".

Rick Scott can say that the policy doesn't exist, but we know that there's lots of policies that don't officially exist but exist anyway. "Cactus Club" doesn't have a policy against hiring overweight waitresses either.

-k

{there's no such thing as a Code Red!}

[The_Squid]

This sounds like crap from the old Soviet Union.... what an absolutely absurd and stupid policy.