Talking About the Green Stuff

This video was taken at a state senate committee meeting in March of 2015. The Chief of Florida Division of Emergency, Brian Koon, is fumbling over his words and fighting to make sense of what he’s saying in a hilarious attempt to get around the gag order Governor Rick Scott put him under. Yes, I’ll admit it makes for a hilarious exchange especially when it is suggested that as a state Florida uses “Atmospheric Reemployment” in place of “Climate Change” in order to get around the gag order. But what does this exchange really say about the government and the their willingness to take serious measures in regards to environmental policies. How does this effect the public’s view of environmental issues when the one guy whose job it is to plan for natural disasters should they strike Florida, can’t even say “climate change”?

It is no surprise that a large part of the country feels that the government should be doing more about environmental issues. In a study published in 2008, it was observed that a majority of the sample group thought that the government should be doing more in an attempt to protect the environment. However, when it was looked into, results revealed that the scale of their concern was limited to local and national environments rather then global. And the concern was centered specifically around local pollution rather then addressing global warming (Konisky, 1081–2). The study also showed a positive correlation between enthusiasm for environmental policies and party affiliation. Conservatives where less enthused about environment policies as compared to liberals (1078). This divergence of attitudes can also be seen in party affiliated media outlets. So when the mostly republican senate committee meeting about the state of Florida’s preparedness plan regarding global warming turns into a stand up comedy act, its no wonder why conservative party members are less concerned about the environment as compared to their political counterparts.

Understanding why these divides exist is the biggest hurdle that the country faces when it comes to taking environmental policies seriously. People in the state of Florida and all across the country are all too familiar with the damage that a massive hurricane can cause and the frustration and confusion that comes especially in the aftermath of a natural disaster that was not properly prepared for. There is no question if climate change is real or not. The question is are we prepared for it. And when your state senate falls over laughing about the mere idea of it, that is when you know there is seriously something wrong and it needs to be addressed.