By Joe Fletcher
The
mandate set out by Florida Governor Rick Scott, which bars state officials from
mentioning phrases such as “climate change” or the word “sustainability,” is
representative of the bury-our-heads-in-sand leadership many politicians live
by when it comes to climate change.
Governor
Scott and the rest of the rest of the Flat Earth Society that has managed to
infect the United States government on every level, is ushering in a new
era of anti-science governance, that is not only damaging to the nation and
globe, but is frankly embarrassing.
According
to the Herald Tribune, Neil DeGrasse Tyson commented on the
situation during a press conference in Sarasota, Florida, which took place
before he gave a lecture at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Tyson stated:
“I thought as a nation we were better than this.”
We all did, Mr. Tyson. Of course, politicians are powerless with those who vote them into office. Tyson commented on this, saying that he did not necessarily place his blame on politicians such as Governor Scott. He said:
“I don’t blame the politicians for a damn thing because we vote for the politicians. I blame the electorate.”
That
electorate has put politicians like Senator Ted Cruz into office. Senator Cruz,
who is an avowed climate change denier, is so egregious in his war on science
that he had the audacity to challenge NASA Administrator Charles
Bolden on what the “core mission” of NASA is during a committee hearing. Cruz
seemed to have a problem with NASA focusing on studying the Earth, rather than
exploring space.
Tyson
continued his commentary saying:
“When you say let’s debate whether or not humans are influencing the climate, you are losing time for debating what to do in the face of that fact.”
Speaking
on the apolitical nature of scientific facts Tyson said:
“Now we have a time where people are cherry picking science. The science is not political. That’s like repealing gravity because you gained 10 pounds last week.”
Author Joe Fletcher is a writer and community organizer based in Grand
Rapids, Michigan. He is the Managing Editor for Green Action News, a
publication focused on covering environmental issues and activism. You can
follow him on Facebook,Twitter, and Ello