Rick Scott will meet with climate scientists on August 19, when they hope to make him understand that climate change is very real.
"I would like to hear from the Governor that he recognizes that climate change science is legitimate," said Ben Kirtman, Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Miami, at the Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science. Kirtman revealed the news while participating in a conference call on Friday. "I hope he'll stop denying 'that climate change science hokum.' This is real, robust stuff and we have important input that should be considered when policy decisions are made."
Simply agreeing to having the meeting with climate scientists is a breakthrough of sorts, since Scott has been excoriated by environmentalists for saying in 2011 that he didn't believe humans could affect the planet's temperature. Lately he's appeared to be less negative about the possibility, saying simply that "I'm not a scientist," prompting Florida climate scientists to speak up and ask for a meeting with him to educate him about what is the science when it comes to climate change.
What's driving the scientists to try to get Scott to realize the gravity of what climate change can do to the Sunshine State, in particular, is the dangers of sea-level rise. Some geologists predict that by the end of this century it could rise anywhere from 6-10 feet in Miami. Of the total of 4.2 million U.S. citizens who live at an elevation of four feet or less, 2.4 million of them live in south Florida.
Scott has been making the rounds through the state this week as part of his "Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful” tour, as he highlights his efforts to protect Florida’s environment and introduce new policies for the second term. Among the measures he's touting include $50 million a year for alternative water-supply projects, $50 million a year for natural springs restoration and $150 million a year for the Florida Forever lands preservation program.
Such largesse in an election year has prompted plenty of skepticism, some of which is articulated in a column published in today's Tampa Tribune by former GOP legislator Paula Dockery. She writes that "although I’d like to believe he is sincere, based on his actions over the past four years, color me skeptical."
Dockery also raises the fact that Scott may be seeing climate change in a whole new light, because of concerns of assault on his environmental policies via West Coast billionaire Tom Steyer, who has said he will spend considerable money to help Charlie Crist defeat Scott this year.
Coincidentally, the first ad produced by Steyer's PAC - NextGen Climate - went on the airwaves today.
The Scott campaign isn't taking kindly to this ad. In a statement released this morning, Matt Moon, Communications Director for Rick Scott for Florida said, " The FALSE ad by Tom Steyer’s group in support of Charlie Crist blatantly lies by saying the Governor took ‘campaign cash’ from driller Dan A. Hughes. In fact, no political entity associated with Governor Scott has ever received contributions from the company — in this election or 2010. It was Governor Scott’s administration who shut down Dan A. Hughes’ operations, filed suit against the company in Collier County and pulled their permits."
On the aforementioned conference call, South Miami Mayor Phillip Stoddard also blasted Scott for not taking climate change seriously. And he also spewed disdain for the "love affair" that he says the governor has with energy company Florida Power & Light. FP&L is expanding the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant by adding two nuclear reactors that will cost between $20-$24 million — money Stoddard says could better be used to fund renewable energy sources. "[Scott has] the worst environmental record I think we've seen out of a governor in Florida as long I've been watching it," he said.
