Former employees of Florida Governor Rick Scott says he forbade staff from discussing climate change —including using the terms "global warming" or "sea level rise." Scott says the claim isn't true. But he's made it very clear that climate change is an issue non grata in his administration, repeatedly refusing to answer even if he believes in it .
Either way, the unwillingness of the governor of a coastal state to tackle climate change and adaptability is a major security issue, said homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem.
"I think we should start calling Rick Scott the 'Harry Potter Governor.' Remember with Voldemort, he was 'He Who Must Not Be Named?'" she said.
"Governor Scott is just living in la-la land, catering to some ideology. Ideology only goes so far until mother nature reminds us that ideology goes too far," Kayyem continued.
Kayyem explained that innovations from local officials like mayors and governors are especially important when it comes to addressing climate adaptability, because they know the communities best and have the bandwidth to address problems where the federal government cannot.
"This is where local and state ingenuity is really important because the federal government simply doesn't have the capacity to exist in this regard," she said.
"With a governor that can't even remember that adaptation is actually real, I'm very, very nervous for that state," Kayyem continued.
To hear more from Juliette Kayyem, tune in to Boston Public Radio above.
