Hurricane Michael Offers More Climate Change Evidence

FEATURING TANIA GALLONI – President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited areas of the Florida panhandle affected by Hurricane Michael on Monday. Trump told reporters he was going to ask Congress for disaster funding. The powerful hurricane hit Florida on October 10th as a Category 4 storm with winds between 140 and 155 mph. In the span of a few hours it devastated whole towns and moved ahead to Georgia where there was also damage. As Trump surveyed the horrendous damage that killed 17 people, he marveled at the storm’s power. Neither he, nor Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who accompanied him, made any mention of climate change.

In 2015, Gov. Scott, banned the use of the terms “climate change” and “global warming” in state documents and websites. Then in 2017 Scott signed a bill into law allowing challenges to science teachings in school, including instruction about global warming. And of course, President Trump’s record of denying climate change is well known.

Tania Galloni, managing attorney of Earthjustice’s Florida office.