With the hiring of David Legates, a University of Delaware Professor of climatology who has been criticized for being a climate science denier, to a top position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Florida Democrats are expressing outrage.
Taking to Twitter to share her disapproval of the appointment, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) argued that President Trump (R) “continues to promote the worst of the worst,” adding that “the appointment of climate denier David Legates to help lead” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “puts FL at risk in the middle of hurricane season.” Wasserman Schultz did not clarify exactly how Florida would be put at risk.
.@realDonaldTrump continues to promote the worst of the worst. The appointment of climate denier David Legates to help lead @NOAA puts FL at risk in the middle of hurricane season. #ClimateChange is happening now. We need facts, not fiction, to solve it. https://t.co/BbE3fubdzy
— Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@RepDWStweets) September 14, 2020
Wasserman Schultz concluded that “we need facts, not fiction, to solve” the growing issue of climate change.
With Legates stepping into position, Florida Democrats are warning that he is putting the United States and the world as a whole in danger.
In 2007, Legates was an author of a paper that questioned numerous findings regarding the role that climate change plays in destroying the habitat of polar bears. The funding for the paper came in part by grants provided by Koch Industries.
Upon being appointed, Jane Lubchenco, a professor of Marine Biology at Oregon State University and the head of the NOAA under President Barack Obama (D), slammed Legates, saying that Legates is "not just in left field, he's not even near the ball park."
