Several former employees, consultants, and volunteers with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection told the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting that they were directed to not use the terms "climate change," "global warming," and "sustainability" in official communications after Gov. Rick Scott (R) took office in 2011.

Part of the state agency's responsibility is to study climate change, the FCIR said in its report published Sunday. Christopher Byrd, a former attorney with the DEP's Office of General Counsel, told the FCIR that his superiors shared this new unwritten policy to him after Scott appointed Herschel Vinyard Jr. as the DEP's director. "It's an indication that the political leadership in the state of Florida is not willing to address these issues and face the music when it comes to the challenges that climate change presents," he said.

Another former DEP employee, Kristina Trotta, told the FCIR that during a 2014 staff meeting, her supervisor said to refrain from using the terms "climate change" and "global warming." "We were told that we were not allowed to discuss anything that was not a true fact," she said. Scott is a vocal skeptic of global warming, saying he is "not convinced” and would need "something more convincing than what I've read." The DEP and the governor's office both told the FCIR that this policy is not in place. Catherine Garcia