U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor launched a 12 tweet Twitter onslaught Thursday criticizing (and educating) her Republican colleague U.S. Rep. Ross Spano over comments he made rejecting climate change.
“Impt! #Florida policymakers can’t afford to ignore climate science,” Castor began her Twitter storm. “For the sake of our great state and our kids, I encourage @RepRossSpano to understand the costs and impacts of the #climatecrisis. Let’s work together for climate solutions.”
“We need to listen to scientists on the climate crisis. Not Ted Nugent,” Castor continued in a second tweet.
Castor was responding to a weekend interview Spano gave on WFLA News Channel 8 in which he said he didn’t believe climate change was manmade and rebutted 98 percent of scientists who say that it is by comparing science to “bloodletting” used years ago for treating certain medical ailments, a practice now considered taboo.
He also mentioned a non-existent Time Magazine cover from the late 70s purporting to describe a coming ice age. Nugent shared the doctored cover, which was later dubunked.
The issue is one of Castor’s top priorities. She chairs the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis where she works with lawmakers, scientists and organizations to identify solutions.
Castor also sponsored the Climate Action Now bill that would block President Donald Trump from withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. Spano voted against that bill.
Castor’s Twitter thread went on to share several articles making the case for climate change and highlighting its dangers.
“Hillsborough and Polk Counties in #FL are going to be some of the hardest hit by the climate crisis. We need #ClimateActionNow to avoid the worst impacts,” she wrote, linking to an article in the Lakeland Ledger talking about impacts in Spano’s own district.
In another, Castor linked to a Union of Concerned Scientists article chronicling how climate change is making it too hot to work or play outside. Another links to a Tampa Bay Times article showing the economic impact of climate change.
“Republicans in #Florida are finally looking at the numbers and it turns out our economic well-being depends upon making our coasts and communities more resilient,” Castor wrote.
She also called attention to a Solar Energy Industries Association map showing Florida, named the Sunshine State for a reason, has just 32,000 solar installations compared to 92,000 in Massachusetts and 105,000 in New Jersey.
