Don’t say “fire.”
It has been our policy to only comment on policy issues that directly intersect ocean health and management. So while the “word purge” that occurred in the opening salvo of the current administration – e.g. “DEI,” “Gay,” “LGBT,” “African American,” “Slavery,” etc., I figured there were enough opinions flying around that we didn’t need to add to the fray. (Although I did find it amusing that the Government information pages on the Enola Gay were taken down…)
But their next purge does intersect our ocean concerns. The Department of Energy (DOE) wants to excise terms like “climate change,” “green,” “clean/dirty energy,” “emissions,” “carbon/CO2 footprint,” and “decarbonization.”
The DOE director of external affairs Rachel Overbey stated “Please ensure that every member of your team is aware that this is the latest list of words to avoid – and continue to be conscientious about avoiding any terminology that you know to be misaligned with the Administration’s perspectives and priorities.”
Of course while this is just a DOE directive, But like the use of terms like “DEI” and “Slavery,” soon enough these words and phrases will become the search terms for determining if schools, businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations are “terrorists.”
Which brings us to the shutdown.
Today the President is set to meet with Congressional leaders to “try to work out a deal” on the coming government shutdown. The problem with this “dealmaking” is that one party wants to avoid a shutdown, the other wants our government to crash.
When the house is burning down, don’t say “fire.”
