democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton speaks with former vice president al gore behind her. | ap photo/andrew harnik by bruce ritchie 10/11/16 06:08 pm edt hillary clinton in miami on tuesday continued to knock florida republicans for denying the existence of climate change before former vice president al gore joined in with additional criticism of a solar energy state ballot initiative. clinton has criticized gov. rick scott previously for reports that the governor's office had an "unwritten policy" directing state agencies not to talk about climate change, which scott has denied. on tuesday, she criticized u. s. sen. marco rubio, a republican from miami who is facing re-election, for saying "i'm not a scientist" in response to past questions about climate change. story continued below "well, why doesn't he ask a scientist?" clinton said. "and maybe then he'd understand why it's so important that he representing florida be committed to climate change. that's why i hope you'll elect (u.s. rep.) patrick murphy to the united states senate." in response, a spokeswoman for the rubio campaign said, "marco is the only candidate who will stand up to the next president, regardless of who that may be." clinton and gore, who was vice president under president bill clinton, were reunited in miami in support of her election bid against republican donald trump. since losing a disputed election for president in 2000 that hinged on the outcome of disputed florida returns, gore received the nobel peace prize in 2007 for his work on climate change. "your vote really, really, really counts a lot," gore quipped. "you can consider me as an exhibit a of that proof." during her earlier remarks, clinton faulted trump for claiming that climate change is a "hoax" that was created by the chinese, which trump later said was a joke. she and gore cited coastal flooding in miami and hurricane matthew as evidence of climate change. clinton also cited an august study that said on sea level rise that said one in eight florida homes would be underwater by the turn of the century. clinton said jobs in renewable energy are needed to boost the economy and prevent climate change. "look at the difference between your state, the 'sunshine state,' which has less solar energy than new jersey has right now," clinton said. "and you know why? because you have a governor who has ordered your state government never to use the words climate change." florida department of environmental protection secretary jon steverson also has denied reports that dep employees were instructed not to discuss climate change, but the accusation against the scott administration persists. a scott spokeswoman said in response to clinton on tuesday that the claim is in accurate. "dep has no such policy," spokeswoman lauren schenone said. clinton and gore cited the efforts of local officials in south florida to recognize and deal with climate change and the resulting sea level rise. "i don't have to tell you <u+2014> you're in florida <u+2014> that the climate crisis is real," gore said. "yes it's true some of your elected officials have not recognized that it's real. but every single night on the television news is like a major hike through the book of revelations. you look at the floods and the droughts and the mud slides and the fires and incredible downpours." gore said florida also lags behind massachusetts in solar energy growth, which some florida utility officials attribute to higher costs for conventional energy in those northern states. and he said fossil fuel burning utilities in florida are "trying to fool" voters into supporting amendment 1 on the nov. 8 ballot. the amendment would preserve a right for residents to own or lease solar devices, while prohibiting customers who don't have solar from subsidizing those who do have them. the state's four largest investor-owned utilities <u+2014> florida power & light co., duke energy florida, tampa electric co. and gulf power co. <u+2014> have contributed $16.5 million to the campaign behind the amendment, which has raised more than $21 million. gore said the proposed amendment will hurt solar power by killing "net metering," a state rule that requires utilities to buy back solar energy from homeowners and small businesses. "our democracy has been hacked," gore said. "and the fossil utilities here have spent $20 million to try to pull the wool over your eyes <u+2014> and $20 million can buy a lot of wool." in response, sarah bascom of the consumers for smart solar political committee backing amendment 1 said, "al gore has no credibility on this issue considering his son works for a solar company that would profit on the backs of florida consumers and this very amendment would protect consumers from his shady solar business model." albert a. gore iii is deputy director of policy and electricity markets finance at solar city , a solar energy services provider headquartered in san mateo, calif. "shame on him (the former vice president) for putting profit over florida consumers for personal gain," bascom said. correction: an earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled the last name of scott spokeswoman laura schenone. marc caputo's must-read briefing on what's hot, crazy or shady about politics in the sunshine state.
clinton, gore knock florida officials on climate change, solar amendment
bruce ritchie