environmental science
In His Own Words: The Unitary Executive Explains Science Stuff to Us
Inside the government, the war on science seems to be over, and ignorance has won.
In the past couple of days, the President has given us the benefit of his wisdom on highly technical issues. It seems clear that, as far as the government is concerned, the war on science is over, and ignorance has won.
I’m going to let the President make my case for me. Below are excerpts of Trump’s explanations of vaccine policy, autism causation, and climate science.
CONTINUE READINGThe War on Science: Week 35
Every week we get more reports about the Administration’s anti-science campaign.
It was just another week in the government’s war on science. Rather than editorialize about what’s going on, I thought it would be more useful just to relay what has come out in news reports over the last week. The facts really speak for themselves.
ITEM. On Saturday, we learned that EPA’s water division had told its scientists to pause publication of papers in scientific journals pending a “review.” The order came from political appointees. There’s little doubt that the goal is to silence scientific findings that might call Administration policies into question.
CONTINUE READINGA Clear and Present Danger to American Health
We’re all – each of us individually — less safe than we were a year ago.
RFK Jr. is purging the government of anyone who actually believes in science. What’s happening to public health under his leadership isn’t unique. All across the government, Trump is at war with science, cancelling billions of dollars of biomedical, energy, and climate research; closing EPA’s science department; replacing hard scientific evidence with climate denial as official dogma. This is a recipe for disaster, like closing your eyes will flying a plane.
CONTINUE READINGHouse Natural Resources Committee Holds Hearing on Another Ill-Conceived Permitting Reform Bill
The SPEED Act takes aim at the scientific foundation of environmental review
The proposed iSPEED bill includes provisions that would fundamentally compromise the integrity of federal decision making processes by allowing—or even compelling—the government to ignore scientific and technical information critical to understanding the effects of a federal action and how those effects could be mitigated.
CONTINUE READINGHow Trump’s War on Research Hurts the US Economy
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The economic evidence confirms the huge benefits of government support for research.
One of the victims of the Trump Administration has been scientific research, notably including research on the environment, clean technologies, and even public wealth. The government’s own research capacity is under attack from agencies from EPA to NIH, grants to universities have been cancelled, and future funding from agencies like NIH and NSF is in peril. Yet the Administration has given little though about how this effects competitiveness in a high-tech world.
CONTINUE READINGWillful Ignorance as Government Policy
The Trump Administration is systematically shutting down sources of vital information.
There is a deep anti-intellectualism embedded in MAGA. As RFK Jr. advises people, why pay attention to scientists when you can just “do the research” in the far corners of the internet?
There’s also the fear that data and research may not fit its political agenda. For instance, better information about extreme weather could support more robust programs to deal with those threats rather than supporting massive budget cuts. More robust government programs aren’t part of the MAGA agenda. Even worse, information about extreme weather would also shed light on climate change, a taboo subject.
100 Days of Anti-Environmental Mayhem
A flood of anti-environmental initiatives threatens to undo decades of progress.
the Administration has withheld funding for clean technology, denounced the very idea of environmental justice, and begun a campaign to gut environmental agencies. And that’s only the first hundred days of Trump’s second term.How far Trump gets with this anti-environmental jihad will depend partly on the courts but mostly on politics. Events relating to the economy and provision of basic government services are likely to have as much impact on how things play out than anything specific to the environment.
CONTINUE READINGUndermining Science in the Name of Ideology
There’s no room in MAGA for free scientific inquiry.
The Trump Administration seemingly views scientific research as a threat. The result has been a wave of censorship and a general effort to undermine the scientific enterprise. This article compiles examples of anti-science actions.
CONTINUE READINGTrump Shoves Economic Analysis and Science to the Curb
The MAGA agenda takes precedence over data and analysis.
If you were looking for data-driven regulatory policy, you’re not going to find it in this Administration. On the contrary, Trump has marginalized economic analysis and wants to bulldoze environmental science. Thus, we are likely to get policies that are bad for the environment without being cost-justified, while ignoring policies who environmental benefits outweigh economic costs.
CONTINUE READINGThe 2024 Election Outcome Could Boost the Case for Geoengineering
A Trump victory would increase the odds that we will ultimately need to start blocking solar radiation as a last resort to limit climate change.
A Trump victory would increase the odds that we will eventually need to “break the glass and pull the red lever.” To be prepared for that possibility, we would also need to do more in the short term to research various forms of geoengineering, their feasibility, and their potential side effects. Basically, if you decide you’re going to start smoking a lot more cigarettes, you need to be prepared for the greater likelihood you’ll need chemo.
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