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Scientific American
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Scientific American
EPA Reorganization Signals End to Climate Work
CLIMATEWIRE | EPA is getting rid of the two offices that are primarily responsible for regulating climate and air pollution. The move to eliminate the Office of Atmospheric Protection (OAP) and Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) by the end of the fiscal year signals a likely end to much of the agency's climate work. EPA political appointees announced the reorganization plan during a Friday town hall with employees of the Office of Air and Radiation, which houses both OAP and OAQPS. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will likely move programs to curb smog, soot and toxic emissions into other offices. But most of OAP's work seems destined for the dust bin — including a program that requires the country's biggest polluters to report their greenhouse gas emissions. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. Instead, EPA will create two offices within OAR called the Office of Clean Air Programs and Office of State Air Partnerships. The clean air office will 'align statutory obligations and mission essential functions,' according to an agency press release. 'With these organizational improvements, we recommit to fulfilling all of our statutory obligations and exceptionally delivering on EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment,' Zeldin said in the release. The reorganization plan announced Friday also includes axing the Office of Research and Development, a centralized arm for research and science that employs over 1,500 people. While Congress could block the reorganization, former EPA officials from both Democratic and Republican administrations said that was unlikely; the plan only requires general approval by appropriations committees, not enacting legislation. EPA did not respond to inquiries about the changes to OAR. But Project 2025, which has proved influential in President Donald Trump's second term, calls for OAR to shift away from greenhouse gas regulations and instead focus on "limiting and minimizing criteria and hazardous air pollutants in partnership with the states." EPA will still need to maintain some staff to work on climate regulations. But it is working to drop greenhouse gases from its list of regulated pollutants by reconsidering a 2009 scientific finding that underpins all Clean Air Act climate regulations. On Friday, EPA also sent the White House Office of Management and Budget proposals to repeal Biden-era rules for power plant carbon and mercury — without replacing them. It was a move that has been long expected — and is a first. The first Trump administration replaced climate rules with weaker ones. Joe Goffman, EPA air chief under former President Joe Biden, said he wasn't surprised that the Trump administration opted for the more aggressive tactic of not regulating the second-highest-emitting sector for carbon pollution at all. 'When they have a choice between using a scalpel or a laser on the one hand, or a sledgehammer and a meat cleaver on the other, they'll choose the sledgehammer and the meat cleaver," Goffman said. End of pollution reporting? Zeldin speaks frequently of the need to limit EPA's regulatory and analytical activities to those required to comply with 'statutory obligations.' He has said that the agency will only retain staff who work on such programs. The Clean Air Act requires EPA to update standards in line with strict — and frequently missed — schedules for a variety of non-greenhouse gas pollutants like particulate matter and sulfur dioxide. Many of those programs, which are now administered by OAQPS, are likely to be absorbed by the new clean air office. Some OAP programs may move there, too. The office oversees EPA's acid rain and ozone programs, for example, as well as the phase-down of heat-trapping coolants called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). There are at least some continuing 'statutory obligations' for all of those programs under the Clean Air Act and American Innovation and Manufacturing Act. The latter law, which passed Congress in 2020 with strong bipartisan support and was signed by Trump, phases down climate pollutants in favor of alternatives for which U.S. companies hold the patents. 'Big companies like Honeywell have made big investments in HFC substitutes,' Goffman said. 'I think they're going to look to the EPA to continue to approve those substitutes, so they could market them.' All of those programs will probably be transferred to the new clean air office from OAP, said current and past OAR staff, though they said Trump officials offered few details. But relatively few of OAP's programs are likely to survive the reorganization. EPA's greenhouse gas reporting program is probably on the chopping block, though oil and gas operations may still have to report their emissions for the time being. Congress mandated that reporting — and created a methane management program — in the 2022 climate law. Republican lawmakers could pull back that language later this year in a budget reconciliation package. EPA's annual greenhouse gas inventory may also be eliminated, because it is a treaty obligation but not mandated by statute. So are a host of other domestic and international programs and partnerships designed to measure, track or reduce climate-forcing emissions, which mostly grew up through a series of executive and agency actions. They may include Energy Star, a high-efficiency product labeling program administered by OAP. Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the loss of reliable federal data about greenhouse gas emissions would undermine climate action by states, local governments and the private sector. 'This kind of information is just vital for us to understand where the heat-trapping emissions are coming from and how that's changing over time,' she said. 'There's no reason to get rid of it, except to try to bury the evidence.' The Trump administration delivered a " skinny budget" Friday for fiscal 2026 that asked Congress to zero out the so-called Atmospheric Protection Program — a general name for EPA's climate reporting and inventory programs that hasn't been used in years. It called the programs an "overreach of Government authority that imposes unnecessary and radical climate change regulations on businesses and stifles economic growth."
E&E News
05-05-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
EPA reorganization signals end to climate work
EPA is getting rid of the two offices that are primarily responsible for regulating climate and air pollution. The move to eliminate the Office of Atmospheric Protection (OAP) and Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) by the end of the fiscal year signals a likely end to much of the agency's climate work. EPA political appointees announced the reorganization plan during a Friday town hall with employees of the Office of Air and Radiation, which houses both OAP and OAQPS. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will likely move programs to curb smog, soot and toxic emissions into other offices. But most of OAP's work seems destined for the dust bin — including a program that requires the country's biggest polluters to report their greenhouse gas emissions. Advertisement Instead, EPA will create two offices within OAR called the Office of Clean Air Programs and Office of State Air Partnerships. The clean air office will 'align statutory obligations and mission essential functions,' according to an agency press release. 'With these organizational improvements, we recommit to fulfilling all of our statutory obligations and exceptionally delivering on EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment,' Zeldin said in the release. The reorganization plan announced Friday also includes axing the Office of Research and Development, a centralized arm for research and science that employs over 1,500 people. While Congress could block the reorganization, former EPA officials from both Democratic and Republican administrations said that was unlikely; the plan only requires general approval by appropriations committees, not enacting legislation. EPA did not respond to inquiries about the changes to OAR. But Project 2025, which has proved influential in President Donald Trump's second term, calls for OAR to shift away from greenhouse gas regulations and instead focus on 'limiting and minimizing criteria and hazardous air pollutants in partnership with the states.' EPA will still need to maintain some staff to work on climate regulations. But it is working to drop greenhouse gases from its list of regulated pollutants by reconsidering a 2009 scientific finding that underpins all Clean Air Act climate regulations. On Friday, EPA also sent the White House Office of Management and Budget proposals to repeal Biden-era rules for power plant carbon and mercury — without replacing them. It was a move that has been long expected — and is a first. The first Trump administration replaced climate rules with weaker ones. Joe Goffman, EPA air chief under former President Joe Biden, said he wasn't surprised that the Trump administration opted for the more aggressive tactic of not regulating the second-highest-emitting sector for carbon pollution at all. 'When they have a choice between using a scalpel or a laser on the one hand, or a sledgehammer and a meat cleaver on the other, they'll choose the sledgehammer and the meat cleaver,' Goffman said. End of pollution reporting? Zeldin speaks frequently of the need to limit EPA's regulatory and analytical activities to those required to comply with 'statutory obligations.' He has said that the agency will only retain staff who work on such programs. The Clean Air Act requires EPA to update standards in line with strict — and frequently missed — schedules for a variety of non-greenhouse gas pollutants like particulate matter and sulfur dioxide. Many of those programs, which are now administered by OAQPS, are likely to be absorbed by the new clean air office. Some OAP programs may move there, too. The office oversees EPA's acid rain and ozone programs, for example, as well as the phase-down of heat-trapping coolants called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). There are at least some continuing 'statutory obligations' for all of those programs under the Clean Air Act and American Innovation and Manufacturing Act. The latter law, which passed Congress in 2020 with strong bipartisan support and was signed by Trump, phases down climate pollutants in favor of alternatives for which U.S. companies hold the patents. 'Big companies like Honeywell have made big investments in HFC substitutes,' Goffman said. 'I think they're going to look to the EPA to continue to approve those substitutes, so they could market them.' All of those programs will probably be transferred to the new clean air office from OAP, said current and past OAR staff, though they said Trump officials offered few details. But relatively few of OAP's programs are likely to survive the reorganization. EPA's greenhouse gas reporting program is probably on the chopping block, though oil and gas operations may still have to report their emissions for the time being. Congress mandated that reporting — and created a methane management program — in the 2022 climate law. Republican lawmakers could pull back that language later this year in a budget reconciliation package. EPA's annual greenhouse gas inventory may also be eliminated, because it is a treaty obligation but not mandated by statute. So are a host of other domestic and international programs and partnerships designed to measure, track or reduce climate-forcing emissions, which mostly grew up through a series of executive and agency actions. They may include Energy Star, a high-efficiency product labeling program administered by OAP. Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the loss of reliable federal data about greenhouse gas emissions would undermine climate action by states, local governments and the private sector. 'This kind of information is just vital for us to understand where the heat-trapping emissions are coming from and how that's changing over time,' she said. 'There's no reason to get rid of it, except to try to bury the evidence.' The Trump administration delivered a 'skinny budget' Friday for fiscal 2026 that asked Congress to zero out the so-called Atmospheric Protection Program — a general name for EPA's climate reporting and inventory programs that hasn't been used in years. It called the programs an 'overreach of Government authority that imposes unnecessary and radical climate change regulations on businesses and stifles economic growth.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Documents reveal Trump's plan to gut funding for Nasa and climate science
Donald Trump shows no signs of easing his assault on climate science as plans of more sweeping cuts to key US research centers surfaced on Friday. The administration is planning to slash budgets at both the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (Noaa) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), according to internal budget documents, taking aim specifically at programs used to study impacts from the climate crisis. Craig McLean, a longtime director of the office of oceanic and atmospheric research (OAR) who retired in 2022, told the Guardian that the cuts were draconian and would 'compromise the safety, economic competitiveness, and security of the American people'. If the plan is approved by Congress, funding for OAR would be eviscerated – cut from $485m to $171m – dismantling an important part of the agency's mission. Related: White House ends funding for key US climate body: 'No coming back from this' All budgets for climate, weather and ocean laboratories would be drained, according to the document reviewed by the Guardian, which states: 'At this funding level, OAR is eliminated as a line office.' 'The elimination of Noaa's research line office and all of its research capabilities is a crushing blow to the ability of our country to protect our citizens and also to lead the world,' said the former Noaa administrator Rick Spinrad, adding that the document included 'an extraordinarily devastating set of recommendations'. The proposal would also cut more than $324m from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), instructing the agency to align its work with administration priorities to 'unleash American energy'. Species-recovery grants, habitat conservation and restoration, and the interjurisdictional fisheries grant program, which supports coordinated management and research with the states, would all lose funding. The document also outlines a plan to move the NMFS under the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Noaa is facing a $1.3bn cut to overall operations and research, with various programs on the chopping block, and the National Ocean Service would be cut in half. Science done outside the agency would also be undermined with cuts to Noaa's climate research grants program, which provides roughly $70m a year. Related: Noaa fires hundreds of climate workers after court clears way for dismissals 'It's a really disturbing and concerning development – but I would say it is not all that surprising,' Spinrad said of the plans outlined in the document, noting that there have been many indications the administration would take steps such as these. 'But it also has an element of randomness associated with it,' he added. 'There are specific programs called out, the reasons for which are absolutely not clear.' The fallout from cuts this deep, should Congress adopt the president's plan, would be felt in communities around the world, and in far-ranging sectors, from agriculture to emergency management. 'By making a complete divestiture in science and in our research enterprise, we are basically saying we are not interested in improving our quality of life or our economy,' Spinrad said. The administration also outlined plans to severely defund research at Nasa, the country's space agency. The agency is slated for a 20% overall budget loss, but deeper cuts would be directed at programs overseeing planetary science, earth science and astrophysics research, according to Ars Technica, which first on Trump's plans when agency officials were briefed last month. Now documents have been issued to back up those plans, halving funding for science at Nasa. The plan for Nasa would also scrap a series of missions, including some that the federal government has already poured billions of taxpayer dollars into. The Nancy Grace Roman space telescope, which could offer glimpses into distant galaxies after its scheduled launch next year, is among them, along with the Mars Sample Return and the Davinci mission to Venus. The Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, which employs roughly 10,000 people, would also be closed. 'This is an extinction-level event for Nasa science,' Casey Dreier, chief of space policy for the Planetary Society, told the Washington Post. 'It needlessly terminates functional, productive science missions and cancels new missions currently being built, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars in the process. This is neither efficient nor smart budgeting.' Still not set in stone, these 'passback' documents are a part of how the government goes about budgeting. They are issued by the White House to federal agencies before the discretionary budget is released and are seen as a guidance on presidential priorities. The numbers aren't final and could be changed, and Congress will also have to act on the plans to finalize them. Spinrad is confident that many legislators won't support the cuts. 'Many of the actions put forward by [the White House's office of management and budget] are in direct contradiction to congressional intent,' he said. 'Zeroing out programs that Congress has worked hard to authorize over the years – that's a clarion call to specific members and sponsors.' There's also likely to be strong pushback from the public and from industries that rely on the tools and services made possible by the country's scientists. But the drastic degree of these cuts also shows the administration's position on climate science and its determination to hamper US research, experts say. That alone is enough to cause concern. 'This proposal will cost lives,' McLean said of the document if it is enacted. 'When a room full of doctors tell you that it's cancer, firing the doctors does not cure you.'
The Guardian
11-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Documents reveal Trump's plan to gut funding for Nasa and climate science
Donald Trump shows no signs of easing his assault on climate science as plans of more sweeping cuts to key US research centers surfaced on Friday. The administration is planning to slash budgets at both the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (Noaa) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), according to internal budget documents, taking aim specifically at programs used to study impacts from the climate crisis. Craig McLean, a longtime director of the office of oceanic and atmospheric research (OAR) who retired in 2022, told the Guardian that the cuts were draconian and would 'compromise the safety, economic competitiveness, and security of the American people'. If the plan is approved by Congress, funding for OAR would be eviscerated – cut from $485m to $171m – dismantling an important part of the agency's mission. All budgets for climate, weather and ocean laboratories would be drained, according to the document reviewed by the Guardian, which states: 'At this funding level, OAR is eliminated as a line office.' 'The elimination of Noaa's research line office and all of its research capabilities is a crushing blow to the ability of our country to protect our citizens and also to lead the world,' said the former Noaa administrator Rick Spinrad, adding that the document included 'an extraordinarily devastating set of recommendations'. The proposal would also cut more than $324m from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), instructing the agency to align its work with administration priorities to 'unleash American energy'. Species-recovery grants, habitat conservation and restoration, and the interjurisdictional fisheries grant program, which supports coordinated management and research with the states, would all lose funding. The document also outlines a plan to move the NMFS under the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Noaa is facing a $1.3bn cut to overall operations and research, with various programs on the chopping block, and the National Ocean Service would be cut in half. Science done outside the agency would also be undermined with cuts to Noaa's climate research grants program, which provides roughly $70m a year. 'It's a really disturbing and concerning development – but I would say it is not all that surprising,' Spinrad said of the plans outlined in the document, noting that there have been many indications the administration would take steps such as these. 'But it also has an element of randomness associated with it,' he added. 'There are specific programs called out, the reasons for which are absolutely not clear.' The fallout from cuts this deep, should Congress adopt the president's plan, would be felt in communities around the world, and in far-ranging sectors, from agriculture to emergency management. 'By making a complete divestiture in science and in our research enterprise, we are basically saying we are not interested in improving our quality of life or our economy,' Spinrad said. The administration also outlined plans to severely defund research at Nasa, the country's space agency. The agency is slated for a 20% overall budget loss, but deeper cuts would be directed at programs overseeing planetary science, earth science and astrophysics research, according to Ars Technica, which first on Trump's plans when agency officials were briefed last month. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Now documents have been issued to back up those plans, halving funding for science at Nasa. The plan for Nasa would also scrap a series of missions, including some that the federal government has already poured billions of taxpayer dollars into. The Nancy Grace Roman space telescope, which could offer glimpses into distant galaxies after its scheduled launch next year, is among them, along with the Mars Sample Return and the Davinci mission to Venus. The Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, which employs roughly 10,000 people, would also be closed. 'This is an extinction-level event for Nasa science,' Casey Dreier, chief of space policy for the Planetary Society, told the Washington Post. 'It needlessly terminates functional, productive science missions and cancels new missions currently being built, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars in the process. This is neither efficient nor smart budgeting.' Still not set in stone, these 'passback' documents are a part of how the government goes about budgeting. They are issued by the White House to federal agencies before the discretionary budget is released and are seen as a guidance on presidential priorities. The numbers aren't final and could be changed, and Congress will also have to act on the plans to finalize them. Spinrad is confident that many legislators won't support the cuts. 'Many of the actions put forward by [the White House's office of management and budget] are in direct contradiction to congressional intent,' he said. 'Zeroing out programs that Congress has worked hard to authorize over the years – that's a clarion call to specific members and sponsors.' There's also likely to be strong pushback from the public and from industries that rely on the tools and services made possible by the country's scientists. But the drastic degree of these cuts also shows the administration's position on climate science and its determination to hamper US research, experts say. That alone is enough to cause concern. 'This proposal will cost lives,' McLean said of the document if it is enacted. 'When a room full of doctors tell you that it's cancer, firing the doctors does not cure you.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Massachusetts county debuts jail program with focus on older adults
To step inside the Older Adult Re-Entry unit, or OAR, at the Middlesex County, Massachusetts, jail is unlike entering any jail in the United States. The walls are adorned in a soothing paint color, and there is fitness equipment, specially designed beds in cell units, better lighting so older inmates do not fall and a puzzle-making table to "stimulate the mind cognitively," according to Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian. OAR is designed for inmates who are over the age of 55 and need to get ready to reenter the public, but Koutoujian said older inmates have different needs than younger ones who get released into the community. "We designed this unit from the ground up with the unique needs of this population in mind, from treatment programs focused on specific needs of this population, cognitive behavioral treatment, social enrichment, education and occupational therapy," he said, adding that the Middlesex Sheriff's Office worked with researchers from Boston University to have the older inmate population's best interests in mind. MORE: Executives at private prison firm CoreCivic expect 'significant growth' due to Trump's policies Older inmates make up about 10% of the jail's population, and entry into the program is voluntary. OAR serves both those who are awaiting trial and those who are set to be released in the next few months or years. There are 20 inmates currently in the unit, which just launched in March. He said OAR helps stimulate inmates minds with different classes and activities to prepare for their reentry into society. "This is much more than just: This is how to get a job, this is how to get your driver's license back, this is how to do these basic things that we deal with everywhere in our facility," he explained. "This is about how to live your life so that you can live more happily, more safely and longer. [It] is much different than any other unit in the entire country for those very reasons." In working with researchers, Koutoujian found that older men need friendships to live healthy lives. "We've seen much more research recently showing especially men, as they age, become more socially isolated. It impacts them mentally and physically and affects their mortality," he said. "I'm trying to make sure that they are more aware of so that it's not just the fact that we're giving them this lesson, but what are the activities they can engage in?" he added. "They can build new relationships, new friendships, new support systems, healthier social networks. That is a critical part to this population's reentry." The sheriff said he believes the program, with the research and data OAR is collecting, can be replicated throughout the country. "What do the incarcerated individuals in the unit get out of it? They get a great deal out of it, and let's just say, what do the officers that are involved in this unit get out of it? They get a feeling of well-being, of partnership, of doing something good," he said. Massachusetts county debuts jail program with focus on older adults originally appeared on
