Latest news with #RachelCleetus
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Science
- New York Times
Quote of the Day: U.S. Embraces Climate Denial In Science Cuts
'It's as if we're in the Dark Ages.' Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director with the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, on how the American government is weakening the country's capacity to understand global warming. Page A1.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration dismisses 400 authors of National Climate Assessment
The Trump administration has dismissed all 400 authors of the National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated snapshot of the ways climate change is affecting life in the U.S. The scientists and scholars who volunteer to co-author the report had already begun working on the 2028 assessment when the email landed in their inboxes Monday saying they had been 'released' while the report's scope was reevaluated. It echoes the wording in a bright yellow ribbon that now adorns the assessment's main web page stating that 'the operations and structure of the USGCRP are currently under review.' The report, published every four to five years since 2000, provides crucial information to policymakers, the U.S. military, emergency responders, farmers, private companies and the federal government. November 2023 was the latest report, the Fifth National Climate Assessment, and it detailed the impacts of extreme weather, wildfires and other climate-related events on everyday life. It also outlined potential solutions. Trump had already slashed funding earlier this month for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which oversees the report's production. NASA terminated its consulting contract with the company that supports and helps coordinate the 15 agencies that contribute to the assessment, and author training sessions were abruptly canceled, as USA Today reported. Scientists immediately raised the alarm after Monday's email. 'Today, the Trump administration senselessly took a hatchet to a crucial and comprehensive U.S. climate science report by dismissing its authors without cause or a plan,' said Dr. Rachel Cleetus, a senior policy director for the Union of Concerned Scientists' Climate and Energy Program and one of the dismissed authors, in a statement. 'Not having the NCA is like driving a car with a dirty windshield,' Chris Field, a professor of environmental studies at Stanford University, told The Washington Post. 'Like driving with a dirty windshield, it is hard to detect risks until they unfold as disasters.' _____
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration dismisses 400 authors of National Climate Assessment
The Trump administration has dismissed all 400 authors of the National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated snapshot of the ways climate change is affecting life in the U.S. The scientists and scholars who volunteer to co-author the report had already begun working on the 2028 assessment when the email landed in their inboxes Monday saying they had been 'released' while the report's scope was reevaluated. It echoes the wording in a bright yellow ribbon that now adorns the assessment's main web page stating that 'the operations and structure of the USGCRP are currently under review.' The report, published every four to five years since 2000, provides crucial information to policymakers, the U.S. military, emergency responders, farmers, private companies and the federal government. November 2023 was the latest report, the Fifth National Climate Assessment, and it detailed the impacts of extreme weather, wildfires and other climate-related events on everyday life. It also outlined potential solutions. Trump had already slashed funding earlier this month for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which oversees the report's production. NASA terminated its consulting contract with the company that supports and helps coordinate the 15 agencies that contribute to the assessment, and author training sessions were abruptly canceled, as USA Today reported. Scientists immediately raised the alarm after Monday's email. 'Today, the Trump administration senselessly took a hatchet to a crucial and comprehensive U.S. climate science report by dismissing its authors without cause or a plan,' said Dr. Rachel Cleetus, a senior policy director for the Union of Concerned Scientists' Climate and Energy Program and one of the dismissed authors, in a statement. 'Not having the NCA is like driving a car with a dirty windshield,' Chris Field, a professor of environmental studies at Stanford University, told The Washington Post. 'Like driving with a dirty windshield, it is hard to detect risks until they unfold as disasters.' _____
The Hill
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump dismisses scientists from National Climate Assessment
Scientists who were working on the assessment received an email Monday saying, 'we are now releasing all current assessment participants from their roles.' 'The scope of the [National Climate Assessment] is currently being reevaluated,' the email, shared with The Hill on Tuesday, said. 'As plans develop for the assessment, there may be future opportunities to contribute or engage.' A spokesperson for NASA, which supports the assessment, reiterated that the report's scope was being reevaluated, but did not comment further. A White House official provided a similar statement and also did not provide further comment. The move comes as the Trump administration has repeatedly downplayed the impacts of climate change and gone after programs related to the issue. Rachel Cleetus, one of the experts who was working on the National Climate Assessment, told The Hill that more than 400 people had been working as volunteers on the national assessment until they received the email Monday. She noted that the report, which is mandated by Congress under the Global Change Research Act of 1990, provides a U.S.-specific assessment that can help communities prepare for climate change. 'The reason this report is so important is because it's particularly tailored to what we as a nation and the United States need, and so it is providing information about climate impacts at a local and regional level, so that it's actionable for people,' Cleetus said.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration dismisses scientists working on National Climate Assessment
The Trump administration has dismissed all of the scientists working on the sixth National Climate Assessment — a major congressionally-mandated climate report that details the way the changing climate impacts the U.S. Scientists who were working on the assessment received an email on Monday saying, 'we are now releasing all current assessment participants from their roles.' 'The scope of the [National Climate Assessment] is currently being reevaluated,' the email, shared with The Hill on Tuesday, said. 'As plans develop for the assessment, there may be future opportunities to contribute or engage.' A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. A spokesperson for NASA, which supports the assessment, reiterated that the report's scope was being reevaluated, but did not comment further. The move comes as the Trump administration has repeatedly downplayed the impacts of climate change and has gone after programs related to the issue. President Trump, while on the campaign trail, quipped that climate change, which threatens to increase flooding ten-fold over the next 30 years, would create 'more oceanfront property.' Meanwhile, an internal budget document indicated that the administration hopes to eliminate the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research office, which conducts climate and other research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Rachel Cleetus, one of the scientists who was working on the National Climate Assessment, told The Hill that more than 400 people had been working as volunteers on the national assessment until they received the email on Monday. She noted that the report, which is mandated by Congress under the Global Change Research Act of 1990, provides a U.S.-specific assessment that can help communities prepare for climate change. 'The reason this report is so important is because it's particularly tailored to what we as a nation and the United States need, and so it is providing information about climate impacts at a local and regional level, so that it's actionable for people,' the climate expert said. She added that without the report, communities that don't have many resources 'will need more help to help translate that science into something that's actionable at the local level, and that is a huge lost opportunity.' 'Lives will be lost. There will be harm caused by removing access to this federally funded, comprehensive scientific report,' said Cleetus, who is also senior policy director for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. The dismissal of the scientists, however, was not necessarily a surprise. It comes after the administration canceled contracts that funded work on the assessment and reportedly fired staff that worked on it. The moves represent an escalation, even compared to Trump's first term. In 2018, the Trump administration published the Fourth National Climate Assessment, releasing it the day after Thanksgiving. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
