Trump officials signal potential changes at NOAA, the weather and climate agency

Federal workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are on high alert as they monitor signs of a potential #Trump administration overhaul of one of the government's main scientific agencies.

Many employees are bracing for potential staff cuts, as well as slashes to the funding that supports science within the agency and by many research partners across the country.

In particular, #NOAA staffers are concerned about how President Trump's executive orders, including one targeting climate change programs, could affect the agency's research and operations. Agency officials have received a list, which NPR has viewed, of terms that could run afoul of the orders in the grants and programs they manage; the list includes terms like "#ClimateChange," "#pollution" and "natural resources," as well as many terms associated with #diversity, #equity and #inclusion. NPR obtained the list from an official at NOAA who agreed to talk on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

"In a world where catastrophic climate change impacts and #ExtremeWeather events are becoming more frequent and intense, I can think of nothing worse than turning this scientific powerhouse into a skeletal operation," Juan Declet-Barreto, senior social scientist for climate vulnerability at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement. "If President Trump moves forward with demolishing NOAA, he will jeopardize most people's access to life-saving information, while only the rich might be able to afford private data sources."

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/trump-officials-signal-potential-changes-at-noaa-the-weather-and-climate-agency

#ScienceCrisis