Trump Administration Intensifies Attacks On Climate Science Changing Government Reports To Downplay Threat

President Donald Trump has begun a widespread governmental attack on the science behind global warming and climate change, attempting to not only halt environmental protections but delegitimize the legitimate science behind such policies. The Trump Administration has instructed various officials across several different agencies to alter their methodology and tactics in order to prevent the spread of important information about the effects of climate change.

Trump has long denied the effects of climate change, often regarding it as something to make fun of instead of something to be worried about.

He has taken the United States in a direction that represents his views, pulling it out of the Paris climate accords, deregulating industries such as energy and oil, and appointing various anti-environment individuals to prominent positions in agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency. The President is also friends with many important figures, such as Carl Icahn, who have made their fortunes in products such as oil. These friends have had a significant impact on Trump, persuading him to remove environmental regulations that harmed the industries of these powerful friends.

Trump’s new approach to climate change is different, however, in that he is no longer just denying the facts himself, he is actively trying to change the minds of the public by ensuring that the government puts out skewed and misleading information about global warming. For example, the United States Geological Survey, which puts out regular reports on the effects of climate change, will only use computational models that go up to the year 2040, while scientists predict that the major effects of climate change will be felt around 2050. The National Climate Assessment, a government report created by an interagency task force, will no longer include worst-case scenario predictions, preventing the public from grasping the scope of how dangerous climate change can be. Additionally, Trump has created a new climate review panel headed by William Happer, a scientist who has previously supported carbon dioxide and has been quoted as saying that “The demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler.”

Article by Daniel Knopf