By AFP - Agence France Presse
Scientists say Trump's cuts threaten climate research and public safety
Issam AHMED
Climate scientist Tom Di Liberto had dreamed of working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) since college. After more than a decade as a contractor, he finally landed a full-time position almost two years ago.
Last week, he was one of hundreds of people abruptly fired in a wide-ranging government purge that critics say will delay hurricane forecasts, undermine climate research, and harm vital fisheries.
Even more employees have accepted the deferred severance “buyout” offered by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, and even deeper cuts are expected soon.
“This is the dream job - everything I want to do in my life,” Di Liberto told AFP.
The 40-year-old father of two, who worked on the El Nino-La Nina cycle, was just days away from his second anniversary - a milestone that would have protected him from the first round of probationary employee cuts.
“We knew it was going to happen,” he said. “But it's never nice to get such a dry, cold, insensitive email saying that you were fired because your skills weren't needed.”
One NOAA engineer, who requested anonymity for fear of losing her job, said the cuts were already taking their toll. Half of her satellite forecasting team was laid off because they were on probation, which means that malfunctioning satellites won't be restored as quickly.
“People won't be evacuated in time in the event of natural disasters,” she said. “They could lose property or their lives.”
- Project 2025
Around 700 NOAA employees - out of a workforce of 12,000 - have been laid off, although the agency has not confirmed a final figure. According to The New York Times, the total, including the layoffs, could soon reach 20% of the staff.
The Trump administration appears to be following Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint that calls NOAA one of the “key drivers of the climate change alarm industry” and proposes its dismemberment.
It also seeks to privatize the National Weather Service (NWS), forcing Americans to rely on commercial services.
“Significant elements of Project 2025 have already been implemented, even though Donald Trump has denied any knowledge of it,” Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland told AFP, promising continued protests and legal action.
“This is being carried out in a completely lawless and irresponsible manner.”
Some of those fired held leadership positions, including Sarah Cooley, 47, who was director of NOAA's Ocean Acidification Program. A longtime academic and nonprofit leader, she said climate science stagnated during Trump's previous term, though states and nonprofits worked to fill the gap.
“But at the end of the day, the loss of the work at the federal level could have a very broad effect,” she told AFP.
While states and philanthropic organizations can fund research, they don't fly hurricane planes or maintain oceanographic expeditions - at least not on the level of NOAA, she added.
- Main climate agency
NOAA scientists play a crucial role in marine conservation and fisheries management, collecting data on fish stocks and monitoring changes in the ecosystem to set catch limits and other policies.
“If they're not there to do their important work, these fisheries may not go ahead, they may not open during the year,” Gib Brogan, a fisheries expert at the non-profit organization Oceana, told AFP.
He warned that the economic consequences for coastal communities could be serious.
However it was NOAA's role as the cornerstone of global climate monitoring that made it the prime target.
“NOAA currently plays an important role as a clearinghouse for global climate data,” Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at The Breakthrough Institute, told AFP.
He said its datasets inform major climate groups, warning that severe cuts would amount to “willfully blinding us to avoid the uncomfortable truth about the rapid changes the world is experiencing.”
With uncertainty looming, researchers worldwide are scrambling to preserve NOAA's data.
“I am aware of several research groups that have pre-emptively downloaded the current version of their NOAA datasets of interest to mitigate some of the risks,” Leonard Borchert, a climate statistician at the University of Hamburg, told AFP.
ia/bbk
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