Best & Brightest Of Young Climate Scientists Reconsidering Where They Will Live, Work, Study

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Trump has talked about dissolving the EPA and has appointed a climate denier to run the transition at the agency. Congressional Republicans have also repeatedly sought to curtail the agency’s funding, making cuts more likely in the coming years. Beyond research positions, that could also hurt data networks that scientists need for their work, especially early career researchers who are building up a baseline of data to work with for the rest of their careers.

“I heavily rely on observations of atmospheric pollutants collected by the EPA's extensive network of air quality sensors,” Gaige Kerr, a PhD student at Johns Hopkins University, said. “Could Trump's budget cuts and appointees mean that the EPA will no longer have the resources to systematically monitor air quality for the purpose of ensuring that our air is clean and complies with the Clean Air Act? Maybe. I have a hard time hypothesizing what all of this could mean for my area of research.”

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ltimately, it’s Trump’s social policies that could have the most immediate impact on scientists (and society as a whole), particularly researchers who aren’t white or U.S. citizens. Trump and some of his senior advisors have espoused anti-Semitic, and anti-Muslim views or have made racist comments. In addition, anti-immigration policies were one of the pillars of Trump’s successful campaign. Those kinds of stances will have a chilling effect on attracting foreign students and scientists and could convince those already here to pack up shop and head home or to countries that are more tolerant.

Kaustubh Thirumalai, a paleoclimate postdoc at the University of Texas and Indian national, said that Trump’s stances and choices have him concerned about what the future holds, though he said “as a silver lining, since I am not ‘established,’ I feel I might have the flexibility to seek out academic careers outside the U.S.” For other researchers, the threat to their partners and family members is also a major concern. “My partner is a foreign national (French/Moroccan binational) and also an academic,” Scott said. “His funding comes from the Department of Defense, so they're not concerned about funding. Right now the U.S. doesn't feel like a place that our future family would be welcome, and in that sense, the election felt very personal. If Trump really were to follow through on a ban on or registration for all Muslims, we would be on the next train, boat, or plane out without looking back.”

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http://www.climatecentral.org/news/young-climate-researchers-donald-trump-20892