Environment & Energy

workinclasszero

(28,270 posts) Wed Nov 23, 2016, 11:54 AM Nov 2016

Trump to scrap Nasa climate research in crackdown on 'politicized science'

Trump to scrap Nasa climate research in crackdown on ‘politicized science’
Nasa’s Earth science division is set to be stripped of funding as the president-elect seeks to shift focus away from home in favor of deep space exploration
Oliver Milman in New York Wednesday 23 November 2016 00.00 EST

Donald Trump is poised to eliminate all climate change research conducted by Nasa as part of a crackdown on “politicized science”, his senior adviser on issues relating to the space agency has said.

Nasa’s Earth science division is set to be stripped of funding in favor of exploration of deep space, with the president-elect having set a goal during the campaign to explore the entire solar system by the end of the century.

This would mean the elimination of Nasa’s world-renowned research into temperature, ice, clouds and other climate phenomena. Nasa’s network of satellites provide a wealth of information on climate change, with the Earth science division’s budget set to grow to $2bn next year. By comparison, space exploration has been scaled back somewhat, with a proposed budget of $2.8bn in 2017.

Bob Walker, a senior Trump campaign adviser, said there was no need for Nasa to do what he has previously described as “politically correct environmental monitoring”.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/22/nasa-earth-donald-trump-eliminate-climate-change-research

8 replies

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Trump to scrap Nasa climate research in crackdown on 'politicized science' (Original Post) workinclasszero Nov 2016 OP

Science? We don't need no stinking science. SHRED Nov 2016 #1

The Flat Earthers are in control workinclasszero Nov 2016 #2

This reeks of Koch brothers. The_Casual_Observer Nov 2016 #3

I hope it is possible to continue to collect data lapfog_1 Nov 2016 #4

This funny mole that's growing on my arm? Nah, it's nothing. hunter Nov 2016 #5

This is beyond scary... tinrobot Nov 2016 #6

Yes it is workinclasszero Nov 2016 #7

But, sadly, not surprising OKIsItJustMe Nov 2016 #8

SHRED

(28,136 posts)

1. Science? We don't need no stinking science.

Reply to workinclasszero (Original post)

Wed Nov 23, 2016, 11:56 AM

Nov 2016

workinclasszero

(28,270 posts)

2. The Flat Earthers are in control

Reply to SHRED (Reply #1)

Wed Nov 23, 2016, 12:01 PM

Nov 2016

Be afraid.

The_Casual_Observer

(27,742 posts)

3. This reeks of Koch brothers.

Reply to workinclasszero (Original post)

Wed Nov 23, 2016, 12:21 PM

Nov 2016

That research has nothing to do with politics. This is textbook republican "the world exists to make me profits" thinking.
What a mess.

lapfog_1

(29,205 posts)

4. I hope it is possible to continue to collect data

Reply to workinclasszero (Original post)

Wed Nov 23, 2016, 01:04 PM

Nov 2016

even if we do nothing with it.

Perhaps Elon Musk and others could offer to collect and store the remote data and fund some replacement measurement studies (science teams that measure the thickness of the ice, etc).

The remote sensing satellites are still up there, we just need to collect the data and store it and make it available to scientists around the world (China, EU).

I have some experience with this... I would volunteer my time to guide the effort.

hunter

(38,317 posts)

5. This funny mole that's growing on my arm? Nah, it's nothing.

Reply to workinclasszero (Original post)

Wed Nov 23, 2016, 01:06 PM

Nov 2016

If a doctor doesn't see it, it can't be cancerous, right?

And maybe we could stop hurricanes and other storms if we simply got rid of weather satellites.

To the willfully ignorant, it's all "Acts of God" or some kind of mumble-mumble highs-and-burger quantum observation effect.

Unfortunately I can see the Republican grifters transferring all this technology to some dark agency, hoping to give fascist U.S.A. an edge against their enemies.

tinrobot

(10,903 posts)

6. This is beyond scary...

Reply to workinclasszero (Original post)

Wed Nov 23, 2016, 04:30 PM

Nov 2016

...it is suicidal.

workinclasszero

(28,270 posts)

7. Yes it is

Reply to tinrobot (Reply #6)

Wed Nov 23, 2016, 04:37 PM

Nov 2016

OKIsItJustMe

(19,938 posts)

8. But, sadly, not surprising

Reply to tinrobot (Reply #6)

Wed Nov 23, 2016, 04:40 PM

Nov 2016

The Republicans in Congress have been making noise about this for some time now.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/republicans-nasa-wastes-money-on-climate-change-research/452505/

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Republicans: NASA Wastes Money on Climate-Change Research[/font]

[font size=4]Lawmakers want to cut Earth-monitoring program in favor of space travel.[/font]

May 7, 2015

[font size=3]NASA controls more than a dozen satellites and spacecraft, monitoring everything from melting ice to water storage to rain and snow. To the agency's scientists and supporters, these programs are essential to understanding the planet and the changing climate, and part of its core mission.

But to congressional Republicans, they are just another example of an administration wasting money on climate-change research, zapping funds away from what NASA should be doing: blasting into and exploring space.

House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, last week moved a two-year NASA bill through his committee that would shift money away from the Earth Science program to spend on planetary exploration. "There are 13 other agencies involved in climate-change research, but only one that is responsible for space exploration," Smith said at a recent hearing.

Sen. Ted Cruz, another Texan, who oversees the Commerce subcommittee in charge of NASA, has likewise said it's time for NASA to refocus on space exploration. At a hearing earlier this year, Cruz said that the "core function of NASA is to explore space" and "NASA in the current environment has lost its full focus on that core mission."

…[/font][/font]

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