Trump to scrap NASA climate research in crackdown on ‘politicized science’

‘….the elimination of Earth sciences would be “a major setback if not devastating’ – Kevin Trenbarth

Donald Trump - he intends to
 strip NASA of its climate
change funding in a crackdown
on 'politicized science'.

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”.

Read Oliver Milman’s story on The Guardian - “Trump to scrap NASA climate research in crackdown on ‘politicized science’.”