Trump Rolls Back Obama-era Environmental Rules

 

Penn State research experts were quoted in stories written about an executive order President Donald Trump signed Tuesday, March 28, 2017, on energy and climate. Here are a few news clips:

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Michael Mann

Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center and a distinguished professor of metrology, was quoted in stories for Forbes Magazine, Voice of America and LiveScience about the order. Here’s an excerpt from the Forbes Magazine piece:

“On Monday, new research came out of Penn State that supports the notion that extreme weather events like floods, drought, heat waves and wildfires are happening more often and that there is a link between the increase and rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

” ‘We are now able to connect the dots when it comes to human-caused global warming and an array of extreme recent weather events,’ said Michael Mann, a respected atmospheric scientist and and director of the university’s Earth System Science Center.

“Those heavy rains that stressed dams in California and threatened downstream communities, as well as the drought that the rains erased could be just the beginning of a prolonged extreme weather roller coaster ride if Mann’s research holds true and the new Trump trajectory produces its desired results.

“Essentially, the executive order is the administration’s first step in halting all federal action to address climate change, including President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, while at the same time easing restrictions on the extraction of fossil fuels — namely coal, gas and oil.”

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David Titley

David W. Titley, director of the Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk, professor of practice in the department of meteorology, and professor in the School of International Affairs, was quoted in an article that appeared on The Conversation and the San Francisco Gate. Here’s an excerpt:

“Pennsylvania State University meteorology professor and retired Rear Admiral David Titley agrees with Mattis. ‘Here is how military planners see this issue: We know that the climate is changing, we know why it’s changing and we understand that change will have large impacts on our national security. Yet as a nation we still only begrudgingly take precautions,’ Titley writes.”

Climate and energy experts speak out on Trump’s views

The record-hot months of 2016 compared to the past 137 years. Credit: ClimateCentral.org

The record-hot months of 2016 compared to the past 137 years. Credit: ClimateCentral.org

David Titley, a professor of meteorology and director of the Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk, and Michael Mann, a distinguished professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center, were quoted in a recent Scientific American article about President-elect Donald Trump’s potential impact on future climate and energy research. Here’s an excerpt:

Michael Mann, paleoclimate researcher at Penn State: A Trump presidency might be game over for the climate. In other words, it might make it impossible to stabilize planetary warming below dangerous (i.e. greater than 2°C) levels. If Trump makes good on his campaign promises and pulls out of the Paris Treaty, it is difficult to see a path forward to keeping warming below dangerous levels.

“It is time for introspection and contemplation. I’m still in the process of letting this sink in. …

David Titley, climate and weather risk researcher at Penn State: Many black swans have taken flight this year. One thing science teaches you is that systems frequently revert to the mean. So, as dark as everything looks at this moment for fixing our climate, we need to have hope that we won’t realize the worst case. If there is a silver lining it’s that Trump does not seem bound by whatever he has said previously. So perhaps he will see the wisdom or at least self-interest, in investing in non-carbon, U.S.-produced, energy.

“The climate community has a huge challenge ahead, to frame this issue in a way that will resonate with the likely president-elect. It may not be possible but it would be negligent to not even try.”

Read more at ScientificAmerican.com.

 

Other related articles quoting Penn State researchers today include:
— Under President Trump, what will happen to climate policy? – BuzzFeed.com
— Donald Trumps’s climate policies could mean ‘game over’ for the planet: scientists – NYDailyNews.com

Election 2016: What’s ahead for scientific research?

Image credit: Penn State Harrisburg

Image credit: Penn State Harrisburg

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The president of the United States can have a profound impact on funding for scientific research. Susannah Gal, associate dean for research and outreach at Penn State Harrisburg, knows this from her years as program officer for the National Science Foundation, where she walked past a portrait of the president every day.

Susannah Gal

Susannah Gal

Her role there included evaluating the merit of requested grants with the help of panels of scientific experts. Other federal scientific bodies, such as the National Institutes for Health, are also charged with evaluating hundreds or thousands of grant requests, many from academic institutions. While the president and Congress might not weigh in on individual grant requests, they can dramatically affect the priorities for handing out money.

“Presidents have power over the direction of scientific research on a very large scale,” Gal said, “which is an important factor for voters to consider when making their choices for elected officials.” Scientific pursuits that could be deeply affected by this year’s presidential choice include research into climate change, clean energy, biodiversity, the environment, mental health, opioid addiction, nuclear power, and space, she said.

Gal has examined past presidential initiatives that have translated into scientific priorities. Many illustrate the impact that a president has on the direction of research.

In 2001, the president imposed a ban on publicly funded stem cell research over the concerns of pro-life activists. In 2009, the current administration reinstated federally funded stem cell research. “This complete reversal of direction, based on the values of the president, is one of the more dramatic examples of the extent to which a change in administration can have a profound effect on science research,” Gal said.

Administrative emphasis on defense strategies have also weighed heavily on scientific research support, Gal said. In 1940, prewar concerns spurred President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to create the National Defense Research Committee. More than 40 years later, President Ronald Reagan launched his Strategic Defensive Initiative, dubbed “Star Wars,” to develop an anti-ballistic missile defense system. According to the Fiscal Times, more than $100 billion has been spent on this and related research to achieve the goal described by Reagan as “eliminating the threat posed by strategic nuclear missiles.”

More recently, the Obama administration announced the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) collaborative, a public-private research initiative, to better understand brain functions. This effort reflects the increased interest by the administration in dealing with such public health crises as Alzheimer’s disease and autism.

“It is not completely clear how each of our current presidential candidates might affect the research agenda,” Gal said, noting that several organizations are attempting to better gauge where the candidates stand on science-related issues.

Scientific American recently showcased the answers of the four presidential candidates to 20 questions devised by a group of scientific institutions representing more than ten million scientists and engineers. The questions were facilitated by the nonprofit ScienceDebate.org and covered such topics as innovation, research, climate change, biodiversity, space exploration, energy, and public health. The findings are here.

One of the questions involved the importance of literacy in the STEM disciplines — science, technology, engineering and math. “This is exceedingly important for our schools and for higher education institutions like Penn State Harrisburg because we provide the pipeline for qualified engineers, scientists, teachers and others,” Gal said. “A focus on STEM also helps to maintain the broader conversation and understanding of the role of science in our lives.

“History has clearly shown that political issues and the priorities of each presidential administration affect the direction of scientific research and the resources to support it,” Gal said. “I think voters should consider this information during their deliberations prior to Nov. 8.”

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