The Trump administration has announced plans to dismantle a leading US climate science facility, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, branding its work as 'alarmism'. The move has sparked fierce criticism from scientists and local officials who warn it endangers vital weather research and public safety.
A 'Crown Jewel' of Science Targeted
Russell Vought, the director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, stated that NCAR would be broken up under the supervision of the National Science Foundation. In a social media post on 13 July 2016, he labelled the centre 'one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country'. He claimed a review was underway and any essential activities, such as weather research, would be relocated.
This action aligns with President Donald Trump's repeated dismissal of climate change as a 'hoax' and his administration's vow to eliminate what it calls 'green new scam research activities'. The White House has criticised NCAR for pursuing a 'woke direction', specifically naming projects like the Rising Voices Center for Indigenous and Earth Sciences and research into wind turbines.
Fierce Condemnation from Experts and Officials
The decision was met with immediate backlash. Roger Pielke Jr., a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told USA Today that NCAR is 'a crown jewel of the US scientific enterprise' and should be improved, not closed. He warned that 'petty and vindictive decisions' based on climate politics would undermine US leadership in atmospheric sciences.
Colorado's Governor, Jared Polis, issued a stark warning, stating the move puts 'public safety at risk'. 'Climate change is real, but the work of NCAR goes far beyond climate science,' Polis said. He emphasised that the centre's data on severe weather like fires and floods is crucial for saving lives and property.
What is at Stake: Facilities and Funding
The NCAR facility, which employs roughly 830 staff, includes the iconic Mesa Laboratory in Boulder marked for closure. Its operations also extend to:
- Two specialised aircraft for atmospheric research.
- Management of a government-owned supercomputing facility in Wyoming.
This dismantling is part of a broader pattern of climate-sceptic policy. The administration has already proposed a 30% cut to the funding of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), slashing budgets for climate, weather, and ocean laboratories that improve forecasting.
The plan to break up NCAR represents a significant escalation in the administration's efforts to roll back climate science, prioritising political rhetoric over peer-reviewed research and, according to its critics, the safety of the American public.
