Union of Concerned Scientists

WASHINGTON, February 12, 2018—President Donald Trump released his administration’s outline for an infrastructure package today. Trump’s plan raises serious concerns because it would suppress environmental reviews of new infrastructure projects, and it neglects to make sufficient investments in projects that hasten the country’s transition to clean energy and make communities more resilient to climate change, […]

January 22, 2018 – Unease. Frustration. Indignation. Experts serving as members of federal advisory committees are being frozen out of the very avenues that were designed to encourage external input on scientific issues to the federal government. A new Center for Science and Democracy report released today, Abandoning Science Advice: One Year In, the Trump […]

January 9, 2018 – Yesterday NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center released its yearly report on “billion-dollar weather and climate disasters” that affected the US in 2017. Not surprisingly, the numbers were staggering. The costs of 2017 disasters, at $306.2 billion dollars cumulatively, set a new US record that blew past previous totals. These events also resulted in […]

WASHINGTON, October 2, 2017 – Today, Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech touting the Trump administration’s efforts to delay, undermine and cut science-based safeguards. Unfortunately, the administration has ignored science and the public interest in its rush to deregulate, leaving Americans, especially low-income communities and communities of color who often face the greatest threats, […]

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2017—US Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry says he does not believe carbon dioxide emissions from human activity are the primary driver of climate change, dismissing science completed by his own agency and others within the federal government. Below is a statement by Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned […]

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2017—On the eve of the much-anticipated climate march in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration removed the Environmental Protection Agency’s primary climate change web page, and replaced it with a notice that indicates the page is being updated. A press release from EPA issued late Friday evening said the pages were being reviewed […]

March 28, 2017 – Rachel Cleetus is Lead Economist and Climate Policy Manager Today President Trump launches an all-out attack on our country’s policies to address climate change, via an Executive Order expected to be signed this afternoon. We’ve known for some time that something like this was in the works. Yet that doesn’t take […]

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2017—President Trump released his proposed “skinny budget” today. Below is a statement by Ken Kimmell, president of UCS. Kimmell is also the former commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative board chair. President Trump’s budget doubles down on antiquated ideas and misguided science, which will hurt our […]

OAKLAND, Calif. Feb. 13, 2017—Flooding risks around Northern California’s Lake Oroville reservoir that forced mass evacuations of people living below the nation’s tallest dam in recent days are demonstrating that future infrastructure projects must be capable of withstanding similar catastrophic events, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Below is a statement by Adrienne Alvord: […]

WASHINGTON, February 1, 2017—The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has advanced Scott Pruitt’s nomination to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, putting the question of his confirmation before the full Senate. His confirmation would be a threat to public health and senators must vote no, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).  Below is […]

Nov. 28, 2016 – Brenda Ekwurzel is Senior Climate Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists Word has it that the NASA Earth Science program is on the chopping block. Bad decision! The NASA Earth Science program provides information about the Earth that plays a vital role in our scientific advancement, our national security, and […]