New hires in Department of Energy challenge climate science consensus
The Trump administration has quietly brought on three scientists who have long dismissed mainstream climate science, raising fears that federal climate policy may take a dangerous detour.
Maxine Joselow reports for The New York Times.
In short:
- Three well-known climate skeptics — Steven Koonin, John Christy, and Roy Spencer — have been hired at the U.S. Department of Energy after the Trump administration removed hundreds of government scientists.
- These hires could play a role in dismantling the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2009 endangerment finding, which underpins federal authority to regulate greenhouse gases.
- Critics warn the move could sideline proven science in favor of fringe views, even as climate disasters — from heat domes to deadly floods — intensify.
Key quote:
“What this says is that the administration has no respect for the actual science, which overwhelmingly points in the direction of a growing crisis as we continue to warm the planet through fossil-fuel burning, the consequences of which we’ve seen play out in recent weeks in the form of deadly heat domes and floods here in the U.S.,”
— Michael Mann, climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania
Why this matters:
The Energy Department's enlistment of scientists who downplay human-driven climate change threatens to stall or reverse public health protections tied to emissions and air quality. As the U.S. contends with extreme heat, floods, and climate-linked illness, decisions rooted in denial could carry deadly consequences.
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