Energy

Under Trump, Gov’t Tries ‘Not To Be Explicit About Climate Change’

(REUTERS/Mike Segar)

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Andrew Follett Energy and Science Reporter
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Government agencies and non-profits taking taxpayer cash are de-emphasizing global warming programs to avoid President Donald Trump’s ire.

The names of offices and programs have been changed in order to avoid funding cuts, The Washington Post reports, citing numerous anonymous officials in the government and in taxpayer-backed non-profits. Such efforts include changing the phrase “climate change” to “resilience” and “clean energy investment” to “energy” investment on websites.

“We’re trying not to be explicit about climate change anymore,” a federal scientist told WaPo on the condition of anonymity. “We’re being encouraged to look at things holistically.”

Federal workers are trying to insulate their daily jobs from change or outright elimination. Agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Forest Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Agriculture have all taken similar measures, according to WaPo.

“I do think it exemplifies a general sense of looking at our programs, looking at the way we characterize our activities, and trying to rebrand or repaint them in ways that hopefully make them less of a target,” said an anonymous DOE employee. “It’s our own career staff, they’re in their ‘Keep their head down, maybe they won’t cut our budget’ mode.”

The EPA’s “Climate Ready Water Utilities” site was renamed “Creating Resilient Water Utilities” before Trump was even inaugurated, suggesting Trump appointees probably weren’t involved in the change.

“The work is the same, but it’s a question of talking a little bit more about one thing versus another,” an anonymous official told WaPo.

Federal employees at environmentalist agencies such as the EPA are calling their senators to complain about Trump or even coming to work in tears.

An anonymous EPA communications career employee told Pro-Publica that “more than a few friends were ‘coming to work in tears’ each morning as they grappled with balancing the practical need to keep their jobs with their concerns for the issues they work on.”

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