Red
Well-Known Member
Anti-Science is a given with Trump 2.0….Anti-science to the hilt. MAGA celebrates human ignorance. Trump, and so many Americans who support the man, exhibit the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
Staff members at a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been told this week to stop all contact with foreign nationals, including on international treaties and seafood catch limits, stoking confusion and fear among government scientists as the Trump administration begins to shape its vision for their work.
The orders came from leaders of the National Marine Fisheries Service in all-staff meetings this week, according to multiple staff members, who spoke with The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from the new administration. And the change has put some agency work — including efforts to set annual quotas on seafood harvests — on hold for the foreseeable future.
At other branches of NOAA, international contact is facing heavy scrutiny, staff members said, raising questions about how easily they could carry out everyday efforts to monitor weather and atmospheric conditions — such as working with other countries to track tsunami risks across the Pacific Ocean, key to ensuring safety along the West Coast. NOAA produces government weather forecasts, conducts long-term climate monitoring and research, and manages the nation’s fisheries and marine mammals.
At NOAA Research, an office focused on foundational earth science, an email sent to staff Wednesday and reviewed by The Post said they would now need to submit any “international engagement” for approval, including travel, face-to-face meetings or gatherings of international organizations. As for whether that includes emails with colleagues of different nationalities, the guidance said: “Not at this time.”
Some details about the new orders to NOAA staff were first reported by WIRED on Wednesday, including that the ban on foreign communication also applied to an agency branch that oversees satellite-collected environmental data.
The turmoil has created an atmosphere of fear and confusion across the agency of 13,000 employees. At all-hands meetings convened in NOAA offices across the country this week, staffers raised questions about whether the integrity of NOAA science is at risk.
There have been few clear answers.
Staff members at a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been told this week to stop all contact with foreign nationals, including on international treaties and seafood catch limits, stoking confusion and fear among government scientists as the Trump administration begins to shape its vision for their work.
The orders came from leaders of the National Marine Fisheries Service in all-staff meetings this week, according to multiple staff members, who spoke with The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from the new administration. And the change has put some agency work — including efforts to set annual quotas on seafood harvests — on hold for the foreseeable future.
At other branches of NOAA, international contact is facing heavy scrutiny, staff members said, raising questions about how easily they could carry out everyday efforts to monitor weather and atmospheric conditions — such as working with other countries to track tsunami risks across the Pacific Ocean, key to ensuring safety along the West Coast. NOAA produces government weather forecasts, conducts long-term climate monitoring and research, and manages the nation’s fisheries and marine mammals.
At NOAA Research, an office focused on foundational earth science, an email sent to staff Wednesday and reviewed by The Post said they would now need to submit any “international engagement” for approval, including travel, face-to-face meetings or gatherings of international organizations. As for whether that includes emails with colleagues of different nationalities, the guidance said: “Not at this time.”
Some details about the new orders to NOAA staff were first reported by WIRED on Wednesday, including that the ban on foreign communication also applied to an agency branch that oversees satellite-collected environmental data.
The turmoil has created an atmosphere of fear and confusion across the agency of 13,000 employees. At all-hands meetings convened in NOAA offices across the country this week, staffers raised questions about whether the integrity of NOAA science is at risk.
There have been few clear answers.
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