Trump had stated before that he is skeptical of climate change, but as he gained the title of President from Obama, one had hoped that even if he did nothing to help environmental conditions, at least he wouldn't make matters worse. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Trump has only been in office for about a week, but he is already making many detrimental and controversial changes. One of his latest changes was instructing agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture to cease communication with the public or press. The EPA is responsible for passing and upholding regulations on issues such as clean air and water, and the carbon emissions responsible for global warming. Particularly at the EPA, employees are not allowed to release any new information to reporters or on social media, and their grants and budgets have been frozen. Regulating environmental pollution is extremely important for the future of the planet, especially since there has already been so much damage done to our poor planet. Trump and many of his supporters seem to be brushing off science, but science is so important because it helps explain everything, so the fear of censorship among scientists is strong and only growing.
Through the social media platform Twitter, Bill Nye the Science Guy has expressed his concerns over the new environmental changes that Trump has begun. He makes a valid point that Earth is the only planet we have to live in so that we should take better care of it. By silencing and cutting the budget of agencies like the EPA, it allows Trump to control and twist what is being said about the environment. Barely any people seem to care about the environment as it is, and the new changes are raising concerns that federal employees will be able to convey only information that supports the new president’s agenda, leaving out any data that Trump may feel is irrelevant, such as about global warming, which he believes is a hoax.
Scientists are fearing that these censorship policies will prevent them from informing the public about Earth’s current climate. With the EPA's grant programs being frozen, it means that funding for further research will not be approved and there will not be further air quality monitoring or education. Nobody is safe as workers cannot disclose information; therefore, any verified science affiliated social media account is certainly at risk of being censored under Trump’s presidency. Tweets like the one shown below from a national park are at risk, but even more than social media, researchers have also been ordered to stop publishing news releases.
Only a few days after the censoring began, seven brave Greenpeace activists scaled a 270-foot crane to drop down a massive banner behind the white house that read: Resist. Greenpeace has long used nonviolent tactics to get their message across and deal with environmental bullies, and their last tactic is nothing short of an incredible inspiring feat. It reads loud and clear as a message of resistance--urging people to fight back for human rights, animal rights, climate change, and overall for a better world.
