3 Ways Scientists Can Help Hold Major Polluters Accountable Under the Trump Administration

A new study adds to evidence tying specific fossil fuel companies to real-world harm. Researchers found that nearly half of the climate-driven changes to snowpack, streamflow, and irrigation water in the western US between 2014 and 2024 can be traced to emissions from 122 of the largest fossil fuel producers and cement makers, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, and Shell. This comes as the West faces mounting strain: an extreme heatwave this past March melted snowpack early across the region, three of five major river basins recorded their lowest snowpack ever measured on April 1, and Lake Mead, which supplies water to more than 25 million people, hit a new record low.

This kind of research, called source attribution science, is being used to support lawsuits and legislation aimed at holding major polluters accountable, alongside historical evidence that fossil fuel companies knew about climate risks from their own internal research decades ago. At the same time, scientists and their findings have faced growing political pressure, including efforts to discredit climate research and limit what information reaches courts.

For homeowners, this isn't a program or rebate update, but it does explain part of the backdrop behind worsening drought and water pressures in western states. Separately, fossil fuel companies are pushing state and federal legislation, including a bill from Rep. Harriet Hageman and Sen. Ted Cruz, that would grant them immunity from these kinds of climate lawsuits. Utah, Tennessee, and Oklahoma have already passed similar state-level liability protections.