The War on Science

This is national policy news rather than something that changes what you can do to your own house today, but it touches the bigger picture around climate and science funding. On April 24, the entire 22-member National Science Board was fired. This board had overseen how the National Science Foundation directs research funding and priorities nationwide, and it was in the middle of finishing a report on the state of U.S. science when the firings happened. With the board gone, it becomes easier to change or cut NSF funding and goals going forward.

The same week, environmental ministers from the G7 nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the U.S.) met in Paris for a summit on sustainable development, energy, and the environment. Climate change was deliberately left off the agenda, reportedly to avoid a conflict between the U.S. and the other nations and to present a united front.

There was one piece of good news for environmental protection: a bill called the ESA Amendments Act, which would have weakened the Endangered Species Act by making it easier to remove species from protection and reduce habitat protections, was pulled from consideration in the House on Earth Day, April 22.

None of this changes any specific rebate, program, or upgrade available to homeowners right now, but it reflects shifts in federal science and climate policy worth keeping an eye on as they may shape future funding and regulations.