The Trump administration is rewriting policies and reducing funding for multiple agencies that handle climate change, including NOAA, EPA and FEMA. We asked NPR reporters Lauren Sommer and Alejandra Borunda what that the implications of that are — and who the changes will affect.Want to hear more ways research is being impacted by the new administration? Email us at [email protected] to let us know — and we may cover your idea in a future episode!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What changes has the Trump administration made regarding climate change?
Every day under the Trump administration, we will continue to lower costs for American families, create jobs for American workers. And very importantly, unlock unlimited amounts of affordable American energy, including beautiful, clean coal.
He has slashed the budgets and shifted the directives of key government agencies, especially when it comes to funding research, regulating pollution, and responding to climate-related disasters. And again, Trump says this is all in service of everyday Americans. But what will be the impact of Trump's actions on those everyday Americans in the future?
Chapter 2: How will deregulation affect American energy costs?
For answers, we brought in NPR climate reporters Alejandra Barunda and Lauren Sommer. What do you both think?
Yeah, so if you're someone who lives in a coastal community that's prone to hurricanes, or honestly, if you just want to check the weather forecast, then the changes at NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, could affect you.
Or maybe you're in one of the thousands of communities that are trying to prepare for disasters, you know, like hurricanes or wildfires, and you apply for federal funding, that's completely changing too.
So today we're going to recap these budget cuts and policy changes, focusing on three government agencies that deal with climate and the environment. The EPA, NOAA and FEMA, with an eye towards their real world impacts on the Americans that President Trump says he wants to support. I'm Emily Kwong and you're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.
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Chapter 3: What impact will budget cuts have on NOAA and climate research?
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All right, Alejandra, we're going to start with the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency. Now, historically, this agency has done a lot. It's been focused on protecting the environment and public health. It has cleaned up hazardous waste, banned certain pesticides, curbed air and water pollution, and It does seem, though, like those types of actions are no longer the primary goal.
Yeah, well, so the EPA announced recently that it actually wants to do two things at once now. Protect health, yes, and also, quote unquote, revitalize the American economy. Its new administrator is named Lee Zeldin, and he rolled out a vision that's really focused on deregulation, which is in line with the Trump administration's goals more broadly.
Yeah, deregulation, it often looks like loosening federal restrictions so businesses can operate more freely.
Yeah, exactly. And Zeldin has said explicitly that the agency's goal now is to help fulfill Trump's efforts to, quote unquote, unleash American energy. And he says loosening regulations will ease the burden on businesses, which will eventually make it cheaper for Americans to do things like buy new cars or heat their homes.
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Chapter 4: What is the EPA's new focus under the Trump administration?
Yeah, but critics worry that there will be real impacts on people's health from rolling back or weakening regulations that protect air and water. Take the Clean Air Act, for example. After its passage and in the past couple of decades, the concentration of major air pollutants in the air has dropped by about 80%.
And EPA's own analyses show that the cleaner air prevents about 2.5 million asthma attacks every year. Wow. The science is super clear that loosening the rules would end up causing more people to get sick or even die early. Are there any other changes coming down the pike that might affect the EPA's work? Totally. So the big conversation right now is about employment cuts coming to EPA.
In early May, Zeldin said the plan is to reduce the agency to Reagan-era levels of employment, which would mean cutting thousands of employees. And right now, it seems like a lot of those cuts would target an EPA branch called the Office of Research and Development, or ORD. It's where most of the science happens.
Like when a state asks the EPA to figure out if a chemical is unsafe, or they want to do those assessments that go into the air pollution rules that get updated every few years. But they're basically on the chopping block now.
If they're on the chopping block, what would that mean about the science they've done? Like, would the work just go away and whatever the current science says is how it will stay?
Maybe. There's really a lot of unknowns right now. We'll start to know more when the cuts start to come in the next few weeks. Yeah. The Trump administration leaders, though, have said that they basically want the office dismantled.
These cuts to the EPA are not the only indicator of a shift in the Trump administration's attitude towards climate research. Lauren, there's also been cuts at NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Remind all of us, what has NOAA historically done?
Yeah, so if you checked the weather on your phone this morning, you interacted with NOAA. These are the scientists that make the weather forecasts. They track hurricanes and tornadoes and floods and droughts. They help warn people about those things. They make nautical charts to keep ships from running aground. They track space weather to make sure commercial flights are safe.
They manage fisheries. They protect species like whales and corals. I could keep going. They do a lot.
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Chapter 5: How are staffing cuts at NOAA affecting weather forecasting?
Chapter 6: What are the potential health impacts of environmental deregulation?
Chapter 7: How does the administration justify its energy policies?
He has slashed the budgets and shifted the directives of key government agencies, especially when it comes to funding research, regulating pollution, and responding to climate-related disasters. And again, Trump says this is all in service of everyday Americans. But what will be the impact of Trump's actions on those everyday Americans in the future?
For answers, we brought in NPR climate reporters Alejandra Barunda and Lauren Sommer. What do you both think?
Yeah, so if you're someone who lives in a coastal community that's prone to hurricanes, or honestly, if you just want to check the weather forecast, then the changes at NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, could affect you.
Or maybe you're in one of the thousands of communities that are trying to prepare for disasters, you know, like hurricanes or wildfires, and you apply for federal funding, that's completely changing too.
Chapter 8: What communities will be most affected by these policy changes?
So today we're going to recap these budget cuts and policy changes, focusing on three government agencies that deal with climate and the environment. The EPA, NOAA and FEMA, with an eye towards their real world impacts on the Americans that President Trump says he wants to support. I'm Emily Kwong and you're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.
You're listening to the NPR Network.
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
A living, breathing record of your neighborhood, the country, the world. told by thousands of local journalists who live in the places where stories unfold, backed by a national newsroom that puts it all in perspective. Hear the whole country's story. Hear ways of thinking that challenge your own. Hear the bigger picture with NPR.
Are you one of the half of Americans who say money management is part of their self-care routine? Or one of the 41% of young adults who think financial well-being means having multiple streams of income? On It's Been a Minute, I'm investigating how young people are turning to OnlyFans, sports betting, and Klarna to stretch every last dollar.
That's all month long on the It's Been a Minute podcast from NPR.
All right, Alejandra, we're going to start with the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency. Now, historically, this agency has done a lot. It's been focused on protecting the environment and public health. It has cleaned up hazardous waste, banned certain pesticides, curbed air and water pollution, and It does seem, though, like those types of actions are no longer the primary goal.
Yeah, well, so the EPA announced recently that it actually wants to do two things at once now. Protect health, yes, and also, quote unquote, revitalize the American economy. Its new administrator is named Lee Zeldin, and he rolled out a vision that's really focused on deregulation, which is in line with the Trump administration's goals more broadly.
Yeah, deregulation, it often looks like loosening federal restrictions so businesses can operate more freely.
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