Trump's Stance On NASA Climate Research
Trump takes aim at NASA’s climate budget, The Hill
“In a Wednesday speech in Florida, Trump slammed the Obama administration for “undermining our space program.” “I will refocus its mission on space exploration,” he vowed. “Under a Trump administration, Florida and America, will lead the way into the stars.” Trump’s remarks are in line with many congressional Republicans who have vowed to prioritize space exploration. The promise to boost exploration funding was likely welcome news for those who see America leading the world in space missions, including a high-profile effort to send astronauts to Mars within decades. But the remarks are also raising alarm among many who fear the GOP plans are a cover for slashing NASA’s significant budget for climate research.”
That’s depressing to think about. It wouldn’t be the first time a valuable field of research got the ax for politicized reasons, and an administration willing to do that could do real devastation to any mitigation efforts on climate change for years.
That’s not even close to news.
They don’t care about space exploration. They care about campaign contributions from the oil and coal industries.
Where does this “into the stars” phrase come from? It’s been in enough Trump press releases to assume it comes from an advisor, not Trump’s own word-salad style.
As for NASA doing climate science, it’s worth repeating the very first entry in NASA’s founding charter: “(1) The expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere…”. 1958. Very first thing they thought of.