Manipulating Research and Science Data, Administration Seeks to Toss Lifesaving Greenhouse Emission Standards

The Steady State | by Diane Blust

We’ve all seen her, the little girl covering her eyes to hide from someone. After all, if she can’t see you, how can you see her? This is the image that popped into my mind when reading about the current US administration’s latest effort to “cook the books” to justify a rollback of US commitments to fight climate change. Its tactic: If you ignore the data, you can argue you don’t have climate change. Poof! It’s gone. And if it’s gone, there is no need to address it. No need to accept established science, no need to keep our international agreements and commitments, no need to research ways to lower fossil fuel emissions, no need to work on mitigation and resilience – those things cost money after all.

At issue is the action by the Environmental Protection Agency EPA under Secretary Lee Zeldin, which is moving to rescind the 2009 “endangerment finding” which established that greenhouse gas emissions are a threat to public health. This finding was based on decades of scientific research and allowed the EPA to enact regulations designed to keep us safe from some of the most devastating impacts of fossil fuel emissions: cancer, lung disease, ecosystem damage, and, of course, climate change.

Zeldin, his masters and cronies, selected a handful of scientists from among the few scientists who disagree with the accepted science and produced “A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on U.S. Climate,” a report that runs counter to established climate science. The Washington Post quickly fact-checked the EPA’s report in an article published on July 31 demonstrating that the report cherry picked the data to support its narrative while excluding a vast body of data that ran counter to its narrative.

You can prove almost anything if you choose only certain bits of data. So, what’s the big deal? People can have different views, people can disagree, right? But this is not just a scholarly debate over interpretation of data. As we have seen this administration do with the Intelligence Community, they are now seeking to deny data from the US and international scientific communities that don't support their political objectives.

And the many potential consequences are considerable: negative individual health outcomes; increased international migration due to ecosystem damage and loss; lost research and development, disruption and dislocation from climate disasters; and, loss of life and communities from severe weather events.

Equally destructive is the specter of the administration yet again backing out of international commitments – an act that will further undermine already-shaken trust of our allies and will create ill-will among both friend and foe in the international arena. The new EPA rule will put the US government at odds not only with the vast majority of our own scientists but also with the international scientific community.

Back at home, while individual organizations, educational institutions, businesses, and state governments will attempt to continue to work on the problem of climate change in international fora, there will be no US federal government representation at the table. And one wonders if the administration will attempt to block state-led efforts the way they have blocked states on other issues – by withholding federal funding.

This deceitful and misguided withdrawal from the table where solutions to the critical problem of climate change are being discussed will have lasting international repercussions and will be felt by our children and grandchildren.

Will Congress once again turn a blind eye?

Diane Blust retired after 25 years with the CIA. She spent 15 years in Western Europe as an operations officer. In retirement in West Virginia, Ms. Blust has volunteered with non-profit organizations dealing with sustainable development and local food issues. She is a member of The Steady State.

Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 300 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs and law, we advocate for constitutional democracy, the rule of law and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.