Science

"The Trump administration objected to climate change references in a planned joint statement for the upcoming international Arctic Council forum, the Washington Post reports."

"A NASA instrument designed to track carbon in Earth’s atmosphere is headed to the International Space Station next week, and the president isn’t happy about it."

"The White House scrubbed language about how climate change fuels more extreme weather events from draft EPA guidance, newly released documents show."

"The Environmental Protection Agency is changing its approach to chemical toxicity oversight, according to a report issued recently by the Government Accountability Office. In the overhaul, the EPA reassigned staff from its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)—a program that conducts comprehensive scientific reviews—to duties related to the Toxic Substances Control Act, which has a narrower mandate. The agency has also reduced the number of its ongoing chemical toxcity assessments from 20 to three. Former EPA officials contend the shake-up takes chemical assessments out of the hands of career scientists, potentially to the detriment of public health."

"President Donald Trump's administration has launched yet another attempt to control the use of science in federal policymaking—this time with a memorandum to government agencies from the White House budget office."

"Minnesota House members revealed Wednesday whether they believe humans are causing climate change. It broke largely along party lines: 79 lawmakers, including all 75 Democrats, voted yes, and 50 Republicans voted no. Five Republicans did not vote."

"A high-profile NASA temperature data set, which has pronounced the last five years the hottest on record and the globe a full degree Celsius warmer than in the late 1800s, has found new backing from independent satellite records — suggesting the findings are on a sound footing, scientists reported Tuesday."