It is extremely dangerous to believe that climate change is a hoax, especially when the person believing this is sitting in a government position. On Friday, November 7th, the Trump administration removed Scientist Michael Kuperburg from the job that oversees National Climate Assessment and replaced him with David Legates. Legates is a deputy assistant secretary at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who has worked closely with climate change denial groups, according to the New York Times. Not only has Kuperburg been removed, but Neil Chatterjee, head of the agency that regulates the nation’s utility markets, was demoted after publicly supporting the use of renewable power. Given the current state of the environment, the government of the United States is in no position to question the legitimacy of climate change.
Legates was appointed just weeks before the climate assessment is meant to take place in the U.S., on December 5, 2020. The climate assessment reports all of the climate changes that are affecting human life and the economy. It shows multiple accounts of a direct correlation between humans and the declining health of the environment.
There are multiple consequences that may result from a climate assessment that doesn’t accurately represent our current reality. For example, it can counter congressional efforts to reduce carbon emissions. It can also weaken “endangerment funding”, which was founded by the Environmental Protection Agency, stating that since greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to human health, they are therefore subject to government regulation. The deadline for the next National Climate Assessment is coming up, and by having a climate change skeptic like David Legates at the forefront, the U.S. is in a terrible position. Along with David Legates’ influence is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). The White House has replaced the people running the association in an effort to use the NOAA’s power to undercut the climate assessment.
The Trump administration has taken many steps towards increasing pollution such as allowing states to set their own vehicle tailpipe rules, reducing federal restrictions on coal-burning plants, and vowing to pull the U.S. out of Paris Climate Agreement. As a country, we need to look into the future rather than selfishly take what we want now. There is too much on the line, and having a supporter of climate change denial groups is problematic for the U.S.