Donald Trump, in his vow to eliminate “politicized science,” intends to strip NASA’s earth science division of its funding in order to explore deep space. This particular branch is known for its distinguished research into Earth’s climate including temperature, ice, clouds, and other climate-specific topics.  A budget allocation of $2 billion was set aside for 2017 while funding for space exploration was reduced to $2.8 billion.

This particular branch is known for its distinguished research into Earth’s climate including temperature, ice, clouds, and other climate-specific topics.  A budget allocation of $2 billion was set aside for 2017 while funding for space exploration was reduced to $2.8 billion.

Trump’s senior campaign advisor, Bob Walker Walker, said the research was excessive in reaction to “politically correct environmental monitoring”.

“We see Nasa in an exploration role, in deep space research,” Walker told the Guardian. “Earth-centric science is better placed at other agencies where it is their prime mission.” Walker also believes that other future NASA programs should be managed by other agencies.

“I believe that climate research is necessary but it has been heavily politicized, which has undermined a lot of the work that researchers have been doing. Mr Trump’s decisions will be based upon solid science, not politicized science,” he said.

Trump reneged his statement that climate change is a hoax created by the Chinese on Tuesday, saying there is a believable connection between human activity and the environment. A trove of evidence has been gathered over the decades that burning fossil fuels and deforestation release heat-trapping gasses leading to the warming climate.

But Walker believes that climate change should be addressed. It “is a view shared by half the climatologists in the world. We need good science to tell us what the reality is and science could do that if politicians didn’t interfere with it.”

Experts fear their research will be benched in favor of continued pro-fossil fuel and deregulation agendas. Analysts at other organizations are expressing the same concern.

NASA equips the scientific community with new technology and information. Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said that the dismissal of Earth sciences would be “devasting.”

“It could put us back into the ‘dark ages’ of almost the pre-satellite era,” he said. “It would be extremely short sighted.”

Trenberth believes it is crucial to observe Earth’s climate from space and that “Information on planet Earth and its atmosphere and oceans is essential for our way of life. Space research is a luxury, Earth observations are essential.”

Source: The Guardian