Major reports about how climate change affects the US are removed from websites
Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. Websites for the national assessments and the U.S. Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere. The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details.
Searches for the assessments on NASA websites did not turn them up. NASA did not respond to requests for information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which coordinated the information in the assessments, did not respond to repeated inquiries.
"It's critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is. That is the most reliable and well-reviewed source of information about climate that exists for the United States," said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who coordinated the 2014 version of the report.
'It's a sad day for the United States if it is true that the National Climate Assessment is no longer available," Jacobs said. "This is evidence of serious tampering with the facts and with people's access to information, and it actually may increase the risk of people being harmed by climate-related impacts.'
Harvard climate scientist John Holdren, who was President Obama's science advisor and whose office directed the assessments, said after the 2014 edition he visited governors, mayors and other local officials who told him how useful the 841-page report was. It helped them decide whether to raise roads, build seawalls and even move hospital generators from basements to roofs, he said.
'This is a government resource paid for by the taxpayer to provide the information that really is the primary source of information for any city, state or federal agency who's trying to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate,' said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who has been a volunteer author for several editions of the report.
Copies of past reports are still squirreled away in NOAA's library. NASA's open science data repository includes dead links to the assessment site.
The most recent report, issued in 2023, included an interactive atlas that zoomed down to the county level. It found that climate change is affecting people's security, health and livelihoods in every corner of the country in different ways, with minority and Native American communities often disproportionately at risk.
The 1990 Global Change Research Act requires a national climate assessment every four years and directs the president to establish an interagency United States Global Change Research Program. In the spring, the Trump administration told the volunteer authors of the next climate assessment that their services weren't needed and ended the contract with the private firm that helps coordinate the website and report.
Additionally, NOAA's main climate.gov website was recently forwarded to a different NOAA website. Social media and blogs at NOAA and NASA about climate impacts for the general public were cut or eliminated.
'It's part of a horrifying big picture,' Holdren said. 'It's just an appalling whole demolition of science infrastructure.'
The national assessments are more useful than international climate reports put out by the United Nations every seven or so years because they are more localized and more detailed, Hayhoe and Jacobs said.
The national reports are not only peer reviewed by other scientists, but examined for accuracy by the National Academy of Sciences, federal agencies, the staff and the public.
Hiding the reports would be censoring science, Jacobs said.
And it's dangerous for the country, Hayhoe said, comparing it to steering a car on a curving road by only looking through the rearview mirror: "And now, more than ever, we need to be looking ahead to do everything it takes to make it around that curve safely. It's like our windshield's being painted over.'
___ Associated Press writer Will Weissert contributed to this report.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
AI helps find formula for paint to keep buildings cooler
AI-engineered paint could reduce the sweltering urban heat island effect in cities and cut air-conditioning bills, scientists have claimed, as machine learning accelerates the creation of new materials for everything from electric motors to carbon capture. Materials experts have used artificial intelligence to formulate new coatings that can keep buildings between 5C and 20C cooler than normal paint after exposure to midday sun. They could also be applied to cars, trains, electrical equipment and other objects that will require more cooling in a world that is heating up. Using machine learning, researchers at universities in the US, China, Singapore and Sweden designed new paint formulas tuned to best reflect the sun's rays and emit heat, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the science journal Nature. It is the latest example of AI being used to leapfrog traditional trial-and-error approaches to scientific advances. Last year the British company MatNex used AI to create a new kind of permanent magnet used in electric vehicle motors to avoid the use of rare earth metals, whose mining is carbon-intensive. Microsoft has released AI tools to help researchers rapidly design new inorganic materials – often crystalline structures used in solar panels and medical implants. And there are hopes for new materials to better capture carbon in the atmosphere and to make more efficient batteries. The paint research was carried out by academics at the University of Texas in Austin, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the National University of Singapore and Umeå University in Sweden. It found that applying one of several new AI-enabled paints to the roof of a four-storey apartment block could save electricity equivalent to 15,800 kilowatt hours a year in a hot climate such as Rio de Janeiro's or Bangkok's. If the paint were applied to 1,000 blocks, that could save enough electricity to power more than 10,000 air conditioning units for a year. Yuebing Zheng, a professor at the University of Texas and co-leader of the study, said: 'Our machine learning framework represents a significant leap forward in the design of thermal meta-emitters. By automating the process and expanding the design space, we can create materials with superior performance that were previously unimaginable.' He said a month's work designing a new material was being done in a few days using AI and that new materials that may never have been discovered through trial and error were being created. 'Now, we follow the machine learning output, [its instructions for] the structure and what kind of materials we should use, and we can get it right without going through many, many design and fabrication testing cycles.' Dr Alex Ganose, a chemistry lecturer at Imperial College London who also uses machine learning to design new materials, said: 'Things are moving very fast in this space. In the last year or so there have been so many startups trying to use generative AI for materials.' He said the process of designing a new material could require the calculation of millions of potential combinations. AI allows material scientists to push through previous restrictions in computational power. It also means the traditional process of creating a material and then testing its properties can be reversed, with scientists able to tell the AI what properties they want upfront.
Medical News Today
an hour ago
- Medical News Today
To achieve diabetes remission, avoid diet soda and opt for water
Everyone knows that drinking soda is not a healthy choice, and there is much debate whether diet soda is a healthy alternative. Past research has linked drinking diet sodas to several health risks including type 2 diabetes. A new study has found that women with type 2 diabetes who regularly choose to drink water over diet soda may be more likely to achieve weight loss, as well as diabetes remission. Everyone knows that drinking soda is not a healthy choice, due to its high calorie and sugar content. However, there is much debate about whether or switching to diet sodas is better. Past research has linked drinking diet sodas — which contain sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose — to several health risks, including heart disease, liver disease, kidney issues, weight gain, metabolic syndrome, increased cancer risk, and type 2 diabetes. Now a new study presented at the 85th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has found that women with type 2 diabetes who regularly choose to drink water over diet soda may increase their likelihood to achieve weight loss and diabetes remission. The findings are yet to appear in a peer-reviewed soda is still an ultra-processed foodFor this study, researchers recruited 81 adult women who had both type 2 diabetes and obesity or overweight, and who consumed diet soda as part of their normal diet. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one-fifth of Americans drink diet sodas on a regular basis. And the amount of diet beverages consumed in the European Union has grown from 23% in 2016 to 30% in 2021. Diet sodas are considered ultra-processed foods due to their manufacturing process and ingredients like additives and artificial sweeteners. Past research has linked ultra-processed foods to an acceleration in biological aging, and a 10% increase in mortality risk.A study published in February 2024 reported a link between ultra-processed food consumption and 32 negative health issues, including colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, sleeping issues, anxiety, asthma, high blood pressure, and Crohn's disease. 90% of women drinking water instead of diet soda reach diabetes remissionStudy participants were randomly grouped to either one group that continued to drink diet soda five times per week after their lunch, and another group that substituted their usual diet soda with water. During the study, participants were also provided with a six-month weight loss intervention, followed by a 12-month weight maintenance the 18 month follow-up, researchers found that participants in the water group experienced a much larger average weight loss when compared to the diet soda group. Additionally, 90% of study participants in the water group reached type 2 diabetes remission, compared to only 45% in the diet soda group. Scientists also reported that participants in the water group experienced significant improvements to a number of health markers, including body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose (blood sugar), insulin resistance, triglycerides, insulin levels, and post-meal glucose response. 'These findings challenge a common belief in the U.S. that diet drinks have no potential negative effects for managing weight and blood sugar,' Hamid R. Farshchi, MD, PhD, CEO of D2Type, former associate professor in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham, in the United Kingdom, and lead author of the study, said in a press release.'However, with most of women in the water group achieving diabetes remission, our study highlights the importance of promoting water, not just low-calorie alternatives, as part of effective diabetes and weight management. It's a small change with the potential for a big impact on long-term health outcomes,' Farshchi substitutes affect the body just like real sugarMedical News Today had the opportunity to speak with Mir Ali, MD, a board-certified general surgeon, bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this study. Ali, who was not involved in the research, commented that it provides validation to other studies that have shown sugar substitutes to have a similar effect on the body as actual sugar.'Diabetes is a growing medical concern as the Western population in general becomes more sedentary, eats more processed foods, and as obesity increases,' he told us. 'Any methods to reduce diabetes [are] helpful to combat this disease.''Research comparing types of artificial sweeteners vs sugar may help elucidate the worst choice amongst these types of sweeteners,' Ali added. How can I lower my diet soda intake and drink more water? Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition-In-Sight, offered her top tips on how people can lower the amount of diet soda they drink and up their water advised to:make water containers visible and appealing, for example by purchasing 'a glass or stainless steel water bottle and keep it filled at your desk, in your car, or on your counter to remind you to drink up,' and by using 'color, fun ice cubes, or creative containers to make it an appealing part of your routine'make water tasty by flavoring it 'with natural ingredients such as [by] making herbal, caffeine-free teas' or by adding fruit, herbs, or a combination of these to waterset regular reminders to drink waterkeep track of your daily water intaketry 'habit stacking' by pairing the activity of drinking water with other everyday taskshydrate with watery foods like 'fruits, vegetables, soups, smoothies, and broths'try taining your taste buds by forming new habits — you could 'start slowly by decreasing the amount of diet beverages you consume by 25% for 1 to 2 weeks, then try cutting back by 50%'reflect on why you may be craving diet soda.'These simple but effective recommendations are based on biology, but rooted in common sense,' Richard said. 'When we nurture our body with what it naturally needs, we're going to optimize its function versus distract, detract, hinder and undermine it.' 'Hydration is like fiber — it's not flashy, but everything works better with enough of it,' she added. 'Don't wait until you're thirsty, either: Hydration is a progressive and fluid — pun intended — process.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Astronomers track object that may have originated outside the solar system
Astronomers are monitoring an object headed our way that may have wandered over from another star system. Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, the European Space Agency said Wednesday. The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of miles (kilometers) away and moving toward Mars, but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists. It's too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet, or how big and what shape it is. More observations are needed to confirm its origins. NASA said it is monitoring the situation. Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system. He estimates its size at roughly 25 miles (40 kilometers) across. The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017. It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honor of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it. Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet. The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
