· 3 min read
illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:
🗞️ Driving the news: Three of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Adaptation Science Centers — covering the South Central, Northeast, and Pacific Islands regions — are preparing to cease most operations after September 30 due to halted federal funding
• These centers, which support climate adaptation for local communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure, are being sidelined as Interior Department officials fail to approve five-year renewal agreements — despite continued congressional support and no direct connection to a government shutdown
🔭 The context: For over a decade, the nine Climate Adaptation Science Centers have helped translate climate science into actionable planning for state agencies, tribes, and communities — offering decision-making tools on flood control, invasive species, megafires, and biodiversity loss
• They are funded under the Interior Department and housed at universities
• While both House and Senate appropriators have backed continued funding, the Trump administration has proposed eliminating the entire Ecosystems Mission Area, reflecting the president’s public skepticism of climate science
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The closure of these centers undermines local climate resilience at a critical time, hampering efforts to protect ecosystems, infrastructure, and communities from increasing climate-related disasters
• Losing this scientific capacity limits the U.S.’s ability to adapt to extreme weather, biodiversity shifts, and changing water systems — especially in vulnerable regions like the Pacific Islands and flood-prone Northeast
• It also risks derailing collaborations with universities and tribal nations already facing under-resourced adaptation challenges.
⏭️ What's next: Without urgent intervention from the Interior Department or renewed executive guidance, the affected centers will enter "minimal operations" from October 1, pausing new projects and laying off graduate researchers
• Congress may still override the administration’s proposed budget cuts, but delays in paperwork and spending authorisations mean operations could remain suspended for months
• Universities are now scrambling to find alternative funding to sustain critical research and student support in the interim
💬 One quote: “We’re not willing to just drop everything and walk away… but we can’t do this for free,” said Bethany Bradley, Co-Director of the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
📈 One stat:
The three at-risk centers serve regions that collectively represent one-third of the U.S. population, including major climate-vulnerable areas such as Texas, New York, and Hawaii.
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