Climate change researchers evicted by Trump administration
Many leaders in climate change research were evicted by the Trump administration.
“These workers, unfortunately, due to DOGE and due to NASA’s current leadership, are being evicted from their office space tomorrow,” Matt Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, said Tuesday.
What You Need To Know
- More than 100 scientists at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies were told the Upper West Side lab — leased by Columbia — would shutter at the end of the month and they would transition to remote work
- Scientists there collaborate with researchers at Columbia to track global climate conditions and conduct research to better understand climate change. The renowned lab coined the term “black hole” and maintains global temperature records dating back to the 1880s
- The Trump administration is currently battling with Columbia over its policies on pro-Palestinian protests and is withholding billions in federal research funding
- Despite the eviction, the federal government is still leasing the space for $3 million a year through 2031. It’s unclear where these researchers will go next, but NASA is looking for a new location
More than 100 scientists at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies were told the Upper West Side lab — leased by Columbia — would shutter at the end of the month and they would transition to remote work. Their union president said the Trump administration is making a huge mistake.
“They’ll no longer have a place to work and do their research, their scientific research that they’ve done here since 1966,” Biggs said.
Scientists there collaborate with researchers at Columbia to track global climate conditions and conduct research to better understand climate change. The renowned lab coined the term “black hole” and maintains global temperature records dating back to the 1880s.
“Despite all of this, NASA and DOGE are going to continue to evict these workers here. And there are about 100 workers, scientists and researchers, doing cutting-edge earth science research for the American taxpayer,” Biggs said.
The Trump administration is currently battling with Columbia over its policies on pro-Palestinian protests and is withholding billions in federal research funding.
“It’s deplorable. It shouldn’t be happening. It’s fiscally irresponsible. It’s short-sighted,” Biggs said.
Despite the eviction, the federal government is still leasing the space for $3 million a year through 2031. It’s unclear where these researchers will go next, but NASA is looking for a new location.