Following Trump’s executive order, U.S. Coast Guard Academy removes ‘climate change’ from curriculum

Every U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadet — regardless of major — tackles a rigorous curriculum during their four-year enrollment that includes math, nautical science and engineering.

The academy’s STEM-based coursework is designed to prepare future officers to lead Coast Guardsmen in a variety of maritime missions such as search and rescue, law enforcement and protecting the environment and marine resources.

But “climate change” lessons are now off-limits at the 149-year-old U.S. service academy in order to comply with directives from the Trump administration.

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a memo instructing agency officials to “eliminate all climate change activities and the use of climate change terminology in DHS policies and programs to the maximum extent permitted by the law,” according to Bloomberg.

The changes are reportedly meant to bring “alignment” with Trump’s executive orders that reverse multiple climate-related orders by former President Joe Biden.

While most other U.S. service academies — including West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy — fall under the direction of the Defense Department, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy is under Homeland Security jurisdiction.

The recent decision to censor “climate change” at the Coast Guard Academy is prompting alarm from some alumni and others in the Coast Guard community.

In response, academy Provost Amy Donahue cited both Trump’s executive order and Noem’s recent Homeland Security directive regarding climate change curriculum modifications at the academy.

“This is a lawful directive with which we are obligated to comply, and we are doing so,” wrote Donahue in a message to the USCGA Alumni Association.

“At the same time, we are a higher education institution accredited to offer a Bachelor of Science degree according to standards prescribed by various commissions. Further, in order to be fully mission capable, the Coast Guard needs officers who understand and are prepared to function effectively in the operating environment of a maritime military service.

“Since Secretary Noem published her memorandum, our faculty have worked diligently and with great care and professionalism to satisfy all of these requirements.”

Donahue added that she directed academy faculty to review the school’s academic curriculum “to identify and revise” any instances where course content did not align with the Trump administration’s orders to ensure “full alignment.”

“My guidance to them was that we will not use ‘climate change’ or related terminology about contemporary human-induced rise in global temperatures in our class assignments and materials.

“Instead, we focus on particular scientific phenomena and the impacts that are pertinent to Service needs and missions.

“As a result, we have revised certain aspects of some courses that had been addressing ‘climate change’.”

The provost emphasized that the academy is not abandoning science education.

“As we prepare cadets to graduate and commission, we continue to teach them about weather patterns, atmospheric phenomena, paleoclimatology, meteorology, oceanography, geospatial sciences, the conditions of sea ice, ocean conditions, the characteristics of coastal environments, energy generation methods, marine ecology and fisheries, the hazards like storms and flooding, and other similar topics, not to mention the fundamentals of physics, chemistry, and civil engineering.”

Retired admiral: ‘We’re going to be a much less capable Coast Guard’

While Donahue argues it is possible to comply with recent federal directives censoring “climate change” —while continuing to “teach good science”, others within the Coast Guard community are not convinced.

In an interview with Inside Climate News, retired Adm. Paul Zukunft — who served as commandant of the Coast Guard from 2014 to 2018 — said that cadets need to be educated about climate change in order to effectively undertake missions in harsh maritime environments and to participate in decision-making when confronting disasters.

Unlike other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Coast Guard does not have ROTC programs in colleges across the country. So a disproportionate number of its officers graduated from their respective academy, compared to other branches.

“If we’re not smart about the environment that we operate in, we’re going to be a much less capable Coast Guard,” Zukunft told Inside Climate News.

“I think even more importantly, we become marginal players across the interagency process … and I think we have a lot to contribute because we are out there on a regular basis.”

Zukunft added that the Coast Guard could be hobbled in its work around the globe if its officers lack an understanding of climate change.

During his Inside Climate News interview, Zukunft gave the example of Micronesia, where the Coast Guard operates under one of scores of bilateral maritime law enforcement agreements that the force has with other nations.

The U.S. has seen the Coast Guard’s presence in these islands as an important counterweight to China, which has sought to expand its influence throughout the Pacific.

“We’re building relationships,” Zukunft said. “And people there are concerned about saltwater intrusion. They’re losing their aquifer, they’re losing their fish, and do you want a Coast Guard lieutenant who says, ‘I have no idea why that’s happening. Maybe it’s just a bad luck fishing day?’

“We know exactly why it’s happening: Sea water is rising and the fish are moving to cooler waters. And so, (the Coast Guard officers) should be able to make informed decisions, especially in some of these islands.”

Stark departures from Coast Guard’s prior ‘climate change’ approach

The Coast Guard Academy’s new “climate change”-prohibitive curriculum is a stark departure from recent approaches inside a U.S. military branch with over 40,000 members on active duty.

In 2023, the “United States Coast Guard Climate Framework” included this anchoring statement about “climate change” from Adm. Linda Fagan, who was serving as the branch’s commandant:

“The world is changing. Rising sea levels, more frequent severe weather, retreating polar ice, migrating fish stocks, and coastal infrastructure damage are creating challenges for people around the globe. Increasing pressure to reduce environmental impact is driving change in energy generation and the global economy.

“These impacts of climate change will influence every Coast Guard mission. To uphold our tradition of service to the nation, the Coast Guard must apply strategic foresight to prepare for the challenges ahead.”

That document, according to Inside Climate News, has been removed from the Coast Guard website.

Meanwhile, Fagan — who was the first woman to lead any U.S. military service — was relieved of her command on Trump’s first full day in office.

At the time, a Department of Homeland Security official said in a Military.com interview that Fagan was terminated for reasons that included concerns over border security, acquisitions, recruiting and poor leadership and management.

The unnamed official also criticized her for “excessive focus on diversity” policies.

In the following days, the Coast Guard began shutting down programs and offices at the academy that were related to “diversity, equity and inclusion,” including an Office of Culture and Climate and an Affinity Group program that had been in place for more than 50 years, according to CT Mirror.