New York Times: “How the Trump Administration Ended Independent Science at the EPA”
RFF Senior Fellow Bryan Hubbell reflects on his former role at the US Environmental Protection Agency.
“In January 2025, Bryan Hubbell was trying to understand whether extreme heat increases health risks for people with dementia.
Some colleagues were working with the oil and gas industry on ways to reduce leaks of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Others were studying how to protect drinking water when climate-fueled wildfires burned plastic pipes that leach chemicals like benzene, a carcinogen.
When [Donald] Trump took office, ‘It just stopped,’ Dr. Hubbell said. He took early retirement in June after 27 years and is now working at Resources for the Future, a Washington-based think tank.
‘I really wanted to continue being able to do the work I was doing on climate, and especially on adaptation and trying to build a more resilient country,’ he said. ‘I knew I wasn’t going to be able to.’”
