LANSING — Michigan environmental advocates are making the case to continue funding for climate research as the federal government looks to drastically reduce its workforce.
According to media reports, the Trump administration fired around 800 employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last week.
The firings are a part of Trump administration efforts to significantly reduce the federal workforce by getting rid of what the president and billionaire Elon Musk call waste and fraud — but Great Lakes researchers say that the cuts could hurt Michigan’s ecosystem.
The Great Lakes are supported through numerous pieces of government spending, including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which allots hundreds of millions per year in research and cleanup efforts.
“It sounds like a lot of money, but the amount of turnaround that’s come back in terms of driving the economy has been enormous as well,” said Dave Zanatta, a Central Michigan University professor with the Institute for Great Lakes Research.
Zanatta says that even if workforce cuts are temporary or end up being reversed, the decisions risk damaging the bedrock of Great Lakes research.
“We are in danger of losing a season’s worth of work to, kind of, forward our better understanding and restoration of the Great Lakes — and that is troubling,” he said.
The Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, housed within NOAA, said on social media last week they would be taking a hiatus from external communications due to firings.
The laboratory says their mission involves modeling and observing the Great Lakes to support the environment, surrounding communities and their economies.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who has brought multiple lawsuits against the firings, said the funding cuts threaten the health of the Great Lakes.
“What are we going to do if we’re not fighting invasive species anymore? And that is the one area of total bipartisanship that we’ve seen in recent years,” Nessel said. “Whether you’re a Democrat, whether you’re a Republican, you want to make sure that the Great Lakes are thriving, and I don’t see how that’s going to happen if we continue to see these really draconian cut.”
Zanatta says that disinvestment in research areas can leave them worse off for years, even if funding is restored later on.
“That means that people aren’t going to want to be trained in these kind of positions anymore, because there might not be a job for them,” he said.