Do Not Let Trump Dismantle Ocean Observatories- We Need Their Data

Trump plans to dismantle a $368m deep-sea observation system that has provided crucial data on ocean systems and climate change for more than a decade. Just days after Trump fired the independent board that oversees The National Science Foundation, they announced that they had “initiated descoping of the Ocean Observatories Initiative”, a network of more than 900 instruments that collect data on ocean health, including current patterns, climate variability and marine biodiversity. They outlined plans to remove all in-water infrastructure from observation sites off the coasts of North Carolina, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, as well as from the Irminger Sea between Greenland and Iceland. Scientists condemn this move, aand Democrats say they will fight it, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, who called it a “shortsighted move” that would “end up costing American taxpayers more not less." This is clearly a move on behalf of big oil, as fossil fuels are heating up our oceans and they want to hide the evidence. I call on you to join Van Hollen and fight against the dismantling of our oceanic reporting system. Please protect us.