Trump transition team’s lab questionnaire sparks fear

The 74-question document, obtained last week by The Washington Post and others, asks Department of Energy officials to disclose lists of employees associated with carbon-reduction meetings and United Nations climate conferences, as well as which professional societies lab employees are affiliated with. It also seeks the names of publications and websites used by laboratory staff over the past three years.

Some worried the request could signal an intent by the incoming administration of Donald Trump to single out those associated with climate science and be a precursor to censorship of crucial research materials.

A number of questions deal with the financial analyses of clean energy programs, such as solar and wind power, as opposed to costs for power production using fossil fuels. Others address potential intentions to keep aging nuclear plants online and reviving the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal site in Nevada, which was abandoned under the Obama administration.

Representatives from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and the Department of Energy declined to comment on the specifics of the questionnaire or if they intended to release employee records to the president-elect’s transition team.

Heather Clark, a spokeswoman for Sandia, said, “All I can really tell you is Sandia is aware of the news report but because we have not received any questionnaire, it would be inappropriate for us to speculate about its contents and any actions that could be taken.”

Clark referred The New Mexican to a Department of Energy spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., Michelle Laver, who said her office is not providing any comment on the document.

Laver also declined to answer questions related to the number of people employed in climate change or renewable energy fields for the department.

Sandia has maintained extensive programs in solar, wind and geothermal energy since the 1970s. It also has been conducting new research in climate modeling and energy storage, which is seen as the crucial link in harnessing renewable energy.

Los Alamos has a small research lab recognized for its work in climate change and the ecological impact of drought. Scientists at Los Alamos have received national attention in recent years for studies that suggest that climate change could wipe out forests in the southwestern U.S., including New Mexico, by the end of the century, and that woodlands in the rest of the world could follow.

New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, both Democrats, called the questionnaire from the incoming Republican administration extremely concerning.

“While we don’t yet know what the President-elect intends to do with this information, we do know about his troubling climate denial statements and the record of some of his key appointees in attacking climate science,” Heinrich said in a prepared statement. “I will not tolerate any efforts by the incoming administration to intimidate scientists and researchers in the government or at our national laboratories who are tackling some of our nation’s greatest challenges, including climate change.”

Udall said in a prepared statement that the questionnaire had a “badgering tone,” and he urged the Trump transition team to clarify it. “I hope it isn’t to single out civil servants who are contributing important work to our understanding of climate change,” he said.

“Different administrations have different policies and goals, but objective, scientific work should be a bipartisan priority,” he added.

The questionnaire was just the latest move by Trump and his transition team signaling his intent to roll back President Barack Obama’s climate change and environmental policies. Trump has nominated Scott Pruitt, the attorney general of Oklahoma, which is heavily dependent on oil and gas development, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Michael Halpern, deputy director of the Center for Science and Democracy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said that science shouldn’t bow to political will.

The document “sends a signal to employees that anyone who works on climate change is going to be under enormous scrutiny in the new administration, and it is incumbent on scientists to keep a close eye to what happens to their peers in government,” he said.

Halpern said the presence of established climate change deniers on the Trump transition team made the questionnaire appear additionally threatening. The document, he said, “reads more like a subpoena than a request for information to help ensure that smooth transition.”

All modern presidents and many members of Congress have attempted to politicize science, but without objective research, policymakers are ultimately governing blind, he said.

“Science should never be censored or politicized,” Halpern said. “One instance of science being attacked is too many.”

Camilla Feibelman, director of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the questionnaire is Orwellian.

The implications of defunding renewable energy and climate-focused programs at research laboratories like Sandia, which is studying battery technology to store renewable energy, will only cause the U.S. to fall behind other countries, she said.

“It just seems shortsighted, not just to deny climate change, but to imply punishment for career employees who are doing their job,” she said.

“What is the motivation behind ignoring the facts and the data?” she asked. “And who does it help?”

The Santa Fe New Mexican is a sister-paper of The Taos News. Contact Rebecca Moss at 505-986-3011 or rmoss@sfnewmexican.com.