Abandoned Science, Broken Promises

The document asserts that the Trump administration has systematically undermined scientific integrity and rolled back environmental and public health protections, exacerbating existing inequities for marginalized communities. It highlights a decrease in EPA criminal enforcement, the suppression of health data, and the erosion of social safety nets as key drivers of increased risk for low-income and minority populations.

• The Trump administration has engaged in over 100 attacks on science in less than three years, which include distorting scientific information, targeting scientists, and rolling back science-based safeguards for public health.
• Environmental enforcement has declined under the Trump administration compared to the Bush and Obama administrations, specifically regarding criminal prosecutions resulting from environmental investigations.
• Marginalized communities face heightened health risks due to the administration's disregard for the cumulative impacts of air pollution, which often result in asthma, cancer, heart attacks, and premature death in areas where multiple industrial sources are located near residential zones.
• There is a disproportionate exposure of people of color and low-income households to PFAS contamination; observed data shows 294,591 more people of color and 38,962 more low-income households living within five miles of contaminated sites than expected based on census data.
• Workplace safety is declining for low-income, Indigenous, and minority workers, with Occupational Safety and Health Administration data indicating that work-related catastrophes or deaths have reached their highest level in ten years.
• The administration has compromised programs and funding intended for underserved communities, including proposing cuts to nutrition assistance (SNAP) and reducing the number of EPA Environmental Justice Small Grants issued compared to previous administrations.
• The federal government has suppressed or halted critical scientific research, such as a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study on health risks for residents near mountaintop-removal mining sites in the Appalachian Mountains.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (n.d.). Abandoned Science, Broken Promises. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/abandoned-science-summary-eng.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Abandoned Science, Broken Promises. n.d. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/abandoned-science-summary-eng.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Abandoned Science, Broken Promises |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/abandoned-science-summary-eng.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientistsndabandoned, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Abandoned Science, Broken Promises}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/abandoned-science-summary-eng.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }