From Newsgroup: rec.sport.tennis
Scientists and other experts were preparing a first-of-its-kind
assessment of the health of nature in the United States when President
Trump returned to the White House.
He canceled the report.
The researchers went ahead and compiled it on their own. This week, they released a 868-page draft
https://naturerecord.org/chapters
for public comment and scientific review.
Many of the preliminary findings are grim: Freshwater ecosystems across
the country are in crisis, rCLoverdrawn, polluted, fragmented and
invaded.rCY Marine and terrestrial ecosystems are degraded, with reduced biodiversity. An estimated 34 percent of plant species and 40 percent of animal species are at risk of extinction.
Human pressures on nature are eroding the necessities it gives us, such
as clean water, food, health, livelihoods and protection from storms and
fire. But there is hope, and the authors emphasized the ability to chart
a new course.
rCLThe future is not fixed,rCY said Phillip Levin, who directed the
assessment both under the government and since. rCLConservation,
restoration and renewed connections between people and nature can
improve ecosystem health and strengthen community resilience.rCY
The initial effort began in earnest on Earth Day in 2022, when President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed an executive order calling for an assessment
of the condition of nature in the United States. In January 2025, with
the authors weeks away from submitting a first full draft, the Trump administration disbanded the effort.
But Dr. Levin, who left his government role with the change of administrations, continued the work alongside about 125 researchers who
were not federal employees.
rCLThe first thing we had to do was get funding,rCY Dr. Levin said.
Virtually all the authors were already volunteering their time. But the
group needed to rehire administrative staff, secure technical support
and pay for the review by the National Academies. The group raised more
than $3 million, mostly from foundations, Dr. Levin said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/climate/trump-nature-assessment.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RFA.AFQJ.Hk-aDqzfleAs&smid=url-share
There's examples of similar ludditery in Finland where the right-wing government from PerSu puts political expediency ahead of reason.
In fact, come to think of it, the whole program of the present
government was based on "hope for the best, prepare for the best".
Despite warnings that the best could well be an "if" that never comes.
It never came and the results are plain to see.
Sad, really. But if you don't have an agenda of your own apart from the
cheap shoes xenophobia, what can you expect?
--
"And off they went, from here to there,
The bear, the bear, and the maiden fair"
-- Traditional
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