Professor Maritza Barreto Orta had planned to complete two federal funding applications crucial for her research on coastal erosion in Puerto Rico. However, these funding opportunities “disappeared” from the websites of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) due to new policies imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. These policies limit funding for academic research on climate change.
Research on sea level rise, coastal erosion, coral bleaching, renewable energy, heatwaves, climate-related diseases like dengue, and extreme weather events like hurricanes is at risk under Trump’s climate policies, which have withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement and international climate financing plans. Studies examining the climate’s influence on cancer rates in Puerto Rico are also jeopardized.
Puerto Rico ranks sixth among the countries most affected by the climate crisis, according to the latest Climate Risk Index published by the international organiza... Read more
