PRESS

“Today I am continuing my fight for safe water by suing the Trump administration for violating my First Amendment right to free speech,” Warn Betanzo said. “The administration fired me and my EPA colleagues to scare public servants into silence. I’ve fought for safe drinking water before, and I will not be intimidated.”

“When I joined the NDWAC, I committed to protecting public health and safe drinking water,” said drinking water expert Elin Warn Betanzo. “I’m fighting for the rights of all government employees and the safety of our drinking water.”

Drinking water expert Elin Warn Betanzo has filed a federal lawsuit against the EPA, arguing that the agency violated her First Amendment rights when it fired her for signing a letter of dissent.

The firing of all 22 current members of the National Science Board stands out as one of the darkest moments of Trump's second term. “They’ve basically taken a wrecking ball to this [board], and we don’t know exactly how they plan to rebuild it, but if history is any indication, they will want to put in very administration-loyal, probably unqualified people,” said Lauren Kurtz, CSLDF Director.

"If scientific uncertainty was the real reason for disregarding benefits, a good-faith response would be to conduct more research to reduce the uncertainty. Instead, the Trump administration has systematically canceled research programs, closed laboratories, fired scientists, distorted research results, and generally attacked the scientific enterprise."

As the Trump administration deletes and alters critical data, scientists are pushing back. Chris Marchesano, CSLDF attorney, pointed to a fact-check created by more than 80 scientists that challenged an Energy Department report filled with inaccuracies about climate change.

As Trump continues his war on science, “I think it’s critically important that academics and scholars are sort of stepping up to fight back against misinformation,” said Chris Marchesano, CSLDF attorney. “It has important legal implications.”

Climate scientist Virginia Burkett was awarded the 2025 John Maddox Prize which honors those who have shown courage in defending science and evidence-based policy, especially in the face of public hostility.

“Climate” has become almost a taboo realm... And YET - There are many real-life heroes who are still finding ways to keep their critical work alive.

When Virginia Burkett was targeted by political appointees during President Trump’s first term for her climate and land use research at the US Geological Survey, she fought back.

So widespread has been the harassment against scientists that an organisation was set up to counter it: the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund.