Trump cuts reach climate scientists who labored for free

Work has been halted on the next National Climate Assessment, according to an email from the Trump administration, dismissing the more than 400 volunteer scientists and scholars who were its co-authors.The Congressionally mandated report, produced roughly every four years, summarizes the data and science on how the climate is changing and how that affects the people of the nation, its agriculture and natural resources. By design, the climate assessment, crafted through a period of review and public comment, does not make recommendations.The scope of the sixth national assessment is "being reevaluated" stated the April 28 email. A banner with similar wording was placed on the assessment's website several weeks ago."As plans develop for the assessment, there may be future opportunities to contribute or engage," the dismissal email continued.The dismissal of the report's authors is one of a series of actions by the administration targeting climate science since Inauguration Day.A mass fir...