Bay Area researchers hoping to publish environmental inequities report killed by Trump

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- As director of Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment, Chris Field works to understand some of the most urgent challenges facing our environment. While across the Bay at the University of California, professor Chris Schell works on solutions for the environmental inequities plaguing our cities and neighborhoods. Both men joined with prominent researchers across the country, spent countless hours to produce a first of its kind report called the "National Nature Assessment." A first draft was expected this week -- until it wasn't.

"I found out when Bill Levin, the director of the National Nature Assessment, gave me a phone call and let me know this was coming along the pike. The announcement came with no warning and it came just a few days before we were supposed to deliver the completed first order draft," says Field.

The report, originally commissioned by the Biden Administration, was abruptly canceled. It's a casualty in a wave of executive orders signed by President Trump. Several aimed environmental and equity programs.

"Many of my federal colleagues and all of the colleagues that are on the assessment are all heartbroken and we're sort of grasping at straws as to why that was the case," says Schell.

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He points to the broad scope of the study. Covering challenges and opportunities from climate change to the economy to human health, with what Schell describes as a sense of patriotic mission.

"As academics, this was the closest thing that we had to being able to give back to our country. But I think even more importantly, our communities and helping our communities figure out ways for us to live in better balance, in harmony, not just with nature, but with each other. That is how important this document was," he says.

"The important thing about the National Nature Assessment is that for the first time, it really would document the value of nature, the value of nature in removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, in protecting watersheds, in providing shade and really push for including the value of nature, natural capital in our accounts. And it's really important because until we do this, we don't really have an accurate assessment of what it is we're working with," echoes Field.

But they say word spread quickly after the news broke, including offers of support to publish the report, potentially on a non-government platform. They believe the challenge now, is figuring out a platform to capture national attention.

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"This is important stuff. I am eager to see it come out, but I also am keen to find some kind of a way that in the scientific community we can make as much progress as possible in holding the feet of the government to the fire, as it were. And unless we can come up with a way to make it really a national product and one that is kind of co-owned by the government and the scientific community, it's going to be challenging to do that," adds Field.

Still, they're hopeful momentum will build, as the world continues to struggle with the impacts of changing climates, both environmental and political.

"My parents would oftentimes tell me knowledge is power," says Schell. "This is the work that we do, and we will continue to do the work because the mission is incredibly important."

Some researchers also believe the Nature Assessment is required by a law requiring the federal government to provide regular updates on the state of global change.