The new Trump administration is delivering huge changes in the way the federal government operates. One expected result is for the conduct of science programs to reflect realism rather than idealism or political beliefs. This expectation needs to be fulfilled quickly to improve the public’s perception of, confidence in, and acceptance of government policies that must be based on solid scientific foundations. Public trust in government edicts that are ostensibly science-based has sunk to new lows, and the regulated have become leery of the regulators for good reason. 

In the coming weeks, leading the charge for better, uncensored scientific practice hopefully will be Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President Donald Trump’s choice for National Institutes of Health director. Bhattacharya was one of the many advocates for more sensible and compassionate directives during the COVID-19 outbreak as expressed in the Great Barrington Declaration. This October 2020 declaration now has more than 940,000 signatures and expresses “grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies.” The declaration urges an approach called “focused protection.”

“The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk [especially the elderly and infirm],” it states. “Adopting measures to protect the vulnerable should be the central aim of public health responses to COVID-19.”

This is good advice for tackling all pandemics going forward.

Additional Trump picks — including Lee Zeldin to head up the Environmental Protection Agency, Chris Wright for energy secretary, and Doug Burgum to serve as secretary of the Department of the Interior — are expected to initiate changes for the better on environmental issues.

Like public health concerns, environmental challenges with the nation’s air, water, waste streams, forests, energy, and other natural resources require objective oversight from leaders who want to make a positive impact for everyone.

On a personal note, to avoid mandates by the Biden administration’s EPA, I decided on an early retirement starting Jan. 19, 2021, the day before the onset of the Biden takeover. I had served for decades as an air pollution administrator and air quality meteorologist with a large county health department. I retired early because of a concern, which played out, that the Biden administration had an excessive emphasis on anthropogenic climate catastrophe.

Regardless of my healthy, informed, and reasonable skepticism on the climate change issue, I had been curbed in the public presentation of climate data in my area of expertise in 2020 and anticipated that limitation would only increase with the Biden administration.

To be sure, humans have a significant, documented impact on climate. For instance, the “urban heat island” effect has been known for many decades. This manmade impact yields cityscapes that are substantially warmer than surrounding countrysides. Yet, the increased heat does not seem to prevent migration into the cities.

A key worry is whether in the long run, global climate change from human activity will be catastrophic.  However, it is more likely that climate change will be adaptable with infrastructure enhancements, ecosystem management, and improvements in people-focused endeavors such as increasing accessibility to clean energy resources and adequate heating and cooling units.

This bottom line is accomplishments for the public good are within reach as long as science-based decisions escape the clutches of partisan politics. The Trump administration must bring sanity to science and eschew idealism and partisanship. No one should expect perfection, but everyone should expect, and deserves, dramatic improvement in the way the federal government delivers science-based services.

This article first appeared February 6, 2025, in The Washington Examiner and is reprinted here by permission.