Trump Is Gutting Weather Science, Diminishing Disaster Response

As a warming planet delivers more extreme weather, experts warn that the Trump administration is dismantling the government’s disaster capabilities.

Search and rescue workers climb a hill of debris and tree trunks, looking for survivors of the Texas flood.
A cadaver dog was used to search for human remains among the rubble near the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas. Credit…Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times

By Lisa FriedmanMaxine JoselowCoral Davenport, and Megan Mineiro, NY Times

In an effort to shrink the federal government, President Trump and congressional Republicans have taken steps that are diluting the country’s ability to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to, catastrophic flooding and other extreme weather events, disaster experts say.

Staff reductions, budget cuts, and other changes made by the administration since January have already created holes at the National Weather Service, which forecasts and warns of dangerous weather.

Mr. Trump’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year would close 10 laboratories run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that research the ways a warming planet is changing weather, among other things. That work is essential to more accurately predicting life-threatening hazards. Among the shuttered labs would be one in Miami that sends teams of “hurricane hunters” to fly into storms to collect critical data. The proposed budget would also make major cuts to a federal program that uses river gauges to predict floods.

The president is also envisioning a dramatically scaled-down Federal Emergency Management Agency that would shift the costs of disaster response and recovery from the federal government to the states. The administration has already revoked $3.6 billion in grants from FEMA to hundreds of communities around the country, which were to be used to help these areas protect against hurricanes, wildfires, and other catastrophes. About 10 percent of the agency’s staff members have left since January, including senior leaders with decades of experience, and another 20 percent are expected to be gone by the end of this year.

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New Jersey’s giant port braces for impact of Trump’s coming tariff

The Port of New York and New Jersey was the busiest cargo gateway in the country in May.

By Eddie Callahan, Patch Staff

The Port of New York and New Jersey and its employees are getting more time to prepare for any potential changes to their operations from new tariffs on imports into the United States.

President Donald Trump is moving the deadline for countries to strike trade deals with the United States back, saying new tariffs will go into effect on August 1 if no agreements are reached. This includes a new 35 percent import tax for Canada, announced by President Trump Thursday.

The definitive impact on local jobs, 4,000 of which employees service the Port of New York and New Jersey, is still unclear. Based on the data of goods flowing in and out of the site, the Port of New York and New Jersey could be in a position to be hit more than others.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reported that as of the latest available monthly data, the site was the busiest cargo gateway in the whole country for May. This equates to 774,698 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods being handled throughout the month. This is a 6.5 percent increase from January through May as compared to 2024.

Last year, the site was the largest container port on the U.S. East Coast and the third largest in the country, handling 8,698,526 TEUs, according to a data report from the Port of New York and New Jersey. Only Los Angeles and Long Beach ranked higher.

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Teamsters union at war with Republic Services, escalating strikes

The escalation comes a week after Local 25 went on strike against Republic Services in the Boston area.

By Jacob Wallace, Waste Dive

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters says more than 2,000 Republic Services workers represented by the union are either striking or honoring picket lines around the country, a rapid escalation of a dispute that kicked off in the Boston area last week.

The union is accusing Republic, the second-largest waste company in the country, of mistreating and underpaying its workers. In a news release Wednesday, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said it will “go to war against Republic Services.”

“Republic Services has been threatening a war with American workers for years — and now, they’ve got one,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “The Teamsters have had it with Republic. We will flood the streets and shut down garbage collection in state after state. Workers are uniting nationwide, and we will get the wages and benefits we’ve earned, come hell or high water.”

The escalation comes after Teamsters Local 25, which serves the greater Boston area, announced it would go on strike on July 1. Since then, other chapters in California, Illinois, Georgia, and Washington have announced they are on strike, while picket lines have extended to Seattle and the Bay Area in California. 

Twenty-two percent of Republic Services’ workers are unionized, the highest rate among large, publicly traded waste companies. Republic has maintained in statements that it is offering workers competitive labor contracts. For the Boston area contract, the company said its most recent contract offer would have included a 39% increase over five years and a 14% increase in the first year.

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Cement recyling plant in Brooklyn, loathed by neighbors, to close

Rubble in a worksite.
Photo credit: David Gray

By Rosemary Misdary, Gothamist

A concrete recycling facility on the Brooklyn waterfront that produced dust so thick it blanketed nearby residents’ cars and windows will cease operations next month, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday.

The Department of Transportation facility had been the subject of complaints since it opened in February of last year. Workers operated heavy-duty machinery that smashed blocks of concrete, filtered the rubble, and then repurposed it for sidewalk extensions, pedestrian islands, and more. But that process produced a lot of dust stored on the windy waterfront. Residents said the chalky material made it difficult to breathe and burned their eyes.

A petition to close the recycling center garnered more than 1,500 signatures. About 50 residents blocked the entrance to the facility during a tense demonstration earlier this year.

“With the closure of the concrete recycling facility at the Columbia Street Waterfront District, we are taking an important step toward realizing a greener, safer, and more vibrant Brooklyn Marine Terminal for the residents of this community,” Adams said.

The mayor said the closure would help allow major redevelopment plans for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal to advance. That 122-acre project, which includes the site of the current concrete facility, would build 5,000 market-rate apartments, along with 2,700 more affordably priced units. Adams said the concrete recycling yard would be fully closed by the end of the year. The facility’s previous location at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park was closed to make space for the construction of offshore wind turbines.

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Bill seeks to stem foreign ownership of New Jersey farms

 
From New Jersey Assembly Republicans

Bill seeks to stem foreign ownership of New Jersey farms

     New Jersey Assemblyman Alex Sauickie’s bill (A1276) would prohibit ownership of agricultural land in New Jersey by foreign governments and people, reflecting growing concern over foreign encroachment on American soil, especially near critical infrastructure and military installations.

     “Farm security is national security. Foreign ownership of American farmland, especially by adversarial nations like China, poses a direct threat to our food supply and national security,” said Sauickie (R-Ocean). “New Jersey must not sit idle while other states and our federal government act decisively to secure American agriculture.”

     The national plan, announced Monday, includes provisions to limit future purchases by foreign entities and explore ways to claw back land already acquired, particularly in proximity to military facilities. The initiative follows increased scrutiny over Chinese-linked purchases of farmland near sensitive U.S. defense locations.

     Sauickie is the sponsor of a related bill (A4781) that prohibits foreign ownership of protected lands adjacent to military facilities in New Jersey, an additional safeguard to protect national defense and state security.

     “Together, these bills are commonsense, proactive measures to ensure New Jersey’s farmland and military-adjacent properties remain in American hands,” Sauickie said. “This isn’t a partisan issue, it’s a national security issue. The protection of our food systems, farmland, and military infrastructure must transcend politics.”

     Sauickie pointed out that at least 12 other states have already enacted similar laws restricting foreign ownership of agricultural land, including Texas, Florida, and South Dakota.

     “New Jersey needs to act now,” he added. “When the Legislature reconvenes this fall, we must move these bills to the floor for immediate action. We cannot afford to leave New Jersey’s agricultural future vulnerable to foreign influence.”

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NJ Gov. Murphy: Sign bill to cut red tape from home solar installations

Editor’s Note: Princeton Associate Professor makes a clear case why Governor Murphy should sign a bill that removes stifling restrictions on home solar systems. The Legislature agrees unanimously. The only question: Why did it take so long?

By Jesse Jenkins, Princeton Energy and Environment

Clean energy is under attack from the Trump administration and its allies in Congress. In New Jersey, this coincides with skyrocketing energy demand and electricity costs, all of which make it more difficult for us to meet our climate targets.

But the challenges are not just coming from the federal level. Our state has also imposed its own barriers by failing to permit and interconnect clean-energy projects quickly and cheaply. New Jersey’s leaders may not be able to dictate what happens in Washington, D.C., but they must step up and remove the roadblocks to clean, affordable energy that are under their control.

Gov. Murphy can act now to cut the red tape that is holding back rooftop solar and home battery installations for families across the state. Solar is exceedingly popular among New Jersey voters. Unfortunately, it remains far more expensive to install here than around the world. Take Australia, where households typically install solar panels for less than $1 per watt—while we typically pay about three times as much. And Australia isn’t unique. Across other peer countries, rooftop solar costs a fraction of what it does for New Jerseyans. We shouldn’t stand for that kind of price premium.

One of the biggest reasons solar is pricier here is the time and complexity involved in permitting a project and connecting it to the grid. New Jersey has some of the longest residential solar permitting timelines and some of the most complicated and burdensome permitting requirements in the country. Each of our state’s 564 municipalities has a process, some requiring applicants to go to City Hall during limited opening times and wait in line to have applications processed manually. Permitting is so onerous in some communities that installers avoid them altogether.

This inefficiency isn’t just a headache — it’s a major cost driver. Permitting can add $3,800 to $4,500 to the cost of a typical rooftop solar system in New Jersey. For too many families, that’s the difference between going solar and giving up on the idea. It doesn’t have to be this way.

The Legislature just unanimously passed a bill (S-4100/A-5264) that would fast-track permits for rooftop solar and home batteries. All applicants would need to do is fill out standardized information online and click a button. And that’s exactly as easy as it should be. This type of “smart permitting” has a track record of safety and results, and is already in use in hundreds of communities around the country.

If Gov. Murphy signs this bill, it would be a big win. Earlier this year, Brown University Climate Lab estimated that bringing smart permitting to New Jersey could help over 200,000 families install rooftop solar, saving them $15 billion on their utility bills over the lifetime of these systems.

Read the full story here

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