Climate Scientists Step Forward in National Trend of Whistleblowing

At least six former government employees from agencies such as the EPA have stepped forward to share their whistleblowing experiences publicly. The climate whistleblowers allege interference by the current administration in scientific reporting and communication. Each individual separately alleges that the White House has prevented crucial scientific information about climate change and more from reaching the public and decision-makers. 

For example, Maria Caffrey, a former National Parks Service employee, shared with the Guardian that her scientific report was edited by the service to omit any references to the effects of human activity on public lands or climate change. When she pushed back on what she felt was a violation of the NPS’s mission, she faced retaliation, first through a demotion, and ultimately when her position was cut. As a response, she filed a whistleblower complaint in July of 2019 and, as to her experience, she stated:

“I have faced retribution. I was threatened and placed in a hostile work environment. It’s clear in some agencies there’s a culture of fear where scientists are being intimidated. When I wrote this report, politics was the last thing on my mind, I was thinking about climate change and these coastal parks.”

Joe Clement faced similar retaliation for essentially trying to do the job he was hired for at the Department of the Interior. After almost seven years of work as a senior executive, a week after speaking at the United Nations about climate change adaptation issues, Clement received an email that said he was being moved to a new position. He also overheard a conversation in the office that he was reassigned in the hopes he would quit. In response, Clement hired legal counsel and filed a whistleblower disclosure and complaint, which is ongoing. He has also since published an op-ed in the Washington Post sharing his experience. 

The coming forward of these six climate whistleblowers appears to be a part of a national trend in the United States. A trend where public opinion has turned in favor of using whistleblower laws as a check to government action. Such actions are increasingly recognized and lauded as necessary to the preservation of democracy and the rule of law.

Learn more: 

• Information on the protections afforded federal whistleblowers
• What Should I do if I’m Facing Whistleblower Retaliation?
• Can You Blow the Whistle on the President? Whistleblower Attorneys Provide the Answers
• Protecting Whistleblowers is a Bipartisan Tradition in the United States