After months of speculation, the federal government has made official its plans to shutter a key research office responsible for investigating potential risks to public health and the environment, NPR reported.

"This is a travesty," Zoe Lofgren, a House member representing California and the ranking member on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, said in a statement.   

What's happening?

Lee Zeldin, Donald Trump's head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced in a July 18 statement his plans to permanently close EPA's Office of Research and Development. 

According to its website, "The Office of Research and Development (ORD) is the scientific research arm of EPA. Its leading-edge research informs Agency decisions and supports the emerging needs of EPA stakeholders, including the Agency's state, tribal, and community partners." 

While Zeldin's statement emphasized the closure's supposed financial savings, critics blasted the move as leaving the EPA "flying blind," in the words of Kyla Bennett, director of science policy for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, per NPR. 

Closing the office "will not only cripple EPA's ability to do its own research, but also to apply the research of other scientists," Bennett said, per NPR. The closure, along with other budget cuts and the slashing of thousands of EPA jobs, will render EPA "unable to use the best available science." 

"These short-sighted cuts will ultimately affect every American, and it is despicable," Bennett added, per NPR. 

Lofgren agreed, saying in her statement, "The Trump Administration is firing hardworking scientists while employing political appointees whose job it is to lie incessantly to Congress and to the American people." 

"The obliteration of ORD will have generational impacts on Americans' health and safety," she added.  

Why does environmental research matter?

In his statement announcing the ORD's closure, Zeldin touted what he claimed would be roughly three-quarters of a billion dollars in savings due to the move. 

However, when considering all the work that the ORD has done over the years, the move likely will prove costly in the long run.

Do you think our power grid needs to be upgraded? Definitely 👍 Only in some states ☝️ Not really 👎 I'm not sure 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

The ORD is as old as the EPA itself. Republican President Richard Nixon established the ORD as part of the EPA in 1970 at a time when environmental protection was a much less politically divisive issue than it is today.

"Well, when the EPA was created … the issue of the environment was a very nonpartisan, bipartisan issue," said William Ruckelshaus, the first EPA administrator, in a 2015 interview with the Center for Public Integrity.

"There wasn't a lot of dispute over the need to protect public health, protect the environment."  

Over its more than 50 years in existence, the ORD has made a number of landmark contributions to the health and safety of not only hundreds of millions of Americans but also countless people around the world. 

"Historically, EPA researchers have addressed many major public health concerns, such as lead contamination, air pollution, drinking water quality, and chemical safety," the EPA said of the ORD during a 2020 celebration of the agency's 50-year anniversary.

"Today, EPA remains at the forefront of investigating emerging environmental challenges," which include "the impacts of wildfire smoke on air quality," contamination from so-called forever chemicals like PFAS, and even the spread of COVID-19.

All of that research, along with grant money paying for additional studies outside of the EPA, will cease once Zeldin shutters the ORD. 

What's being done about continuing environmental research?

On the note of environmental protection investment once being more bipartisan, there is an organization called Nature Is Nonpartisan, founded by Benji Backer, who spoke to TCD about the group in March. Backer and Co. reportedly persuaded Trump to sign a recent pro-environment executive order to create a "Make America Beautiful Again Commission" to "advise and assist the President regarding how best to responsibly conserve America's national treasures and natural resources." 

It's unclear if the commission advised on this latest ORD shuttering or if this had already been decided, but the goal of the group is to make sure there are environmental advocates with seats at the table moving forward rather than simply hoping for the best amid cost-cutting measures. 

Regardless, closing the ORD means the loss of one of the world's leading centers for environmental research. Without its contributions, policymakers, public-health officials, and members of the general public will be much less informed about the impacts of rising global temperatures, air pollution, chemical contamination, the dangers of pesticides, and many, many other important public health issues.

The closure of the ORD is an important reminder that it is important to use your voice whenever and wherever possible, regardless of your preferred political party, to advocate for the issues that are important to you, as public sentiment always helps to shape what any politician feels is the right way forward.

Further, regardless of the policies coming out of Washington, there always are steps that can be taken at the community and individual level to reduce the amount of pollution and waste being generated and to better care for the environment we all call home.

Things as simple and wide-ranging as riding a bicycle instead of driving, growing your own food, or repurposing single-use packaging all can add up to make a big difference, no matter what's going on in Washington. 

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.