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Science Meets Politics: Environmental Research, Regulation And Protections In North Carolina

North Carolina coast at Hatteras Island
Flickr user/betancourt
North Carolina coast at Hatteras Island

North Carolina coast at Hatteras Island
Flickr user/betancourt
North Carolina coast at Hatteras Island

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

President Trump’s budget proposes funding cuts to regulatory and research-based agencies and would also impact state programs. We look at how this state might fare environmentally.

Among environmentalists, there’s some hand-wringing going on. The first draft of the Trump administration's budget calls for cuts to regulatory and research-based scientific agencies like the EPA, NASA and NOAA. Proposed cuts could eliminate funding for climate change research and impact state environmental programs.

In reaction to this, scientists are organizing a 'March for Science' on April 22 (Earth Day) to bring attention to some of these issues. But not everyone is on board. Some in the scientific community say a march would over-politicize their work.

Mike Collins and his guests will discuss how this atmosphere could impact environmental research being done in North Carolina as well as take a closer look at environmental protections and regulations in the state.

Our guests today: David Boraks, Rob Young, Brian Magi
Our guests today: David Boraks, Rob Young, Brian Magi

Guests

David Boraks - Environmental reporter for WFAE

Brian Magi - Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at UNC Charlotte. He studies air quality and climate.

Robert Young - Professor of Coastal Geology and Director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University. He is a leading expert on coastal erosion and climate change.Related Events:

 North Carolina Science Festival April 7-23

March For Science in Charlotte April 22, 10am-2pm at Marshall Park

Copyright 2017 WFAE

Erin Keever is Senior Producer of WFAE's Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. She joined WFAE as an intern in 2006 and has since worked as a researcher, production assistant, food blog editor, on-air announcer, and now senior producer. She's a graduate of UNC Charlotte, but before that attended UNC Greensboro where she proudly worked at her college radio station WUAG. Erin is a native Charlottean and still misses the Spaghetti Warehouse from back when SouthEnd was gritty.