Climate Science Legal Defense Fund

ICYMI: Our July newsletter was an easier one to write than our other 2025 updates, because - in the face of an assault on science the likes of which we haven't seen before - scientists are NOT backing down. www.csldf.org/2025/07/31/j...

Heading to #ESA2025? Have a legal question related to your career, research, First Amendment or academic freedom rights (or something else on your mind)? @csldf.org attorneys will be at ESA offering free, confidential 1:1s for anyone who needs our help. www.csldf.org/event/esa-20...

Text graphic with CSLDF logo in the lower right corner. Text overlay reads "We've been selected for a CREDO grant! Vote for CSLDF: credodonations.com // Thank you!"

We've been selected as a CREDO Mobile grant recipient! Anyone can vote for one (or two, or all three) of the progressive organizations selected for August - including @csldf.org! - and help decide how the available funds will be split. Vote now: www.credodonations.com/organization...

Despite the many attempts by the current administration to silence federal scientists - including retaliating against 144 EPA employees for signing a letter critical of the administration - they are failing. Scientists are fighting back. 🥊🥊🥊

www.csldf.org/2025/07/31/j...

Climate Litigation Toolkit - Climate Science Legal Defense Fund Our Climate Litigation Toolkit explain the best practices for safely and effectively engaging in scientific consulting work.

Scientific consulting is one way researchers can help discredit the anti-science movement & safeguard future research & progress. Although there are potential legal risks related to this work, those risks can be mitigated with the help of our Climate Litigation Toolkit: www.csldf.org/resources/cl...

If you're interested in updates that go deeper than our sometimes-snarky social posts, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter! Once or twice a month, you'll get an update on our work defending scientists in the midst of an all-out assault on their critical work. eepurl.com/dfHVgb

We can! We've helped lots of scientists deal with invasive FOIA requests over the years.

You can use our secure online form: www.csldf.org/contact

Or reach us by phone/Signal: (646) 801-0853

GoLd sTaNdaRd of sCiEnCe *definitely* means telling student researchers that their work on IMPROVING HEALTH EQUITY is “antithetical to scientific inquiry” & “[does] not enhance health, lengthen life or reduce illness.”

.....

climate.law.columbia.edu/content/trum...

The Trump administration is doing everything it can to squelch the development, use and communication of science. He can't revoke physics or chemistry but can fire the physicists and the chemists.

Trump fossil-fuel push setting back green progress decades, critics warn US president using ‘invented’ national energy crisis to justify expansion of coal, oil and gas, experts say

“This isn’t quite at the level of the 17th-century church’s persecution of Galileo for saying the Earth goes around the Sun, but it’s in a similar spirit of ideology trying to squelch science,” @michaelgerrard.bsky.social, @sabincenter.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Summer isn't over... but our summer matching campaign is! 🤩🎉 Thanks to our awesome pro-science supporters, we met our goal very quickly this year. In such dark times, you all provide us with a beacon of hope. Thank you. ❤️

Katharine Hayhoe: Climate Communication that Works The key to climate communication? Talk about what people already care about.

In a world of polarized headlines, Katharine Hayhoe is cutting through the noise.

She’s not just a top climate scientist — she’s showing how to talk about climate in ways that build trust, not division.

📰 Read more on Scientista:

We've said it before, but this seems short-sighted... climate.law.columbia.edu/content/trum...

Planning to make some Good Trouble? Do so safely with the help of our Activism & Advocacy Toolkit: www.csldf.org/resources/ac...

graphic showing increases in extreme precipitation across the continental US

The National Climate Assessment may have been deleted but the planet keeps reminding us what it said

Trump Seeks to Cut Basic Scientific Research by Roughly One-Third, Report Shows

Science is what makes America great - brilliant researchers [from across the globe] making scientific breakthroughs that expand our horizons, improve lives, and change the course of human history. It takes a small mind to not understand that.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/s...

Well, some seem to think so... but slashing NASA's funding sure isn't going to help us get there. 😵‍💫 climate.law.columbia.edu/content/whit...

Make Algal [Blooms] Great Again? Sounds about right for this administration.

climate.law.columbia.edu/content/noaa...

Ahh! Thanks for letting us know.

Here is the working link: www.csldf.org/2025/06/26/j...

What exactly does democracy look like in 2025? In our humble [and enraged] opinion, it looks like all of us standing together against tyranny. www.csldf.org/2025/06/22/j...

A Pocket Guide for Scientists: The First Amendment - Climate Science Legal Defense Fund We wrote this guide so scientists can make informed decisions about how to safely and effectively participate in advocacy and activism.

The 1st Amendment protects scientists who engage in advocacy & activism - even if they work for a federal agency. We joined forces with @aclu.org to create a guide for scientists who wish to speak out while minimizing negative repercussions: www.csldf.org/resource/fir...

Our summer match continues, & the outpouring of support for our work has been truly heartening in these dark times. If you'd like your gift to be doubled and go twice as far in defense of the scientific endeavor, please donate now: csldf.org/summer

Information is power, and they know it. climate.law.columbia.edu/content/near...

Texas flood forecasts were accurate. It wasn’t enough to save lives. The National Weather Service issued timely alerts, meteorologists say, but few were listening in the hours before the early morning flash floods.

It takes many experts to accurately predict extreme weather events, warn the public, help communities recover, AND do the research to address a changing climate. When you take a chainsaw to things you don't know anything about, the results can be tragic. www.eenews.net/articles/tex...

Scientists: If you're feeling overwhelmed, alarmed, angry... we get it. And if you're feeling alone, we are here to support you. Since 2011, @csldf.org has protected & defended scientists, & we are not going anywhere.

csldf.org/contact for free, confidential legal help.

It's giving "just stop the Covid testing!" vibes. climate.law.columbia.edu/content/noaa...

Please reach out to us for a free, confidential 1:1 with one of our attorneys:

Online form: www.csldf.org/contact
Phone/Signal: (646) 801-0853
Email: lawyer@csldf.org

SLAPP’ed — Inquisitive Scientific truth shouldn’t be determined in a courtroom.

Epidemiologist and self-described anti-SLAPP law advocate @cbpolis.bsky.social‬ says it plainly: Scientific truth shouldn’t be determined in a courtroom.

Read more from Dr. Polis about how SLAPP laws are misused to harass and silence science: inquisitivemag.org/articles/the...

If you haven't read the Make America Healthy Again "report" yet, keep an eye out for some scientific "gold standards" like: references to non-existent studies, broken links, misrepresentations of scientific findings, & more!

climate.law.columbia.edu/content/maha...

Our June update is a reminder of what democracy looks like in 2025. As we see it, it looks like all of us standing together against tyranny. www.csldf.org/2025/06/26/j...