From the Director’s Desk: Let Us Remain Vigilant and Focused

A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As we prepare for the challenges of the next four years under the Trump administration, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to exposing injustices and defending public health, climate integrity, scientific research, and data accessibility—all of which are under attack.

In October 2024, FracTracker’s Dr. Ted Auch authored a report summarizing Project 2025—a strategic blueprint that the current administration is aggressively implementing.

We must brace ourselves for significant challenges, but we must also arm ourselves with knowledge. We see the contours of the administration’s agenda taking shape:

• A coordinated push to dismantle environmental regulations through executive orders and strategic appointments.
• Systematic efforts to diminish the role of critical federal agencies such as NOAA, FEMA, and the EPA in collecting and maintaining climate and environmental data.
• A concerted focus on reshaping federal agency leadership, replacing experts with political appointees, and undermining the very institutions designed to protect public welfare.

Systematic efforts to limit access to information, including undermining data availability and curtailing public access to federal records, obscures accountability and hinders informed decision-making at every level of governance.

These actions threaten to fundamentally alter how data is collected, shared, and utilized by key agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. They jeopardize years of progress in climate monitoring, transparency, and environmental justice, particularly efforts aimed at protecting communities most vulnerable to pollution and climate change. The ripple effects will extend to agencies like NOAA and FEMA, whose climate data and disaster response capabilities are critical to our collective safety.

The stakes are undeniably high. The very future of federal agencies tasked with monitoring environmental pollutants and maintaining critical data hangs in the balance. If we do not resist these regressive policies, the hard-fought progress we’ve made toward environmental justice and public health protections could be undone. Now, more than ever, we must engage in the democratic process, stay informed, and advocate for policies that safeguard our communities and our planet. There is still much we can achieve at the state and local levels.

Marginalized communities—including undocumented residents, LGBTQ2IA+ individuals, frontline residents, and others—face heightened threats under this administration’s policies. We stand in solidarity with these communities and remain committed to advocating for their rights and protections. We cannot achieve environmental justice without justice for all marginalized groups, as our struggles are fundamentally interconnected.

Let us remain vigilant and focused. While many of Trump’s executive orders are likely to face legal challenges and rejection, the administration’s strategic moves that pose the greatest threat demand our full attention and collective action.

Together, we will continue to fight for a just, sustainable future.

In solidarity,