The Guardian revealed Monday that staffers at the Department of Agriculture have been given very specific instructions about which words are acceptable and unacceptable to use when writing about climate change-related work:
"Climate change" is in the "avoid" category, to be replaced by "weather extremes." Instead of "climate change adaption," staff are asked to use "resilience to weather extremes."The primary cause of human-driven climate change is also targeted, with the term "reduce greenhouse gases" blacklisted in favor of "build soil organic matter, increase nutrient use efficiency." Meanwhile, "sequester carbon" is ruled out and replaced by "build soil organic matter." [The Guardian]
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Jared and Ivanka's Albanian islandUnder The Radar The deal to develop Sazan has been met with widespread opposition
-
Storm warningFeature The U.S. is headed for an intense hurricane season. Will a shrunken FEMA and NOAA be able to respond?
-
U.S. v. Skrmetti: Did the trans rights movement overreach?Feature The Supreme Court upholds a Tennessee law that bans transgender care for minors, dealing a blow to trans rights
-
EPA is reportedly killing Energy Star programspeed read The program for energy-efficient home appliances has saved consumers billions in energy costs since its 1992 launch
-
US proposes eroding species protectionsSpeed Read The Trump administration wants to change the definition of 'harm' in the Environmental Protection Act to allow habitat damage
-
Severe storms kill dozens across central USSpeed Read At least 40 people were killed over the weekend by tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms
-
Rain helps Los Angeles wildfires, risks mudslidesSpeed Read The weather provided relief for crews working to contain wildfires, though rain over a burn area ups the chances of flooding and mudslides
-
Death toll rises in LA fires as wind lull allows progressSpeed Read At least 24 people have died and 100,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders
-
Biden cancels Italy trip as raging LA fires spreadSpeed Read The majority of the fires remain 0% contained
-
Fast-spreading Los Angeles wildfires spark panicSpeed Read About 30,000 people were under an evacuation order as the inferno spread
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cycloneSpeed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
