US Department of Agriculture has told staff to censor use of the term 'climate change' and replace it with 'weather extremes'

  • The USDA's public affairs team issued new guidelines after Trump's election
  • It advises how staff word their discussions of topics involving climate change 
  • The edict was leaked in emails from staff at a federal conservation department 
  • Employees were instructed on terms to avoid and those to use in their place
  • Critics may view this as interference from President Trump's administration
  • Trump has been an outspoken sceptic of man-made climate change

By Tim Collins For Mailonline and Ap and Afp

Published: 09:50 GMT, 8 August 2017 | Updated: 15:03 GMT, 8 August 2017

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has advised its staff to censor their language around climate change, it has emerged.

In a series of emails, a senior member of staff at the federal department outlined a list of terms to be avoided and others to be used in their place.

Top of the list was the phrase 'climate change' itself, which employees were instructed to replace with 'weather extremes.'

They were also advised to alter various phrases that suggest the role of human activity on the environment.

Critics will likely view this as evidence of President Trump's scepticism on the topic directly affecting the way government departments conduct their work.

The USDA has advised its staff to censor their language around climate change. In a series of shocking emails, a senior member of staff at the federal department outlined a list of terms to be avoided and others to be used in their place (stock image)

The USDA has advised its staff to censor their language around climate change. In a series of shocking emails, a senior member of staff at the federal department outlined a list of terms to be avoided and others to be used in their place (stock image)

LANGUAGE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

The US Department of Agriculture has issued the following advice on the language that should be used in official reports about climate change.

Terms on the left should be avoided in favour of those on the right:

Climate change = weather extremes  

Climate change adaptation = resilience to weather extremes

Reduce greenhouse gases = build soil organic matter, increase nutrient use efficiency 

Sequester carbon = build soil organic matter

In an in-depth report for The Guardian, reporter Oliver Milman outlined the findings, obtained from communications between staff at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

The NRCS is a department of the USDA that provides technical expertise and conservation planning for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners wanting to make conservation improvements to their land.

In an email dated February 16 Dr Bianca Moebius-Clune, director of soil health at the NRCS, stated that the USDA's public affairs team had issued new guidelines for how staff should word their discussions of topics involving climate change.

Other blacklisted phrases include 'reduce greenhouse gases', which should be replaced with 'build soil organic matter, increase nutrient use efficiency'.

Employees were also advised to substitute the terms 'sequester carbon' in favour of 'build soil organic matter' and 'climate change adaptation' should become 'resilience to weather extremes'.

References to economic growth, business opportunities in rural states, agro-tourism and 'improved aesthetics' should be 'tolerated if not appreciated by all', the Guardian reported.

Writing in emails obtained by the site, Dr Moebius-Clune said: 'We won't change the modeling, just how we talk about it.

'There are a lot of benefits to putting carbon back in the [soil], climate mitigation is just one of them.'

Another email from deputy chief for programs, Jimmy Bramblett, on January 24 January, he reportedly instructed staff that the Obama-era priority of climate change 'is not consistent with that of the incoming administration.'

In a statement to MailOnline, a spokesman for the NRCS said: 'The Natural Resources Conservation Service has not received direction from USDA or the Administration to modify its communications on climate change or any other topic. 

'The agency continuously evaluates its messaging to America's farmers, ranchers, and foresters as they work to implement voluntary conservation on their operations to improve the health of our soil, air, water, and habitat.

'These emails, sent in the first days of the new Administration to a small number of agency staff, did not reflect the direction of senior agency leadership.' 

The United States announced on Friday it would still take part in international climate change negotiations in order to protect its interests, despite its planned withdrawal from the Paris accord on global warming.

Two months after Trump announced the United States would abandon the 2015 global pact, his administration confirmed it had informed the United Nations of its 'intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement'.

This is a process that will take at least until 2020.

The US is the world's second biggest producer of greenhouse gases after China and its withdrawal was a seen as a body blow to the Paris agreement.

The US is the world's second biggest producer of greenhouse gases after China. Its withdrawal from the Paris accord on global warming was a seen as a body blow to the agreement (stock image)

The US is the world's second biggest producer of greenhouse gases after China. Its withdrawal from the Paris accord on global warming was a seen as a body blow to the agreement (stock image)

The accord commits signatories to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

This is blamed for melting ice caps and glaciers, rising sea levels and more violent weather events.

They vowed steps to keep the worldwide rise in temperatures 'well below' two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial times and to 'pursue efforts' to hold the increase under 1.5 degrees Celsius.

CLIMATE CHANGE ALREADY AFFECTING THE US, LEAKED REPORT SAYS

A federal climate report says the United States is already feeling the effects of climate change, with temperatures rising dramatically over the last four decades.

The report, by scientists from 13 federal agencies, says extreme heat waves have become more common and extreme cold waves less common since the 1980s.

Average US temperatures have risen dramatically and fast, with recent decades the warmest of the past 1,500 years.

It also says emissions of greenhouse gases will affect the degree to which global temperatures continue to rise. 

The Paris accord commits signatories to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. This graphic shows Nasa / NOAA data that found 2016 was the warmest year globally on record

The Paris accord commits signatories to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. This graphic shows Nasa / NOAA data that found 2016 was the warmest year globally on record

This is a claim President Donald Trump and some members of his cabinet have disputed the New York Times, which acquired a draft copy of the report, said.

'Americans are feeling the effects of climate change right now,' said the report which has not yet been released or approved by President Donald Trump's administration.

'How much more the climate will change depends on future emissions and the sensitivity of the climate system to those emissions.' 

The draft report, part of the United States National Climate Assessment, is done every four years. It has been signed by the National Academy of Sciences.