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Has Your Scientific Work Been Cut? We Want to Hear.

For a new series, Times journalists are speaking with scientists whose research has ended as a result of policy changes by the Trump administration.

By most metrics, 2025 has been the worst year for the American scientific enterprise in modern history.Since January, the Trump administration has made deep cuts to the nation’s science funding, including more than $1 billion in grants to the National Science Foundation, which sponsors much of the basic research at universities and federal laboratories, and $4.5 billion to the National Institutes of Health. Thousands of jobs for scientists and staff members have been terminated or frozen at these and other federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Park Service.To thousands of researchers — veteran scientists and new grad students, at state universities and Ivy League institutions alike — these sweeping reductions translate as direct personal losses: a layoff, a shuttered lab, a yearslong experiment or field study abruptly ended, graduate students turned away; lost knowledge, lost progress, lost investment, lost stability; dreams deferred or foreclosed.“This government upheaval is discouraging to all scientists who give their time and lend their brilliance to solve the problems beleaguering humankind instead of turning to some other activity that makes a more steady living,” Gina Poe, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote in an email.Next year looks to be worse. The 2026 budget proposed by the White House would slash the National Science Foundation by 56.9 percent, the N.I.H. by 39.3 percent and NASA by 24.3 percent, including 47.3 percent of the agency’s science-research budget. It would entirely eliminate the U.S. Geological Survey’s $299 million budget for ecosystems research; all U.S. Forest Service research ($300 million) and, at NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, all funding ($625 million) for research on climate, habitat conservation and air chemistry and for studying ocean, coastal and Great Lakes environments. The Trump administration has also proposed shutting down NASA and NOAA satellites that researchers and governments around the world rely on for forecasting weather and natural disasters.

Climate
Conservation
Forests

Renewables have now passed coal globally – and growth is fastest in countries like Bhutan and Nepal

Even as clean energy progress slows in the US and EU, developing nations such as Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are surging ahead.

Commuters pass a new solar array in the Maldives. Ishara S. Kodikara/GettyFor the first time, renewables have toppled coal as the world’s leading source of electricity, in keeping with International Energy Agency projections for this historic shift. But progress is uneven. The shift away from fossil fuels has slowed in the United States and the European Union – but accelerated sharply in developing nations. China attracts headlines for the sheer scale of its shift. But many smaller nations are now taking up clean energy, electric vehicles and battery storage at remarkable speed, driven by governments, businesses and individuals. Importantly, these moves often aren’t about climate change. Reasons range from cutting dependence on expensive fossil fuels and international market volatility to reducing reliance on unreliable power grids to finding ways to boost livelihoods. Pakistan’s enormous solar boom is partly a response to spiking power prices and grid unreliability. Meanwhile Pacific nations see clean energy as a way to slash the crippling cost of importing diesel and expand electricity access. My research has given me insight into the paths four countries in South Asia have taken to seize the benefits of clean technology, each shaped by unique pressures and opportunities. All are moving rapidly, blending necessity with ambition. Their stories show the clean energy path isn’t one-size-fits-all. Bhutan: from hydropower giant to diversified energy The landlocked Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has long relied on hydroelectricity. But the country faces a persistent challenge: seasonal variability. Most of Bhutan’s plants are run-of-the-river, meaning they don’t have large dams. As a result, power generation drops sharply during dry winter months when river flows are low, particularly between January and April. At the same time, rapid industrialisation has driven up demand for power, outstripping winter capacity. Climate change is expected to worsen this variability. During these months, Bhutan shifts from its role as clean-energy exporter to an importer, buying electricity from India. But imports aren’t a long-term solution. To secure reliable supply year-round, Bhutan’s government is diversifying energy sources. To that end, up to 300 megawatts of solar is expected to be installed, potentially as soon as next year. Bhutan’s first utility-scale solar farm is under construction. Over time, Bhutan will blend hydro with solar, wind and biomass to create a more balanced clean energy mix. Bhutan has long relied on hydroelectricity. But authorities are moving to find new sources of power as demand surges and river flows become less reliable. Kuni Takahashi/Getty Nepal: electric cars in Kathmandu Nepal has long imported all its petrol from India. But when India launched an unofficial blockade in 2015, vital supplies and fuel tankers stopped coming. Fuel prices surged. People queued for days at petrol stations, while black-market prices soared and public transport collapsed. Households, already enduring many hours of daily blackouts, faced even worse conditions. The crisis exposed Nepal’s deep vulnerability. The mountainous nation makes its own electricity, largely through hydropower. But it had to import petrol. In 2018, authorities launched an ambitious program to shift to electric vehicles and free the nation from dependence on imports. Electric vehicles would charge on domestic hydropower and reduce Kathmandu’s well-known air pollution. The plan called for electric vehicles to reach 90% share of new commuter vehicle sales (including popular two-wheelers) by 2030. This year, the electric vehicle share for new four-wheel vehicles reached 76%, jumping rapidly in just the past year. Exemptions and incentives have supported this growth. As electric vehicles surge, new charging station and maintenance businesses have emerged. It’s not all smooth sailing. A protest movement recently overthrew Nepal’s government, creating uncertainty. Analysts warn stable government policy and infrastructure investment will be essential. Electric vehicles are soaring in popularity in Nepal. Pictured: the opening of an event by Chinese carmaker BYD in Kathmandu in February 2025. Chinese News Service/Getty Sri Lanka: innovation emerging from crisis Between 2022 and 2023, a serious economic crisis hit Sri Lanka. Citizens reeled from severe energy shocks, such as fuel shortages, 12-hour blackouts and punishing electricity price hikes of over 140%. Half a million people were disconnected from the grid as they were unable to pay. The crisis showed how fragile the island nation’s energy system was. Authorities looked for better options. Hydroelectricity has long been a mainstay, but solar and wind are growing rapidly. Sri Lanka runs on about 50% renewables, with hydro the largest contributor by far. By 2030, the goal is to reach 70% renewable energy. While renewables offer cheap power, they have to be coupled with energy storage and new systems to integrate them into the grid. In response, universities, international partners and companies have worked to integrate renewable energy in the grid, developing artificial intelligence-based systems to improve reliability and supply to consumers. For instance, they can reduce voltage fluctuations associated with high uptake of rooftop solar. Importantly, some of these projects have a gender focus, prioritising women-led small enterprises and training for women engineers. The crisis may prove a turning point by exposing vulnerabilities and pushing Sri Lanka to adopt new energy solutions. After a severe energy crisis gripped Sri Lanka, authorities began looking for ways to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels. Pictured: a closed service station in Colombo in late 2022 with a sign warning of no petrol. Ishara S. Kodikara/Getty Maldives: bringing solar to diesel-dependent islands Few countries are more vulnerable to fossil fuel dependence than the Maldives. Spread across 1,000 islands, the nation relies on imported diesel for power generation, with high transport costs and exposure to oil price swings. In 2014, Maldivian authorities launched the Preparing Outer Islands for Sustainable Energy Development project as part of a plan to reach net-zero by 2030. The project focuses on around 160 poorer islands further from the capital, progressively replacing a reliance on diesel generators with solar arrays, battery storage and upgraded power grids. Women’s economic empowerment is a priority, as women-led enterprises run solar systems and utilities train female operations officers. The Maldives government released a 2030 roadmap, which has a welcome focus on the “just energy transition” – ensuring communities benefit equitably. For the Maldives, renewables are more than an environmental choice — they are a lifeline for economic survival and resilience. Lessons from the margins While these energy transitions rarely make global headlines, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives show how smaller economies are finding their own pathways to cleaner, more resilient energy. Their reasons to act stem from different crises, from blockades to economic upheaval. But each nation is working to turn challenge into opportunity. Reihana Mohideen has previously consulted for the POISED project in the Maldives.

Energy
Business
Crisis

Immune-informed brain aging research offers new treatment possibilities, speakers say

Speakers at MIT’s Aging Brain Initiative symposium described how immune system factors during aging contribute to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other conditions. The field is leveraging that knowledge to develop new therapies.

Understanding how interactions between the central nervous system and the immune system contribute to problems of aging, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, and more, can generate new leads for therapeutic development, speakers said at MIT’s symposium “The Neuro-Immune Axis and the Aging Brain” on Sept 18.“The past decade has brought rapid progress in our understanding of how adaptive and innate immune systems impact the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders,” said Picower Professor Li-Huei Tsai, director of The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and MIT’s Aging Brain Initiative (ABI), in her introduction to the event, which more than 450 people registered to attend. “Together, today’s speakers will trace how the neuro-immune axis shapes brain health and disease … Their work converges on the promise of immunology-informed therapies to slow or prevent neurodegeneration and age-related cognitive decline.”For instance, keynote speaker Michal Schwartz of the Weizmann Institute in Israel described her decades of pioneering work to understand the neuro-immune “ecosystem.” Immune cells, she said, help the brain heal, and support many of its functions, including its “plasticity,” the ability it has to adapt to and incorporate new information. But Schwartz’s lab also found that an immune signaling cascade can arise with aging that undermines cognitive function. She has leveraged that insight to investigate and develop corrective immunotherapies that improve the brain’s immune response to Alzheimer’s both by rejuvenating the brain’s microglia immune cells and bringing in the help of peripheral immune cells called macrophages. Schwartz has brought the potential therapy to market as the chief science officer of ImmunoBrain, a company testing it in a clinical trial.In her presentation, Tsai noted recent work from her lab and that of computer science professor and fellow ABI member Manolis Kellis showing that many of the genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease are most strongly expressed in microglia, giving it an expression profile more similar to autoimmune disorders than to many psychiatric ones (where expression of disease-associated genes typically is highest in neurons). The study showed that microglia become “exhausted” over the course of disease progression, losing their cellular identity and becoming harmfully inflammatory.“Genetic risk, epigenomic instability, and microglia exhaustion really play a central role in Alzheimer’s disease,” Tsai said, adding that her lab is now also looking into how immune T cells, recruited by microglia, may also contribute to Alzheimer’s disease progression.The body and the brainThe neuro-immune “axis” connects not only the nervous and immune systems, but also extends between the whole body and the brain, with numerous implications for aging. Several speakers focused on the key conduit: the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the body’s major organs.For instance, Sara Prescott, an investigator in the Picower Institute and an MIT assistant professor of biology, presented evidence her lab is amassing that the brain’s communication via vagus nerve terminals in the body’s airways is crucial for managing the body’s defense of respiratory tissues. Given that we inhale about 20,000 times a day, our airways are exposed to many environmental challenges, Prescott noted, and her lab and others are finding that the nervous system interacts directly with immune pathways to mount physiological responses. But vagal reflexes decline in aging, she noted, increasing susceptibility to infection, and so her lab is now working in mouse models to study airway-to-brain neurons throughout the lifespan to better understand how they change with aging.In his talk, Caltech Professor Sarkis Mazmanian focused on work in his lab linking the gut microbiome to Parkinson’s disease (PD), for instance by promoting alpha-synuclein protein pathology and motor problems in mouse models. His lab hypothesizes that the microbiome can nucleate alpha-synuclein in the gut via a bacterial amyloid protein that may subsequently promote pathology in the brain, potentially via the vagus nerve. Based on its studies, the lab has developed two interventions. One is giving alpha-synuclein overexpressing mice a high-fiber diet to increase short-chain fatty acids in their gut, which actually modulates the activity of microglia in the brain. The high-fiber diet helps relieve motor dysfunction, corrects microglia activity, and reduces protein pathology, he showed. Another is a drug to disrupt the bacterial amyloid in the gut. It prevents alpha synuclein formation in the mouse brain and ameliorates PD-like symptoms. These results are pending publication.Meanwhile, Kevin Tracey, professor at Hofstra University and Northwell Health, took listeners on a journey up and down the vagus nerve to the spleen, describing how impulses in the nerve regulate immune system emissions of signaling molecules, or “cytokines.” Too great a surge can become harmful, for instance causing the autoimmune disorder rheumatoid arthritis. Tracey described how a newly U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved pill-sized neck implant to stimulate the vagus nerve helps patients with severe forms of the disease without suppressing their immune system.The brain’s borderOther speakers discussed opportunities for understanding neuro-immune interactions in aging and disease at the “borders” where the brain’s and body’s immune system meet. These areas include the meninges that surround the brain, the choroid plexus (proximate to the ventricles, or open spaces, within the brain), and the interface between brain cells and the circulatory system.For instance, taking a cue from studies showing that circadian disruptions are a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, Harvard Medical School Professor Beth Stevens of Boston Children’s Hospital described new research in her lab that examined how brain immune cells may function differently around the day-night cycle. The project, led by newly minted PhD Helena Barr, found that “border-associated macrophages” — long-lived immune cells residing in the brain’s borders — exhibited circadian rhythms in gene expression and function. Stevens described how these cells are tuned by the circadian clock to “eat” more during the rest phase, a process that may help remove material draining from the brain, including Alzheimer’s disease-associated peptides such as amyloid-beta. So, Stevens hypothesizes, circadian disruptions, for example due to aging or night-shift work, may contribute to disease onset by disrupting the delicate balance in immune-mediated “clean-up” of the brain and its borders.Following Stevens at the podium, Washington University Professor Marco Colonna traced how various kinds of macrophages, including border macrophages and microglia, develop from the embryonic stage. He described the different gene-expression programs that guide their differentiation into one type or another. One gene he highlighted, for instance, is necessary for border macrophages along the brain’s vasculature to help regulate the waste-clearing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow that Stevens also discussed. Knocking out the gene also impairs blood flow. Importantly, his lab has found that versions of the gene may be somewhat protective against Alzheimer’s, and that regulating expression of the gene could be a therapeutic strategy.Colonna’s WashU colleague Jonathan Kipnis (a former student of Schwartz) also discussed macrophages that are associated with the particular border between brain tissue and the plumbing alongside the vasculature that carries CSF. The macrophages, his lab showed in 2022, actively govern the flow of CSF. He showed that removing the macrophages let Alzheimer’s proteins accumulate in mice. His lab is continuing to investigate ways in which these specific border macrophages may play roles in disease. He’s also looking in separate studies of how the skull’s brain marrow contributes to the population of immune cells in the brain and may play a role in neurodegeneration.For all the talk of distant organs and the brain’s borders, neurons themselves were never far from the discussion. Harvard Medical School Professor Isaac Chiu gave them their direct due in a talk focusing on how they participate in their own immune defense, for instance by directly sensing pathogens and giving off inflammation signals upon cell death. He discussed a key molecule in that latter process, which is expressed among neurons all over the brain.Whether they were looking within the brain, at its border, or throughout the body, speakers showed that age-related nervous system diseases are not only better understood but also possibly better treated by accounting not only for the nerve cells, but their immune system partners. 

Food
Health
Science

Riccardo Comin, two MIT alumni named 2025 Moore Experimental Physics Investigators

MIT physicist seeks to use award to study magnetoelectric multiferroics that could lead to energy-efficient storage devices.

MIT associate professor of physics Riccardo Comin has been selected as 2025 Experimental Physics Investigator by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Two MIT physics alumni — Gyu-Boong Jo PhD ’10 of Rice University, and Ben Jones PhD ’15 of the University of Texas at Arlington — were also among this year’s cohort of 22 honorees.The prestigious Experimental Physics Investigators (EPI) Initiative recognizes mid-career scientists advancing the frontiers of experimental physics. Each award provides $1.3 million over five years to accelerate breakthroughs and strengthen the experimental physics community.At MIT, Comin investigates magnetoelectric multiferroics by engineering interfaces between two-dimensional materials and three-dimensional oxide thin films. His research aims to overcome long-standing limitations in spin-charge coupling by moving beyond epitaxial constraints, enabling new interfacial phases and coupling mechanisms. In these systems, Comin’s team explores the coexistence and proximity of magnetic and ferroelectric order, with a focus on achieving strong magnetoelectric coupling. This approach opens new pathways for designing tunable multiferroic systems unconstrained by traditional synthesis methods.Comin’s research expands the frontier of multiferroics by demonstrating stacking-controlled magnetoelectric coupling at 2D–3D interfaces. This approach enables exploration of fundamental physics in a versatile materials platform and opens new possibilities for spintronics, sensing, and data storage. By removing constraints of epitaxial growth, Comin’s work lays the foundation for microelectronic and spintronic devices with novel functionalities driven by interfacial control of spin and polarization.Comin’s project, Interfacial MAGnetoElectrics (I-MAGinE), aims to study a new class of artificial magnetoelectric multiferroics at the interfaces between ferroic materials from 2D van der Waals systems and 3D oxide thin films. The team aims to identify and understand novel magnetoelectric effects to demonstrate the viability of stacking-controlled interfacial magnetoelectric coupling. This research could lead to significant contributions in multiferroics, and could pave the way for innovative, energy-efficient storage devices.“This research has the potential to make significant contributions to the field of multiferroics by demonstrating the viability of stacking-controlled interfacial magnetoelectric coupling,” according to Comin’s proposal. “The findings could pave the way for future applications in spintronics, data storage, and sensing. It offers a significant opportunity to explore fundamental physics questions in a novel materials platform, while laying the ground for future technological applications, including microelectronic and spintronic devices with new functionalities.”Comin’s group has extensive experience in researching 2D and 3D ferroic materials and electronically ordered oxide thin films, as well as ultrathin van der Waals magnets, ferroelectrics, and multiferroics. Their lab is equipped with state-of-the-art tools for material synthesis, including bulk crystal growth of van der Waals materials and pulsed laser deposition targets, along with comprehensive fabrication and characterization capabilities. Their expertise in magneto-optical probes and advanced magnetic X-ray techniques promises to enable in-depth studies of electronic and magnetic structures, specifically spin-charge coupling, in order to contribute significantly to understanding spin-charge coupling in magnetochiral materials.The coexistence of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism in a single material, known as multiferroicity, is rare, and strong spin-charge coupling is even rarer due to fundamental chemical and electronic structure incompatibilities.The few known bulk multiferroics with strong magnetoelectric coupling generally rely on inversion symmetry-breaking spin arrangements, which only emerge at low temperatures, limiting practical applications. While interfacial magnetoelectric multiferroics offer an alternative, achieving efficient spin-charge coupling often requires stringent conditions like epitaxial growth and lattice matching, which limit material combinations. This research proposes to overcome these limitations by using non-epitaxial interfaces of 2D van der Waals materials and 3D oxide thin films.Unique features of this approach include leveraging the versatility of 2D ferroics for seamless transfer onto any substrate, eliminating lattice matching requirements, and exploring new classes of interfacial magnetoelectric effects unconstrained by traditional thin-film synthesis limitations.Launched in 2018, the Moore Foundation’s EPI Initiative cultivates collaborative research environments and provides research support to promote the discovery of new ideas and emphasize community building.“We have seen numerous new connections form and new research directions pursued by both individuals and groups based on conversations at these gatherings,” says Catherine Mader, program officer for the initiative.The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation was established to create positive outcomes for future generations. In pursuit of that vision, it advances scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and the special character of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Energy
Chemicals
Conservation

We Must Fight for Our National Parks

The national park system includes crucial spaces that hold our shared history and biodiversity and the promise of a livable future.

In this American moment, there are many concerns and crises. The country’s national park system might not be at the top of everyone’s list, but these parks impact our lives in ways we often don’t realize. We go to national parks to learn new perspectives, find peace and solitude in nature and history, and make cherished memories with our loved ones. By securing these spaces for us, national parks protect the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we grow. These public lands hold our history, preserving our culture and the stories that make up our identities and values as Americans. They also provide livelihoods, not only to the rangers who work in them but also to the small communities and businesses that surround them, contributing almost $56 billion annually to the nation’s economy. People are seeking them out now more than ever: A record number visited National Park Service (NPS) sites in 2024. Plus, the NPS is viewed most favorably of all major federal agencies, with the least amount of partisan division in public opinion of the sixteen agencies included in a Pew Research Center report last year. Following the events of November 2024, I naïvely thought (or held on to hope) that due to all of these factors and more, the Trump Administration would ignore Project 2025 and avoid damaging cuts to the agency. How could they come after an agency that is so beloved by such a vast majority of Americans? But if we’ve learned anything over the past nine months, it’s that we must not underestimate the carnage this administration will enthusiastically inflict on people and institutions. The NPS is currently navigating a 24 percent cut to its permanent staff and has lost more than $260 million in funding, in addition to a federal hiring freeze and additional cuts by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Many permanent positions simply can’t be filled during the busiest seasons, and seasonal hiring delays also heavily impact operations. The Trump Administration is also directing NPS units to rewrite history by Executive Order, soliciting visitors to report via QR code “negative” signage and exhibits that in fact explain the complex and nuanced history of our nation’s integral moments of progress. Our national parks are under attack in more ways than this, but what’s happening on the ground? I spent the past two years traveling to twenty-three different NPS sites for graduate research and formerly worked for the service in Glacier National Park in Montana. My research team studies ranger-led public programs in national parks, such as guided hikes, tours, and campground programs. We systematically observe these programs and survey the audience about the experience afterward. I’ve spent a lot of time with frontline interpretive rangers and audiences, and the questions and comments expressing support for these brave public servants have been abundant since January. In March, I observed several visitors to California and Nevada’s Death Valley asking rangers leading programs about the challenges the park is facing, and expressing their dismay at what DOGE was doing to the National Park Service. One question on our survey that audience members fill out asks them to write out what this program inspired them to do. While entering the data, we noticed that many participants wrote comments such as, “Vote against Trump and anyone who doesn’t support the national parks,” and, “Write Congress to stop the terminations of the employees.” Visitors are also flooding the QR code system for reporting signage and exhibits with messages of support for the NPS and irrelevant comments to slow down the review process. Fighting the attacks against the NPS is certainly at the top of park visitors’ minds, and the battle is being brought to the streets as well. Grassroots organizations like the Resistance Rangers and The Wilderness Society have been organizing resistance and resilience, getting the word out through podcasts and social media channels, and rallying protests across the country. Alt National Park Service is another grassroots group of NPS supporters who use social media to motivate action. With more than 4.4 million followers on Facebook, the group uses its platform to spread information and call out outrageous attacks by the Trump Administration. NPS employees are also unionizing through the National Federation of Federal Employees, the National Treasury Employees Union, and others to protect against additional threats, including at Yosemite National Park and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. They join other NPS units that have unionized in the past. Despite illegal firings, understaffing, burnout, and other daily challenges, brave public servants continue to show up with passion and joy for the stewardship of what environmentalist Wallace Stegner called America’s “best idea.” With a smile, they demonstrate resilience to hundreds of visitors at an information desk, grit their teeth against the pouring rain while conducting plant surveys, and paddle dozens of miles to set nets that remove invasive fish species. They haven’t given up, and neither should we. “I’m incredibly heartened by people stepping up to advocate for national parks,” one NPS worker told me. “Through this work, they’re recognizing the power they have to make a difference when they get organized. It makes me hopeful to see these people finding their voices and learning how to make change, both in parks and in their own communities.” The massive outcry and collective action from those who love public lands have worked in some regards. In June, the Senate removed a provision from Trump’s budget bill that would have sold off millions of acres of public lands, a major win. While the fight is ongoing, there is no shortage of passionate people who believe in the agency’s mission to preserve “unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” The U.S. National Park System represents more than historic buildings, forests, mountains, and rivers. It includes crucial spaces that hold our shared history, biodiversity, and the promise of a livable future. These spaces belong to each and every one of us, not corporations or politicians. Now, more than ever, we need bold voices, fierce protectors, and unwavering advocates to stand up against exploitation and greed. Whether you’re hiking a trail, sharing science, organizing your community, or calling out injustice, you are part of a powerful movement. And you can take action right now. (Personally, I love the 5 Calls app, which helps to streamline daily advocacy by helping constituents contact their representatives about issues that matter to them.) Every action matters. Every voice counts. Together, we can defend the wild and historic places that heal us, ground us, and remind us of what’s worth fighting for.  Mary Grace Larson is an environmental advocate. After working for the National Park Service at Glacier National Park in Montana, she is currently pursuing a master’s degree in forest resources and environmental conservation at Virginia Tech. Read more by Mary Grace Larson October 8, 2025 1:54 PM

Business
Conservation
Culture

Opinion: Lewis & Clark nickname change to River Otters is a unnecessary culture wars overreaction

Lewis & Clark recently changed its school nickname from Pioneers to River Otters.

When I was a senior at Lewis & Clark College 50 years ago a friend and I ran the first down chains for home football games. As I recall, pay was $10 per game. We almost certainly were overpaid. Then again, we were among the few L&C students not on the team who cared much about the school’s football games. Or even knew that they were taking place. Autumn afternoons in the Pacific Northwest trend toward warm and sunny. There was plenty to do besides sitting to watch a team playing at the lowest level of intercollegiate athletics. There were plenty of seats to be had in Griswold Stadium. All objective evidence suggests this remains the case. I don’t think anyone has a problem with this. Few students choose to go to L&C because of the athletic program. There are more important reasons. This is a liberal arts school with an impressive student-to-faculty ratio. The professors are there primarily to teach and engage with their students, and not to turn the heavy lifting over teaching assistants while they pursue research. L&C was among the first institutions of higher education in the nation to feature and encourage overseas study programs. The law school is recognized annually as one of the best in the country for environmental law. The campus atop Palatine Hill in Southwest Portland annually is ranked as one of the most beautiful in the country. All of which makes the school’s decision to wade into the culture wars by changing the name of its nickname -- or mascot -- perplexing. L&C athletic teams have been known as the Pioneers, sometimes shortened to Pios, since 1946. Henceforth, they will be called the River Otters. River otters are cuddly, near-sighted members of the weasel family. The reason for the change? Pioneers are seen as evocative of the westward expansion across North America by people of European heritage. This is a narrow interpretation of a word that Merriam-Webster says can be defined as “a person or group that originates or helps open up a new line of thought or activity or a new method of technical development.” In other words, exactly what should be happening on college campuses, even the one on Palatine Hill. The school will tell you the decision came as the result of a survey of the campus community – students, staff, faculty and alumni – and after nearly 40 community dialogues. As a participant in a small, community dialogue session in 2023 that also included L&C president Robin Holmes-Sullivan, it became clear to me that this part of the process was window dressing. The decision to drop the Pioneers nickname already had been made. Less than half of the students responded to the community mascot survey, which more than anything underscores the perception the school’s nickname isn’t a burning issue on campus. So, why make it one? Let’s be clear. White, westward expansion was a disaster for the native peoples in its path. This is documented and undebatable. When Pioneers are defined as white men in buckskins, well, that is a problem. So, why define it that way? There are multiple generations of living L&C athletes who competed proudly under the Merriam-Webster definition of Pioneers as leaders in thought and methodology. They have taken lessons learned on playing fields, courts and in the water and applied them to post-collegiate success in a wide variety of professional fields. They didn’t come to L&C solely for athletics, but because the school offered them opportunities to pursue academic excellence while also participating in college sports. Colin Oriard, inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2023, took part of one year away from the basketball program to study in Spain. Try that at the Division I level. When I was at L&C, the student body president played on the offensive line. It’s not a good moment for higher education in this country. Small, liberal arts schools that expect their students to think critically and embrace a diversified college experience are being squeezed by the skyrocketing cost of attendance, a shrinking pool of applicants and a hostile administration in Washington D.C. In other words, this is the worst possible time to create a social justice controversy when there hadn’t been one before. Last summer, I received an email from the L&C Board of Alumni asking me to participate in a survey about why alumni giving is down. It was a slap-the-forehead moment. Talk about cause and effect. Transforming the Pioneers into cuddly, nearsighted River Otters contributed to that problem. That change won’t solve it. -- Ken Goe for The Oregonian/OregonLiveKenGoe1020@gmail.com Goe is a 1976 graduate of Lewis & Clark, and member of the L&C Sports Hall of Fame If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Culture
Education
Water

Indigenous Peoples Day 2025. What’s open, what’s closed in Oregon

Most Federal offices are closed and there is no mail delivery Monday, Oct. 13, 2025

Oregonians celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, Oct. 13. The holiday was officially recognized in Oregon in 2021. It’s a Federal holiday (Columbus Day), but not a day off for state or city government offices. See the list below for information on service adjustments and closed governmental agencies. WHAT’S CLOSEDFederal offices and courts will be close (for Columbus Day, a federal holiday). Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde tribal offices will be closed.The Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) in Portland will be closed. All Oregon Department of Environmental Quality vehicle emission test centers in the Portland area are closed on Mondays.Many banks are closed. Check with your institution. The stock market is open, but the bond market is closed.U.S. Postal Service offices will be closed and there is no regular mail delivery.WHAT’S OPENPortland parking meters will be enforced.State offices in Oregon and Washington will be open.Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington county government offices will be open.City of Portland offices will be open.Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington County courts will be open.TriMet, Portland aerial tram, Portland Streetcar, and C-Tran will operate on regular schedules.LIBRARIESMultnomah County library locations are open. Clackamas County are open. Check with Washington County Cooperative Library Services for information on specific branches: wccls.org/dates-closedMost school districts will be open; check with your district or school.Portland garbage collection will take place as scheduled on Monday, Oct. 13. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Indigenous
Government

Saving Zimbabwe’s Vultures

From poisonings to collisions with power lines, these birds face many threats. But as they decline, so does their ability to control the spread of deadly diseases. The post Saving Zimbabwe’s Vultures appeared first on The Revelator.

A narrow road meanders through Zimbabwe’s Vumba Mountains, where sweet songs of various bird species fill the air on a sunny afternoon. The distant chatter of monkeys adds to this wildlife melody. But one sound, once common, no longer echoes over the mountains: the calls of soaring vultures. These majestic birds have disappeared from this part of Zimbabwe. Big game poachers despise vultures for circling over the carcasses of dead animals — a natural process that inadvertently “snitches” poachers’ illicit activities to game park rangers. Poachers have retaliated by lacing the bodies of their prey with deadly poison, which vultures consume, dramatically increasing the killers’ body counts. That’s not the only threat these birds face. Habitat loss is a big issue. In some cases vultures are killed for their parts, which are used in traditional “medicine” in some cultures of Zimbabwe. And to a lesser extent, power lines have also killed vultures, who die from electrocution or after collisions with the structures. The threats have all but wiped out the vultures, in this area known for its birds. “Birding in the Vumba as well as the Burma Valley area [in Zimbabwe] is considered a shining jewel in the Eastern Highlands, and tourists travel far and wide for the very special birds found here. However, vultures are no longer a presence,” says Sue Fenwick, a trustee of the Friends of the Vumba, an organization working to protect wildlife in the area. The group’s mission faces many challenges. In this part of Zimbabwe, illegal farming activities have decimated vast tracts of wildlife habitats. Benhildah Antonio, who manages the Preventing Extinctions Program at Birdlife Zimbabwe, says the twin threats of farming and poisons intersect. In addition to poachers’ poisons, Antonio says vultures are often poisoned unintentionally. This is prevalent in farming communities surrounding national parks, where lions prey on livestock. “Farmers put poison on carcasses to target lions or any other predators but unintentionally end up poisoning vultures,” Antonio says. “The vultures will die in large numbers because of their feeding habits. One carcass can have 50 or more vultures feeding on it.” A Loss That Echoes Vultures’ disappearance from Zimbabwe and other African countries comes with an environmental cost. “We call them the ‘clean-up crew,’” says Antonio. “When the vultures feed on dead carcasses, they help us with cleaning the environment; they help us with sanitation. That’s the main ecosystem service we get from vultures. They do this free service. They also reduce the spread of … rabies, anthrax, tuberculosis, and other diseases.” When vultures eat a carcass, they can digest pathogens without getting sick. At the same time, vultures reduce the available food sources for feral dogs and other scavengers, thereby suppressing diseases like rabies. Many Species, Similar Threats According to Birdlife Zimbabwe, Africa is home to 11 vulture species, six of which can be found in Zimbabwe. All but one of the species in Zimbabwe are threatened or endangered. The International Union of Conservation of Nature Red List, which assesses the conservation status of species around the world, classifies the white-backed vulture, white-headed vulture, and hooded vulture as critically endangered. The lappet-faced vulture and cape vulture are categorized as endangered and “vulnerable to extinction” respectively, while the palm-nut vulture is listed as “least concern” (although it was last assessed a decade ago). Regardless of their conservation status, all vultures in Zimbabwe have special protection under the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Act, making it illegal to kill a vulture, even in cases of accidental harm.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Jeannee Sacken (@authorjeanneesacken) The six species have specific habitat niches, but many of their ranges overlap in Zimbabwe. The lappet-faced vulture breeds in Lowveld semi-arid areas like Gonarezhou National Park, while the white-headed vulture breeds in Hwange National Park and Gonarezhou. Cape vultures rely on cliffs for breeding and roosting, particularly in the central parts of the country. The hooded vulture breeds in low-lying areas of Tsholotsho and Gokwe. Palm-nut vultures, though considered rare in Zimbabwe, are seen mostly in the country’s Eastern Highlands. But no matter where they’re found, they face the same dangers — and vultures’ declines aren’t unique to Zimbabwe. A Worldwide Threat José Tavares, director of the Vulture Conservation Foundation, says the major threats to vultures in Africa and globally come from the ingestion of poison baits. “These [poison baits] are mostly put to deal with human-wildlife conflict, although in Southern Africa sentinel poisoning has also been significant,” Tavares says, referring to the poisoning to prevent circling vultures from giving away poachers’ locations. “The illegal poisoning of wildlife is a non-discriminatory measure that has a profound impact.” Zimbabwe presents a powerful illustration of the problem. According to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) 2019-2022 Action Plan, the country experienced increased vulture poisoning incidents that are causing vulture populations to decline and harming other species. Mass poisoning events cited in the report include 191 vultures in Gonarezhou National Park in 2012, 40 at a farm in Fort Rixon in 2014, 22 in Sinamatella in 2015, 43 at Sentinel Ranch in 2016, 94 on the border of Gonarezhou National Park in 2017, 24 at Sengwa Wildlife Research Station in 2017, 28 in Main Camp in 2018, and 21 in Hwange National Park in 2019. There is no recent data from Zimparks covering the post-COVID period. According to former Zimparks director Fulton Mangwanya, a single vulture provides over US$11,000 worth of ecosystem services. “By halting the spread of disease, they are worth much more to society in saved health service costs, not to mention contributing significant revenue to the tourism sector as well,” Mangwanya wrote in the action plan. This poses direct threats to humans. In India, for example, one study reveals that between 2000 and 2005, the loss of vultures caused around 100,000 additional human deaths annually, resulting in more than £53 billion per year in mortality damages, or the economic costs associated with premature deaths. These deaths, experts say, were due to the spread of disease and bacteria that vultures could have otherwise removed from the environment. Has the decline in vultures caused similar problems in Zimbabwe? Kerri Wolter, chief executive officer of VulPro, a South African nonprofit organization devoted to safeguarding Africa’s vulture species, says it’s impossible to link the recent outbreak of anthrax in Gonarezhou National Park to the massive poisoning deaths of 280 vultures in the park in the past few years. The anthrax outbreak last year killed more than 120 animals, including four elephants, 75 buffaloes, and 38 kudus. However, more studies are needed on the possible link between the declining vulture population in Zimbabwe and rising cases of anthrax in the country’s national parks. But Wolter says the future of these birds is dire and the threat of vulture species’ extinctions is a very real possibility. “If we cannot get a grip on poisonings, I fear we will continue to see losses and some species disappearing,” she says. Saving Zimbabwe’s Vultures With an understanding of these threats, local and international groups have mobilized several efforts in Zimbabwe that aim to save the country’s last vultures. Birdlife Zimbabwe, for example, is working with communities to resolve human-wildlife conflict issues so they don’t end up causing vulture deaths as collateral damage. “We have created vulture support groups in [Zimbabwe’s] Gwayi area, where community members do vulture monitoring and educate other community members about vulture conservation,” Antonio says. “We are also educating and building capacity for law-enforcement agents so that they are conscious about vulture conservation and crimes against vultures. We also work with traditional healers because of belief-based use of vultures in traditional medicines.” And Tavares says the Vulture Conservation Foundation is fighting illegal poisoning through engaging with the competent authorities for the proper enforcement of the law and adequate investigation of illegal poisoning incidents to reduce impunity. Wolter says their work impacts the whole Southern Africa region. “We lead by example and have assisted, trained, and worked with Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust and Jabulani Safaris [in Zimbabwe] and continue to do so,” she says. Other efforts, including one funded by tourism, help vultures by giving them what they need most: safe food. The Victoria Falls Safari Collection, operated by the Africa Albida Tourism hospitality group, runs the Vulture Culture Experience at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, where the birds are provided with food, typically animal carcasses, to support their survival and well-being.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Estnat Engsted (@ekewildphotography) “Our … conservation initiative has been highly successful in providing a safe food source for hundreds of vultures every day and reducing the risks of poisoning they face in the wild,” says Anald Musonza, head of sales and marketing at Victoria Falls Safari Collection. Musonza says the program has also become a powerful educational platform, where thousands of visitors learn about the plight of these highly endangered raptors and turn into ambassadors for vulture conservation. “Even when our hotels stood still during COVID, the Vulture Culture Experience never stopped — that’s how seriously we take conservation,” Musonza says. He says they work with VulPro as well as the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust on this project. “While the activity is free of charge, guests may make donations towards vulture research, and $1 from selected dishes at our MaKuwa-Kuwa Restaurant is donated to vulture conservation programs,” he says. Musonza says their biggest challenges have been in constantly raising awareness of the threats vultures face and the significant role they play in the ecosystem. “The poisoning of these birds is also of great concern, which is why education plays a crucial role in this conservation initiative,” Musonza says. Previously in The Revelator: Newest Flock of Wild California Condors Faces an Old Threat: Lead Poisoning The post Saving Zimbabwe’s Vultures appeared first on The Revelator.

Animals
Conservation
Culture

Tour operator Intrepid drops carbon offsets and emissions targets

Firm will instead invest A$2m a year in ‘climate impact fund’ supporting renewables and switching to EVsOne of the travel industry’s most environmentally focused tour operators, Intrepid, is scrapping carbon offsets and abandoning its emissions targets as unreachable.The Australian-headquartered global travel company said it will instead invest A$2m a year in an audited “climate impact fund” supporting immediate practical measures such as switching to electric vehicles and investing in renewable energy. Continue reading...

One of the travel industry’s most environmentally focused tour operators, Intrepid, is scrapping carbon offsets and abandoning its emissions targets as unreachable.The Australian-headquartered global travel company said it will instead invest A$2m a year in an audited “climate impact fund” supporting immediate practical measures such as switching to electric vehicles and investing in renewable energy.Intrepid, which specialises in small group tours, said it was stopping carbon offsets and “stepping away” from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), after having committed to 2030 goals monitored by the climate-certification organisation five years ago.In an open letter to staff, the Intrepid co-founder and chair, Darrell Wade, and the chief executive, James Thornton, told staff: “Intrepid, and frankly the entire travel industry, is not on track to achieve a 1.5C future, and more urgent action is required if we are to get even close.”While Intrepid’s brand focuses on the low impact of its group tours, it has long conceded that its bigger footprint is the flights its customers take to reach them, with Wade also admitting two years ago that its offsets were “not credible”.The letter blamed governments that “failed to act on ambitious policies on renewable energy or sustainable aviation fuels that support the scale of change that is required”, adding: “We are not comfortable maintaining a target that we know we won’t meet.”Thornton said the change should build trust through transparency rather than losing customers by admitting its climate pledges had not worked. He told the Guardian: “We were the first global tour operator to adopt a science-based target through the SBTi and now we’re owning the fact that it’s not working for us. We’ve always been real and transparent, which is how we build trust.”He said the fund and a new target to cut the “carbon intensity” of each trip had been developed by climate scientists and would be verified by independent auditors.Part of that attempt would be to reduce the number of long-haul flights taken by customers, Thornton said, by prioritising domestic and short-haul trips, and offering more flight-free itineraries and walking or trekking tours.Environmental campaigners have long dismissed offsets and focused on cutting flying. Dr Douglas Parr, the Greenpeace UK chief scientist, said offsetting schemes had allowed “airlines and other big polluters to falsely claim green credentials while continuing to pump out emissions”.He said Greenpeace backed a frequent flyer levy, with a first flight each year tax-free to avoid taxing an annual family holiday but rising steeply with subsequent flights to deter “the binge flyers who are the main engine of growth for UK flights”.Intrepid’s Thornton said he saw “first-hand how important meaningful climate action is to our founders and owners, who see it as part of their legacy”, but added: “We need to be honest with ourselves that travel is not sustainable in its current format and anything suggesting otherwise is greenwashing.”

Climate
Energy
Science

Oil refinery closures leave workers searching for a job that ‘just doesn’t exist’

For the refinery workers being laid off — most of whom lack a college degree — it’s unlikely they’ll find another job that pays as well, despite recent efforts by the state to help.

In summary For the refinery workers being laid off — most of whom lack a college degree — it’s unlikely they’ll find another job that pays as well, despite recent efforts by the state to help. Wilfredo Cruz went to the doctor in October of last year to have his brain scanned because he was experiencing vertigo — a dangerous condition when you’re a refinery worker like Cruz and your job entails climbing 200-foot towers and fixing heavy machinery.  While he waited at the doctor’s office, he picked up his phone and felt a moment of panic, seeing 100 unread text messages in the last hour.  The Phillips 66 refinery complex in Los Angeles had just said that it was going to close, and Cruz learned in that moment that he would eventually lose his job, along with nearly 1,000 other employees and contractors.  “It was a big shock, a gut punch,” said Cruz, who thinks his last day will be sometime in April. Workers say layoff notices will begin to go out in the next few months.  It’s just one of a handful of refineries that have closed or that intend to close in the coming months. For the workers — most of whom lack a college degree — it’s unlikely they’ll find another job that pays as well, despite recent efforts by the state to help. Though the Trump administration signed legislation creating billions of dollars in tax cuts for oil and gas companies, it’s not going to save these jobs or offer the workers any money to train for new ones.  “You have people earning between $80,000 to $200,000 a year, and almost everyone is a high school graduate and that’s it,” said Cruz. “To go out and look for another job that’s even somewhat comparable, it just doesn’t exist.”  When he isn’t at the refinery, Cruz is wearing a plain black shirt, shorts, and New Balance sneakers — anything that’s easy to clean if his 2-year old son throws food at him, he said. His vertigo is better these days, almost a year after the refinery said it would close, but he now has to find a job so he can support his family and pay his mortgage. The best bet, he said, is to go back to school and start a new career in cybersecurity. Thousands of jobs lost California has about 100,000 workers in the fossil fuel industry, according to an August report by the Public Policy Institute of California. That’s about the population of a small city, such as Merced or Redding. As the state continues its transition to renewable energy, many of those jobs may disappear — and some already have. Refineries have been closing all across the U.S. in recent years, but California has been hit hard, especially in Contra Costa County, Solano County and parts of southern Los Angeles, near Long Beach. First it was the Marathon refinery in Contra Costa County in 2020, which put hundreds of people out of work before the plant converted to renewable fuels with a fraction of the former workforce. Then Phillips 66 began shifting one of its Contra Costa County refineries to renewables and closed an affiliated plant on the Central Coast. A Valero refinery in Solano County is also expected to close in the next few months, leading to more layoffs. Publicly, oil companies have given vague justifications for the closures, though oil industry advocates, such as the Western States Petroleum Association, blame the state’s increased regulation and its renewable energy transition. Environmental groups point to the decrease in oil demand as more Californians turn to electric vehicles.  With thousands of jobs at stake, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic-led state Legislature this summer tried to strike a deal with Valero to avoid the closure of its Solano County refinery. Those conversations are still “ongoing,” said Daniel Villaseñor, the deputy director of communications for the governor.  What the state has offered so far is a $30 million pot of money, which refinery workers can use to train for new jobs. The money went out to four different workforce organizations last February, and they have until 2027 to distribute it to workers in various ways, such as through scholarships.   First: Workers cross a street as smoke billows from a fire at the Martinez Refinery Company in Martinez in Contra Costa County on Feb. 1, 2025. Last: A worker stands atop a tank car that carries liquefied petroleum gas at the Marathon Martinez Refinery on April 27, 2020. Photos by Jose Carlos Fajardo, Bay Area News Group The United Steelworkers union, which represents many of the Phillips 66 refinery workers, received about a third of the money and recruited Cruz to help find eligible workers at his job. Some of his colleagues are trying to become truck drivers, emergency medical technicians, or radiologists, but the state money rarely covers all the training expenses, he said.  In his spare time, Cruz is enrolled in an online, year-long certificate program in cybersecurity at UC San Diego and is using the state money to cover the $4,000 tuition. He said he wants a remote job, something that would allow him to spend more time with his son.  The steelworkers union has pushed Newsom for much more, ideally “hundreds of millions of dollars per year” to help retrain the refinery workers it represents, said Mike Smith, the national bargaining chair for the union. The governor has yet to make any new promises.  Six-figure salary, no degree required The average work day at a refinery might entail crawling into small spaces, withstanding searing heat, or operating heavy machinery with precision. And it can be dangerous: In 2006, the roof of a storage tank collapsed, killing one person and injuring four others at the Phillips 66 refinery complex in Los Angeles, which was then owned by an earlier iteration of the company.   Twelve-hour shifts are the norm, including many night shifts, and overtime is common. Nearby residents complain that the Phillips 66 facilities have a foul smell and that they pump cancer-causing chemicals into the air, creating health risks for the entire community. Workers are required to wear full-body fire retardant uniforms each day because fires are a constant risk, such as last week, when an explosion rocked a Chevron refinery in El Segundo. There was no major damage. Flames and smoke from a large fire rises from the Chevron refinery in El Segundo on Oct. 2, 2025. Photo by Daniel Cole, Reuters Though the work can be physically demanding, the rewards are plentiful. Union workers at the Phillips 66 refinery complex make about $115,000 a year, plus a pension and an 8% match on 401k contributions, said Smith.  Together, the Phillips 66 refineries in Los Angeles and the Valero refinery in Solano County produce about 17% of the state’s gas. Without these facilities, Californians could see higher prices at the pump, according to an independent analysis by the federal government. Laurie Wallace, a self-described artist, never wanted to work in oil and gas, but the money was a big draw, she said. For years, she was working as many as three different jobs, saving up money for punk and ska concerts while flipping burgers at In-N-Out, helping customers at Ace Hardware, or working shifts at a local cafe. Her husband at the time learned about a training program for refinery workers. He said he was going to apply and when she said she was interested, he told her she would never get in.  “I took the test and got the better score,” Wallace said. “I don’t do well with people telling me not to do something.” In the nearly 18 years since that exam, she’s worked at the Phillips 66 refinery complex in Los Angeles, handling the heavy machinery that transports California’s oil and gas. Wallace often earns over $100,000, especially with overtime, allowing her to achieve what many might consider the American Dream: a four-bedroom house in the Long Beach suburbs with an affordable mortgage and family vacations every year, including cruises to Mexico and trips to Las Vegas.  She’ll likely see a pay cut in any future job. In a 2023 study by the UC Berkeley Labor Center, UC Irvine professor Virginia Parks helped survey those who had been laid off by the Marathon oil refinery in Contra Costa County in 2020. She found that roughly a quarter were unemployed or no longer looking for work over a year after losing their jobs. Some workers found opportunities at other oil refineries, though they made less money because they lacked seniority or a union. Others found jobs at utility companies or chemical treatment plants, and a few started working in health care or retail.  “I don’t think (refinery workers) need long training programs but they do need some sort of reskilling,” said Parks, who wants the state to provide workers more financial help. She’s especially interested in state grants that give workers income support while they search for a skilled job. “Otherwise they’re just going to find whatever (job) they can.” Her study found that workers who did find a job after getting laid off made about $38 an hour — $12 less than before.  Lots of experience but few ways to prove it Since the layoffs at the Phillips 66 refinery complex will happen slowly over the next few months, Wallace still has a job for now. Her department is responsible for receiving and shipping the oil and gas that arrives at the Port of Los Angeles, work that is so essential that she thinks she’ll be one of the last people laid off, potentially in 2027. Over the years, she’s driven the trains that transport tons of oil and gas, operated cranes to carry pieces of pipelines and climbed on top of the massive fuel storage tanks that line the 110 Freeway. Often, she said she worked six or even seven days in a row. Laurie Wallace at the end of her overnight shift in front of the Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington, Los Angeles, on Oct. 1, 2025. Photo by Stella Kalinina for CalMatters In April, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and got a modified schedule. Now she works night shifts and only two or three days in a row. After finishing her radiation therapy around 2 p.m., she changes out of her usual attire, a punk T-shirt and jeans, and gets into her work uniform. She then has to get through Los Angeles traffic, bypass the plant’s two layers of security, and travel across the refinery, which takes up multiple city blocks, or about 650 acres. Her shift begins at 4:30 p.m., where she spends 12 hours in a room, alone, under fluorescent lights, actively monitoring 16 different computer screens for changes in pressure or chemistry.  After so many years, staying alert during a night shift is second nature, she said with a laugh. “I’m a little high strung. I have no problem staying awake.”  The stakes are high. If she isn’t paying attention and a machine fails or a tank has the wrong pressure, fuel leaks can occur. In 2014, a hole burst in an underground pipeline near the refinery, pouring 1,200 gallons of oil into a residential street. Although Wallace has used many cranes over the years, she doesn’t have a crane operator’s license. In fact, all of the training that she’s done happens on-site, and her employer isn’t required to track it or give her any credential, such as a license or certificate, that could transfer to another job. After the Marathon refinery in Contra Costa County closed, former workers struggled to substantiate their skills when looking for new jobs, the UC Berkeley Labor survey found.  Drawing directly on the study, and with support from the steelworkers union, longtime labor activist and state Sen. María Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles Democrat, proposed a bill this year that would require employers to provide their workers with proof of any on-the-job training or education. The governor has until Oct. 12 to sign or veto the bill. It’s only “a first step” though, said Parks, a co-author of the study. Long-term, she said refinery workers should have the option to acquire independent certificates or credentials, such as a crane operator license, that prove their skills and don’t rely on an employer at all. “It’s not ideal but it’s temporary”  So far, only a fraction of the oil and gas workers who are eligible for state support have actually received it.  “We just started enrolling members,” said Rosi Romo, who coordinates the grant program on behalf of the steelworkers union. Though the steelworkers union received the money last March, only about 100 people have participated so far, said Romo, most of them in Southern California. She said the program can fund 650 scholarships, offering up to $15,000 in tuition for each worker  In Kern County, where the oil industry is a major employer, the local job centers received over $11 million from the state, which they’ve used to help nearly 370 former oil and gas workers retrain in new careers, including trucking and nursing. The job centers have enough money to serve around 750 people, said Danette Williams, who works in marketing for the centers, known as the Employers’ Training Resource. Unlike the steelworkers union, which is only giving out scholarships, Williams said the Employers’ Training Resource is also offering to reimburse 50% of wages during the first 480 hours of the workers’ new jobs. Romo said she wasn’t aware that was possible under the union’s contract with the state, but if it is, she said she’d try to offer the same benefit. The other organizations who received the grant money did not respond to CalMatters’ questions.  The Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington, on Sept. 30, 2025. Photo by Stella Kalinina for CalMatters Romo, along with other representatives from the steelworkers union, said the work schedule at the Phillips 66 refinery complex is one reason why workers have yet to use most of the money. As of August, about a quarter of union employees have already left the facility for other opportunities, said Smith, the national bargaining chair for the union. The remaining employees are left working overtime.  Once layoffs begin in the coming months, Romo and Smith said they expect an uptick in the number of workers taking advantage of the scholarship money. Phillips 66 did not respond to multiple requests for comment about its overtime policies or other ways it may be supporting workers’ job transitions.  Cruz said he’s working six days a week now, 12 hours each day. To make progress on his cybersecurity course at UC San Diego, he tries to listen to lectures and audiobooks during his commute or while eating lunch or dinner during his two, 30-minute breaks. After he puts his son to sleep around 9 p.m., he has a few hours to study, though he has to wake up at 5 a.m. to make it to his shift on time. “It’s not ideal but it’s temporary,” he said. Wallace has a slight advantage, since she started taking online classes in 2020 to complete her associate degree. She’s still one class short, but she hasn’t had the time to finish it. Between her radiation therapy and the 12-hour night shifts, she said it’s unlikely she’ll be able to study for at least another year while she works with the skeleton crew that’s closing the refinery. If she had time, she said she would finish her associate degree and use the state training grant to help offset the cost of a bachelor’s degree. But because the state tuition grants expire in 2027, it’s quite possible she won’t be able to use the tuition money at all.

Activism
Chemicals
Education

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