Review of recent Trump Administration actions impacting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with a focus on deregulation, scientific research, and disaster preparedness.

In July 2025, the Trump administration has taken significant steps to dismantle environmental regulations and reduce federal involvement in climate science and disaster response. Key actions include:

1. Elimination of the EPA's Scientific Research Arm: The EPA is proceeding with firing hundreds of scientists and eliminating its Office of Research and Development (ORD), which provides independent research underpinning agency policies and regulations.
2. Proposed Rescission of EPA's "Endangerment Finding": The EPA has proposed to revoke the 2009 "endangerment finding," which legally allows the agency to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. This move aims to eliminate a wide range of climate regulations on vehicles, power plants, and oil and gas emissions.
3. Uncertainty and Cuts to FEMA: The administration is sending "shifting signals" regarding the future of FEMA, with calls to eliminate or remake the agency. FEMA has already suspended the $882 million Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, leading to lawsuits from states and concerns about their ability to manage increasing disaster costs.
4. Proposed Closure of Key NOAA Climate Observatories: The proposed 2026 budget for NOAA would end climate research at the agency, specifically targeting the closure of the Mauna Loa Observatory and three other critical monitoring stations. These observatories are crucial for tracking greenhouse gas concentrations and providing long-term climate data.

These actions are driven by a stated desire to reduce regulatory burdens on industries so they can profit while the people suffer, increase economic growth while the environment suffers, and a belief that federal agencies like the EPA and FEMA are inefficient, which is not true. Expect devastating impacts on public health, the environment, and the nation's ability to understand and respond to climate change and natural disasters.

Pre-1890:

• Prior to 1890: Recordkeeping for temperatures in Tampa, Florida, begins.

1890:

• 1890: Temperature records for Tampa, Florida, officially start.

1892:

• September 1892: Temperature records for Plant City, Florida, officially start.

1895:

• Since 1895: Florida's average June temperature has been 79.9 degrees.

Early 1900s:

• Since 1902: Records for temperatures at Page Field in Fort Myers begin.
• Since 1911: Records for temperatures in Sarasota begin.
• July 1914: Temperature records for St. Petersburg, Florida, officially start.

1931:

• June 29, 1931: Monticello, Florida, records the hottest temperature ever in Florida at 109 degrees.

2016:

• August 2016: EPA publishes "What Climate Change Means for Florida," highlighting that the Florida peninsula has warmed more than one degree (F) in the last century.

2020:

• June 26, 2020: Tampa, Florida, last set its previous record high temperature of 99 degrees Fahrenheit.

2023:

• July 2023: The Gulf of Mexico experiences record-breaking warm water temperatures, with a sensor in Manatee Bay recording 101.1 degrees on July 24, potentially breaking the global record for sea surface temperature.
• June 2024: Florida's average temperature was 82.6 degrees, ranking as the 3rd hottest June on record.

2025:

• June 2025: Florida experiences its 12th hottest June on record, with an average temperature of 81.8 degrees. Tampa's average June temperature over the past 10 years (including June 2025) has been 83.7 degrees, compared to an average of 81.3 degrees since 1890.
• July 27, 2025, 3:30 p.m. EDT: Tampa, Florida, soars to 100 degrees, breaking the city’s all-time record high temperature since recordkeeping began in 1890. This also breaks the old record of 99 degrees F set on June 26, 2020. This is the first time in recorded history Tampa has hit 100 degrees. The observation was taken at the airport, where the National Weather Service Tampa office is located (Ruskin, Florida).
• July 27, 2025, 6:34 p.m. EDT (Updated 9:22 p.m. EDT): Forbes publishes "Tampa Hits 100 Degrees For The First Time In Recorded History."
• Friday (August 1, 2025): Heat relief for the Southeast is expected to arrive as a cold front slowly advances into the region, bringing cooler temperatures and an increased chance of rai

Recent studies from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and ongoing research by the University of Delaware and Rutgers University are shedding new light on how large sharks respond to hurricanes and their potential utility in predicting these powerful storms. While some shark species flee from approaching hurricanes, others, like tiger sharks, exhibit unexpected behavior, even increasing in number after a storm passes, likely due to increased scavenging opportunities. This newfound understanding of shark behavior, coupled with the development of "mobile marine monitors" using tagged sharks, offers a promising, albeit complementary, method for gathering crucial oceanographic data to improve hurricane forecasting, especially as climate change is expected to increase storm intensity.

II. Shark Behavior During Hurricanes

Sharks possess unique biological capabilities that allow them to detect and react to approaching storms, though their responses vary significantly by species.

A. Shark Sensory Abilities for Storm Detection

• Barometric Pressure Changes: Sharks can "feel changes in atmospheric pressure through a sensitive inner ear and organ unique to many fish called lateral lines" ("Are sharks scared of hurricanes?", p. 6). The lateral line system is a "tube of sensory cells used to detect pressure changes in the surrounding waters" ("Sharks Can Sense Storms", p. 4). This allows them to anticipate a storm well before its arrival.
• Water Condition Changes: Hurricanes cause "massive waves (as high as 60 feet!) and powerful surges of underwater currents (as deep as 300 feet!), not to mention changes in oxygen levels and salinity (or saltiness) as the ocean’s deep and surface waters mix—all of which can be deadly for marine life" ("Sharks Can Sense Storms", p. 3). Sharks must respond quickly to these changing conditions to survive.

B. Species-Specific Responses

• Fleeing Behavior: Some shark species exhibit a clear avoidance response to hurricanes.
• Nurse, Bull, and Hammerhead Sharks: These species "fled the area before the storm arrived" when Hurricane Irma approached Biscayne Bay, Florida, in 2017 ("Are sharks scared of hurricanes?", p. 6). This "fleeing behavior...wasn't surprising" to researchers ("Are sharks scared of hurricanes?", p. 7). Juvenile blacktip sharks have also been observed moving to deeper waters before tropical storms and hurricanes ("Sharks Can Sense Storms", p. 5).
• "Swarming" or Remaining Behavior: Conversely, some larger, more robust species remain in storm-affected areas, and their numbers may even increase afterward.
• Tiger Sharks: During Hurricane Matthew (a Category 5 storm in 2016), "the Tiger sharks didn't flinch." The study showed that "during the storm, the number of sharks remained steady." Even more surprisingly, "In the days after landfall, the number of Tiger sharks doubled" ("Are sharks scared of hurricanes?", p. 5).
• Scavenging Opportunities: Experts hypothesize that this doubling was due to "the increase of scavenging opportunities from the storm killing marine life" ("Are sharks scared of hurricanes?", p. 5). This is the "opposite of what happened in previous studies involving small sharks" ("Are sharks scared of hurricanes?", p. 5).
• Unanswered Questions: Researchers are still exploring whether "some shark species are attracted to areas recently hit by a hurricane?" and if "they can track the storm with their lateral lines and inner ear?" ("Are sharks scared of hurricanes?", p. 7).