The future of clean energy is in doubt after controversial statements were released by the Trump administration last week.

Government agencies related to science were told not talk to the press, post on social media or update their websites. This is a concern for many, including Oswego State President Deborah Stanley. Stanley, along with 170 other college presidents and chancellors, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump encouraging him and his administration to push towards a future with clean energy.

“We are committed to developing and deploying innovative climate solutions that provide a prosperous future for all Americans,” the letter said.

These university leaders should serve as a model for the leaders of other colleges around the U.S. They have written letters because they are concerned for the future of the country and do not want to see years of progress reversed during Trump’s time in office. Their insistence on not letting climate change become an afterthought is admirable. It should be viewed positively by Oswego State students.

According to the Boston Globe, the new Environmental Protection Agency under Trump is attempting to slow down over 30 newly finalized environmental rules. These rules came to fruition in the closing months of former President Barack Obama’s final term and could potentially be eliminated.

Through the media blackout, the Trump administration is attempting to keep the American people in the dark regarding government agencies, specifically the EPA.

This is not an acceptable action from the leader of this country.

By implementing these regulations, Trump is showing that he expects backlash regarding future EPA decisions. If he has to create a media blackout to hide what is going on in these agencies, perhaps he should realize some of the decisions he is making will have a negative impact on the country moving forward.

Oswego State students should be worried and angry that Trump’s media blackout effects not only the rights of the press, but also discourages those who have spent years of their lives on scientific research regarding the environment.

Trump should take the words of  Stanley and others seriously. It is clear that much of the scientific community is worried about losing the progress they have worked so hard for. The president of a college or university is a highly-respected position. When 170 men and women in that position openly write our nation’s leader expressing concern about clean energy, it cannot be ignored.

The future of clean energy is cloudy at the moment, but it is still very early in Trump’s presidency. He needs to not only listen to the concerns of Stanley and her colleagues, but to the concerns of the scientific community as a whole.

Reversing their years of study would not only be disrespectful, but dangerous as well. The public should be aware of what the EPA is doing and the nation cannot stop moving towards a future with clean energy.