State Department science envoy's letter of resignation has a hidden message for the president

A State Department science envoy's letter of resignation appears to have a hidden message for the president: "IMPEACH."

Daniel M. Kammen, one of seven science envoys for the State Department, tweeted a photo of the coded letter of resignation on Wednesday morning. Kammen cited President Donald Trump's "failure to condemn white supremacists and neo-Nazis," and his response to a deadly "alt-right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia as the reason for stepping down.

The letter also alludes to Trump's stances on environmental issues, such as his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, in his letter.

"Your actions to date have, sadly, harmed the quality of life in the United States, our standing abroad, and the sustainability of the planet," he wrote.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the letter, however, is the way the first letter of each paragraph forms an acrostic that spells out "impeach."

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Science envoys have a number of roles within the government, but above all, they serve a foreign policy function by focusing "on issues of common interest in science, technology, and engineering fields." According to the State Department's website, they generally serve for one year.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Kammen is an energy expert at the University of California at Berkeley, who directs the school's Renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab. According to a recent article in the journal Nature, Kammen is among a group of scientists working with California Governor, and prominent Trump antagonist, Jerry Brown to create a major state-based climate and energy research program.

He confirmed the letter in an email to Mashable and said he sent it to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and President Trump as well.

Past science envoys include Jane Lubchenco, the former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Ahmed Zewail, winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Trump can't afford to lose any scientists from his administration, considering he lacks a White House science advisor, and has barely staffed the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which exists to advise the Executive Branch on science and engineering issues, among other tasks.

Kammen isn't the first to resign with such a flourish. On Aug. 18, the entire humanities and the arts council resigned with an acrostic that said "resist."