Eric Nost, University of Guelph, and Alejandro Paz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Information on the internet might seem like it’s there forever, but it’s only as permanent as people choose to make it. This is clear as the second Trump administration has taken steps to dismantle science agencies and remove data and websites they use to communicate with the public, especially regarding climate science.
We are researchers in a network called the Public Environmental Data Partners, a coalition of nonprofits, archivists, and researchers working to ensure that data remains available to the public.
In the first few weeks of Trump’s second term, at least a dozen climate and environmental justice tools were removed. Government websites also scrubbed terms like “climate change” and “resilience.”
Why government websites and data matter
The internet and access to data are crucial for innovation, research, and daily life. Climate scientists use NASA satellite data and NOAA weather records to understand changes in the Earth system and how to protect economies reliant on specific climates. Other researchers use census data alongside climate data to identify who is most affected by climate change. Every day, people visit government websites to understand how to protect themselves from hazards and to learn about climate change policies.
When data and tools are removed, the work of scientists, civil society organizations, and government officials can grind to a halt. Data generated by government scientists is vital, especially for state governments that rely on federal data to run environmental protection programs.
Removing data from websites also makes it harder for the public to participate in key democratic processes, such as commenting on regulatory changes. It also breeds mistrust in the government and science. Federal agencies have been providing climate data to the public for years, and removing this data deprives everyone of essential information.
Bye-bye data?
The first Trump administration removed discussions of climate change and climate policies from government websites. However, in research with the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, we didn’t find evidence that datasets were permanently deleted. The second Trump administration seems more aggressive, with more rapid removal of information.
In response, Public Environmental Data Partners have been archiving climate datasets, uploading copies to public repositories, and cataloging them to ensure they’re accessible if removed from government websites.
Maintaining tools for understanding climate change
The administration has targeted tools like dashboards that help visualize the social dimensions of climate change. For example, the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, which mapped marginalized communities expected to experience severe climate impacts, was taken offline after Trump’s first executive orders. The original data behind the tool is still available, but it’s harder to find and access. Because the tool was an open-source project, it’s being recreated by archivists.
Preserving websites for the future
Some webpages have gone offline, such as the 25-year-old Climate Change Center at the Department of Transportation. Other pages, like those on the EPA website, have had their “climate change” links removed, making it harder to find relevant information.
Thankfully, the End of Term Web Archive has captured snapshots of government websites, making them accessible through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. This initiative has been ongoing since 2008, capturing millions of government webpages for preservation.
If you’re concerned about missing climate change discussions on government websites, you can use the Wayback Machine to check past versions of pages.
What you can do
You can find archived climate and environmental justice datasets and tools on the Public Environmental Data Partners website. Other groups are archiving datasets linked to Data.gov and making them accessible in other locations.
Researchers are also uploading datasets to searchable repositories like OSF (Center for Open Science). If you’re worried that certain data might disappear, the MIT Libraries’ checklist provides steps on how you can help safeguard federal data.
Narrowing the knowledge sphere
It’s unclear how far the administration will push to remove or hide climate data, but it’s already clear that such actions are narrowing the public’s understanding of climate change, leaving communities and economies vulnerable. While data archiving can help preserve some of this information, there is no replacement for government research infrastructures that produce and share climate data.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
Filed under: Environmental Protection, Environmental Science, Olympic Peninsula | Tagged: climate change, Environmental Protection, research | Comments Off on How to Find Climate Data and Science the Trump Administration Doesn’t Want You to See
