Stay Informed: How to Monitor Changes to Federal Websites as Trump Pushes to Remove ‘Climate’ References

Researchers created the Federal Environmental Web Tracker to track changes in environmental information during Trump’s first term. Recently, they revived this tool. It’s a comprehensive spreadsheet that lists federal webpages that are missing or have been modified since Trump returned to office.

Just weeks after he took office again in early February, FEMA removed the word “climate” from its website. The tracker currently lists over 200 entries for federal pages that have changed. The Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI) will keep updating it weekly.

Some changes are minor. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency changed the title of a webpage on pollution data from “Power Sector Emissions Data” to “Power Sector Data.” While the data remains, this subtle shift might help keep the information accessible, as officials target certain topics for removal.

However, some content is completely gone. This includes information about how climate change and pollution disproportionately affect communities vulnerable due to poverty, segregation, and racism in America. Key pages from the EPA regarding climate impacts on human health and children’s health have also lost references to “equity.”

In response, advocates are pushing to restore lost resources. Last week, organic farmers sued the Trump administration, claiming that the removal of essential content by the US Department of Agriculture violated federal law. This follows a similar lawsuit from doctors that successfully reinstated some federal pages focused on health disparities.

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