Latest news with #U.S.GlobalChangeResearchProgram
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Science
- The Hindu
Websites hosting major U.S. climate reports taken down
Websites that displayed legally mandated U.S. national climate assessments seem to have disappeared, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world. Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. Websites for the national assessments and the U.S. Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere. The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details. Searches for the assessments on NASA websites did not turn them up. NASA did not respond to requests for information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which coordinated the information in the assessments, did not respond to repeated inquiries. "It's critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is. That is the most reliable and well-reviewed source of information about climate that exists for the United States," said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who coordinated the 2014 version of the report. 'It's a sad day for the United States if it is true that the National Climate Assessment is no longer available," Jacobs said. "This is evidence of serious tampering with the facts and with people's access to information, and it actually may increase the risk of people being harmed by climate-related impacts.' Harvard climate scientist John Holdren, who was President Obama's science advisor and whose office directed the assessments, said after the 2014 edition he visited governors, mayors and other local officials who told him how useful the 841-page report was. It helped them decide whether to raise roads, build seawalls and even move hospital generators from basements to roofs, he said. 'This is a government resource paid for by the taxpayer to provide the information that really is the primary source of information for any city, state or federal agency who's trying to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate,' said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who has been a volunteer author for several editions of the report. Copies of past reports are still squirreled away in NOAA's library. NASA's open science data repository includes dead links to the assessment site. The most recent report, issued in 2023, included an interactive atlas that zoomed down to the county level. It found that climate change is affecting people's security, health and livelihoods in every corner of the country in different ways, with minority and Native American communities often disproportionately at risk. The 1990 Global Change Research Act requires a national climate assessment every four years and directs the president to establish an interagency United States Global Change Research Program. In the spring, the Trump administration told the volunteer authors of the next climate assessment that their services weren't needed and ended the contract with the private firm that helps coordinate the website and report. Additionally, NOAA's main website was recently forwarded to a different NOAA website. Social media and blogs at NOAA and NASA about climate impacts for the general public were cut or eliminated. 'It's part of a horrifying big picture,' Holdren said. 'It's just an appalling whole demolition of science infrastructure.' The national assessments are more useful than international climate reports put out by the United Nations every seven or so years because they are more localised and more detailed, Hayhoe and Jacobs said. The national reports are not only peer reviewed by other scientists, but examined for accuracy by the National Academy of Sciences, federal agencies, the staff and the public. Hiding the reports would be censoring science, Jacobs said. And it's dangerous for the country, Hayhoe said, comparing it to steering a car on a curving road by only looking through the rearview mirror: "And now, more than ever, we need to be looking ahead to do everything it takes to make it around that curve safely. It's like our windshield's being painted over.'
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: Trump's suppression of climate change science will have devastating long-term effects
To the editor: Of all the elements of the current administration that concern me, I find the most pernicious to be the push to suppress objective science regarding climate change ('Trump administration shuts down U.S. website on climate change,' July 1). From the scrubbing of any mention of climate change from countless government websites to draconian cuts to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA research budgets to the summary dismissal in April of more than 400 experts preparing a congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment report — and to this latest closure of the U.S. Global Change Research Program's website — President Trump doesn't just stop at modifying near-term energy policies. He chooses instead to bury the very data that we need to inform our long-term strategies for protecting our planet and ensuring that it will be a habitable home for our children and grandchildren. We need to demand that our Congress push back on this and ensure that objective science data continues to guide our national climate policy. Chad Edwards, Altadena
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Trump administration shutters major federal climate website
A major federal climate website has been shut down by the Trump administration, multiple agencies have confirmed with ABC News. The website of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which hosts numerous climate change reports and resources, including the comprehensive and often cited National Climate Assessments, is no longer operational, according to a NASA spokesperson. MORE: Hurricane season is here and meteorologists are losing a vital tool for forecasting them The U.S. Global Change Research Program's website was taken offline, along with all five editions of the National Climate Assessment and a wide range of information detailing how human-amplified climate change is impacting the United States. Although the National Climate Assessment is required by Congress, in April, the Trump administration announced it was canceling funding for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which coordinates the federally mandated report that's published every four years. All the authors working on the upcoming Sixth National Climate Assessment, set for release in 2028, were also dismissed. The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), comprising 15 federal member agencies, was managed by the White House through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. NASA will now take over, Victoria LaCivita, communications director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told ABC News. "All preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring compliance with statutorily required reporting," LaCivita said, referring ABC News to NASA for more information. A NASA spokesperson wrote in response to an ABC News inquiry, "The USCGRP website is no longer active. All preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring continuity of reporting." Since mid-April, a small yellow banner has appeared at the top of the U.S. Global Change Research Program homepage, informing visitors that: "The operations and structure of the USGCRP are currently under review." The Internet Archive has not recorded the website as being active since Monday morning. The Fifth National Climate Assessment, a breakdown of the latest in climate science coming from 14 different federal agencies released in November 2023, is the most recent version of these reports and provides a detailed, peer-reviewed snapshot of climate change's present and future impacts in the U.S., along with recommendations for adaptation and mitigation strategies. In addition, the U.S. Global Change Research Program site provided a wide range of educational resources, including interactive webpages, videos and podcasts that explained the far-reaching impacts of climate change in an easy-to-understand manner, even for the public. For example, late last year, a first-of-its-kind interagency website on sea level rise was launched by the U.S. Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change and hosted on the domain. For the first time, the public had access to a centralized, comprehensive online resource offering the latest research on sea level change, along with an interactive database that allowed users to explore how sea levels have changed over recent decades. As of Tuesday, references to the Fifth National Climate Assessment and various climate change impacts could still be found on other government websites, such as those of the USDA and EPA. And all of the National Climate Assessments remained available for public download, archived in NOAA's Institutional Repository (IR). MORE: USDA orders removal of climate change mentions from public websites Last week, NOAA announced that another federal climate-focused website, was also being shut down, saying, "In compliance with Executive Order 14303, 'Restoring Gold Standard Science,' NOAA is relocating all research products from to in an effort to centralize and consolidate resources." The agency wrote that future research products previously housed on the climate-focused website will now be under the domain and its affiliated websites. The agency posted its final updates to and its related social media account on Friday. Although much of this information may end up on various other federal agency websites, many climate scientists are voicing their concern and disappointment, stating that these actions are making it more challenging to find climate change information. Craig McLean, former assistant administrator of NOAA research, told ABC News that these decisions "create a gap in both the availability of and the opportunity to use valuable information that is essential to everyday life for the public and decision-makers alike." Haley Crim, a former NOAA employee who worked at the agency's Climate Program Office, said in a Bluesky post, "The National Climate Assessment, and all special reports and past assessments, are now offline. Federal climate science is being systematically erased." MORE: USDA orders removal of climate change mentions from public websites Crim elaborated that this is "not an organized attack like what happened with the DEI executive order. It's the culmination of expired contracts, decisions about individual products, lack of staffing and resources, and refusal to protect climate information.' "Every day is a trainwreck for climate science. Stay aware of what is happening, and speak out!" wrote Zach Labe, a former NOAA climate scientist who now works at Climate Central, in a recent Bluesky post. He said he had saved documents in advance of the rumors that the USGCRP program was being targeted. As of this writing, NASA has not provided any details on when and where the reports will be available again or if the new assessment will proceed.
4 days ago
- Science
Trump administration shutters major federal climate website
A major federal climate website has been shut down by the Trump administration, multiple agencies have confirmed with ABC News. The website of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which hosts numerous climate change reports and resources, including the comprehensive and often cited National Climate Assessments, is no longer operational, according to a NASA spokesperson. The U.S. Global Change Research Program's website was taken offline, along with all five editions of the National Climate Assessment and a wide range of information detailing how human-amplified climate change is impacting the United States. Although the National Climate Assessment is required by Congress, in April, the Trump administration announced it was canceling funding for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which coordinates the federally mandated report that's published every four years. All the authors working on the upcoming Sixth National Climate Assessment, set for release in 2028, were also dismissed. The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), comprising 15 federal member agencies, was managed by the White House through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. NASA will now take over, Victoria LaCivita, communications director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told ABC News. "All preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring compliance with statutorily required reporting," LaCivita said, referring ABC News to NASA for more information. A NASA spokesperson wrote in response to an ABC News inquiry, "The USCGRP website is no longer active. All preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring continuity of reporting." Since mid-April, a small yellow banner has appeared at the top of the U.S. Global Change Research Program homepage, informing visitors that: "The operations and structure of the USGCRP are currently under review." The Internet Archive has not recorded the website as being active since Monday morning. The Fifth National Climate Assessment, a breakdown of the latest in climate science coming from 14 different federal agencies released in November 2023, is the most recent version of these reports and provides a detailed, peer-reviewed snapshot of climate change's present and future impacts in the U.S., along with recommendations for adaptation and mitigation strategies. In addition, the U.S. Global Change Research Program site provided a wide range of educational resources, including interactive webpages, videos and podcasts that explained the far-reaching impacts of climate change in an easy-to-understand manner, even for the public. For example, late last year, a first-of-its-kind interagency website on sea level rise was launched by the U.S. Interagency Task Force on Sea Level Change and hosted on the domain. For the first time, the public had access to a centralized, comprehensive online resource offering the latest research on sea level change, along with an interactive database that allowed users to explore how sea levels have changed over recent decades. As of Tuesday, references to the Fifth National Climate Assessment and various climate change impacts could still be found on other government websites, such as those of the USDA and EPA. And all of the National Climate Assessments remained available for public download, archived in NOAA's Institutional Repository (IR). Last week, NOAA announced that another federal climate-focused website, was also being shut down, saying, "In compliance with Executive Order 14303, 'Restoring Gold Standard Science,' NOAA is relocating all research products from to in an effort to centralize and consolidate resources." The agency wrote that future research products previously housed on the climate-focused website will now be under the domain and its affiliated websites. The agency posted its final updates to and its related social media account on Friday. Although much of this information may end up on various other federal agency websites, many climate scientists are voicing their concern and disappointment, stating that these actions are making it more challenging to find climate change information. Craig McLean, former assistant administrator of NOAA research, told ABC News that these decisions "create a gap in both the availability of and the opportunity to use valuable information that is essential to everyday life for the public and decision-makers alike." Haley Crim, a former NOAA employee who worked at the agency's Climate Program Office, said in a Bluesky post, "The National Climate Assessment, and all special reports and past assessments, are now offline. Federal climate science is being systematically erased." Crim elaborated that this is "not an organized attack like what happened with the DEI executive order. It's the culmination of expired contracts, decisions about individual products, lack of staffing and resources, and refusal to protect climate information.' "Every day is a trainwreck for climate science. Stay aware of what is happening, and speak out!" wrote Zach Labe, a former NOAA climate scientist who now works at Climate Central, in a recent Bluesky post. He said he had saved documents in advance of the rumors that the USGCRP program was being targeted. As of this writing, NASA has not provided any details on when and where the reports will be available again or if the new assessment will proceed.
Japan Today
4 days ago
- Science
- Japan Today
Major reports about how climate change affects U.S. removed from federal websites
By SETH BORENSTEIN Legally mandated U.S. national climate assessments seem to have disappeared from the federal websites built to display them, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world. Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. Websites for the national assessments and the U.S. Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere. The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details. Searches for the assessments on NASA websites did not turn them up. NASA did not respond to requests for information. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which coordinated the information in the assessments, did not respond to repeated inquiries. "It's critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is. That is the most reliable and well-reviewed source of information about climate that exists for the United States," said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who coordinated the 2014 version of the report. 'It's a sad day for the United States if it is true that the National Climate Assessment is no longer available," Jacobs said. "This is evidence of serious tampering with the facts and with people's access to information, and it actually may increase the risk of people being harmed by climate-related impacts.' Harvard climate scientist John Holdren, who was President Obama's science advisor and whose office directed the assessments, said after the 2014 edition he visited governors, mayors and other local officials who told him how useful the 841-page report was. It helped them decide whether to raise roads, build seawalls and even move hospital generators from basements to roofs, he said. 'This is a government resource paid for by the taxpayer to provide the information that really is the primary source of information for any city, state or federal agency who's trying to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate,' said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who has been a volunteer author for several editions of the report. Copies of past reports are still squirreled away in NOAA's library. NASA's open science data repository includes dead links to the assessment site. The most recent report, issued in 2023, included an interactive atlas that zoomed down to the county level. It found that climate change is affecting people's security, health and livelihoods in every corner of the country in different ways, with minority and Native American communities often disproportionately at risk. The 1990 Global Change Research Act requires a national climate assessment every four years and directs the president to establish an interagency United States Global Change Research Program. In the spring, the Trump administration told the volunteer authors of the next climate assessment that their services weren't needed and ended the contract with the private firm that helps coordinate the website and report. Additionally, NOAA's main website was recently forwarded to a different NOAA website. Social media and blogs at NOAA and NASA about climate impacts for the general public were cut or eliminated. 'It's part of a horrifying big picture,' Holdren said. 'It's just an appalling whole demolition of science infrastructure.' The national assessments are more useful than international climate reports put out by the United Nations every seven or so years because they are more localized and more detailed, Hayhoe and Jacobs said. The national reports are not only peer reviewed by other scientists, but examined for accuracy by the National Academy of Sciences, federal agencies, the staff and the public. Hiding the reports would be censoring science, Jacobs said. And it's dangerous for the country, Hayhoe said, comparing it to steering a car on a curving road by only looking through the rearview mirror: "And now, more than ever, we need to be looking ahead to do everything it takes to make it around that curve safely. It's like our windshield's being painted over.' Associated Press writer Will Weissert contributed to this report. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
