The Verge, March 2021
After a four-year hiatus during the Donald Trump administration, the climate change webpage is back up on the Environmental Protection Agency website. Not only is climate change a “priority” once again at the agency, but information about how it affects Americans’ lives is now more accessible, inclusive, and interactive.
“Climate facts are back on EPA’s website where they should be,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a press release yesterday.
Information about climate change was drastically pared down on federal websites under former president Trump, who also falsely called climate change a “hoax.” The restored webpage is an important source of vetted information for the public, which is especially crucial considering the spread of misinformation about climate change online and on social media.
Scientists, teachers, and environmental advocates celebrated the return of the EPA’s climate webpage. “We teach our children that it is important to understand science, to gather facts, to do good research,” Dominique Browning, co-founder and director of Moms Clean Air Force, said in a statement. “So you can imagine how pleased Moms are that the agency charged with protecting human health from climate pollution is recommitting to understanding science, gathering facts, and doing good research.”
The website has some new features that make it easier to digest climate information. It links to interactive maps and charts that visitors can click through to learn more about greenhouse gas emissions and how that planet-heating pollution affects the environment and people. The climate page is also now available in English and Spanish. “There’s more content to come,” the website adds.
