The New Digital Landscape How the Trump Administration Has Undermined Federal Web Infrastructures for Climate Information

THENEWDIGITALLANDSCAPE HowTheTrumpAdministrationHas UnderminedFederalWeb InfrastructuresForClimate Information

EricNost GretchenGehrke AaronLemelin StevenBraun MarcyBeck RobBrackett DanAllan SaraWylie KelseyBreseman

StephanieKnutson AnastasiaAizman MayaAnjur-Dietrich SaraJohns KatherineKulik KevinNguyen TolyRinberg JacobWylie EDGI

July2019 TheEnvironmentalDataampGovernanceInitiative(EDGI)isanorganizationcomprisedofacademics andnon-profitemployeesaswellascaringandcommittedvolunteerswhocomefromabroad spectrumofworkandlifebackgroundsEDGIpromotesopenandaccessiblegovernmentdataand informationalongwithevidence-basedpolicymaking

ThisworkislicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike40

InternationalLicensehttpscreativecommonsorglicensesby-nc-sa40 CoverimageldquoBatteredbluefloppydiscamongtheruinsatBombayBeachCaliforniardquoLinnaeaMallette httpswwwpublicdomainpicturesnetenview-imagephpimage=110945amppicture=old-days-of-technologyamplarge=1

THENEWDIGITALLANDSCAPE HowTheTrumpAdministrationHas UnderminedFederalWeb InfrastructuresForClimate Information

EricNost GretchenGehrke AaronLemelin StevenBraun MarcyBeck RobBrackett DanAllan SaraWylie KelseyBreseman

StephanieKnutson AnastasiaAizman MayaAnjur-Dietrich SaraJohns KatherineKulik KevinNguyen TolyRinberg JacobWylie EDGI

July2019 TheEnvironmentalDataampGovernanceInitiative(EDGI)isanorganizationcomprisedofacademics andnon-profitemployeesaswellascaringandcommittedvolunteerswhocomefromabroad spectrumofworkandlifebackgroundsEDGIpromotesopenandaccessiblegovernmentdataand informationalongwithevidence-basedpolicymaking

ThisworkislicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike40

InternationalLicensehttpscreativecommonsorglicensesby-nc-sa40 CoverimageldquoBatteredbluefloppydiscamongtheruinsatBombayBeachCaliforniardquoLinnaeaMallette httpswwwpublicdomainpicturesnetenview-imagephpimage=110945amppicture=old-days-of-technologyamplarge=1

TABLEOFCONTENTS

EXECUTIVESUMMARY 2

INTRODUCTION 5

METHODOLOGY 10

RESULTS 16 ClimateChange 16

Underminingclimatechangeasakeycomponentofpressingpolicy challenges 18 Changingdescriptionsofscienceandscientists 26 Modifyingaccesstoanddescriptionofresources 29

Othertermsrelatedtoclimatechange 32 Climatechangeimpacts 33 Mitigatingclimatechange 34 Adaptingtoclimatechange 38 Climatechangegeneralization 39

Whatremains 43

CONCLUSIONS 45 Findings 45 Recommendations 46

APPENDIXAndashMethodology 48 Resources 48 Exclusions 49 Diagnostics 49 Limitations 50

APPENDIXBndashAgenciesanalyzedinthisreport 52

TheNewDigitalLandscape 1

EXECUTIVESUMMARY USfederalgovernmentwebsitesareakeycomponentofaninfrastructurethat supportsenvironmentalawarenessanddecision-makingTheTrump administrationhasunderminedenvironmentalgovernancebydisinvestingin websitemaintenanceandrestrictingaccesstocontentonissuessuchasclimate changeThesewebsitechangesactivelyerodethedigitalbridgebywhich publicly-fundedresearchiscontextualizedandsharedwiththoseinneedof informationincludingthegeneralpublicanddecision-makersinstatelocaland tribalgovernments TheUnitedNationsIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)warnsthat significantandsystemicmitigationactionsarenecessaryinordertoavert catastrophicchangestoglobalenvironmentalfunctionandhabitability Rather 1

thancultivatingtheinformationalresourcesnecessarytosupportthis transformationtheTrumpadministrationhasremovedclimatechangefrom federalagencywebsitesaclearpolicyindicatorinlinewithwithdrawingfromthe ParisAgreementandrevokingtheCleanPowerPlanWhileprominentpolitical journalisticandscientificentitiesaresharpeningthelanguagetheyusetodescribe theclimatecrisisweseepreciselytheoppositefromthisadministrationremoval ofthetermrdquoclimatechangerdquoanditsreplacementwithlessclearlanguage 2

Inthisreportwebuildonourexistingresearchtopresentabroadanalysisofhow theTrumpadministrationhasalteredtheuseoftermsrelatedtoclimatechangeon federalenvironmentalwebsites Overthethousandsofwebsiteswemonitoruse 3

ofthetermsldquoclimatechangerdquoldquocleanenergyrdquoandldquoadaptationrdquodroppedby26 between2016and2018whilecatch-alltermsthatareemployedtoundermine clearanalysisndashsuchasldquoenergyindependencerdquoldquoresiliencerdquoandldquosustainabilityrdquondash increasedby26Overhalfofallpageswhereldquoclimatechangerdquowascompletely removed(73136)wereUSEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)pagesThese removalsaremagnifiedbythefactthattheEPAhomepagewasthe1750thmost

1ldquoSummaryforPolicymakersofIPCCSpecialReportonGlobalWarmingof15degCapprovedbygovernmentsrdquo IPCC httpswwwipccch20181008summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments(lastaccessed12June2019) 2ldquoWhytheGuardianischangingthelanguageitusesabouttheenvironmentrdquoTheGuardian httpswwwtheguardiancomenvironment2019may17why-the-guardian-is-changing-the-language-it-uses-about-the-environment(lastaccessed12June2019) 3RinbergTMAnjur-DietrichMBeckABergmanJDerryLDillonGGehrkeRLaveCSellersNShapiro AAizmanDAllanMBrittRChaJChadhaMCurrieSJohnsAKlionskySKnutsonKKulikALemelinK NguyenENostKOuelletteLPoirierSRubinowJSchellLUlteeJUpfalTWedroskyandJWylie(2018 January10)ChangingtheDigitalClimateHowClimateChangeWebContentisBeingCensoredUnderthe TrumpAdministrationRetrievedfromhttpsenvirodatagovorgpublicationchanging-digital-climate httpsenvirodatagovorgwebsite-monitoring

TheNewDigitalLandscape 2

EXECUTIVESUMMARY USfederalgovernmentwebsitesareakeycomponentofaninfrastructurethat supportsenvironmentalawarenessanddecision-makingTheTrump administrationhasunderminedenvironmentalgovernancebydisinvestingin websitemaintenanceandrestrictingaccesstocontentonissuessuchasclimate changeThesewebsitechangesactivelyerodethedigitalbridgebywhich publicly-fundedresearchiscontextualizedandsharedwiththoseinneedof informationincludingthegeneralpublicanddecision-makersinstatelocaland tribalgovernments TheUnitedNationsIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)warnsthat significantandsystemicmitigationactionsarenecessaryinordertoavert catastrophicchangestoglobalenvironmentalfunctionandhabitability Rather 1

thancultivatingtheinformationalresourcesnecessarytosupportthis transformationtheTrumpadministrationhasremovedclimatechangefrom federalagencywebsitesaclearpolicyindicatorinlinewithwithdrawingfromthe ParisAgreementandrevokingtheCleanPowerPlanWhileprominentpolitical journalisticandscientificentitiesaresharpeningthelanguagetheyusetodescribe theclimatecrisisweseepreciselytheoppositefromthisadministrationremoval ofthetermrdquoclimatechangerdquoanditsreplacementwithlessclearlanguage 2

Inthisreportwebuildonourexistingresearchtopresentabroadanalysisofhow theTrumpadministrationhasalteredtheuseoftermsrelatedtoclimatechangeon federalenvironmentalwebsites Overthethousandsofwebsiteswemonitoruse 3

ofthetermsldquoclimatechangerdquoldquocleanenergyrdquoandldquoadaptationrdquodroppedby26 between2016and2018whilecatch-alltermsthatareemployedtoundermine clearanalysisndashsuchasldquoenergyindependencerdquoldquoresiliencerdquoandldquosustainabilityrdquondash increasedby26Overhalfofallpageswhereldquoclimatechangerdquowascompletely removed(73136)wereUSEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)pagesThese removalsaremagnifiedbythefactthattheEPAhomepagewasthe1750thmost

1ldquoSummaryforPolicymakersofIPCCSpecialReportonGlobalWarmingof15degCapprovedbygovernmentsrdquo IPCC httpswwwipccch20181008summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments(lastaccessed12June2019) 2ldquoWhytheGuardianischangingthelanguageitusesabouttheenvironmentrdquoTheGuardian httpswwwtheguardiancomenvironment2019may17why-the-guardian-is-changing-the-language-it-uses-about-the-environment(lastaccessed12June2019) 3RinbergTMAnjur-DietrichMBeckABergmanJDerryLDillonGGehrkeRLaveCSellersNShapiro AAizmanDAllanMBrittRChaJChadhaMCurrieSJohnsAKlionskySKnutsonKKulikALemelinK NguyenENostKOuelletteLPoirierSRubinowJSchellLUlteeJUpfalTWedroskyandJWylie(2018 January10)ChangingtheDigitalClimateHowClimateChangeWebContentisBeingCensoredUnderthe TrumpAdministrationRetrievedfromhttpsenvirodatagovorgpublicationchanging-digital-climate httpsenvirodatagovorgwebsite-monitoring

TheNewDigitalLandscape 2

visitedwebsiteintheUSinearly2019givingitmorereachthaneven whitehousegov 4

Weclassifywebsitechangesmadebytheadministrationintothreetypes

Underminingclimatechangeasakeycomponentofpressing policychallengesndashsuchaswhentheOccupationalSafetyandHealth Administration(OSHA)removedallreferencestoldquoclimatechangerdquoonapage dealingwithhowworkersandemployerscanmanageheat-relatedhealth risksonthejob Changingdescriptionsofscienceandscientistsndashsuchaswhenthe EnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)recategorizedtheworkofsomeofits researchersfromldquoClimateSciencerdquotocategorieslikeldquoEcosystemsrdquo Removingaccesstoanddescriptionsofresourcesndashsuchasthe DepartmentofTransportationrsquos(DOT)ClimateChangeClearinghousewhich wasremovedfromclimatedotgovlaterrestoredelsewhereandlargely removedagain

Whileourresearchcannotmakedefinitiveconclusionsaboutmotivationinall caseschangestositesmayoftenbetheresultofdirectpoliticizationndashthatis ordersfromsenioradministrationofficialsandpoliticalappointees Indeed 5

right-wingclimatedenialgroupswithprivilegedaccesstotheEPAndashsuchasThe HeartlandInstitutendashhavesubmittedreportsdirectlytotheWhiteHouseidentifying climate-relatedwebpagesfortheadministrationtoremove Inothercasesthere 6

maybeindirectself-censorshipoccurringinwhichagencyorprogramstaffmodify climatechangecontenttoldquoflyundertheradarrdquoofpolitically-appointedhigher-ups 7

4Sourcehttpswebarchiveorgweb20190221095620httpswwwalexacomsiteinfoepagovAbout7of traffictotheepagovdomainistoitsarchivestheJanuary192017Snapshotandarchiveepagov 5ldquoNewlyReleasedRecordsRefertoPruittrsquosPersonalInvolvementinRemovalofClimateInformationfromEPA WebsiterdquoEnvironmentalDefenseFund httpswwwedforgmedianewly-released-records-refer-pruitts-personal-involvement-removal-climate-information-epa(lastaccessed12June2019) 6ldquoEmailsshowcollaborationamongEPAandclimate-changedeniersrdquoPBS httpswwwpbsorgnewshournationemails-show-collaboration-among-epa-and-climate-change-deniers(last accessed12June2019)ldquoEXECUTIVEBRANCHSITESCONTINUETOPROMOTEOBAMArsquoSCLIMATEPOLITICSrdquoThe HeartlandInstitute httpswwwheartlandorgnews-opinionnewsexecutive-branch-sites-continue-to-promote-obamas-climate-politics(lastaccessed12June2019) 7ldquoDonrsquotcallitlsquoclimatechangersquoHowthegovernmentisrebrandingintheageofTrumprdquoTheWashingtonPost httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsenergy-environmentwp20170526just-dont-call-it-climate-change-rebranding-government-in-the-age-of-trump(lastaccessed12June2019)Webmanagersplayakeyrolein determiningcontentEschenfelderKR2004BehindtheWebsiteAninsidelookattheproductionof Web-basedtextualgovernmentinformationGovernmentInformationQuarterly21(3)337ndash358

TheNewDigitalLandscape 3

EitherwaydespitetheTrumpadministrationrsquosanti-scienceagendamanyclimate resourcesarestillavailableifnotwell-maintained Ourresearchspotlightssomeof 8

theseincluding

EPArsquosARC-XadaptationresourcecenterGreenhouseGasReporting ProgramandClimateResearchandClimateIndicatorspages 9

NASANOAAandUSDAclimatehubs(climategovclimatenasagov climatehubsoceusdagov) 10

The2018interagencyNationalClimateAssessment 11

Weconcludewiththreerecommendationstonotonlymitigatetheharmdoneby theTrumpadministrationbuttobuildamorejustfederalwebinfrastructure aroundclimatechangeinformation

Restorendashtocounterremovalsofcriticalinformationrestoreit Revampndashtransparentlyupdateandmaintainpageswiththelatest science Rethinkndashpursueenvironmentaldatajustice Severalofthe 12

removalsandpageeditswedocumentbelowundulyaffectmarginalized populations(egworkerstheelderlyandSpanish-languagespeakers)Even ifinformationisnrsquotcensoreditcanbechallengingtoaccessYetweb resourcesmustbelegibleandrelevanttoall

8DillonLRLaveBMansfieldSWylieNShapiroASChanandMMurphy2019SituatingDataina TrumpianEraTheEnvironmentalDataandGovernanceInitiativeAnnalsoftheAmericanAssociationof Geographers 9httpswwwepagovarc-xhttpswwwepagovghgemissionshttpswwwepagovclimate-research httpswwwepagovclimate-indicators(lastaccessed14June2019) 10httpclimategovhttpclimatenasagovhttpswwwclimatehubsoceusdagov(lastaccessed14June 2019) 11httpsnca2018globalchangegov(lastaccessed14June2019) 12SeealsoDillonLRLaveBMansfieldSWylieNShapiroASChanandMMurphy2019SituatingData inaTrumpianEraTheEnvironmentalDataandGovernanceInitiativeAnnalsoftheAmericanAssociationof GeographersDillonLDWalkerNShapiroVUnderhillMMartenyiSWylieRLaveMMurphyPBrown andEnvironmentalDataandGovernanceInitiative2017EnvironmentalDataJusticeandtheTrump AdministrationReflectionsfromEnvironmentalDataandGovernanceInitiativeEnvironmentalJustice WalkerDENostALemelinRLaveandLDillon2018PracticingenvironmentaldatajusticeFrom DataRescuetoDataTogetherGeoGeographyandEnvironment5(2)e00061

TheNewDigitalLandscape 4

INTRODUCTION Significantattentioncontinuestobepaidtothepoliticizationofsocialmediaover thepastfewyearswithafocusonRussianinterferenceinelectoraldemocracy 13

ButforeignentitiesarenottheonlysourceofdisinformationanddistractionInthis reportweshowhowUSgovernmentwebsitesfacilitatethepoliticizationofkey environmentalconcernslikeclimatechangeOuranalysisquantifiesand characterizeshowtheTrumpadministrationhascensoredclimatechangescience ongovernmentagencywebsitesndashbyremovingcontentandpagesrestricting accesstothemandlettingthemgounmaintained TheUnitedNationsIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC)warnsus thatwehave11yearstoavoidsignificantirreversiblechangesbuttheTrump administrationanditsallieshaveproventhemselvesmoreconcernedwith censoringclimatechangeinformationthanpursuingmitigation Alongsidepolicies 14

suchaswithdrawingfromtheParisAgreementandrevokingtheCleanPowerPlan ruletheadministrationhasspentsignificanttimeandresources

removingreferencestoclimatechange replacingreferencestoclimatechangewithless-specifictermssuchas

ldquoclimaterdquoldquoresiliencerdquoandldquosustainabilityrdquo restrictinglinkstoclimatechangepages 15

Ithasalsoneglectedwebsites

Thereappeartobefewifanyupdatesmadetosomeclimatechange informationsitessuchasEPArsquosClimateIndicators 16

13ldquoHowtheMuellerreportindictssocialnetworksrdquoTheVerge httpswwwthevergecominterface201941918496274mueller-report-facebook-youtube-twitter-russia(last accessed12June2019) 14ldquoSummaryforPolicymakersofIPCCSpecialReportonGlobalWarmingof15degCapprovedbygovernmentsrdquo IPCC httpswwwipccch20181008summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments(lastaccessed12June2019) 15ldquoNewlyReleasedRecordsRefertoPruittrsquosPersonalInvolvementinRemovalofClimateInformationfromEPA WebsiterdquoEnvironmentalDefenseFund httpswwwedforgmedianewly-released-records-refer-pruitts-personal-involvement-removal-climate-information-epa(lastaccessed12June2019) 16httpswwwepagovclimate-indicatorsSeealsoldquoEPAlsquoItrsquosnotahappyplacersquordquoEampENews httpswwweenewsnetstories1060107165(lastaccessed2May2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 5

Theadministrationletcrucialdataportalsusedbyacademicand

agencyscientistsndashsuchasncdcnoaagovclimategovanddatagovndash gounfundedandunavailablethroughtheJanuary2019shutdown 17

Togetherthesechangesrepresentthedigitalequivalentofanldquoadversarialclimate sciencereviewrdquondashexceptthatunlikethemuch-discussedWhiteHouseeffortto questionclimatesciencefindingswebsitechangesgounannouncedandareoften beyondimmediatepublicrecognitionTheyinsidiouslyunderminepublicly-funded infrastructureforknowledgedissemination TheUSfederalagencywebpresence 18

representsabridgejoiningexpertsscientistsandpolicy-makersingovernmentto thepublicWhenindividualpagesandentiresubdirectoriesarealteredremoved orunmaintainedthatinformationbridgetothepublicstartstocollapse

Federalagencywebsitesarerelativelyaccessibleandseeminglyauthoritative sourcesofinformation Forinstancemostpeoplereachepagovthrough 19

searchesforcommonandrecognizabletermssuchasldquobedbugsrdquoldquomethanerdquoand ldquodieseltrucksrdquoratherthantechnicallanguage TheEPAisthereforeapopular 20

gatewayforlearningaboutpressingenvironmentalandpublichealthissuesandit isimportanttocharacterizeaccesstoandcontentonthisandotherfederalagency websitesWehavenotwitnessedtheremovalofdatapersethoughthiswasour earlyfear Insteadwehaveseen 21

Modificationstothewayissuesarepresentedandthechoiceof

termsusedClimatechangedataitselfiscrucialbutsotooishow agenciescontextualizeitForinstanceinAugust2017EPAchanged thenameofitsStateLocalClimateprogramtoStateLocalEnergyand throughoutitssubdirectory(epagovstatelocalenergy)began

17httpncdcnoaagovhttpclimategovhttpdatagovldquoWebsiteActionsbyFederalEnvironmental AgenciesDuringtheGovernmentShutdownIncludingBroadRestrictionofAccessonNOAAWebsitesrdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgaar-12-shutdown-report-190225(lastaccessed12June2019) 18ldquoWhiteHouserecruitsresearchersforlsquoadversarialrsquoclimatesciencereviewrdquoScience httpswwwsciencemagorgnews201902white-house-recruits-researchers-adversarial-climate-science-review(lastaccessed12June2019) 19EschenfelderKRandCAMiller2007ExaminingtheroleofWebsiteinformationinfacilitatingdifferent citizenndashgovernmentrelationshipsAcasestudyofstateChronicWastingDiseaseWebsitesGovernment InformationQuarterly24(1)64ndash88GehrkeGetal2018ContinuedAccesstoOnlineEPAResourcesRelevant totheCleanPowerPlanisImportantforPublicEngagementinRulemaking httpsenvirodatagovorgcomment-on-the-epas-proposed-rule-to-repeal-the-clean-power-planGehrkeG andRLave2019EPAMustProvidemoreAccessibleandInformativeResourcesforAuthenticPublicComment httpsenvirodatagovorgwotus-rule-public-comment 20Sourcehttpswebarchiveorgweb20190221095620httpswwwalexacomsiteinfoepagovAbout7of traffictotheepagovdomainistoitsarchivestheJanuary192017Snapshotandarchiveepagov 21ldquoWhathappenedtoTrumpswarondatardquoPolitico httpswwwpoliticocomagendastory20170725what-happened-trump-war-data-000481(lastaccessed12 June2019)ldquoScientistsacrosstheUSarescramblingtosavegovernmentresearchinDataRescueeventsrdquo BusinessInsiderhttpswwwbusinessinsidercomdata-rescue-government-data-preservation-efforts-2017-2 (lastaccessed12June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 6

emphasizingrenewableenergyandefficiencyoverclimatechange concernsperse 22

Removalsofpagesfromthepublicdomainincludingpagesdirectly linkingtodatasetsThemostnotableexampleistheEPArsquosremovalof nearlytheentireepagovclimatechangesubdirectoryinlateApril 2017Someremovedpagesareofficiallyarchivedbutotherssuchas SpanishlanguagepagesrelatedtotheCleanPowerPlanarenot 23

Evensoarchivescanbehardtonavigateespeciallyforthosewhodo notknowexactlywhattheyarelookingfor

RestrictionsAgenciesincludingDOIandEPAhaverestrictedpublic accesstodozensofpages Itisunclearwhythesepageshavenot 24

beenfullyremovedbutarealsoldquonotavailableforviewingrdquoThemost recentversionsofsuchpagesmaynotevenbearchivedexceptby nonprofitsliketheInternetArchiveWaybackMachineForinstance EPArsquosWaterandClimateChangeresearchpagewasarchivedwithin EPArsquosofficialJanuary192017snapshotbutmorerecentversionsof thenowldquorestrictedrdquopageseemtobeonlyavailablethroughthe WaybackMachine(egtheOctober2017version) 25

Morebroadlyexaminingfederalagencywebsitesillustrates

Howpolicychangesarebeingimplementedinwaysnototherwise visibletothepublicForinstancebelowweshowhowtheTrump administrationhasdeprioritizedinternationalcooperationonclimate actionandotherenvironmentaleffortsbeyondwithdrawingfromthe ParisAgreementWealsoshowperhapsmoresurprisinglythatthe administrationhasdeprioritizedadaptationtoclimateimpactslike drought

Trendsthathavenotbeenfullycharacterizedsuchasscientists beingreassignedandorrecategorizedintonon-climatedivisionsof agencies

WhatisstillavailablendashtheTrumpadministrationhasnotcompletely censoredclimateinformation

22ldquoAssessmentofRemovalsandChangesinAccesstoResourcesontheEPAsldquolsquoClimateandEnergyResources forStateLocalandTribalGovernmentrsquordquoWebsiterdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201710AAR-5-EPA-State-Local-Climate-Energy-171018pdf(last accessed12June2019) 23ldquoContinuedAccesstoOnlineEPAResourcesRelevanttotheCleanPowerPlanisImportantforPublic EngagementinRulemakingrdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201804EDGI_CPP_Proposed_Rule_Comments_042618pdf(last accessed14June2019) 24ldquoDOIFurtherRestrictsAccesstoClimateChangeWebPagesrdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgaar-11-doi-climate-190228(lastaccessed12June2019)Theseincludeeg httpswwwdoigovclimatehttpswwwepagovwater-researchwater-and-climate-change-research 25https19january2017snapshotepagovwater-researchwater-and-climate-change-research_html httpswebarchiveorgweb20171017065917httpswwwepagovwater-researchwater-and-climate-change-research(lastaccessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 7

Itisimportanttoconsiderwhatisstillavailableandpotentiallythrivingdespitethis administrationanddespiteinsistencefromright-winganti-sciencegroupslikethe HeartlandInstitutewhoclaimtheadministrationhasnotgonefarenoughin purgingpublicknowledgeinfrastructure 26

Wehavenotwitnessedthedeletionofclimatedata(thoughduringthe

mostrecentpartialfederalgovernmentshutdownwedocumented howsomeofitbecameinaccessible) TheEPAforinstanceretains 27

valuableclimateinformationinatleastfourlocationstheARC-X adaptationresourcecentertheGreenhouseGasReportingProgram anditsClimateResearchandClimateIndicatorspages(despitealack ofmaintenance) NASANOAAandUSDAarealsohometovaluable 28

resourcescontextualizingclimatechange Moreoverweseeresistancendashevenfromwithintheadministrationndash

toitsanti-scienceapproachThistakesplaceonsocialmediaandthe webmoregenerallyForinstanceagencystaffersadoptedldquoroguerdquoor ldquoaltrdquosocialmediaaccountstodisputehigher-upswithoutfearof retribution Wehavealsodocumentedseveralcaseswhereweb 29

managersattheEPAhaveupdatedbrokenlinksTheselinkspointed toremovedcontentandmanagersredirectedthemtoaccessible archivedversionsofthecontent

EveryadministrationadvancesitsownpoliciesbuttheTrumpadministrationhas

Issuednoformalclimatepolicy De-contextualizedthebasicscienceuponwhichpolicydiscussions

shouldoccur Promulgatedmisleadingandconfusingterminologychangesincluding

shiftingthediscoursefromclimatechangetoresilienceandfromclean energytoenergyindependence

Weareatapivotalpointclimatechangeisrecognizedaspastdueforsystemic globalactionWhileUSfederalwebsitesstillhostsubstantialinformational resourceswehavealsoseensignificantcensorshipSince2017EDGIhas

26ldquoEXECUTIVEBRANCHSITESCONTINUETOPROMOTEOBAMArsquoSCLIMATEPOLITICSrdquoTheHeartlandInstitute httpswwwheartlandorgnews-opinionnewsexecutive-branch-sites-continue-to-promote-obamas-climate-politics(lastaccessed12June2019) 27ldquoWebsiteActionsbyFederalEnvironmentalAgenciesDuringtheGovernmentShutdownIncludingBroad RestrictionofAccessonNOAAWebsitesrdquoEDGIhttpsenvirodatagovorgaar-12-shutdown-report-190225 (lastaccessed12June2019) 28ldquoEPAlsquoItrsquosnotahappyplacersquordquoEampENewshttpswwweenewsnetstories1060107165(lastaccessed2May2019) 29ldquoROGUETWITTERACCOUNTSFIGHTTOPRESERVETHEVOICEOFGOVERNMENTSCIENCErdquoTheIntercept httpstheinterceptcom20170311rogue-twitter-accounts-fight-to-preserve-the-voice-of-government-science(lastaccessed12June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 8

successfullydocumentedkeycasesofenvironment-relatedwebsiteremovalsand change Butuntilthisreportwehavenotsystematicallysurveyedtheentire 30

federalgovernmentwebspaceOurapproachhasreliedonweek-to-week monitoringofaselectnumberofsitesThepointofthisreportistodocumentover twoyearsintotheTrumpadministrationandtheremovalof epagovclimatechangeexactlywhathaschangedtowhatdegreehowandwhat isstillavailable PreviouslywedescribedhowtheTrumpadministrationwas 31

ldquoChangingtheDigitalClimaterdquo NowwestepbackandcharacterizethisldquoNew 32

DigitalLandscaperdquo

30ldquoWebsiteMonitoringrdquoEDGIhttpsenvirodatagovorgwebsite-monitoring(lastaccessed12June2019) 31ldquoEPADiscontinuesUpdatestoClimateChangeWebsitesrdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgepa-discontinues-updates-to-climate-change-websites(lastaccessed12June2019) 32RinbergTMAnjur-DietrichMBeckABergmanJDerryLDillonGGehrkeRLaveCSellersNShapiro AAizmanDAllanMBrittRChaJChadhaMCurrieSJohnsAKlionskySKnutsonKKulikALemelinK NguyenENostKOuelletteLPoirierSRubinowJSchellLUlteeJUpfalTWedroskyandJWylie(2018 January10)ChangingtheDigitalClimateHowClimateChangeWebContentisBeingCensoredUnderthe TrumpAdministrationRetrievedfromhttpsenvirodatagovorgpublicationchanging-digital-climate

TheNewDigitalLandscape 9

METHODOLOGY Inthisreportwedevelopestimatesofhowkeytermsrelatedtoclimatechange andenvironmenthavechangedbetweentheObamaandTrumpadministrations (forcompletenotesonourmethodologyseeAppendixA)Thisanalysisbuildson thethoroughcontextualizationEDGIhasdoneoverthepasttwoyearstodocument contentchangesandaccessreductions Weestimatetheuseoftermsbeforeand 33

afterthe2016federalelectionsforalistoffederalenvironmentalagencywebsitesThislistofsiteswascreatedthroughDataRescueeventsorganizedfollowingthe 34

2016electionandexpandedbysubsequentldquocrawlsrdquousingwebmonitoringsoftware suchasVersionista Ultimatelywedevelopedacollectionofover40000URLsfor 35

federalenvironment-relatedwebsites Thelistof50+keytermsweexaminedwas 36

developedwithinEDGIbasedonourongoingwebsitemonitoring WeaccessedhistoricalldquosnapshotsrdquoofeachURLthroughtheInternetArchiversquos WaybackMachine(IAWM)usinganAPIdevelopedbyEDGI TheIAWMstoresthe 37

HTMLforapageasitexistedonaspecificdateFormanyhighlyvisiblepageslike epagovIAWMhasalargerecordgoingbacknearlytwodecadesForotherpages theIAWMrecordislessthoroughTwosnapshotsforeveryURLwerechoseneach correspondingtoadateoccurringwithintheObamaorTrumppresidentialterm (respectively)Thesnapshotwaschosenfromtimeframesthatwouldgiveusa representativepictureofboththeObamaandTrumpadministrationsTheObama snapshotsweretakenfromadaterangeofJanuary12016ndashJuly12016(spring 2016)andtheTrumpsnapshotsweretakenfromJanuary12018ndashJuly12018 (spring2018)Thesedaterangeswerechosenbecausewewereconcernedabout issuespotentiallyarisingfromthetransitionForinstanceifweweretoinclude snapshotsfromlate2016wewouldbeencounteringchangesthatstaffwere alreadymakinginanticipationoftheincomingTrumpadministration Likewiseif 38

weincludedsnapshotsfromtheearliestdaysoftheTrumpadministrationwe wouldmisssignificantchangesliketheApril2017removalof epagovclimatechange

33httpsenvirodatagovorgwebsite-monitoring(lastaccessed14June2019) 34InotherwordsweareundertakingakindofldquocontentanalysisrdquoSeeCopeM2010Codingqualitativedata InQualitativeresearchmethodsinhumangeographyOxfordUniversityPress 35httpsenvirodatagovorgdatarescuehttpsenwikipediaorgwikiWeb_crawlerhttpsversionistacom (lastaccessed14June2019) 36FulllistofURLshttpsdrivegooglecomopenid=1EINHPTTVoOqCMs6ncMBqfZ9QZCGHlGfd 37httparchiveorghttpsgithubcomedgi-govdata-archivingweb-monitoring-processing(lastaccessed14June2019) 38ldquoChangeoflanguageandcontentforEPArsquosClimateReadyWaterUtilitiesprogramandwebpagerdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201707WM-CCR-9-EPA-Climate-Ready-Water-Utilities-170328pdf(lastaccessed14June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 10

Figure1Timeframescapturedandcomparedinouranalysisthefirsthalfof2016andthefirsthalf of2018 Termsoneachpagewerecountedusingcustomsoftware(seeAppendixA)Our PythonscriptreturnsthemostrecentldquoviablerdquoIAWMsnapshotwithineach timeframeViablemeansthatthepagewasldquoliverdquoandactuallyaccessiblendashnotldquo404 NotFoundrdquoldquo403Restrictedrdquoorwithanuntraceableredirect Ourscriptthenpulls 39

outtheuniquevisibletext(textausercanseewhilevisitingapage)forthat snapshotldquoVisibletextrdquoexcludesalttags(textappliedtoanimageasanalternative forsearchenginesandpagereaders)andotherhiddentextpresentintheHTML Wealsoexcludednavigationmenusheadersandfootersthatarerepeatedacross entiredomainsSpecificallyweexcludedtheseHTMLtagsltnavgtltheadergtand ltfootergtForexampleifldquoclimatechangerdquoappearedinanavigationmenuused acrossEPArsquosentirewebsitewedidnotcountitThiswouldinflatehowmany page-specificusesofatermtherewereWeareinterestedinhowagencies substantivelyuse(d)languageinpartsofsitesthatpeoplearemostlikelytoseelike themainbodyoftextHoweverforafewdomainsorsetsofpagesthiskindof controlwasnotpossibleUSfederalagenciesstructuretheirsitesdifferentlya handfuldonotusestandardtagslikeltnavgtltheadergtandltfootergtWewere abletoaccountforthisnonstandardtemplatinginmostcasesbutnotall Ourscriptcountsthenumberoftimeseachterm(egldquoclimaterdquo)wasusedinthe firstviablesnapshotforeachtimeframeWecountpreciselyndashthatisweonlycount ldquoclimaterdquoifthewordusedisldquoclimaterdquoWedonotforinstancecountldquoclimatesrdquoWe assessldquoclimatechangerdquoseparatelyfromldquoclimaterdquo

39AnuntraceableredirectwouldmeanthatthepageredirectedtoanotherURLbuttheIAWMwasnotableto capturethisotherURL

TheNewDigitalLandscape 11

Figure2epagovclimatechangeonJune142016 Forthetermldquoclimatechangerdquowecountthe 40

green-highlightedusesbutnotintheyellow-highlightedarea(anavigationmenu)

40httpswebarchiveorgweb20160614172708_httpswww3epagovclimatechange(lastaccessed18 October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 12

Figure2epagovclimatechangeonJune142016 Forthetermldquoclimatechangerdquowecountthe 40

green-highlightedusesbutnotintheyellow-highlightedarea(anavigationmenu)

40httpswebarchiveorgweb20160614172708_httpswww3epagovclimatechange(lastaccessed18 October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 12

Figure3epagovclimatechangeonMay312018 Forthetermldquoclimatechangerdquowecountany 41

green-highlighteduses(noneinthissnapshot)butnottheyellow-highlightedareas(navigation menus) Finallyweprocessedthecounts(seeAppendixAforfurtherdetailsandlinkstothe data)WeremovedunrelatedandduplicateURLslongURLs(sothatwecouldfocus ontop-levelimportantpages)andURLsthatdidnothaveviablesnapshotsinboth timeframesOutofthe40000URLswestartedwithweendedupwithasampleof 5301bywhichweassessthedifferencesbetweentheObamaandTrump administrationsThissampleisldquoopportunisticrdquondashweareabletolookonlyatsites withreadableWaybackMachinearchivesinboth2016and2018ndashaswellas ldquopurposiverdquondashwefocusonthemostprominentpages ItisimportanttonotethelimitationsofouranalysisWedetectchangesintheuse oftermsonapagebutnoteveryadditionorremovalofatermismeaningfulFor instancewerecordadecreaseintheuseofldquoclimatechangerdquoonNASApages(see below)Furtherinspectionofthisparticularresultrevealsthatitmayormaynotbe trulysignificantSeveralofthedecreasesinldquoclimatechangerdquowecaughtarefroma partofthepagethatisrepeatedacrosstheNASAsiteaResourcescarouselof

41httpswebarchiveorgweb20180531215916httpswwwepagovclimatechange(lastaccessed18 October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 13

linkstovideosandotherpages(compareforinstancethispagendash20162018) In 42

thisrepeatedelementafewlinkstoitemswithclimatechangeintheir descriptionwereremovedbetweenspring2016andspring2018Becausethis elementisrepeatedacrossmanypagesitaddsuptomanyusesofldquoclimate changerdquoremovedThisresultshouldbeinterpretedcautiouslywedonotknow howoftenthecarouselisupdatedThedecreaseinldquoclimatechangerdquocouldjustbe anartifactofthedatesatwhichwesampledthesesitesOntheotherhandthe decreasecouldindicatesomethingrealoccurringwhereNASAiscurrentlymore hesitanttofeatureitsclimatechangeresourcesWhilewewereableto systematicallyremovepageheadersandfootersfromouranalysisfortechnical reasonswewerenotabletoremovemenuswithinthemainbodyofpagesThis mightresultinanovercountofcertaintermspotentiallyincludingldquosustainabilityrdquo (DOE)andldquohydraulicfracturingrdquo(EPA) Inshortourworkis RigorousndashOurproceduresandourtoolsarecarefullydocumentedandopen accesssoouranalysisisreproducible(seeAppendixAfordetailsandlinkstodata) AnyonecanaccesstheWaybackMachinesnapshotswerecordedandrecount termsAsateamwevalidatedourtermcountsonasetofpagestoensurethatthe scriptwasworkingasexpected ContextualndashWedonotjustreportourestimatesDoingsocouldgiveamisleading senseofprecisionandignorethecontextinwhichtermschangedInsteadwe describeourfindingsintermsofgeneraltrendsandgivethemmeaningby discussingexamplesdemonstratingthreecommonwaystermschangedonpages Forinstanceinsteadofsimplyreportingthat1640usesofldquoclimatechangerdquowere removedweshowwheretheywereremoveddescribethisasatrend(adecrease ofabout25inoursample)andprovideactualexamplesofchangesItisnot meaningfultoconcludethat1640usesofldquoclimatechangerdquowerecensoredacross allUSfederalagencywebdomainsInsteadwecaninferthatatleast1600uses wereremovedWedonotconductstatisticalanalysisinthisreportWeusetrends andaveragestodescribemerelyoursampleratherthanextrapolatingfromthis sampletomakeclaimsaboutagencywebsitesasawhole

ConservativendashAlthoughwenotepotentialovercountswebelievethisisoffsetby ourconservativeapproachThroughourweeklymonitoringworkwehavefound thatmorechangesndashinparticularremovalsndashhaveoccurredsinceJuly2018the

42httpsclimatenasagovclimate_resources136 httpwebarchiveorgweb20160625064516httpclimatenasagovclimate_resources136 httpwebarchiveorgweb20180406032424httpsclimatenasagovclimate_resources136(lastaccessed18 October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 14

endpointofthetermcountsreportedhere Inadditionouranalysisdoesnot 43

includechangestotheEPArsquosStateLocalClimateprogramThatdomainwastaken offlineinApril2017butrelaunchedinAugustofthatyearasStateLocalEnergy 44

SincethesenewpageshavenewURLswewereunabletoincludetheminour assessmentIftheyhadbeenincludedtheywouldindicateanevengreater removalofclimatechangelanguageFinallyweonlycountusesofaterminthe mainbodyoftextForexampleagencieslikeEPAandDOIusedldquoclimatechangerdquoin thenavigationalmenusthatappearoneverypageacrosstheirsitesManyofthese linkshavesincebeenremovedbutwedonotcountthoseremovalsinthisreport 45

43httpsenvirodatagovorgwebsite-monitoring(lastaccessed14June2019) 44ldquoAssessmentofRemovalsandChangesinAccesstoResourcesontheEPAslsquoClimateandEnergyResources forStateLocalandTribalGovernmentrsquoWebsiterdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201710AAR-5-EPA-State-Local-Climate-Energy-171018pdf(last accessed14June2019) 45ldquoDOIFurtherRestrictsAccesstoClimateChangeWebPagesrdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgaar-11-doi-climate-190228(lastaccessed14June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 15

RESULTS

ClimateChange Acrossthe5301pageswetrackedtheuseofldquoclimatechangerdquodecreasedfrom 6552mentionsin2016to4912in2018adropof1640or25Inotherwords onequarteroftheObamaadministrationrsquosdirectdiscussionofclimatechangeon thepagesweexaminedwasremoved Thetermldquoclimatechangerdquowasusedon1272differentpagesor24ofthepages wesurveyedSpecificallywefoundldquoclimatechangerdquoon1189Obama-erapages and1136TrumppagesInotherwords45fewerpagesmentionedldquoclimate changerdquoatallin2018 ldquoClimatechangerdquowasnotnecessarilyaddedtoorremoved 46

fromeachofthepagesitwasoriginallypresentonThetermdecreasedon378 pagesincreasedon203andremainedthesameon691Itwaseliminatedfrom136 pagesThatis36ofthetimeldquoclimatechangerdquosawdecreasedusageonapageit wascompletelyremoved(136378) Tosummarizewhilewedocumentasubstantial25decreaseintheoveralluseof thetermldquoclimatechangerdquotherewasnotasmuchofadrop(45)inthenumberof pagesitappearedonThisisbecauseldquoclimatechangerdquowasnotalwayseliminated fromapagendashitsusesimplydecreasedAndcompleteremovalsofldquoclimatechangerdquo weresomewhatoffsetbysmalladditionstootherpagesitpreviouslywasnrsquoton Wecanbemorepreciseaboutwhatkindsofpageswitnessedchangestotheuseof ldquoclimatechangerdquoWebreaktheseresultsdownbyagency(seeTable1andthe ldquoInsertionsandDeletionsrdquoinforgraphic)andthenexploreindividualexamplesFor instancehalfofthepagesinoursamplewhereldquoclimatechangerdquowascompletely removed(73136)wereEPApages43ofthese73inturnwerefromthe epagovclimatechangedomainthatwaswithdrawninApril2017(seeourreport) 47

46ThisisalmostentirelyduetotheremovaloftheepagovclimatechangesubdirectorySee httpsenvirodatagovorgthe-overhaul-of-epa-gov-has-already-begun(lastaccessed14June2019) 47ldquoEPADiscontinuesUpdatestoClimateChangeWebsitesrdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgaar-9-epa-discontinues-updates-to-climate-change-websites(lastaccessed14June 2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 16

Agency Spring 2016 countof ldquoclimate changerdquo

Spring 2018 countof ldquoclimate changerdquo

Change incount

change

of2016 pages mentioning ldquoclimate changerdquo

of2018 pages mentioning ldquoclimate changerdquo

change inpages mentioning ldquoclimate changerdquo

EPA 2118 814 -1304 -6157 279 216 -2258

NASA 427 274 -153 -3583 89 87 -225

GlobalChangegov 1828 1690 -138 -755 342 340 -058

NPS 290 235 -55 -1897 28 27 -357

Datagov 630 595 -35 -556 60 59 -167

DOI 36 9 -27 -7500 11 8 -2727

DOE 118 94 -24 -2034 69 58 -1594

NOAA 265 245 -20 -755 150 139 -733

CDC 41 25 -16 -3902 5 4 -2000

USDA 133 123 -10 -752 15 16 667

USGS

8 0 -8 -10000 2 0 -10000

Forest Service

89 82 -7 -787 27 26 -370

FWS 7 2 -5 -7143 6 2 -6667

OSHA 4 0 -4 -10000 1 0 -10000

DOT 2 0 -2 -10000 2 0 -10000

FEMA 48 47 -1 -208 34 34 000

BOEM 2 2 0 000 2 2 000

DOJ 5 5 0 000 3 3 000

EIA 1 1 0 000 1 1 000

HHS 20 20 0 000 2 2 000

NIH 63 83 20 3175 22 25 1364

Climategov 278 304 26 935 22 21 -455

FederalRegister 4 55 51 127500 2 50 240000

Table1Countsofldquoclimatechangerdquobyselectedfederalenvironmentalagency(thosewithgreater than15pagesinoursample)TheObamasnapshotsweretakenfromadaterangeofJanuary1 2016ndashJuly12016(spring2016)andtheTrumpsnapshotsweretakenfromJanuary12018ndashJuly1 2018(spring2018)SeeAppendixBforacronyms

TheNewDigitalLandscape 17

GlobalChangegov

Environmental Protection Agency

NASA NOAA Climategov National Park Service

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Insertions and deletionsof ldquoclimate changerdquo onfederal websites

Environmental Protection Agency

Globalchangegov

NASA

NOAA

Climategov

National Park Service

Before After

No Change Insertions Deletions

This graphic visualizes insertions and deletions of the term ldquoclimate changerdquo on federal websites as a decaying infrastructure of roads that connect the administration to the general public For each agency insertions on a single page of the agency website are colored purple and deletions are colored orange the relative decay of which corresponds to the extent to which the term was deleted More decayed roads represent higher counts of deletions of ldquoclimate changerdquo ultimately changing the infrastructure through which the administration communicates its stance to the public

The following plots illustrate the magnitude of insertions deletions and non-changes of the term ldquoclimate changerdquo for pages on the indicated federal website In each plot a single line indicates before (left axis) and after (right axis) absolute counts of ldquoclimate changerdquo on a single page on the website positively sloped lines indicate insertions of the term negatively sloped lines indicate deletions and horizontal lines indicate no changes

ThesinglelargestincreaseintheuseofldquoclimatechangerdquooccurredonaGAOpage (anincreaseof18mentions) Abstractsandsummarieswereaddedforkey 48

reportsonclimateadaptationHowevernewreportsthemselveswerenotadded tothelistonthepagendashinfactnonewreportshavebeenaddedtothislistsince summer2016Becauseoftheparametersofoursnapshotselections(Januaryto July2016JanuarytoJuly2018)itispossiblethatsomeoftheincreasesweare ascribingtotheTrumpadministrationactuallyoccurredinfall2016 Lossesofentirepagesanddozensofusesofldquoclimatechangerdquoaresomeofthemost spectacularmodificationsEDGIhaswitnessedThisisclearfromtheinforgraphic aboveTheldquobridgerdquobetweenEPAresearchinparticularandthepublichasbeen substantiallyerodedformingcleargapsButwherehasthedecreasebeenmore subtleandpervasiveWherehastherebeenaremovalofamentionhereandthere acrosspagesAsthevisualizationabovealsoshowsweseecracksappearinginthe foundationsofotheragenciesrsquoldquobridgesrdquoWecategorizesuchcracksintothreetypes ofwebsitechangesandillustrateexamplesofeachnotingthatindividualpages mayexemplifymorethanonekindofchange

Underminingclimatechangeasakeycomponentofpressingpolicy challenges

Changingdescriptionsofscienceandscientists Removingaccesstoanddescriptionofresources

Underminingclimatechangeasakeycomponentofpressingpolicy challenges Climatechangeisamulti-dimensionalproblemaffectinginternationalrelations urbaninfrastructurepublichealthwaterusageandmanyotherspheresofpublic andgovernmentalconcernIffederalagenciesaretobetrustedobjective authoritativesourcesofinformationforthepublicclimatechangemustbe prioritizedasakeycontributingfactortotheseissuesHoweverbyremoving discussionofitfromthepublicdomaintheTrumpadministrationhastakensteps tounderminethesensethatclimatechangeisfactuallyapressingissuemuch lessonetobeaddressedbypolicy ForinstancetheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)alteredtheldquoHeatIsland Effectrdquosectionofitswebsitetodownplaydiscussionofclimatechangeasapriority factorinurbantemperatureregimesClimatechangeisexpectedtoexacerbate

48httpwwwgaogovkey_issuesclimate_change_responseissue_summary(lastaccessed14June2019) TheNewDigitalLandscape 18

GlobalChangegov

Environmental Protection Agency

NASA NOAA Climategov National Park Service

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Insertions and deletionsof ldquoclimate changerdquo onfederal websites

Environmental Protection Agency

Globalchangegov

NASA

NOAA

Climategov

National Park Service

Before After

No Change Insertions Deletions

This graphic visualizes insertions and deletions of the term ldquoclimate changerdquo on federal websites as a decaying infrastructure of roads that connect the administration to the general public For each agency insertions on a single page of the agency website are colored purple and deletions are colored orange the relative decay of which corresponds to the extent to which the term was deleted More decayed roads represent higher counts of deletions of ldquoclimate changerdquo ultimately changing the infrastructure through which the administration communicates its stance to the public

The following plots illustrate the magnitude of insertions deletions and non-changes of the term ldquoclimate changerdquo for pages on the indicated federal website In each plot a single line indicates before (left axis) and after (right axis) absolute counts of ldquoclimate changerdquo on a single page on the website positively sloped lines indicate insertions of the term negatively sloped lines indicate deletions and horizontal lines indicate no changes

ThesinglelargestincreaseintheuseofldquoclimatechangerdquooccurredonaGAOpage (anincreaseof18mentions) Abstractsandsummarieswereaddedforkey 48

reportsonclimateadaptationHowevernewreportsthemselveswerenotadded tothelistonthepagendashinfactnonewreportshavebeenaddedtothislistsince summer2016Becauseoftheparametersofoursnapshotselections(Januaryto July2016JanuarytoJuly2018)itispossiblethatsomeoftheincreasesweare ascribingtotheTrumpadministrationactuallyoccurredinfall2016 Lossesofentirepagesanddozensofusesofldquoclimatechangerdquoaresomeofthemost spectacularmodificationsEDGIhaswitnessedThisisclearfromtheinforgraphic aboveTheldquobridgerdquobetweenEPAresearchinparticularandthepublichasbeen substantiallyerodedformingcleargapsButwherehasthedecreasebeenmore subtleandpervasiveWherehastherebeenaremovalofamentionhereandthere acrosspagesAsthevisualizationabovealsoshowsweseecracksappearinginthe foundationsofotheragenciesrsquoldquobridgesrdquoWecategorizesuchcracksintothreetypes ofwebsitechangesandillustrateexamplesofeachnotingthatindividualpages mayexemplifymorethanonekindofchange

Underminingclimatechangeasakeycomponentofpressingpolicy challenges

Changingdescriptionsofscienceandscientists Removingaccesstoanddescriptionofresources

Underminingclimatechangeasakeycomponentofpressingpolicy challenges Climatechangeisamulti-dimensionalproblemaffectinginternationalrelations urbaninfrastructurepublichealthwaterusageandmanyotherspheresofpublic andgovernmentalconcernIffederalagenciesaretobetrustedobjective authoritativesourcesofinformationforthepublicclimatechangemustbe prioritizedasakeycontributingfactortotheseissuesHoweverbyremoving discussionofitfromthepublicdomaintheTrumpadministrationhastakensteps tounderminethesensethatclimatechangeisfactuallyapressingissuemuch lessonetobeaddressedbypolicy ForinstancetheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)alteredtheldquoHeatIsland Effectrdquosectionofitswebsitetodownplaydiscussionofclimatechangeasapriority factorinurbantemperatureregimesClimatechangeisexpectedtoexacerbate

48httpwwwgaogovkey_issuesclimate_change_responseissue_summary(lastaccessed14June2019) TheNewDigitalLandscape 18

ThesinglelargestincreaseintheuseofldquoclimatechangerdquooccurredonaGAOpage (anincreaseof18mentions) Abstractsandsummarieswereaddedforkey 48

reportsonclimateadaptationHowevernewreportsthemselveswerenotadded tothelistonthepagendashinfactnonewreportshavebeenaddedtothislistsince summer2016Becauseoftheparametersofoursnapshotselections(Januaryto July2016JanuarytoJuly2018)itispossiblethatsomeoftheincreasesweare ascribingtotheTrumpadministrationactuallyoccurredinfall2016 Lossesofentirepagesanddozensofusesofldquoclimatechangerdquoaresomeofthemost spectacularmodificationsEDGIhaswitnessedThisisclearfromtheinforgraphic aboveTheldquobridgerdquobetweenEPAresearchinparticularandthepublichasbeen substantiallyerodedformingcleargapsButwherehasthedecreasebeenmore subtleandpervasiveWherehastherebeenaremovalofamentionhereandthere acrosspagesAsthevisualizationabovealsoshowsweseecracksappearinginthe foundationsofotheragenciesrsquoldquobridgesrdquoWecategorizesuchcracksintothreetypes ofwebsitechangesandillustrateexamplesofeachnotingthatindividualpages mayexemplifymorethanonekindofchange

Underminingclimatechangeasakeycomponentofpressingpolicy challenges

Changingdescriptionsofscienceandscientists Removingaccesstoanddescriptionofresources

Underminingclimatechangeasakeycomponentofpressingpolicy challenges Climatechangeisamulti-dimensionalproblemaffectinginternationalrelations urbaninfrastructurepublichealthwaterusageandmanyotherspheresofpublic andgovernmentalconcernIffederalagenciesaretobetrustedobjective authoritativesourcesofinformationforthepublicclimatechangemustbe prioritizedasakeycontributingfactortotheseissuesHoweverbyremoving discussionofitfromthepublicdomaintheTrumpadministrationhastakensteps tounderminethesensethatclimatechangeisfactuallyapressingissuemuch lessonetobeaddressedbypolicy ForinstancetheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)alteredtheldquoHeatIsland Effectrdquosectionofitswebsitetodownplaydiscussionofclimatechangeasapriority factorinurbantemperatureregimesClimatechangeisexpectedtoexacerbate

48httpwwwgaogovkey_issuesclimate_change_responseissue_summary(lastaccessed14June2019) TheNewDigitalLandscape 18

heatwavesincitiesleadingtoincreasedmortalityrisksforvulnerablepopulations suchastheelderlyandthepoor(forareviewseehere) EPArsquosldquoHeatIslandEffectrdquo 49

homepagepreviouslycontainedascrollingbannerwithinformationonfourtopics ThreeofthetopicsarestillavailableontheJune292018versionofthepage 50

HoweverafourthtopicldquoClimateChangeandHeatIslandsrdquowasremovedfromthe bannerThebannermentionedthetermldquoclimaterdquothreetimesincludingthetext ldquoLearnabouthowclimatechangeandheatislandsinteracttoexacerbateimpactsrdquo andlinkedtoaseparateldquoClimateChangeandHeatIslandsrdquopage(2016version) 51

WhiletheldquoClimateChangeandHeatIslandsrdquopageisstillliveaccessfromtheldquoHeat Islandsrdquohomepageandnavigationsidebarwasrestricted Auserwithout 52

previousknowledgeofthispagewillhavedifficultyfindingthepagelimitingthat userrsquosawarenessthatclimatechangeandurbanheatislandsarelinkedandhow Thiskindofminimizeddiscussion(ontheldquoHeatIslandEffectrdquohomepage)and reducedaccess(toldquoClimateChangeandHeatIslandsrdquo)exemplifieshowtheTrump administrationhasunderminedthesensethatclimatechangeisakey exacerbatingfactorinexistingenvironmentalandjusticechallenges

Theconnectionbetweenclimatechangeandheatwasfurtherdiminishedasthe OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration(OSHA)removedallreferencesto climatechangeonapagethatdealswithhowworkersandemployerscanmanage heat-relatedhealthrisksInthe2016versionofthepagewhichdiscussesthesigns andimpactsofheatillnessOSHAnotedwhatactionsandExecutiveOrders(ie 13653)thefederalgovernmentwasimplementingtopreparetheUStoberesilient toclimatechangeimpactsincludingextremetemperaturesanddroughts Inthe 53

2018versionofthepagethissectionandbasicinformationaboutheatillnesswere entirelyremovedperhapsbecauseofanewExecutiveOrderrescindingprevious ones Beyondthepolicyshiftthecontentremovalunderminesunderstandingof 54

climatechangersquosconnectionswithpublichealthByremovingdiscussionofhowto addressclimatechangersquosimpactsonworkerhealththeTrumpadministrationis signaling(intentionallyornot)thatitdoesnotconsiderworkerhealthworth planningforResearchclearlyshowsthatworkersareinfactontheldquofrontlinesrdquoof changingclimates Furthermoreformanyvisitorstothealteredsiteitwouldbe 55

49LiDandEBou-Zeid2013SynergisticInteractionsbetweenUrbanHeatIslandsandHeatWavesTheImpact inCitiesIsLargerthantheSumofItsPartsJApplMeteorClimatol522051ndash2064 httpsdoiorg101175JAMC-D-13-021 50httpwebarchiveorgweb20180629093913httpswwwepagovheat-islands(lastaccessed18October 2018) 51httpwebarchiveorgweb20160628161333id_httpswwwepagovheat-islands(lastaccessed18October 2018) 52httpswwwepagovheat-islandsclimate-change-and-heat-islands(lastaccessed14June2019) 53httpwebarchiveorgweb20160218035219httpswwwoshagovSLTCheatillnessindexhtml(last accessed18October2018) 54httpwebarchiveorgweb20180401071130httpswwwoshagovheat httpswwwwhitehousegovpresidential-actionspresidential-executive-order-promoting-energy-independence-economic-growth(lastaccessed14June2019) 55KieferMRodriacuteguez-GuzmaacutenJWatsonJvanWendeldeJoodeBMerglerDampdaSilvaAS2016 WorkerhealthandsafetyandclimatechangeintheAmericasissuesandresearchneedsRevistapanamericana

TheNewDigitalLandscape 19

unclearthatclimatechangewassomethingtoconsiderwhenitcomesto occupationalhealth NIOSHalsodiminishedconnectionsbetweenclimatechangeandoccupational healthbyreplacingldquoClimateChangerdquowithldquoClimaterdquoinitssitemap(2016version) 56

ThelinkforldquoClimaterdquoleadstothesamepageasthelinkforldquoClimateChangerdquodid butthatpageitselfhasbeenaltered(2018version) AsdetailedinEDGIrsquosJuly2018 57

reportthepagetitlewaschangedfromldquoCLIMATECHANGEANDOCCUPATIONAL SAFETYANDHEALTHrdquotoldquoOccupationalSafetyandHealthandClimaterdquo 58

AlterationswerealsomadetoclimatechangerelatedsubpagesincludingldquoClimate ChangeARiskforWorkersrdquo(nowldquoImpactofClimateonWorkersrdquo)Thesepages werealteredtodeemphasizedefinitionsandapplicationsofthetermldquoclimate changerdquoThelackofspecificityincharacterizingandreferringtoclimatechangendash muchlessclimatecrisisassomegovernmentscientificandjournalisticentitiesare nowregularlydescribingit ndashunderminesthesensethatitissignificantconnected 59

withpublichealthandsomethingwecanacton TheEPAaltereditsldquoInternationalCooperationrdquositetodramaticallyreduceand generalizeitsuseofthetermldquoclimatechangerdquounderminingthesensethatclimate changeshouldbeapriorityissueintheUSrsquosforeignaffairsInourApril2018 reportwedocumentedhowEPAhadremovedtheldquoInternationalPrioritiesrdquopagein December2017 The2017pageincludedtwointroductoryparagraphsthat 60

discussedldquosharedenvironmentalandgovernancechallengesrdquoinEPArsquosbilateraland multilateralpartnershipsincludingchallengessuchasglobalclimatechangeThe pagealsohadsixnavigabletabsthatlistedinformationonprioritiessuchas ldquoClimateChangerdquoldquoAirQualityrdquoandldquoStrongInstitutionsrdquoTheldquoStrongInstitutionsrdquo tabontheldquoInternationalPrioritiesrdquopagediscussedEPArsquosworkwithothercountries andlinkedtoelevencountry-specificpagesOneldquoEPACollaborationwithChinardquo

desaludpublica=PanAmericanjournalofpublichealth40(3)192ndash197RoelofsCampWegmanD(2014) WorkerstheclimatecanariesAmericanjournalofpublichealth104(10)1799ndash1801 doi102105AJPH2014302145 56httpwebarchiveorgweb20160522062126httpwwwcdcgovnioshazchtml(lastaccessed18October 2018)Asitemapisakindofdirectoryforawebsiteprovidingalistoflinkstoeachpageinthedomain 57httpwebarchiveorgweb20180627200738httpswwwcdcgovnioshazchtml(lastaccessed18October 2018) 58ldquoRemovalofClimateChangeMentionsLinksandInformationfromtheCDCrsquosNationalInstitutefor OccupationalSafetyandHealthWebsiterdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201805CCR-22-CDC-NIOSH-Climate-Change-180506pdf(last accessed14June2019) 59ldquoWhytheGuardianischangingthelanguageitusesabouttheenvironmentrdquoTheGuardian httpswwwtheguardiancomenvironment2019may17why-the-guardian-is-changing-the-language-it-uses-about-the-environment(lastaccessed12June2019) 60ldquoRemovalofEPArsquoslsquoInternationalPrioritiesrsquoandlsquoInternationalGrantsandCooperativeAgreementsrsquopagesas wellascorrespondinglinksfromtheInternationalCooperationWebsiterdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201804AAR-7-EPA-International-Cooperation-180423pdf(last accessed14June2019) httpwebarchiveorgweb20171213154233httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationinternational-priorities(lastaccessed18October2018) httpwebarchiveorgweb20171214161228httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationinternational-priorities(lastaccessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 20

wasitselfredesignedinJune2018TheJune142018versionofthatpagehadsix mentionsofthetermldquoclimatechangerdquo ThefollowingdayJune152018ldquoclimate 61

changerdquowasremovedfromthepage AsweshowbelowthesechangestoldquoEPA 62

CollaborationwithChinardquo(andothercountry-specificpages)werenotsimply reflectingshiftingpolicyprioritiesbetween2016and2018butunderminingpublic understandingofglobalclimatechangeTheydidsobyndashforexamplendashsubstituting discussionofldquomethanerdquoemissionsndashpotentgreenhousegasesndashformore generallyldquoairqualityrdquo

Figure4EPAremovedaccesstotheldquoInternationalPrioritiesrdquopageinDecember2017Thepagehad includedtwointroductoryparagraphsthatdiscussedldquosharedenvironmentalandgovernance challengesrdquoinEPArsquosbilateralandmultilateralpartnershipsincludingchallengeslikeglobalclimate changeThepagealsohadsixnavigabletabsthatlistedinformationonprioritiessuchasldquoClimate Changerdquo Otheragencieshavealteredtheirwebsitestomorecompletelyremovelinkstokey climatechangecontentTheUnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey(USGS)withinthe DepartmentoftheInterior(DOI)alteredtheldquoScienceExplorerrdquosectionofits websitetoremovethetopicofclimatechange(seealsoourMarch2019report) 63

In2016itsldquoOverviewrdquopagelistedlinkstoaldquoClimateChangerdquopageinasidebarand inthemainbodyOneoftheselinkswasaccompaniedwithdescriptivetextldquoThis scienceincludesthelong-termalterationinthecharacteristicweatherconditionsof aregionsuchaschangesinprecipitationandtemperaturerdquo Additionallythe 64

pagefeaturedascrollingbannerlinkingtotheldquoClimateChangerdquopageOnthe2018 versionoftheScienceExplorerldquoOverviewrdquopagehoweverclimatechangehasbeen

61httpswebarchiveorgweb20180614000003httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationepa-collaboration-china(lastaccessed18October2018) 62httpswebarchiveorgweb20180615003224httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationepa-collaboration-china(lastaccessed18October2018) 63ldquoDOIFurtherRestrictsAccesstoClimateChangeWebPagesrdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgaar-11-doi-climate-190228(lastaccessed14June2019) 64httpwebarchiveorgweb20160508123942httpswwwusgsgovsciencescience-explorer(lastaccessed 18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 21

removedasatopic TheldquoClimateChangerdquopageitselfhashadallcontentremoved 65

andisnowblank Thepreviousversionservedasadirectorytootherclimate 66

change-relatedtopicssuchasthegreenhouseeffectsea-levelchangeandcarbon sequestration ThetermldquoclimaterdquoisstillinusewithintwoScienceExplorertopics 67

ldquoCoastsrdquoandldquoGeologyrdquoHoweverbyremovingclimatechangeasastandalone top-leveltopicinitsScienceExplorerUSGSisunderminingthesensethatclimate changeisaresearchpriorityforthisagencyandthefederalgovernmentmore broadly

(a)

(b)

65httpwebarchiveorgweb20180618023142httpswwwusgsgovsciencescience-explorer(lastaccessed 18October2018) 66httpwebarchiveorgweb20190307201723httpswwwusgsgovsciencescience-explorerClimate+Change (lastaccessed18October2018) 67httpwebarchiveorgweb20161211235744httpswwwusgsgovsciencescience-explorerClimate+Change (lastaccessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 22

Figures5(a)and5(b)TheUnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey(USGS)withintheDepartmentofthe Interior(DOI)alteredtheldquoScienceExplorerrdquosectionofitswebsitetoremovethetopicofclimate change(a)ndashthemainScienceExplorerlandingpage(b)ndashtheldquoClimateChangerdquosectionofthe ScienceExplorer USGSisanofficewithintheDOIandtheyhaveseparatewebsitesBetweenspring 2016andspring2018DOIremovedmanyreferencesanddescriptionsofclimate changefromdoigov Priorto2017theDOIClimateChangewebpagehadbeena 68

centrallandingpageforinformationaboutclimatechangehowitisaffectingthe nationrsquosnaturalresourcesandthestrategiesDOIusestoaddresschallenges presentedbyclimatechangeHoweverinspring2017theDOIstrippedalmostall ofthecontentfromthatpagereplacingitwithasimpleparagraphacknowledging thattheimpactsofclimatechangeaffecthowDOIneedstomanagefederallands (seeourApril2017report) Althoughbeyondthetimeframecoveredherebyour 69

quantitativetermanalysisDOIlaterrestricteditsclimatepagefrompublicaccess andremovedldquoClimateChangerdquofromitslistofpriorities(seeourMarch2019 report) ThisremovalisespeciallyegregiousasDOImanagesapproximately 70

one-fifthoftheUSlandareaincludingmillionsofacresitleasesforoilandgas extractionwhichcontributestoclimatechangeIn2018DOIopenedmorelandfor leasethaneverbeforeandboastedthatithadthehighestnumberofoilandgas leasesinhistoryreaping$11billioninrevenue WithitswebsiteremovalsDOI 71

limitsinformedevaluationofitscontributionstoclimatechangeandhowa changingclimateimperilsDOImanagedlandTheremovalofldquoclimatechangerdquoas anagencypriorityandtopicworthdiscussingunderminespublicunderstandingof theconsequencesofbothoilandgasextractionandclimatechange TheDepartmentofInterioralsoremovedmentionsofclimatechangefromits WaterSMARTprogrampage(2018version) Theprogramrsquosfocusisonwater 72

conservationandwateruseplanningThedepartmentremovedsectionsdescribing howtheprogramldquoidentifiesadaptivemeasurestoaddressclimatechangeandits impactonfuturewaterdemandsrdquoandldquocoordinateswiththeDepartmentrsquosTask ForceonEnergyandthe[sic]ClimateChangeandClimateChangeResponse CouncilrdquoThepagealsopreviouslycontainedlinkstoapressreleaseWaterSMART LaunchVideoandthedepartmentorderestablishingWaterSMARTndashallofwhich

68httpwebarchiveorgweb20160529184407httpswwwdoigovclimate httpwebarchiveorgweb20180620205458httpswwwdoigovclimate(lastaccessed18October2018) 69ldquoConfirmationofChangestoDepartmentoftheInteriorrsquosClimateChangePagerdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201707WM-CCR-15-DOI-Climate-Change-Confirmation-170428pdf(lastaccessed14June2019) 70ldquoDOIFurtherRestrictsAccesstoClimateChangeWebPagesrdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgaar-11-doi-climate-190228(lastaccessed14June2019) 71ldquoEnergyRevolutionUnleashedInteriorShattersPreviousRecordswith$11Billionin2018OilandGasLease SalesrdquoDOI httpswwwdoigovnewsenergy-revolution-unleashed-interior-shatters-previous-records-11-billion-2018-oil-and-gas(lastaccessed14March2019) 72httpwebarchiveorgweb20160429131737httpswwwdoigovwatersmart httpwebarchiveorgweb20180618113435httpswwwdoigovwatersmart(lastaccessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 23

hadmentionedclimatechange(2016version) AlltogethertheDOIremovedhalf 73

ofthetextonthepage

Figure6TheDepartmentofInteriorremovedmentionsofclimatechangefromitsWaterSMART programpage WithintheUSDepartmentofAgriculture(USDA)theUSForestService(USFS) overhauleditsldquoWildernessrdquopagebetween2016and2018 Theagencyrewrotea 74

sectionofthepagewiththeheadingldquoWhatiswildernessrdquo(2018version) This 75

sectionpreviouslynotedldquoglobalclimatechangerdquoamongchangesthatldquoaffectthe ecologicalcharacterandfunctionofwildernessrdquo(2016version) Inremovingthe 76

referencetoldquoglobalclimatechangerdquoUSFSissuggestingtothepublicthatitisnot animportantfactorinthehealthandfunctioningofwildernessesmuchlessthe agencyrsquosownstewardshipofsuchareas Beyondindividualbureausordepartmentscross-agencyprogramssuchastheUS GlobalChangeResearchProgram(USGCRP)havedownplayedclimatechangeon theirwebsitesTheUSGCRPisaninter-agencyefforttosynthesizeknowledgeabout globalenvironmentalandclimatechangeMostnotablyitproducesthe Congressionally-mandatedNationalClimateAssessmentsthemostrecentofwhich waspublishedinNovember2018 Despitecontinuingtoadvancepublic 77

understandingofclimatechangesuchasthroughthe2018NCAUSGCRPrsquos webpagetitledldquoUnderstandclimatechangerdquowasalteredbetween2016and2018 78

73httpwebarchiveorgweb20160429131737httpswwwdoigovwatersmart(lastaccessed18October 2018) 74httpwebarchiveorgweb20160611150317httpwwwfsfedusmanaging-landwilderness(lastaccessed 18October2018) 75httpwebarchiveorgweb20180628180934httpswwwfsfedusmanaging-landwilderness(lastaccessed 18October2018) 76httpwebarchiveorgweb20160611150317httpwwwfsfedusmanaging-landwilderness(lastaccessed 18October2018) 77httpsnca2018globalchangegov(lastaccessed14June2019) 78httpwebarchiveorgweb20160510074058httpwwwglobalchangegovclimate-change(lastaccessed18 October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 24

ThepageremainsliveandcontinuestostateldquoClimatechangeishappeningnowrdquo butasectiononldquoUSGCRPsRolerdquoincombatingclimatechangewasremoved The 79

sectionreferencedtheClimateActionPlanandhowitinvokedldquothecriticalroleof USGCRPindevelopingsoundsciencetomanageclimatechangeimpactsrdquo(the ClimateActionPlanwasrescindedinMay2017) Thissectionalsocontainedalink 80

toawebpagededicatedtoexplainingldquoUSGCRPsRolerdquo Howeverthispagehas 81

sincebeenrestrictedfrompublicaccessndashnavigatingthereresultsinanldquoAccess Deniedrdquomessagendasheventhoughitdiscussedcurrentlyongoinglegalmandates (through2021)todevelopglobalchangescienceforthepublic Withthese 82

removalsandthisrestrictionUSGCRPisconfusingthepublicnotsimplyabouthow importantclimatechangeisbutwhattheirandtheprogramrsquosownrolein understandingandrespondingtoitisRemovingfurtherreferenceandaccessto ldquoUSGCRPrsquosrolerdquounderminestheprogramrsquosclaimsthatclimatechangeisapriorityndash thatitreallyisldquohappeningnowrdquoandthatUSGCRPisatldquothecenteroftheFederal Governmentseffortsrdquotoaddressit

Figure7USGCRPrsquoswebpagetitledldquoUnderstandclimatechangerdquowasalteredbetween2016(left)and 2018(right)ThepageremainsliveandcontinuestostateldquoClimatechangeishappeningnowrdquobuta sectiononldquoUSGCRPsRolerdquoincombatingclimatechangewasremoved

79httpwebarchiveorgweb20180609213708httpswwwglobalchangegovclimate-change(lastaccessed18 October2018) 80httpsobamawhitehousearchivesgovsitesdefaultfilesimagepresident27sclimateactionplanpdf httpswwwwhitehousegovpresidential-actionspresidential-executive-order-promoting-energy-independence-economic-growth(lastaccessed14June2019) 81httpwebarchiveorgweb20160522053226httpwwwglobalchangegovclimate-changeusgcrps-role(last accessed18October2018) 82httpswwwglobalchangegovclimate-changeusgcrps-role(lastaccessed14June2019) httpswebarchiveorgweb20180305151220httpswwwglobalchangegovclimate-changeusgcrps-role(last accessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 25

Changingdescriptionsofscienceandscientists

Ourfindingsindicatesubtleyetsystematicmodificationstohowclimatechangeis portrayedandprioritizedinrelationtoissuessuchaswildernessprotectionwater managementandforeignaffairsBeyondthiswefindshiftsinhowclimatechange scienceandscientistsarecharacterized ForinstanceEPArsquosScienceMatterssiteisamainavenueintothescientificresearch thattheagencydoesThepagedescribingEPAresearchersrsquoworkwasalteredto reclassifytheresearchgroups(2016version) TheClimateChangeresearchers 83

categorywasdissolvedandindividualclimatescientistsweremovedinto ldquoEcosystemsrdquoldquoHealthrdquoandothers(2018version) Basedontheseresearchersrsquo 84

biositdoesnotappeartheyhaveshiftedtheiractualworkAsimilarmodification wasmadeattheEarthSystemsResearchLaboratory(ESRL)intheNationalOceanic andAtmosphericAdministration(NOAA)inwhichmentionsofclimatechangein researchersrsquoworkwereremoved(2016version) Inallcasesldquoclimatechangerdquowas 85

reducedtoldquoclimaterdquo(2018version) Forinstancethissentence 86

Withprecisionlaboratoryworkthisresearchgrouptargetstrace gasesaerosolsandatmosphericchemicalprocessesaffectingair qualityozonedepletionandclimatechange(emphasisadded)

waschangedto

Withprecisionlaboratoryworkthisresearchgrouptargetstrace gasesaerosolsandatmosphericchemicalprocessesaffectingair qualityozonelayerdepletionandclimate(emphasisadded)

Colloquiallyclimatechangeandclimateareoftenusedinterchangeablybutthey aresubstantivelydifferentobjectsofstudyItisnotclearthatldquoclimaterdquocanndashinthe caseofESRLresearchersorotherdescriptionsofsciencescientistsndashactuallystand inforldquoclimatechangerdquoLikewiseattheDepartmentofEnergyrsquos(DOE)Biological andEnvironmentalResearch(BER)programclimatechangewasremovedfromthe descriptionofwhatBERscientistsdo(ldquoclimatechangerdquowasmodifiedtoldquoregional

83httpwebarchiveorgweb20160414023907httpswwwepagovsciencemattersresearchers-work(last accessed18October2018) 84httpwebarchiveorgweb20180630143140httpswwwepagovsciencemattersresearchers-work(last accessed18October2018) 85httpwebarchiveorgweb20160104174521httpwwwesrlnoaagovcsdgroups(lastaccessed18 October2018) 86httpwebarchiveorgweb20180615231745httpswwwesrlnoaagovcsdgroups(lastaccessed18 October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 26

climaterdquo)(2016version2018version) Additionallymentionofldquoclimatemodelingrdquo 87

wasscrubbedandmentionofldquoanalysisofimpactsandinterdependenciesof climaticchangewithenergyproductionanduserdquowasalteredtoreplaceldquoclimatic changerdquowithldquoenvironmentrdquoThissentence

climatechangeandenvironmentalmodelingandanalysisof impactsandinterdependenciesofclimaticchangewithenergy productionanduse

waschangedto

environmentalandearthsystemmodelingandanalysisofimpacts andinterdependenciesofenergyproductionandtheenvironment

OneoftheresearchfacilitieslistedontheBERpagehaditsnamechangedfrom ARMClimateResearchFacilitytosimplyldquoARMResearchFacilityrdquo 88

Figure8AttheEarthSystemsResearchLaboratory(ESRL)intheNationalOceanicandAtmospheric Administration(NOAA)mentionsofclimatechangeinresearchersrsquoworkwereremoved Wealsosawmodificationstotheuseofldquoclimatechangerdquoindefiningrelated conceptsForinstancedefinitionsontheUSClimateResilienceToolkitrsquosGlossary pagewerealteredremovingseveraldirectusesofthetermldquoclimatechangerdquoOn the2016versionofthepageldquoclimatechangerdquowasusedinthedefinitionofthree otherterms ForinstancethedefinitionofldquoImpactsrdquowasmodifiedfromldquoEffects 89

87httpwebarchiveorgweb20160623112302httpscienceenergygovberresearch httpwebarchiveorgweb20180602044039httpsscienceenergygovberresearch(lastaccessed18 October2018) 88httpwebarchiveorgweb20170114152517httpswwwarmgov httpwebarchiveorgweb20190310172255httpswwwarmgov(lastaccessed18October2018) 89httpwebarchiveorgweb20160620172205httpstoolkitclimategovcontentglossary(lastaccessed18 October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 27

onnaturalandhumansystemsduetoextremeweatherclimateeventsand climatechangerdquotoldquoEffectsonnaturalandhumansystemsthatresultfrom hazardsrdquoThetermsldquoextremeweatherrdquoldquoclimateeventsrdquoandldquoclimatechangerdquowere allremovedfromthedefinitionandreplacedbythevaguetermldquohazardsrdquoDespite theseremovalstheGlossarypagesawoneadditionofthetermldquoclimatechangerdquo Onthe2018versionofthepageadefinitionforthetermldquomitigationrdquowasadded ldquoProcessesthatcanreducetheamountandspeedoffutureclimatechangeby reducingemissionsofheat-trappinggasesorremovingthemfromthe atmosphererdquo 90

TheldquoScenariosrdquosubdomainonglobalchangegovsawareductionintheuseofthe termldquoclimatechangerdquoOnthe2016versionofthepagethereweresixmentionsof ldquoclimatechangerdquothroughoutthemainbodyoftext Thetopofbothversionsof 91

thepagefeaturedaquestionaboutclimatechangeconsequences

ldquoWhatarescenariosforassessmentofclimatechangeimpactsand potentialresponsesrdquo(2016emphasisadded) ldquoWhatarescenariosforassessmentofpotentialclimatechangerisks andresponsesrdquo(2018emphasisadded)

The2018versiondownplaysthepresentrealityofclimatechangeimpactsand emphasizespotentialrisksinsteadLikewisetheopeningsentenceofthepage statedldquoScenariosarequantitativeandnarrativedescriptionsofplausiblefuture conditionsthatprovideassumptionsforanalysesofpotentialimpactsand responsestoclimatechangerdquoIn2018thisbecameldquoScenariosarecoherent internallyconsistentandplausibledescriptionsofpossiblefuturestatesofthe worldMuchoftheremainingexplanatorytextwasreplacedThe2016versionof thepagefeaturedascenarioforldquoLandCoverLandUseandSocioeconomic FactorsrdquothatincludedclimatechangeinitsdescriptionHoweverthe2018version hasanewlandusescenariotitledldquoPopulationandLandUserdquothatdoesnot referenceldquoclimatechangerdquoinitsdescription 92

90httpwebarchiveorgweb20180102162052httpstoolkitclimategovcontentglossary(lastaccessed18 October2018) 91httpwebarchiveorgweb20160508001503httpscenariosglobalchangegovcontentscenarios(last accessed18October2018) 92httpwebarchiveorgweb20180618151630httpsscenariosglobalchangegovcontentscenarios(last accessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 28

Figure9TheldquoScenariosrdquosubdomainonglobalchangegovsawareductioninuseoftheterm ldquoclimatechangerdquo

Modifyingaccesstoanddescriptionofresources Beyonddiminishingclimatechangeasapriorityfactorinenvironmental managementandalteringdescriptionsofwhatclimatechangescienceisandwhat climatechangeresearchersdoagencieshaverestrictedaccesstokeyinformational resourceseitherbyremovinglinkstothesepagesremovingthepagesthemselves fromthepublicdomainorbymodifyingdescriptionsofwhatthoseresourcesare ComparabletoEPArsquoswithdrawalofepagovclimatechangetheDepartmentof Transportation(DOT)removeditsentireldquoTransportationandClimateChange ClearinghouserdquosubdomainlocatedattheURLclimatedotgovsometimeinlate March2017TheClearinghousewasasignificantendeavorandcollatedmany resourcesintoonecentrallocation Itsremovalwaseventuallyhighlightedby 93

CNNthoughthenumberofpagesimpactedwaslikelyunderreported Thelast 94

livecaptureoftheclimatedotgovsavedintheInternetArchiversquosWaybackMachine wasonMarch292017 ByApril292017thepagereturnedanerrorandbyMay 95

42017thepageredirectedtoanewURL httpswwwtransportationgovclimate-change-clearinghouse Howeverthisnew 96

93httpswebarchiveorgweb20170202044851httpswwwclimatedotgovabout-the-centerhtml(last accessed18October2018) 94ldquoAccessdenied2climatechangepagesremovedfromDOTswebsiterdquoCNN httpswwwcnncom20181214politicsdot-climate-change-webpages-removed-global-warmingindexhtml (lastaccessed14June2019) 95httpswebarchiveorgweb20170329072414httpsclimatedotgov(lastaccessed18October2018) 96httpswebarchiveorgweb20170429183644httpclimatedotgov httpswebarchiveorgweb20170504015206httpclimatedotgov(lastaccessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 29

pagewasalsoremovedndashtheClearinghousewasavailableatthisURLuntilOctober 42018 97

OnlysomeofthepagesandtopicsundertheClearinghouseremain(egone describinggreenhousegasemissionsfromaviation)buttheyarepoorly maintained Forinstancethepageongreenhousegasemissionsfrom 98

non-surfacetransportationsourcesisincompletefeaturingonlyaviation-related materialandwithlinkstothe2006IPCCreportratherthanmorerecentonesThe climatedotgovsitealsopreviouslyfeatureddiscussionofgreenhousegas emissionsreductionstrategies Thisincludedtransportationplanningandpublic 99

transitaswellasbiofuels-basedapproachesAlthoughananalogouspageexistsin thenewtransportationgovsustainabilityclimatesubdirectoryitautomatically directsvisitorstoapagefocusedsolelyonbiofuelsandotheralternativefuels 100

DOTclaimsthatmaterialontheClearinghousesitewasldquooutdatedrdquoandthatits policyistoarchivesuchcontent Butitisnotclearwherethematerialhasbeen 101

archivedwhyusersarenotredirectedtothisarchivewhytheDOThasnot removedotheroutdatedmaterialorwhytheDOThaschosennottoupdatethe content LikewiseEPAhaswithdrawnclimatechangeresourcesfromthepublicdomain withoutexplanationInDecember2018wescannedapproximately10000URLs acrosstheEPAwebsite Wefound334eitherredirectedtootherURLswere 102

ldquorestrictedaccessrdquo(403error)ornolongerexisted(404error) Theldquorestricted 103

accessrdquopagesareespeciallytroublingastheysuggesttothepagevisitorthatthe pagestillexistsbutthattheagencyispreventingthemfromseeingitwithoutclear rationaleTheEPArsquosmessageissimplyldquoSorrybutthiswebpageisnotavailablefor viewingrightnowThispageisnotavailableforviewingeitherbecauseEPAhasnot publishedityetorbecauseEPAhasallowedthepublicationofthispagetolapserdquo NofurtherdetailsaregivenThe57pagesthatwererestrictedaddressimportant climatechangeissuesincludingclimatechangeresearchandcomponentsofthe GreenhouseGasReportingProgramaswellasenvironmentalprotectiononTribal

97httpswebarchiveorgweb20181004103312httpswwwtransportationgovclimate-change-clearinghouse (lastaccessed18October2018) 98httpswwwtransportationgovsustainabilityclimateaviation-marine-rail-aviation(lastaccessed14June 2019) 99 httpswebarchiveorgweb20170202083810httpswwwclimatedotgovghg-reduction-strategiesindexhtml(lastaccessed18October2018) 100httpswwwtransportationgovsustainabilityclimatefuels-and-vehicle-technology(lastaccessed14June 2019) 101ldquoAccessdenied2climatechangepagesremovedfromDOTswebsiterdquoCNN httpswwwcnncom20181214politicsdot-climate-change-webpages-removed-global-warmingindexhtml (lastaccessed14June2019) 102ListofEPAURLshttpsdrivegooglecomfiled12DSwTQhLhXXiX1_qL0TKU-cl0HpH8R9Wviewusp=sharing 103ListofldquomissingrdquondashrestrictedaccessredirectedorremovedndashEPAURLs httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1dyr6j7_jwxpr9a7vXpIuhqbk-K5rqaRmviewusp=sharing

TheNewDigitalLandscape 30

landsandinternationalcooperation(thesealoneaccountedfor16outofthe57 restrictedpagesandincludeapageoncooperationone-wasteissues) 104

Beyondrestrictedaccesstoresourceswefoundmodifieddescriptionsofthem TheUSGCRPremovedlinkstointernally-producedresourcesonclimatechange Acrossitsldquoindicatorsrdquopageswhichdescribedifferentmeasuresofglobalchange theprogramremovedlinkstotheNationalClimateAssessmentitsprocessfor engagingstakeholdersintheNCAanditsInformationSystemwheredataon indicatorscanbeaccessed(egthisindicatorpage20162018) OnEPArsquosmainair 105

qualityresearchpage(epagovair-research)thedescriptionofalinktoclimate changeteachingmaterialwasrenamedldquoEducationalOutreachResourcesrdquo(2018 version)fromldquoHands-onActivitiesandOtherResourcesonAirQualityandClimate ChangeforTeachersrdquo(2016version) Inadditionthelinked-topageitselfhas 106

beenrenamedtoremovereferencetoclimatechange Alsoonthemainair 107

qualityresearchpagealinktoaldquoFeaturedResourcerdquondashapodcastonldquoEngaging StudentsonEnergyandClimateChangerdquondashwasremovedSomeregularupdatingof featuredresourcesistobeexpectedbutaccesstotheentirearchiveofthepodcast serieswasrestrictedinearly2019(compareFebruary2019March2019) 108

104httpswwwepagovwater-researchwater-and-climate-change-research httpswwwepagovghgreportingsubpart-w-basic-information httpswwwepagovtribalsolid-and-hazardous-waste-indian-country-resource-conservation-and-recovery-act-rcrahttpswwwepagovinternational-cooperatione-waste-around-world(lastaccessed14June2019) 105httpwwwglobalchangegovengageprocess-productssustained-assessment httpsdataglobalchangegovreportreport_type=indicator httpwwwglobalchangegovbrowseindicatorsf[0]=field_indicator_topics3A94(lastaccessed14June2019) httpwebarchiveorgweb20160427063658httpwwwglobalchangegovbrowseindicatorsf[0]=field_indicator_topics3A94 httpwebarchiveorgweb20180609220057httpswwwglobalchangegovbrowseindicatorsf[0]=field_indicator_topics3A94(lastaccessed18October2018) 106 httpswwwepagovair-researchhands-activities-and-other-resources-air-quality-and-climate-change-teachers (lastaccessed14June2019)httpwebarchiveorgweb20180628232311httpswwwepagovair-research httpwebarchiveorgweb20160531060948httpswwwepagovair-research(lastaccessed18October 2018) 107httpswwwepagovair-researchair-quality-and-energy-choice-stem-activities-educators(lastaccessed14 June2019) 108httpswwwepagovresearchscience-bite-podcastspecase(lastldquoaccessedrdquo14June2019) httpwebarchiveorgweb20190214185727httpswwwepagovresearchscience-bite-podcasts httpwebarchiveorgweb20190311115908httpswwwepagovresearchscience-bite-podcasts(last accessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 31

Figure10AccesstotheentirearchiveofEPArsquosScienceBitepodcastserieswasrestrictedinearly 2019 Wefoundotherfederalagenciesreducinglinksincludingthosepointingto non-governmentalorganizationsNIEHSoverhauleditsldquoEnvironmentalScience Basicsrdquopageremovingalllinkstonon-governmentalorganizationsincludingalink anddescriptionforEnviroHealthActionaprogramrunbytheNobelPeace Prize-winningPhysiciansforSocialResponsibility In2016thedescriptionforthe 109

organizationstatedthatitwasaneducationandactioncenterthatprovidesan onlinecommunityforhealthprofessionalsandothersinterestedinenvironmental health Onetopicthatthecenterwaslistedasaddressingwasclimatechange 110

By2018thelinkstoEnviroHealthActionandotherresourceshadbeenremoved 111

Othertermsrelatedtoclimatechange Byanalyzingtheuseofotherclimatechange-relatedtermswefindthatthe administrationhaslikewiseattemptedtounderminepublicdiscoursespecifically aroundclimateimpactsmitigationandadaptationWenoteanincreasein discussionofimpactsbutashiftawayfromkeymitigationapproachesandan emphasisonldquoresiliencerdquoThistrendisconsistentwithresearchonenvironmental governance andmediareporting whichsuggestthatrespondingtoimpacts 112 113

109httpswwwniehsnihgovhealthtopicsscienceindexcfmhttpswwwpsrorgissuesenvironment-health (lastaccessed12June2019) 110httpwebarchiveorgweb20180621020912httpswwwniehsnihgovhealthtopicsscienceindexcfm (lastaccessed18October2018) 111httpwebarchiveorgweb20180621020912httpswwwniehsnihgovhealthtopicsscienceindexcfm (lastaccessed18October2018) 112ForinstanceseeBeymer-FarrisBATJBassettandIBryceson2012Promisesandpitfallsofadaptive managementinresiliencethinkingthelensofpoliticalecologyInResilienceandtheCulturalLandscapeedsT PlieningerandCBieling283ndash300CambridgeCambridgeUniversityPressKaikaM2017lsquoDonrsquotcallme resilientagainrsquotheNewUrbanAgendaasimmunologyhelliporhellipwhathappenswhencommunitiesrefusetobe vaccinatedwithlsquosmartcitiesrsquoandindicatorsEnvironmentandUrbanization29(1)89ndash102 113ldquoInFlood-HitMidwestMayorsSeeClimateChangeasaSubjectBestAvoidedrdquoNewYorkTimes httpswwwnytimescom20190515usmidwest-flooding-climate-changehtml(lastaccessed14June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 32

maybemorepoliticallypalatablethanimplementingclimatechangemitigation measuresandthatldquoresiliencerdquocanbeusedtoobscurehardtruthsaboutwhowill losefromclimatecrisis Forthisnextpartofouranalysiswefilteroursampleofpagestoonlythosethat mentionedldquoclimaterdquoldquoclimatechangerdquoorldquogreenhousegasesrdquointheObamaera Thathelpsusbemorecertainthatanyshiftsweobserveinclimatechange-related termslikeldquowildfiresrdquostemfromtheiruseinrelationtoclimatechangeForinstance whenweseedecreasesintheuseofthetermldquoadaptationrdquowecanbemoresure thatitsremovalisinthecontextofclimatechangenotadaptationgenerally becauseitwasoriginallydiscussedonpageswhereclimateclimatechangeandor greenhousegaseswerealsotopics

Climatechangeimpacts Discussionofthevisibleandexperiencedoutcomesofclimatechangendashsuchas extremeweatherwithdroughtswildfiresstormsandfloodsndashiscrucialforpublic understandingofclimatechangeIn2018muchofthesouthwesternUnitedStates experiencedpersistentdroughtconditionsCaliforniahadthedeadliestwildfire seasoninhistorytheGulfCoastandSoutheastUSwerebombardedby8 hurricanesandfloodingplaguedthenation 114

Thetermldquowildfiresrdquodecreasedby47acrossoursampleoftheEPAwebsite mostlyduetotheremovaloftheepagovclimatechangewebsiteOntheForest Servicewebsitethetermldquowildfiresrdquoalsodecreasedintotalby47eventhough USFSistaskedwithmitigatingandrespondingtowildfiresInterestinglyhowever ldquowildfiresrdquoincreasedonpagesthatalsocontainedthewordldquoclimatechangerdquofrom3 usesto5usesacross4pagesOnpageswesampledontheFEMAwebsitetheterm ldquowildfirerdquoincreasedfrom0usesto14totalmentionsderivingfromlinkstoanew pagefocusedontheconnectionsbetweenwildfiresandflooding 115

ThetermldquodroughtsrdquodecreasedacrossoursampleoftheEPAwebsiteby86again mostlyduetotheremovaloftheepagovclimatechangewebsiteOntheDOI websitetherewereonlyafewreferencestodroughtonthepageswesampled BothreferencestodroughtsonDOIrsquosprimarylandingpageforwaterissues wwwdoigovwaterwerestruckIn2016theldquoWaterChallengesrdquosectionreferredto

114httpsearthobservatorynasagovimages144216drought-persists-in-the-us-southwest httpswebarchiveorgweb20190626025601httpswwwfirecagovcommunicationsdownloadsfact_sheetsTop20_Destructionpdf httpswwwnoaagovmedia-releasedestructive-2018-atlantic-hurricane-season-draws-to-end httpswwwusgsgovmission-areaswater-resourcessciencehistorical-floodingqt-science_center_objects=0qt-science_center_objects(lastaccessed14June2019) 115httpswwwfemagovwildfires-you-need-flood-insurance(lastaccessed14June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 33

ldquolengtheningdroughtsrdquoasoneofthreeprimarywaterissuesthenationfaced In 116

the2018versionoftheDOIwaterlandingpagetitledldquoCleanWaterrdquoreferenceto droughtsandallotherchallengeswasremoved 117

Figure11DOIremovedreferencetodroughtsonitsmainwaterpage ThetermldquostormsrdquowasalsousedlessontheEPAwebsitewherethe78decrease acrossoursamplewasagaindrivenbythewithdrawalofEPArsquosClimateChange websitefrompublicaccessOntheNOAAwebsitetherewasa3increasein mentionofldquostormsrdquomostlyinexplanationsoftoolsandprogramssuchasthe GeostationaryObservationalEnvironmentalSatellite(comparetheFAQpagein 2016and2018) OntheFEMAwebsitetherewasanincreasefrom4to8 118

mentionsofthetermldquostormsrdquoacrossthe34pagesinthesampleMostofthis doublingoftheuseofthistermcameontheTexasDisasterMitigationwebpage whichafterHurricaneHarveyfocusedmoreoninformationaboutpreparingfor severestormsin2018thanithadin2016 119

Mitigatingclimatechange Asthecarbondioxideconcentrationintheatmospherecontinuestoclimbstorms intensifyandsophisticatedmodelingtellsusaboutpotentialfutureswefaceways toreduceclimatechangemustbediscussedThelatestspecialIPCCreport releasedinfall2018predictscatastrophicconsequencesifthereismorethan15

116httpwebarchiveorgweb20160429130520httpswwwdoigovwater(lastaccessed18October2018) 117httpwebarchiveorgweb20180618113353httpswwwdoigovwater(lastaccessed18October2018) 118httpswebarchiveorgweb20160504234150httpwwwgoes-rgovresourcesfaqshtml httpwebarchiveorgweb20180522100448httpswwwgoes-rgovresourcesfaqshtml(lastaccessed18 October2018) 119httpwebarchiveorgweb20180515122559httpswwwfemagovTexas-disaster-mitigation httpwebarchiveorgweb20160406193447httpwwwfemagovtexas-disaster-mitigation(lastaccessed18 October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 34

degreesCelsiusfurtheraveragewarming Thelargestsourceofcarbonemissions 120

totheatmosphereintheUnitedStatesistheburningoffossilfuelsforelectricity andenergythetermthatweanalyzedthatmostpertainedtomitigatingclimate changeisldquocleanenergyrdquo 121

Thetwoagenciesthatmostdiscussedcleanenergyinthecontextofclimatechange wereDOEandEPAAsseeninTable2therewasa28decreaseontheDOE websiteanda70decreaseontheEPAwebsiteintheuseofthetermldquoclean energyrdquobetween2016and2018versionsofwebpages

Agency Obama counton pages with ldquoclimate changerdquo

Trump counton pages with ldquoclimate changerdquo

change

DOE 162 117 -2778

EPA 149 45 -6980

Table2Thechangeinuseofthetermldquocleanenergyrdquoonpagesinoursamplethatalsocontainthe termldquoclimatechangerdquo AtDOEthe28decreaseinmentionsofldquocleanenergyrdquowasdrivenbyafew importantchangesTheNationalRenewableEnergyLab(NREL)changeditsagency sloganfromldquoLeadingCleanEnergyInnovationrdquotoldquo40yearsofenergyinnovationrdquo Quantitativelythismodificationaccountedformanyoftheremovalsofldquoclean energyrdquoanddoesdemonstratearhetoricalshiftTherewasalsoasignificant decreaseindiscussionofcleanenergyonDOErsquosScienceInnovationandTechnology TransitionspagesWithintheScienceInnovationsubdirectorysectionsforfeatured contentandblogswereremovedfromboththeInnovationpage(20162018)and theScienceampTechnologypage(20162018) Mostofthecontentinthose 122

sectionshadrevolvedaroundcleanenergyOntheTechnologyMarketProgram page(partoftheTechnologyTransitionssubdirectory)linksanddescriptionsfor whattheprogramdoeswereshortenedorremovedbetweenthe2016versionand the2018versionwiththecompleteremovalofthetermldquocleanenergyrdquofromthe

120ldquoSummaryforPolicymakersofIPCCSpecialReportonGlobalWarmingof15degCapprovedbygovernmentsrdquo IPCC httpswwwipccch20181008summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments(lastaccessed12June2019) 121httpswwwepagovghgemissionssources-greenhouse-gas-emissions(lastaccessed14June2019) 122httpwebarchiveorgweb20160616131422httpenergygovscience-innovationinnovation httpwebarchiveorgweb20180616023551httpswwwenergygovscience-innovationinnovation httpwebarchiveorgweb20160612054657httpwwwenergygovscience-innovationscience-technology httpwebarchiveorgweb20180616004134httpswwwenergygovscience-innovationscience-technology (lastaccessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 35

page WhilenotincludedhereinourtermcountduetoachangeinpageURLs 123

thetermldquocleanenergyrdquowasalsoremovedfromthetitlesofcertainprogramsFor instancetheCleanEnergyInvestmentCenterwasrenamedtotheEnergyInvestor CenterasdetailedinEDGIrsquosreportfrom2017 124

DOEalsoreduceditsuseofthetermldquocleanenergyrdquoonpagesaboutits internationalpartnershipsOntheOfficeofEnergyEfficiencyampRenewableEnergy (EERE)rsquosAmericasRegionPartnershipsandProjectspageallreferencestothe EnergyandClimatePartnershipoftheAmericasndashandthecleanenergyfuture envisionedinthatmultinationalpartnershipndashwereremovedbetween2016and 2018 Thetermldquocleanenergyrdquowasalsoremovedfromthedescriptionofthe 125

goalsofbilateralpartnershipswithBrazilandCanada

Figure12OntheOfficeofEnergyEfficiencyampRenewableEnergy(EERE)rsquosAmericasRegion PartnershipsandProjectspageallreferencestotheEnergyandClimatePartnershipofthe Americasndashandthecleanenergyfutureenvisionedinthatmultinationalpartnershipndashwereremoved between2016and2018 OntheEPAdomaina70decreaseintheuseofldquocleanenergyrdquowasdrivenbythe removaloftheClimateChangewebsite(epagovclimatechange)andtheClimate andEnergyResourcesforStateLocalandTribalGovernmentwebsite (epagovstatelocalclimate)EventhoughthelatterwasreplacedbytheEnergy

123 httpwebarchiveorgweb20160626112925httpenergygovtechnologytransitionsabout-technology-market-program httpwebarchiveorgweb20180123050621httpsenergygovtechnologytransitionsabout-technology-market-program(lastaccessed18October2018) 124ldquoChangestotheDepartmentofEnergyrsquosOfficeofTechnologyTransitionsWebsiterdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201707WM-CCR-16-DOE-Office-of-Technology-Transitions-170520pdf(lastaccessed14June2019) 125httpwwwecpamericasorgAbout-ECPAaspx(lastaccessed14June2019) httpwebarchiveorgweb20160604134607httpenergygoveereabout-usamericas-region-partnerships-and-projects httpwebarchiveorgweb20180616002111httpswwwenergygoveereabout-usamericas-region-partnerships-and-projects(lastaccessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 36

ResourcesforStateLocalandTribalGovernmentwebsite (epagovstatelocalenergy)whichhadalargeremphasisonenergysolutionsrather thanclimateactiontherewasstillasubstantialdecreaseinuseofthetermldquoclean energyrdquoacrosstheEPAwebsiteForexamplethedescriptionsoftheGreenPower LeadershipAwardWinnersincludedldquocleanenergyrdquolessin2018versusin2016 126

ThetermldquoEnergyindependencerdquohasalonghistory(seetheEnergyIndependence andSecurityActof2007)butduringTrumprsquoscampaignandpresidencytheslogan hasbeenpopularized Trumpandhisallieshaveuseditfrequentlytopromote 127

domesticcoalandoilasfossilfuelsourcesthatcanreducerelianceonforeign importsWhiletheUSalsohasarangeofcarbon-freedomesticenergysources suchaswindandsolarthetermldquoenergyindependencerdquoisrarelyusedon governmentwebsitestoconnotethesesourcesThusunlikeldquocleanenergyrdquo ldquoenergyindependencerdquoitselfhasnoexplicitconnectiontoclimatechange mitigationndashtheUScouldbecomeenergyindependentwhileincreasingemissions WefindthattheuseofthetermhasincreasedacrossfederalwebsitesThereisnot muchchangeintheuseofldquoenergyindependencerdquoonDOErsquoswebsitethoughthere isadditionofthetermtochampionwindenergydevelopmentontheDOEWind Programpage(20162018) OntheEPAwebsitehoweverweseeamorethan 128

doublingoftheuseofthisterm(117increase)mostlyduetotheredirectingof eachwebpageintheCleanPowerPlanwebsitetoasinglenewpage epagovenergy-independenceTheCleanPowerPlan(CPP)wasaninitiativeunder PresidentObamatoreducegreenhousegasemissionsfromelectricityproduction andtheEPAwouldhelpstatesimplementthePlanHoweverin2017theTrump EPAproposedscrappingtheplanandmodifieditswebsiteaccordinglyit redirectedCPPpagestothenewEnergyIndependencewebpage Forexample 129

comparethe2016versionofaCPPfactsheetwiththepagethepublicwould encounterin2018duetotheredirect ThenewEnergyIndependencewebpage 130

discussedEPArsquosproposaltoremovetheCPPButitprovidednocontextastowhat

126ldquoAssessmentofRemovalsandChangesinAccesstoResourcesontheEPAslsquoClimateandEnergyResources forStateLocalandTribalGovernmentrsquoWebsiterdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201710AAR-5-EPA-State-Local-Climate-Energy-171018pdf(last accessed12June2019) httpwebarchiveorgweb20160417142930id_httpswwwepagovgreenpowergreen-power-leadership-awards httpwebarchiveorgweb20180612234209id_httpswwwepagovgreenpowergreen-power-leadership-awards(lastaccessed18October2018) 127httpswwwepagovlaws-regulationssummary-energy-independence-and-security-act(lastaccessed14 June2019) 128httpwebarchiveorgweb20160603235552httpwwwenergygoveerewindabout-doe-wind-program httpwebarchiveorgweb20180101210206httpsenergygoveerewindabout-doe-wind-program(last accessed18October2018) 129 httpswwwfederalregistergovdocuments201710162017-22349repeal-of-carbon-pollution-emission-guidelines-for-existing-stationary-sources-electric-utility(lastaccessed14June2019) 130 httpwebarchiveorgweb20160419210058httpswwwepagovcleanpowerplanfact-sheet-details-about-proposal-new-sourceshttpwebarchiveorgweb20180102000144httpswwwepagovenergy-independence (lastaccessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 37

theCPPwasortheimpactsitsrepealwouldhaveonairqualityclimatechangeor publichealthharmingthepublicrsquosabilitytocommentontheproposal 131

Adaptingtoclimatechange Inadditiontocharacterizingclimatechangeimpactsanddevelopingmitigation strategiesgovernmentsshouldofferplansforongoingandincreasingadjustment toaworldwithhighercarbondioxideconcentrationsintheatmosphereandthus warmertemperaturesandmoredrasticregionaldifferencesinclimateWecounted twotermstoassessagenciesrsquodiscussionofclimatechangeadaptationldquoadaptationrdquo andldquoresiliencerdquo Therewasa48decreaseontheEPAwebsiteintheuseofthetermldquoadaptationrdquo becauseoftheremovalofEPArsquosClimateChangewebsite(epagovclimatechange) HoweverforEPApagesthatwerenotapartoftheClimateChangewebsitetheuse ofthetermincreasedbetween2016and2018Forexampletherewasanincrease inmentionofldquoadaptationrdquobetweenthe2016versionandthe2018versionofthe rdquoAddressingClimateChangeintheWaterSectorrdquopageduetotheadditionofmore stateswithadaptationplanslinkedtoandfromit 132

OntheGlobalChangegovwebsitetherewasa125decreaseinthementionof thetermldquoadaptationrdquoinpartduetotheremovalofitemsndashsuchastheIPCCrsquos2014 statementonadaptationndashthathadbeenlistedintheldquoOtherReportsrdquosectionof webpages(forexamplecomparethe2016versionand2018versionofthe InteragencyCrosscuttingGroupClimateChangeandHumanHealthFactsheet) 133

ThetermldquoadaptationrdquowasalsoremovedfrompagessuchastheInteragency WorkingGroup(IAWG)pagewhichseparatedoutdescriptionsofeachIAWG includingdiscussionoftheObama-eraldquoAdaptationScienceIAWGrdquo(20162018) 134

NotethatthisIAWGhasbeenrenamedtheldquoFederalAdaptationandResilience Grouprdquo 135

131ldquoContinuedAccesstoOnlineEPAResourcesRelevanttotheCleanPowerPlanisImportantforPublic EngagementinRulemakingrdquoEDGIhttpsenvirodatagovorgedgi_cpp_proposed_rule_comments_042618(last accessed14June2019) 132 httpwebarchiveorgweb20160601135802httpswwwepagovclimate-change-water-sectorstate-water-agency-practices-climate-adaptation-database httpwebarchiveorgweb20180615004413httpswwwepagovclimate-change-water-sectorstate-water-agency-practices-climate-adaptation-database(lastaccessed18October2018) 133 httpwebarchiveorgweb20160423211819httpwwwglobalchangegovbrowsereportsinteragency-crosscutting-group-climate-change-and-human-health-factsheet httpwebarchiveorgweb20180610004907httpswwwglobalchangegovbrowsereportsinteragency-crosscutting-group-climate-change-and-human-health-factsheet(lastaccessed18October2018) 134httpwebarchiveorgweb20160601181829httpwwwglobalchangegovaboutiwgs httpwebarchiveorgweb20180610001952httpswwwglobalchangegovaboutiwgs(lastaccessed18 October2018) 135httpswwwglobalchangegovaboutiwgsfarg(lastaccessed14June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 38

Indeedtherewasanoverall11increaseinmentionofthetermldquoresiliencerdquoto describeapositivesocialorenvironmentalgoalInEPAtherewasa4increase despitesignificantremovalsofthetermstemmingfromthewithdrawalofthe epagovclimatechangewebsiteTheEPAchangedthedescriptionofsomeofits internationalworktoreflectldquoresiliencerdquoincludingaddingathoroughdescriptionof theworkoftheUnitedNationsEnvironmentProgrammeGlobalAdaptation NetworktoitsInternationalClimateAdaptationpage(20162018) Onthe 136

Globalchangegovwebsitetherewasa42increaseintheuseofldquoresiliencerdquodue totheadditionoflinkstotwonewreportsissuedbythefederalgovernment(eg compare2016and2018versionsofareportbrowsingpage) ldquoResiliencerdquo 137

similarlyincreasedbecauseofadditionalreportslinkedtointheldquoOtherReportsrdquo sectionofseveralpages(forexampleasseeninthe2018versionofapage describingthefindingsofareportaboutclimatechangeimpactsonUS ecosystems) 138

Climatechangegeneralization Academicsjournalistsandothershavesuggestedthatldquoresiliencerdquoldquosustainabilityrdquo andothertermsarewatered-downsubstitutesforexplicitlyspeakingaboutand addressingclimatecrises Somescholarsandactivistshaveevensuggestedthat 139

thelanguageofldquoresiliencerdquolegitimatesclimatechangebyacceptingtheinevitability ofimpactsandprioritizinghowtoldquobouncebackrdquo Astheuseoftheterms 140

ldquoresiliencerdquoandldquosustainabilityrdquohasincreasedndashandtheuseoftermslikeldquoclimate

136httpwebuneporgganadaptglobal-adaptation-network httpwebarchiveorgweb20160419091119httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationepas-role-international-climate-adaptation httpwebarchiveorgweb20180615003114httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationepas-role-international-climate-adaptation(lastaccessed18October2018) 137 httpwebarchiveorgweb20160427081015httpwwwglobalchangegovbrowsereportsf[0]=field_report_organization3A175 httpwebarchiveorgweb20180610003117httpswwwglobalchangegovbrowsereportsf[0]=field_report_organization3A175(lastaccessed18October2018) 138 httpwebarchiveorgweb20180610005419httpswwwglobalchangegovbrowsereportsexecutive-summary-effects-climate-change-us-ecosystems(lastaccessed18October2018) 139ResilienceisnotedasaldquoslipperyrdquoandldquomalleablerdquoconceptndashSiminDavoudiKeithShawLJamilaHaider AllysonEQuinlanGarryDPetersonCathyWilkinsonHartmutFuumlnfgeldDarrynMcEvoyLibbyPorterampSimin Davoudi(2012)ResilienceABridgingConceptoraDeadEndPlanningTheoryampPractice132299-333DOI 101080146493572012677124ldquothefuzzyconceptofresilienceascurrentlyarticulatedfacestheprospect ofbecomingarubricwhichreplacessustainabilityasthenewlsquocatch-allrsquotermthatactsasallthingstoall peoplerdquoDarrynMcEvoyHartmutFuumlnfgeldampKarynBosomworth(2013)ResilienceandClimateChange AdaptationTheImportanceofFramingPlanningPracticeampResearch283280-293DOI 101080026974592013787710ldquoDonrsquotcallitlsquoclimatechangersquoHowthegovernmentisrebrandingintheageof TrumprdquoWashingtonPost httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsenergy-environmentwp20170526just-dont-call-it-climate-change-rebranding-government-in-the-age-of-trump(lastaccessed14June2019) 140httpswebarchiveorgweb20180308102339httpwwwnoladefendercomcontentdont-call-me-resilient (lastaccessed20June2019)KaikaM2017lsquoDonrsquotcallmeresilientagainrsquotheNewUrbanAgendaas immunologyhelliporhellipwhathappenswhencommunitiesrefusetobevaccinatedwithlsquosmartcitiesrsquoandindicators EnvironmentandUrbanization29(1)89ndash102

TheNewDigitalLandscape 39

changerdquohasdramaticallydecreasedndashbetween2016and2018itisworthaskingif theTrumpadministrationiscensoringclimatechangebyusingmoregeneralterms todescribetheunignorablechangesinglobalclimateandclimate-related catastrophesldquoResiliencerdquowasindeedusedasadirectsubstituteforldquoclimate changerdquoonseveralpagesAsEDGIhasreportedanotableexampleofthiswasthe renamingofEPArsquosldquoClimate-ReadyWaterUtilitiesrdquoprogramtotheldquoCreatingResilient WaterUtilitiesrdquoprogram 141

Toexplorewhetherldquosustainabilityrdquomayalsobeasubstituteformorespecific discussionsofmitigatingclimatechangeweexaminedthepageswhere ldquosustainabilityrdquoincreasedandldquoclimatechangerdquodecreasedThisdoesnotbyitself implythatldquosustainabilityrdquodirectlyreplacedldquoclimatechangerdquobutitcanprovide contextabouttheuseofthetermsAsEDGIpreviouslyreportedonEPApages regardingitsSmartwayProgramldquoimprovingsustainabilityrdquowasusedasadirect replacementforldquoreducingclimateimpactsrdquoandacarbonaccountingeffortwas renamedfromldquoSmartwayCarbonAccountingandReportingrdquotoldquoSmartway SustainabilityAccountingandReportingrdquo OverallatEPAtherewasa45increaseintheuseofldquosustainabilityrdquoThischange wasdrivenbyminorchanges(ieadditionorremovalof1mentionperpage) mostlyrelatedtotheSmartwayProgramTherewereacoupleofpagesthat witnessedseveraladditionsofthetermldquosustainabilityrdquondashthesewereoften calendar-typepageslistingeventswhichmayindicatethatldquosustainabilityrdquoisamore palatabletermtheagencyanditspartnerscanallentertainForexamplecompare the2016versionandthe2018versionoftheWorldCalendarofEventsfor SustainableMaterialsManagementSiteRemediationandEmergencieswhere severalconferencesincludedldquosustainabilityrdquointheirconferencetitleordescriptionOnadifferentscaletheWaterResearchSmallSystemsmonthlywebinarseries 142

alsosawanotableincreaseinseminarsandmeetingsdescribingthemselveswith thetermldquosustainabilityrdquo(20162018) 143

ldquoClimaterdquoitselfcanalsobeasubstituteforldquoclimatechangerdquoasseeninsomeofthe examplespresentedintheldquoModifyingdescriptionsofscienceandscientistsrdquo

141ldquoChangeoflanguageandcontentforEPArsquosClimateReadyWaterUtilitiesprogramandwebpagerdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201707WM-CCR-9-EPA-Climate-Ready-Water-Utilities-170328pdf(lastaccessed14June2019) 142 httpwebarchiveorgweb20160414070928httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationworld-calendar-events-sustainable-materials-management-site-remediation httpwebarchiveorgweb20180616020358httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationworld-calendar-events-sustainable-materials-management-site-remediation(lastaccessed18October2018) 143 httpwebarchiveorgweb20160418164040httpswwwepagovwater-researchsmall-systems-monthly-webinar-series httpwebarchiveorgweb20180418204446httpswwwepagovwater-researchsmall-systems-monthly-webinar-series(lastaccessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 40

sectionaboveThisisalsoobservedontheUSForestServicewebsitewhere between2016and2018theldquoOfficeofSustainabilityandClimateChangerdquowas renamedtoldquoSustainabilityandClimaterdquotheofficewasalsomovedoutoftheOffice oftheChiefandintotheNationalForestSystemintheagencyrsquossitemap The 144

substitutionofldquoclimaterdquoforldquoclimatechangerdquowasalsoobservedonNOAArsquoswebsite suchasontheEarthSystemsResearchLaboratoryChemicalSciencesDivisionrsquos Assessmentspagewherebetween2016and2018theexplanationofassessments thedivisionconductswasmodifiedtoreplaceldquoclimatechangerdquowithldquoclimaterdquo (echoingthemodificationofhowESRLdescribedscientistsrsquoworkndashseeabove) In 145

DOEtheAtmosphericRadiationMeasurementfacilitychangeditstaglinebetween 2016and2018fromldquoWorldspremierground-basedobservationsfacilityadvancing climatechangeresearchrdquotoldquoTheworldrsquospremierground-basedobservations facilityadvancingatmosphericandclimateresearchrdquoandldquoclimaterdquowasremoved fromthepagetitle 146

Figure13TheUSFSrsquosOfficeofSustainabilityandClimateChangewasrenamedtoSustainabilityand ClimatetheofficewasalsomovedoutoftheOfficeoftheChiefandintotheNationalForestSystem intheagencyrsquossitemap Thetermldquoairqualityrdquoalsohasbeenusedinplaceofmorespecificclimatechange termsWelookedatwheretheuseofthetermldquoemissionsrdquodecreasedwhiletheuse ofldquoairqualityrdquoincreasedInsomecasessuchasonEPASmartwayProgrampages ldquoemissionsrdquowasreplaceddirectlywiththemorevagueldquoairqualityrdquo Theterm 147

ldquoemissionsrdquowasdirectlyreplacedbyldquoairqualityrdquothroughouttheEPArsquosInternational

144httpwebarchiveorgweb20160611142620httpwwwfsfedussitemap httpwebarchiveorgweb20180628191200httpswwwfsfedussitemap(lastaccessed18October2018) 145httpwebarchiveorgweb20160223154943httpwwwesrlnoaagovcsdassessments httpwebarchiveorgweb20180615231740httpswwwesrlnoaagovcsdassessments(lastaccessed18 October2018) 146httpwebarchiveorgweb20160624145923httpwwwarmgov httpwebarchiveorgweb20180611215041httpswwwarmgov(lastaccessed18October2018) 147ldquoChangestoLanguageontheEnvironmentalProtectionAgencyrsquosSmartWayProgramWebsiterdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201709WM-CCR-18-EPA-Smartway-Program-170919pdf(last accessed14June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 41

Cooperationsiteaswell(seeourrelatedreport) OnapageaboutEPArsquos 148

partnershipswithinternationalorganizationsdiscussionofeffortstomitigate methaneemissionswasalteredtoemphasizeincreasingairquality(20162018) 149

ThesamechangeoccurredonpagesdetailingEPArsquoscollaborationswithspecific countriesinSoutheastAsiandashlikeVietnam(20162018)Thailand(20162018)and China(20162018) Inadditiontoobfuscatingmitigationissuesbyreplacing 150

ldquomethaneemissionsrdquowithldquoairqualityrdquotheentireclimatechangesectionoftheldquoEPA CollaborationwithChinardquopagewasremoved

Figure14TheentireclimatechangesectionoftheldquoEPACollaborationwithChinardquopagewas removed

148ldquoRemovalofEPArsquoslsquoInternationalPrioritiesrsquoandlsquoInternationalGrantsandCooperativeAgreementsrsquopagesas wellascorrespondinglinksfromtheInternationalCooperationWebsiterdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgwp-contentuploads201804AAR-7-EPA-International-Cooperation-180423pdf(last accessed14June2019) 149 httpwebarchiveorgweb20160414064203httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationpartnering-international-organizations httpwebarchiveorgweb20180616020220httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationpartnering-international-organizations(lastaccessed18October2018) 150 httpwebarchiveorgweb20160418083814httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationepa-collaboration-vietnam httpwebarchiveorgweb20180615003229httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationepa-collaboration-vietnam httpwebarchiveorgweb20160501093301httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationepa-collaboration-thailand httpwebarchiveorgweb20180614000620httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationepa-collaboration-thailand httpwebarchiveorgweb20160617234012httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationepa-collaboration-china httpwebarchiveorgweb20180615003224httpswwwepagovinternational-cooperationepa-collaboration-china(lastaccessed18October2018)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 42

Whatremains Wehavedocumentedsubstantialremovalsandalterationsofclimatechange informationonUSfederalagencywebsitesThesechangesrevealanundermining oftheinfrastructurethattranslatesclimatescienceintopublicknowledge HoweverdespitepressurefromgroupsliketheHeartlandInstitutetofurther removeclimatechangeinformationtheadministrationhasnotremoved everythingOurresearchshowssignificantclimateinformationresourcesremain available Firstwefoundthattheuseofldquoclimatechangerdquoremainedunchangedbetween spring2016andspring2018on691pagesinoursampleInadditionevenwhen agenciesdidremovekeyclimatechangelandingpagesndashlikeDOIrsquossummer2018 removalofdoigovclimatendashotherldquodeeperlevelrdquopageswithinthatagencymay remain DOIitselfiscomprisedofseveralbureausandsomeofthemstill 151

spotlightclimatechange

BOEMndashtheofficeresponsibleforpermittingoffshoringoildrillingndash discussesitsevaluationofclimatechangeandlinkstootherfederal resourcesonclimateandeventheIPCC 152

USGSrsquosClimateAdaptationScienceCenters 153

NPSrsquosldquoUnderstandingClimateSciencerdquo 154

FWSrsquosldquoConservationinaChangingClimaterdquo 155

LikewiseattheEPAtheARC-XAdaptationResourceCenterretainsvaluable regionalandsector-specificinformationonbothexpectedclimateimpactsand strategiesforrespondingtoclimatechange Thissitewaslaunchedinfall2016 156

andisthereforenotapartofourkeywordcounts 157

WehaveidentifiedatleastseveninstanceswhereEPAwebmanagersupdated pagessothatlinkstoremovedcontentsuchasepagovclimatechangeinstead directlypointtoarchivedversionsofthatcontentTheARC-Xcenterprovidesan illustrativeexampleEPAremovedepagovclimate-impactsinlateApril2017 alongsideepagovclimatechangeAsnotedintheaboveparagraphARC-Xprovides

151ldquoDOIFurtherRestrictsAccesstoClimateChangeWebPagesrdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgaar-11-doi-climate-190228(lastaccessed14June2019) 152 httpswwwboemgovEnvironmental-StewardshipEnvironmental-AssessmentNEPAprocedureclimateindexaspx(lastaccessed14June2019) 153httpscascusgsgov(lastaccessed14June2019) 154httpswwwnpsgovsubjectsclimatechangeclimatesciencehtm(lastaccessed14June2019) 155httpswwwfwsgovhomeclimatechangeindexhtml(lastaccessed14June2019) 156httpswwwepagovarc-x(lastaccessed14June2019) 157httpswwwepagovarc-ximplications-climate-changeregional(lastaccessed14June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 43

ahubforinformationonregionalandsector-specificclimateimpacts Thepage 158

usedtolinktodescriptionsofsectorimpactsbyregionthatwerehostedat epagovclimate-impacts Butafterepagovclimate-impactswasremovedstaff 159

modifiedtheARC-XpagetolinkdirectlytotheJanuary192017snapshotversions ofthosedescriptions WhatonepartoftheEPAdidinresponsetopolitical 160

pressure(removingclimatescienceinformationfromepagovclimate-impacts) anotherpartundidbyensuringthatcontentwasstillutilized 161

Whileclimateinformationsuchasthataboutsector-specificregionalimpactsisstill availableandutilizedthoughhardertoaccessitshouldbeproperlymaintained ForinstanceEPArsquosClimateIndicatorssiteisstilllive Yetmanyoftheindicators 162

havenotbeenrefreshedwiththelatestdataTheUSandGlobalTemperatures indicatorndashcertainlyakeymeasureofglobalwarmingandonethatismeasured everyyearndashhasnotseenanypage-specificupdatessinceatleastJanuary2017(the April2019versionretainsthesame2015temperaturedata) Thisisdespitethe 163

factthattheNOAAdatasourcespresentedonthepagehavethemselvesbeen updated 164

158httpswwwepagovarc-ximplications-climate-changeregional(lastaccessed14June2019) 159httpswebarchiveorgweb20170112093441httpswwwepagovarc-ximplications-climate-change(last accessed18October2018) 160httpswebarchiveorgweb20190416124631httpswwwepagovarc-ximplications-climate-change(last accessed18October2018)WebmanagersplayapivotalroleinproducingsitecontentEschenfelderKR 2004BehindtheWebsiteAninsidelookattheproductionofWeb-basedtextualgovernmentinformation GovernmentInformationQuarterly21(3)337ndash358 161ldquoNewlyReleasedRecordsRefertoPruittrsquosPersonalInvolvementinRemovalofClimateInformationfromEPA WebsiterdquoEnvironmentalDefenseFund httpswwwedforgmedianewly-released-records-refer-pruitts-personal-involvement-removal-climate-information-epa(lastaccessed12June2019) 162httpepagovclimate-indicators(lastaccessed14June2019) 163httpswwwepagovclimate-indicatorsclimate-change-indicators-us-and-global-temperature(lastaccessed 14June2019) httpswebarchiveorgweb20170112185019httpswwwepagovclimate-indicatorsclimate-change-indicators-us-and-global-temperature httpswebarchiveorgweb20190401072858httpswwwepagovclimate-indicatorsclimate-change-indicators-us-and-global-temperature(lastaccessed18October2018) 164httpswwwncdcnoaagovtemp-and-precip(lastaccessed14June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 44

CONCLUSIONS DespitethegrowingclimatecrisistheTrumpadministrationhaswastedovertwo yearsofpotentialcrisisresponsebyfailingtocommunicateclimatescienceand developsoundclimatepolicyIthasbothdisinvestedfrombutalsospent significanttimeandresourcescensoringagencywebsitesinordertoobscure climatechangescienceAshasbeenreportedthiscensorshipisdirectndashorderedby politicalappointeesndashaswellasindirectndashtakenonbyprogramstaffinorderto accommodatethenewpoliticalclimateThewholesaleremovalof epagovclimatechangestandsoutasablatantandsubstantialexampleofthe administrationrsquoseffortstoundermineclimateknowledgebutmanysmaller targetedchangeshaveoccurredaswell

Findings Weclassifiedchangestotheuseofthekey-termldquoclimatechangerdquointhreeways

Underminingclimatechangeasakeycomponentofexisting challenges

Weobservedagenciesremovingdiscussionofclimatechange frompagesoncrucialpublicpolicyissuesForinstanceacross bothEPAandOSHAincreasingtemperaturesduetoclimate changewerediminishedascomponentsofpublichealth planning

Wealsosawhowtheadministrationhasdownplayedtheroleof climatechangeinexistinginternationalcommitmentsin additiontowithdrawingfromtheParisAgreementEPArsquos InternationalCooperationpageswerealteredtoremove discussionofclimatechangeandDOEdroppedmentionofits workwithothercountriesintheAmericasoncleanenergy

Changesindescribingscienceandscientists Wedescribedseveralwaysinwhichagenciesbegantousemore

generalizedlanguagetorefertoclimatechangeitsimpactsand mitigationandadaptationThetopicofsomeNOAAsciencewas shiftedfromldquoclimatechangerdquotoldquoclimaterdquoandNIOSHmadethe samemovetopresenttheconnectionsbetweenclimatechange andhealthOnEPArsquosSmartWayprogrampagethemuchless specifictermldquosustainabilityrdquodirectlyreplacedldquoclimatechangerdquo whileanotherEPAprogrambegandescribingitsscopeas ldquoresiliencerdquoinplaceofldquoclimaterdquo

Restrictingaccesstoresources

TheNewDigitalLandscape 45

TheDOTrsquosClimateChangeClearinghousewasasubstantial

thoughpoorlymaintainedhubforresourcesononeofthe mostsignificantcomponentsofanthropogenicclimatechange Itsremovalcameinstagesandispartialbutthecurrentversion oftheclearinghousedoesnotpresenttheclimatecrisiswith completeinformationorurgency

Wecancategorizethemechanismbywhichthesechangesoccurredasbothan ldquoactiverdquoandldquopassiverdquounderminingofweb-facingsciencecommunication infrastructure

Mostofthechangeswedescribeinthereportarearesultof intentionalmodificationsofwebcontentandaccessInadditionthe January2019partialshutdownlimitedthedeliveryofgovernment servicesincludinginformationservices

AtthesametimetheTrumpadministrationhasletmanyclimate change-relatedwebpagesandtheircontentgounmaintained Arguablythislackofmaintenancestemsatleastinpartfrom intentionaldecisionsratherthansheerneglectForinstanceEPA appointeesareactivelyprohibitingstafffromrefreshingtheClimate Indicatorspage 165

Finallydespitetheadministrationrsquosefforttoundermineclimateknowledge infrastructureswealsofoundevidenceofpush-backandcountervailingtrends

WebmanagersarelinkingtoObama-erarecordsofremovedpages ARC-XClimateIndicatorsClimategovGlobalchangegovareexamples

ofclimateinformationresourcesthatarestillavailableandaccessible

Recommendations RestorendashWecallfortherestorationofcriticalinformationthathasbeenremoved fromagencywebsitesThismeanstwothingsfirstrestoringcontentitself especiallyonagenciesrsquoprimaryclimatelandingpagesincluding

epagovclimatechange doigovclimate climatedotgov

SecondrestorationalsomeansensuringthatdefunctURLsareredirected appropriatelytotheirnewlocationsConsiderclimatedotgovndashnotonlyshould removedinformationrelatedtotransportationplanningandpublictransitbe restoredtheclimatedotgovURLshouldredirecttowherethiscontentisnow located

165ldquoEPAlsquoItrsquosnotahappyplacersquordquoEampENewshttpswwweenewsnetstories1060107165(lastaccessed2May 2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 46

TheDOTrsquosClimateChangeClearinghousewasasubstantial

thoughpoorlymaintainedhubforresourcesononeofthe mostsignificantcomponentsofanthropogenicclimatechange Itsremovalcameinstagesandispartialbutthecurrentversion oftheclearinghousedoesnotpresenttheclimatecrisiswith completeinformationorurgency

Wecancategorizethemechanismbywhichthesechangesoccurredasbothan ldquoactiverdquoandldquopassiverdquounderminingofweb-facingsciencecommunication infrastructure

Mostofthechangeswedescribeinthereportarearesultof intentionalmodificationsofwebcontentandaccessInadditionthe January2019partialshutdownlimitedthedeliveryofgovernment servicesincludinginformationservices

AtthesametimetheTrumpadministrationhasletmanyclimate change-relatedwebpagesandtheircontentgounmaintained Arguablythislackofmaintenancestemsatleastinpartfrom intentionaldecisionsratherthansheerneglectForinstanceEPA appointeesareactivelyprohibitingstafffromrefreshingtheClimate Indicatorspage 165

Finallydespitetheadministrationrsquosefforttoundermineclimateknowledge infrastructureswealsofoundevidenceofpush-backandcountervailingtrends

WebmanagersarelinkingtoObama-erarecordsofremovedpages ARC-XClimateIndicatorsClimategovGlobalchangegovareexamples

ofclimateinformationresourcesthatarestillavailableandaccessible

Recommendations RestorendashWecallfortherestorationofcriticalinformationthathasbeenremoved fromagencywebsitesThismeanstwothingsfirstrestoringcontentitself especiallyonagenciesrsquoprimaryclimatelandingpagesincluding

epagovclimatechange doigovclimate climatedotgov

SecondrestorationalsomeansensuringthatdefunctURLsareredirected appropriatelytotheirnewlocationsConsiderclimatedotgovndashnotonlyshould removedinformationrelatedtotransportationplanningandpublictransitbe restoredtheclimatedotgovURLshouldredirecttowherethiscontentisnow located

165ldquoEPAlsquoItrsquosnotahappyplacersquordquoEampENewshttpswwweenewsnetstories1060107165(lastaccessed2May 2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 46

RevampndashItisnotenoughtorestorecontentsinceinmanycasesitwasnotupto datetobeginwithorinthecaseofepagovclimatechangeitisbydefinitionover twoyearsold(sincethesitehasbeenremovedfromthepublicdomainforthat long)InthecaseofwhatremainsofDOTrsquosClimateChangeClearinghouseprogram muchofthematerialisadecadeoldClimatechangeinformationmustbe refreshedandmaintainedthroughoutthefederalwebinfrastructuretofacilitate publicunderstandingofscientistsrsquoconsensusonclimatechangeandagenciesrsquo approachestoitInadditionagenciesshouldimplementtransparencyfeaturesndash potentiallyincludingchangelogsandnoticesofintendedalterationsndashaswellas archivingsystemstoensurecontentispreservedandmadeaccessibleDOIfor instancehasnowebarchive RethinkndashTransparencyhasitslimitsEveniffederalagenciesmadetheir intentionstoremoveapageabundantlycleartheywouldstillbeabletoproceed ThiscouldresultinasituationlikewesawduringtheJanuary2019government shutdowninwhichdatastoredonlyongovernmentserversbecameinaccessible Insteadwemustaimtobuildsystemsofdistributedwebarchivingandversion controlsuchthatagencydataandthewebpagescontextualizingitcouldnotbe unilaterallyrevokedfromthepublicdomainTopreventfuturelossesweb resourcesshouldbeheldincommon Finallywemustpursueenvironmental 166

datajusticeinwhichinformationaboutandformarginalizedgroupsndashinformation suchastheexpectedimpactsofheatwavesontheelderlyandpoornon-English languagematerialonregulatoryactionsandpublichealthresourcesforworkersndash actuallyandaccessiblyspeakstotheirconcerns

166ldquoRecapfromDataTogetherAnnualMeetingrdquoEDGI httpsenvirodatagovorgrecap-from-data-together-annual-meeting(lastaccessed12June2019)

TheNewDigitalLandscape 47

APPENDIXAndashMethodology

Resources URLssurveyedandtermscounted

Initiallist httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1EINHPTTVoOqCMs6ncMBqfZ9QZCGHlGfdviewusp=sharing

Brokendownbydomainandagency httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1MN9TELVZZtbDvKAjppjUuNu2NMUD0f-Fviewusp=sharing

Finallistof5301pagessurveyed httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1mfzlRbpt7OYBUmFJ0jMx8qufkIfaMRbVviewusp=sharing

Terms httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1Uy5INfyWs30WBCohn_hZbhoRVlTkpAkAviewusp=sharing

EDGIWebMonitoringTeamscriptforaccessingWaybackMachine snapshots

httpsgithubcomedgi-govdata-archivingweb-monitoring-processing Scriptforscrapingsnapshotsandcountingterms

httpsgithubcomericnostEDGIblobmasterctrl-fpy Rawcountsresults

January-July2016 httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1KZRbaAxPL4yy0oBMumbLQT_FgQ5Wwl8Yviewusp=sharing

January-July2018 httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1ZKV-E6cdTyEnahSvbs2dDd4fUM0ZvVz9viewusp=sharing

Rscriptforparsingresults httpsgithubcomericnostEDGIblobmastertermcountR

Parsedresults Fullsetof5301pages

Statisticsbyagency httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1ghwfBeitx87o-3d7r1BbW468axfAYhu6viewusp=sharing

Statisticsbyterm httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1gtAqLiiTGHutZweEF23myK_tSBEjjOs2viewusp=sharing

Debuggingofresults

TheNewDigitalLandscape 48

2016ndash

httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1smWszpAtoiZIjCgGk6NfejBXptOgEXbUviewusp=sharing

2018ndash httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1pt1kA028DrvehzkUHBo6Sr5NMwd7fKb0viewusp=sharing

Filteredsetof1768pagesmentioningclimateterms(forldquorelated termsrdquoanalysis)

Statisticsbyagency httpsdrivegooglecomfiled1KRGMwtVXktBiksWalgVu_XTRXV4S1u3zviewusp=sharing

Statisticsbyterm httpsdrivegooglecomfiled135e-yawN8ESWtHf3arJtPpYgOwesgovrviewusp=sharing

Exclusions WeremovedirrelevantURLsthathadbeeninadvertentlypickedupon

crawlsoffederalpagesegwxdudecom WeeliminatedURLsfromEPArsquosJanuary192017snapshotndashandother

agencyarchivesndashsinceifwecountedthesewemightbeldquodouble countingrdquothem(thearchivedsnapshotanditslivecounterpart)

Weeliminateddoublelistingsofpagesinourdatasetndashthatismultiple entriesofthesameURLndashposthoc(seeRscript)

Weeliminatednon-HTMLURLssuchasthoseendingindocdocx rtfpdffileextensionsbecausewecurrentlycannotparsethosefile typesandcounttermsonthem

WeexcludedURLswithcertaintermsinthem(egldquonewsrdquoldquoblogrdquo ldquoespanolrdquo)Weaimedtoavoidassessingpagesthatwouldbe frequentlyupdatedasthiswouldmakeacomparisonbetween2016 and2018snapshotsofapagedifficultItwouldbehardtoknowif changeswereduetocontentremovalorroutineupdates

Diagnostics Welookedattop-levelpages(egusdagov)forseveralprimary

environmentalresourceagencies(USDAFWSDOIDOENOAAEPA) inordertounderstandtheirbasicsitestructureOurgoalwasto understandandaccountforelementslikeheadersandfootersthat arerepeatedacrossmanyorevenallpagesinadomainAllbutFWS usedHTML-standardnavheaderfootertagsforrepeatednavigation

TheNewDigitalLandscape 49

elements(ltnavgtltheadergtltfootergt)FWSusedltdivgtids whichwetriedtoaccountforspecificallyHoweversitestructure variedwithinFWSbetweentimeframes(currentlydivid=MainMenuvsdivid=menuh)Sowetriedothermeanstoaddress repeatedelements

Weconductedakindofldquogroundtruthingrdquoassessmentinorderto evaluatetheaccuracyofourtermcountingscriptExperiencedEDGI WebMonitoringTeamvolunteersexaminedtheHTMLsourcecodefor afewpages(aswellastheirvisibleversions)andmanuallycounted termstoensurethatourscriptcountsmetexpectations

Aspartoftheldquogroundtruthingrdquoweexaminedtheoutputforaberrant resultsSpecificallywewantedtocatchwherethescriptwascounting termsinelementsrepeatedacrossanentiredomainInourRscript weproducedachecktoseetheproportionofanagencyrsquospageswith 123etcusesofeachofourtermsForinstancewecounted ldquoclimatechangerdquoonceon134outof1492EPApages(2016)Ifwehad countedldquoclimatechangerdquoonceonsay1000EPApagesthenwemight havebeencountingtheterminanelementthatisrepeatingacross theEPAdomain(likeanavigationmenu)ratherthancontentuniqueto specificpagesThisdebuggingledustoperformarecountofDOE pagesforinstance

Limitations Thereisinvariablyacontexttoeachofthechangesintermusagewedocument SometimesthatcontextisstraightforwardforexampletheEPAremovedall epagovclimatechangepagesSometimesweareabletofleshoutthecontextfor examplethedirectswitchofldquomethaneemissionsrdquoforldquoairqualityrdquoonEPArsquos InternationalCooperationsiteButsometimeswearenotabletopickupon semanticmeaningandothercontextualcluesThatisatradeoffinthiskindof large-scaleanalysis AsextensiveasouranalysisiswehavecapturedonlyasampleofwebpagesFor instancewearereportingonjust43oftheepagovclimatechangepagesthatwere removedinApril2017byEPAandonnonefromepagovstatelocalenergyThere areatleast8000moreEPAURLsalonethatwehavebeenunabletoexaminehere ndashsothepercentchangeorrelativechangeintheuseofldquoclimatechangerdquoandother termsmaynotholdalthoughtheoverallmagnitudeofadecreasewillonlygrow Thenumberswepresentabovearefirstbestestimatesoftheextenttowhichthe Trumpadministrationhascensoreddiscussionofclimatechangeinallits dimensionsndashthefundamentalscienceimpactsimplicationsforinternational

TheNewDigitalLandscape 50

policyandmitigationandadaptationstrategiesItisworthrepeatingthatsomeof thecountswehaveproducedandthechangesweseeareinsignificantnotevery changeinourdatarepresentsadeliberateefforttoundermine science-policy-communicationinfrastructureThisisbecauseoftechnical challengesinourapproach(forexamplechangesoccuringinarepeatedin-page menuthatwewerenrsquotabletoaccountfor)orinsomecasestheremovalofoneor twoinstancesofatermmighthavereasonablecopyeditingjustifications Whatwehavepresentedherearesomeofthemostcompellingstoriesandtrends thatemergefromthedatawherewecanbesurethereissignificantchange between2016and2018inthewayfederalenvironmentalagencieshave contextualizedclimateinformation

TheNewDigitalLandscape 51

APPENDIXBndashAgenciesanalyzedinthisreport Acronym Agency

BOEM BureauofOceanEnergyManagement

CDC CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention

DOE DepartmentofEnergy

DOI DepartmentofInterior

DOJ DepartmentofJustice

DOT DepartmentofTransportation

EIA EnergyInformationAdministration

EPA EnvironmentalProtectionAgency

FEMA FederalEmergencyManagementAgency

FWS USFishandWildlifeService

USFS USForestService

HHS DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices

NASA NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration

NIH NationalInstitutesofHealth

NOAA NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration

NPS USNationalParkService

OSHA OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration

USDA DepartmentofAgriculture

USGS USGeologicalSurvey

TheNewDigitalLandscape 52

policyandmitigationandadaptationstrategiesItisworthrepeatingthatsomeof thecountswehaveproducedandthechangesweseeareinsignificantnotevery changeinourdatarepresentsadeliberateefforttoundermine science-policy-communicationinfrastructureThisisbecauseoftechnical challengesinourapproach(forexamplechangesoccuringinarepeatedin-page menuthatwewerenrsquotabletoaccountfor)orinsomecasestheremovalofoneor twoinstancesofatermmighthavereasonablecopyeditingjustifications Whatwehavepresentedherearesomeofthemostcompellingstoriesandtrends thatemergefromthedatawherewecanbesurethereissignificantchange between2016and2018inthewayfederalenvironmentalagencieshave contextualizedclimateinformation

TheNewDigitalLandscape 51

APPENDIXBndashAgenciesanalyzedinthisreport Acronym Agency

BOEM BureauofOceanEnergyManagement

CDC CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention

DOE DepartmentofEnergy

DOI DepartmentofInterior

DOJ DepartmentofJustice

DOT DepartmentofTransportation

EIA EnergyInformationAdministration

EPA EnvironmentalProtectionAgency

FEMA FederalEmergencyManagementAgency

FWS USFishandWildlifeService

USFS USForestService

HHS DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices

NASA NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration

NIH NationalInstitutesofHealth

NOAA NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration

NPS USNationalParkService

OSHA OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration

USDA DepartmentofAgriculture

USGS USGeologicalSurvey

TheNewDigitalLandscape 52

APPENDIXBndashAgenciesanalyzedinthisreport Acronym Agency

BOEM BureauofOceanEnergyManagement

CDC CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention

DOE DepartmentofEnergy

DOI DepartmentofInterior

DOJ DepartmentofJustice

DOT DepartmentofTransportation

EIA EnergyInformationAdministration

EPA EnvironmentalProtectionAgency

FEMA FederalEmergencyManagementAgency

FWS USFishandWildlifeService

USFS USForestService

HHS DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices

NASA NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration

NIH NationalInstitutesofHealth

NOAA NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration

NPS USNationalParkService

OSHA OccupationalSafetyandHealthAdministration

USDA DepartmentofAgriculture

USGS USGeologicalSurvey

TheNewDigitalLandscape 52