In a report released on July 22, 2019 the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI) released its latest report “The New Digital Landscape” detailing changes to government websites between 2016 and 2018 that reflect the Trump Administration’s anti-science agenda.
The report highlights how an interagency program known as the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has downplayed climate change on its website. The USGCRP is an inter-agency effort to synthesize knowledge about global environmental and climate change. Its main role is to produce the National Climate Assessments. Its webpage titled “Understanding Climate Change” was altered to remove the section on the programs role in combatting climate change. A link to a website explaining USGCRP’s role in managing climate change impacts was also restricted from public access even though it discussed ongoing legal mandates to develop global change science for the public.