As Trump Administration Purges Climate Data and Web Pages, Research Groups Scramble to Save Information 

It’s been a dizzying few weeks since President Donald Trump entered office. He’s signed more than 40 executive orders, many of which have direct implications for the climate. His team issued a sprawling memo that paused already approved federal grants and loans, then rescinded it amid protests and lawsuits, but left many funding freezes in place. The administration withdrew the U.S. from several international agreements and organizations, including the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization. 
These moves have sown confusion among many people across the country who are struggling to keep track of changes that could inhibit their access to everything from clean water to disaster recovery. Compounding the problem, federal agencies are carrying out orders to modify or eliminate government websites and limit access to databases with crucial information about climate change and health. 
In response, a growing number of community-led groups and universities are scrambling to download disappearing data and launch trackers that monitor regulatory rollbacks to help the public understand the onslaught—and elimination—of information. 
Rollback Recap: It would take way more than a short newsletter to try to explain all of the executive actions that Trump has taken since his inauguration. But my colleagues and I have been covering moves that could have the biggest impact on U.S. and global climate policies, so here’s a quick recap on some of the main ones: During his first day in office, Trump issued a barrage of executive orders, one of which declared a “national energy emergency.” His team has yet to elaborate on all of the specifics related to this unprecedented declaration, but it is likely to help oil and drilling companies bypass much of the usual regulatory processes necessary to start new operations, Reuters reports.
The executive orders could face pushback from courts or Congress. But Congress is in Republican control.
My colleagues Kristoffer Tigue, Keerti Gopal and Marianne Lavelle zeroed in on how several of Trump’s orders target Biden-era climate policies, including one that terminates all federal environmental justice offices, positions, programs and activities. Those Biden-era efforts aimed to reduce long-standing disparities in pollution and climate impacts, with poorer areas and communities of color most affected.
In a similar move, the new head of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Sean Duffy, issued memos last week that direct the department to “identify and eliminate” nearly all initiatives relating to climate change, racial equity, gender identity, DEI or environmental justice implemented during the Biden administration, which my colleague Dennis Pillion covered. 
Along with eliminating climate-related jobs, the Trump administration has also been rapidly removing climate language and scientific data from federal agency websites. Employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture were recently direct