climate information federal web infrastructures for ......environmental concerns like climate...
TRANSCRIPT
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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0
10
20
30
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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70
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0
10
20
30
40
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70
80
0
10
20
30
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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70
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0
10
20
30
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80
0
10
20
30
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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
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
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
GlobalChangegov
Environmental Protection Agency
NASA NOAA Climategov National Park Service
0
10
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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