After the Trump administration took Climate.gov offline, three former NOAA employees came together to build Climate.us, preserving years of trusted climate information for the public.
According to reporting by The 19th, when the Trump administration shut down Climate.gov, one of the U.S. government’s leading public climate information websites, years of research, educational resources and climate data suddenly became much harder to access.
For Rebecca Lindsey, Anna Eshelman and Mary Lindsey, that wasn’t something they wanted to accept.
The three women had all worked on Climate.gov before losing their jobs during federal workforce cuts. Rather than letting years of trusted information disappear, they decided to build a new website called Climate.us, giving the public access to many of the same resources once available on Climate.gov.
A New Home for Climate Information
For more than 15 years, Climate.gov helped millions of people better understand climate change. The website explained complex scientific topics in simple language and offered practical information on everything from heat waves and hurricanes to rising sea levels.
When the site was taken offline, the team worried that valuable public information could be lost. Climate.us was created to help fill that gap.
The website now features climate maps, educational resources, climate indicators and the Fifth National Climate Assessment, one of the U.S. government’s most comprehensive reports on climate change, which was also removed when Climate.gov went offline.
Rebecca Lindsey, who now serves as Climate.us’ managing editor, told The 19th that the team’s goal is to make reliable climate information easy for everyone to find and understand.
Starting Again After the Layoffs
Before leaving NOAA, Rebecca managed Climate.gov, Anna Eshelman worked as the site’s lead designer and Mary Lindsey created many of its data visualizations.
Together, they brought those same skills to Climate.us.
The response has also been encouraging. Since launching on June 23, the project has raised more than $400,000 through donations from supporters. More than 80 volunteer scientists have also joined the effort, helping review content to make sure it remains accurate.
The website is currently run by just three people, but the founders hope to grow the team in the future.
More Than Rebuilding a Website
According to The 19th, Rebecca Lindsey credits women teachers with encouraging her to pursue science when she was growing up. She hopes Climate.us can inspire others in the same way by showing that women have an important role to play in science and science communication.
Today, Climate.us continues to preserve years of trusted climate information while making it freely available to the public.
What started as three former colleagues trying to save a website has grown into a new home for trusted climate informatio, ensuring that years of climate research and educational resources remain available for anyone who wants to learn.
