Environmental Data & Governance Initiative

The EPA website got the basics of climate science right. Until last week. The Trump administration purged 80 pages of facts about climate change — including that it's caused by humans.

EPA deleted public information about climate change last week. “The effect is to isolate climate change from the issues that affect people’s lives, [EDGI’s Gretchen] Gehrke said: ‘It’s specifically targeting the information about why we should care.’”
grist.org/politics/epa...

EPA Scrubs Information About Climate Change Indicators and Impacts – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative The Climate Change Impacts and Risk Analysis (CIRA) page on December 3, 2025 (left), and December 5, 2025 (right), after it was […]

The EPA has purged its website of information about the indicators and impacts of climate change. These changes constitute, by far, the most extensive removal of climate change information from the EPA’s website during this administration. envirodatagov.org/epa-scrubs-i...

EPA Scrubs Information About Climate Change Indicators and Impacts – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative The Climate Change Impacts and Risk Analysis (CIRA) page on December 3, 2025 (left), and December 5, 2025 (right), after it was […]

The EPA has purged its website of information about the indicators and impacts of climate change. These changes constitute, by far, the most extensive removal of climate change information from the EPA’s website during this administration. envirodatagov.org/epa-scrubs-i...

NIEHS’s Only Journal – Environmental Health Perspectives – Is Suddenly Removed – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative The NIEHS Environmental Health Perspectives home page on November 5, 2025  (left), and December 1, 2025 (right), after it was taken down. […]

NIEHS's only journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, has been removed from the web. EHP is one of just a few federally supported journals. While still findable on PubMed Central, the future of the over 18,000 items published by EHP is unclear. envirodatagov.org/niehss-only-...

NIEHS’s Only Journal – Environmental Health Perspectives – Is Suddenly Removed – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative The NIEHS Environmental Health Perspectives home page on November 5, 2025  (left), and December 1, 2025 (right), after it was taken down. […]

NIEHS's only journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, has been removed from the web. EHP is one of just a few federally supported journals. While still findable on PubMed Central, the future of the over 18,000 items published by EHP is unclear. envirodatagov.org/niehss-only-...

Aerial view of a forest in the background of a square image that says "Giving Tuesday: EDGI."

This #GivingTuesday, help EDGI continue:
- Protecting public environmental data
- Defending our environmental right to know
- Building more just environmental governance systems.

Donate here: envirodatagov.org/donate/

Federal data and tools are all around us, influencing our lives in ways we often overlook. Our new data story, Protect the Data that Nourishes Us, highlights the data and tools that inform every stage of an apple's life cycle from seed to supermarket.

screening-tools.com/blog/protect...

Changes to EPA's COBRA Tool Have Major Implications for Climate Policy – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative This post is part of the EDGI Website Governance Team’s “Highlights from the Change Log” blog series. The purpose of this series is to highlight interesting changes we have observed in the content of,...

Recent changes to EPA’s CO-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) tool have major implications for climate policy.

Learn more in this week’s “Highlights from the Change Log” series blog post, where we track important changes to federal environmental websites. envirodatagov.org/changes-to-e...

An Online Interactive Tool for Exploring Water Justice with Undergraduate Students - Eric Nost, Marianne Sullivan, Kelsey Breseman, Lilian Milanés, Nicole Davi, 2025 It is vital that the next generation of public health practitioners understand the importance of ensuring affordable and equitable access to safe drinking water...

Our short paper on the development and use of a tool for teaching about drinking water justice in New Jersey was just published open access: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Surface Waters Under Threat – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative This is an installment of our State of Environmental Protection series. This series utilizes public data from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate the current state of our environm...

EPA just proposed a new WOTUS rule that would reduce Clean Water Act protections. But U.S. surface waters are already imperiled & need more protections - not less.

EDGI has analyzed EPA data showing how surface water pollution is increasing. Learn more: envirodatagov.org/surface-wate...

This World Volunteer Day, join PEDP in preserving at-risk data at our next virtual datathon! All are welcome, no previous experience necessary. We would love to see new and familiar faces there! Register here: forms.office.com/pages/respon...

Changes to EPA's COBRA Tool Have Major Implications for Climate Policy – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative This post is part of the EDGI Website Governance Team’s “Highlights from the Change Log” blog series. The purpose of this series is to highlight interesting changes we have observed in the content of,...

Recent changes to EPA’s CO-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) tool have major implications for climate policy.

Learn more in this week’s “Highlights from the Change Log” series blog post, where we track important changes to federal environmental websites. envirodatagov.org/changes-to-e...

Surface Waters Under Threat – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative This is an installment of our State of Environmental Protection series. This series utilizes public data from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate the current state of our environm...

EPA just proposed a new WOTUS rule that would reduce Clean Water Act protections. But U.S. surface waters are already imperiled & need more protections - not less.

EDGI has analyzed EPA data showing how surface water pollution is increasing. Learn more: envirodatagov.org/surface-wate...

Even More Permission to Pollute? Impacts of Presidential Exemptions to Clean Air Act Provisions – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative According to the report Even More Permission to Pollute? Impacts of Presidential Exemptions to Clean Air Act Provisions, the EPA is authorizing […]

Trump is authorizing exemptions to Clean Air Act rules limiting emissions of hazardous chemicals.

A new report by EDGI shows exemption-eligible facilities are among the riskiest polluters, disproportionately impacting low-income & communities of color. envirodatagov.org/publication/...

Even More Permission to Pollute? Impacts of Presidential Exemptions to Clean Air Act Provisions – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative According to the report Even More Permission to Pollute? Impacts of Presidential Exemptions to Clean Air Act Provisions, the EPA is authorizing […]

Trump is authorizing exemptions to Clean Air Act rules limiting emissions of hazardous chemicals.

A new report by EDGI shows exemption-eligible facilities are among the riskiest polluters, disproportionately impacting low-income & communities of color. envirodatagov.org/publication/...

Dismantling of US federal agencies will ‘destroy science’ From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and ...

“The cuts to EPA staffing are ‘the biggest blow that agency has ever had’, says Christopher Sellers at Stony Brook University in New York, who interviews EPA scientists for the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative.”

Read the article: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The Trump admin. effort to cut funding for environmental justice programs is the new reality. But the uncertain status of Biden-era grants suggests important local stories remain. #SEJournalReportersToolbox suggests a rescued grants database to help make that possible: www.sej.org/publications...

The GHGRP provides the most robust national dataset on GHG emissions available. Among many uses, it helps identify top GHG emitters.

EPA’s proposed amendments would remove reporting for 46/47 industries. EDGI opposes these amendments in our public comment: envirodatagov.org/wp-content/u...

Threats to Drinking Water Call for Stronger Regulation and Enforcement – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative By: Jennifer Epstein, Eric Nost, Christopher Cane, and Shannan Lenke Stoll This is an installment of our State of Environmental Protection series, […]

How might the deregulatory agenda advanced by the Trump administration affect drinking water quality? The latest blog in EDGI’s “State of Environmental Protection” series answers this question by analyzing EPA data on Safe Drinking Water Act enforcement. envirodatagov.org/threats-to-d...

Dismantling of US federal agencies will ‘destroy science’ From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and ...

“The cuts to EPA staffing are ‘the biggest blow that agency has ever had’, says Christopher Sellers at Stony Brook University in New York, who interviews EPA scientists for the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative.”

Read the article: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Communities Close to EPA-Regulated Data Centers Face Heightened Air Pollution – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative By Lelia Marie Hampton and Eric Nost Key Points Data centers are booming right now due to climbing demand for generative AI, […]

Many AI data centers are state & federally permitted, theoretically held to pollution standards so as not to overburden communities. The data tell a different story: Those living near these centers face higher air pollution, especially communities of color. envirodatagov.org/blogs/commun...

Federal Agencies Post Incendiary Banners About the Government Shutdown – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative This post is part of the EDGI Website Governance Team’s “Highlights from the Change Log” blog series. The purpose of this series is to highlight interesting changes we have observed in the content of,...

Federal agencies are posting banners on their websites accusing Democrats and the “Radical Left” for the government shutdown, using language that is partisan, disparaging, and contemptuous.

Learn more in our most recent Highlights from the Change Log: envirodatagov.org/federal-agen...

Volunteers race to save US climate data from Trump’s purge | Context by TRF As the Trump administration changes federal websites on climate change, nonprofits rebuild the data beyond the government’s reach

Changes to federal websites raise “concerns for proposed federal regulations now open for public comment, said Izzy Pacenza, EDGI project coordinator,” who added that it’s important to save environmental data “for the public ... so the public can weigh in.” www.context.news/climate-risk...

Volunteers race to save US climate data from Trump’s purge | Context by TRF As the Trump administration changes federal websites on climate change, nonprofits rebuild the data beyond the government’s reach

Changes to federal websites raise “concerns for proposed federal regulations now open for public comment, said Izzy Pacenza, EDGI project coordinator,” who added that it’s important to save environmental data “for the public ... so the public can weigh in.” www.context.news/climate-risk...

We’re excited to share the first story in our Made Possible series, showing how 2,212 studies relied on federal environmental justice tools like EJScreen and what’s at stake when those tools disappear.

Read today: screening-tools.com/blog/pedp-en...

Federal Agencies Post Incendiary Banners About the Government Shutdown – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative This post is part of the EDGI Website Governance Team’s “Highlights from the Change Log” blog series. The purpose of this series is to highlight interesting changes we have observed in the content of,...

Federal agencies are posting banners on their websites accusing Democrats and the “Radical Left” for the government shutdown, using language that is partisan, disparaging, and contemptuous.

Learn more in our most recent Highlights from the Change Log: envirodatagov.org/federal-agen...

Communities Close to EPA-Regulated Data Centers Face Heightened Air Pollution – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative By Lelia Marie Hampton and Eric Nost Key Points Data centers are booming right now due to climbing demand for generative AI, […]

Many AI data centers are state & federally permitted, theoretically held to pollution standards so as not to overburden communities. The data tell a different story: Those living near these centers face higher air pollution, especially communities of color. envirodatagov.org/blogs/commun...

The costs of Trump’s campaign to censor climate science [FREE TO READ] Datasets have been removed, federal websites scrubbed and thousands of Noaa staff purged. Experts warn disaster defences are at risk

“‘At the end of the day, we need the federal government to [collect climate data],’ says Gretchen Gehrke from EDGI, the initiative that tracks alterations to government websites. ‘There are no other entities that have the resources and the reach to do it.’”
on.ft.com/4ndJ5HI

Surface Waters Under Threat – Environmental Data and Governance Initiative This is an installment of our State of Environmental Protection series. This series utilizes public data from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate the current state of our environm...

Our latest State of Environmental Protection blog analyzes trends in surface water pollution. EPA's own data shows that the public health risks from this pollution increased under the first Trump admin. envirodatagov.org/surface-wate...

The costs of Trump’s campaign to censor climate science [FREE TO READ] Datasets have been removed, federal websites scrubbed and thousands of Noaa staff purged. Experts warn disaster defences are at risk

“‘At the end of the day, we need the federal government to [collect climate data],’ says Gretchen Gehrke from EDGI, the initiative that tracks alterations to government websites. ‘There are no other entities that have the resources and the reach to do it.’”
on.ft.com/4ndJ5HI