The Trump administration has ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to unpublish or archive websites documenting or referencing climate change, leading to the removal of critical resources and research tools. By Friday, key pages on the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) website, including those providing wildfire vulnerability assessments, disappeared, displaying error messages or restricted access notices. The directive, issued by the USDA’s Office of Communications, instructed website managers to identify and archive climate-focused content, with a deadline to list all mentions for further review.
While USDA officials later clarified that content should not be permanently deleted due to records retention requirements, many climate-related sites, including the USFS Climate Change Resource Center, Climate Action Tracker, and the National Roadmap for Responding to Climate Change, became inaccessible. The USDA’s Climate Hubs, which connect farmers and producers to local climate programs and research, remain live, but numerous government-supported programs aimed at mitigating climate change and helping communities adapt have been effectively blocked.
This move is part of a broader wave of policy shifts dismantling environmental protections. The Trump administration has repealed Biden-era environmental regulations, declared an energy emergency to accelerate fossil fuel extraction, and withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement. Federal agencies have also been thrown into uncertainty, with hiring freezes, halted projects, and a widespread buyout offer promising federal employees financial incentives if they resign by the end of the week.
Beyond climate change
The changes extend beyond environmental policy, targeting diversity and public health initiatives. On Wednesday, the Office of Personnel Management ordered agencies to terminate grants and contracts related to “gender ideology,” remove pronouns from government email signatures, and dissolve resource groups addressing gender issues. Simultaneously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed key public health information, including contraception guidance, HIV resources for transgender individuals, and studies showing high rates of depression, drug use, and bullying among transgender students.
Public health experts condemned these actions, warning that eliminating scientific resources could have severe consequences. The Infectious Diseases Society of America criticized the removal of HIV-related information, emphasizing its importance in combating the epidemic.
It remains unclear whether the removed information will be restored or permanently erased. While links to affected government pages are still live, the content has been archived, leaving critical research and support tools inaccessible to the public. These sweeping changes mark a significant shift in federal policy, rolling back progress on climate action, public health, and civil rights.
Sreendump accessed Feb 1 10:37 ECT, https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/general-information/priorities/climate-solutions
Source: The Guardian
