By Shivm Mehta
Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has changed the information on its website that addressed the possibility of a connection between climate change and burning fossil fuels.
This change mirrors President Trump’s position of trying to boost the US production of oil and gas while simultaneously attempting to give life to the declining US coal industry.
The website no longer lists human activities such as burning oil, gas, and coal as main contributors to the warming climate since the Industrial Revolution. Most of the website blames the warming of the climate on natural causes such as Earth’s orbit, variations in solar activity, and volcanic activity. Additionally, the agency’s webpages describing indicators and possible signs of climate change are no longer active, leaving many educators who used this page as an end-all list disappointed. This mirrors the growing government sentiment, such as the discontinuation of climate.gov earlier this year.
As a result, many scientists are concerned about the potential implications this has on science information in the future. Phil Duffy, chief scientist at Spark Climate Solutions, compared this removal of information to having a website about chest pain without mentioning heart attack. Other scientists, such as Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, argue that the main point of concern in this development is not the content itself but the fact that the information is half modified, making it not factually accurate. Swain argues that it is highly concerning that the agency deliberately removed information that was factually correct and backed by tons of scientific information.
Combined with this removal is an even bigger development that could have massive implications for the average American. Since 2009, the government has been operating under the assumption of the “endangerment finding,” which determined that pollution that was causing warming also endangered human health. Since then, this clause has been the basis for many rules limiting pollution.
However, the EPA released their intent to repeal this rule earlier this year and is expected to finalize that decision in early 2026. Additionally, they hope to repeal the rules that regulate emissions from vehicles to further double down on this new ruling.
While many scientists are disturbed by this development, they shouldn’t be surprised given President Trump’s stance on climate change and his past actions, including removing National Climate Assessments from government sites.