Scientists Launch Climate.us After Government Shutdown

When Rebecca Lindsey lost her job at NOAA last February, she worried most about the website she'd spent 15 years building. Climate.gov had become a lifeline for teachers, community leaders, and policymakers who needed clear answers about climate science.

Her concerns proved justified. Within months, the Trump administration eliminated the remaining Climate.gov staff and shut down the entire website.

But Lindsey and her former team refused to let their work disappear. They met regularly through the summer, planning how to save the resources that millions had relied on. By late last month, they launched Climate.us, an independent version of the site with a bold mission: not just to preserve what existed, but to keep growing it.

The new site continues updating climate information with vetted visuals, explainers, and answers to questions Americans actually ask. "We just try to constantly take the pulse of what scientists say is valuable and important and needs to be talked about," Lindsey explained.

The timing matters more than ever. Federal climate resources have been vanishing at an alarming rate. The National Climate Assessments disappeared last summer. The EPA removed at least 80 climate webpages and stopped listing human activity as a direct cause of global warming.

The Ripple Effect

Climate.us represents something bigger than one rescued website. It's part of a growing movement to protect scientific knowledge from political interference by spreading responsibility beyond government walls.

The American Geophysical Union, the world's largest Earth and space organization, is leading a global initiative to make environmental datasets more resilient. They're connecting 100 experts worldwide to safeguard critical information.

The organization is also helping U.S. scientists continue contributing to international climate reports after the administration withdrew from key partnerships. Together with the American Meteorological Society, they're creating new pathways for climate research that would have appeared in the National Climate Assessment.

Adam Smith, who tracked billion-dollar weather disasters at NOAA before his program ended, now continues the work at nonprofit Climate Central. After nearly a year of rebuilding, his project is running again with all the same data and methods, helping businesses and policymakers understand the real costs of extreme weather.

Janice Lachance of the American Geophysical Union sees opportunity in this challenge. "It can't just be the federal government anymore," she said. The solution lies in distributing responsibility across like-minded organizations and civil society groups who care about protecting knowledge.

Climate.us has already proven the demand exists: 800,000 page views in just two weeks shows Americans still want clear, reliable climate information.