Climate.us: Preserving Federal Climate Data After the Deactivation of Climate.gov

Climate.us restores public access to critical climate data

Former NOAA employees Rebecca Lindsey, Anna Eshelman, and Mary Lindsey have launched Climate.us, a successor to the deactivated Climate.gov website. This initiative preserves over 15 years of essential climate data, maps, and educational materials that were at risk of being lost after the Trump administration radically cut NOAA funding and took the original federal resource offline.

The role of open data in preserving public information

The restoration of this data was this data was made possible because United States government data is public domain by law. Because the information was available under a permissive license, the datasets could be migrated to a new home rather than being permanently deleted during the administration's removal of the site.

Key resources available on Climate.us

Climate.us serves as a comprehensive archive and interactive tool for climate information, a feature of several critical components:

• Climate Dashboard: A tracking tool for key metrics, such as the total area of the Arctic Ocean with at least 15% ice cover each September.
• The Fifth National Climate Assessment: The site hosts this comprehensive analysis of climate change, which had been deleted from government servers.
• Dataset Gallery: A repository of crucial information, including the NOAA archive of oral histories from individuals affected by climate change.
• Educational Resources: A dedicated section providing materials for teaching climate and energy.

Sustainability and funding challenges

Unlike the original government-funded site, Climate.us is a non-governmental entity that relies on donations to remain operational. While the site currently fills a critical gap in public infrastructure,- it remains precarious due to its dependence on private funding for a service that a previously supported by tax dollars.