🚨 The Trump administration fired its climate researchers — but the scientists refused to let public climate data vanish.
Meet the woman behind this work.
In 2025, the federal government terminated operations of NOAA's Climate. gov, laying off its staff and making decades of climate data, maps, and reports difficult for the public to find.
Rather than letting 15 years of vital research fade into obscurity, former program director Rebecca Lindsey, along with her sister Mary Lindsey and colleague Anna Eshelman, decided to take matters into their own hands.
The trio rallied the scientific community and successfully launched Climate. us on June 23, 2026 — a nonpartisan, nonprofit website dedicated to keeping complex climate information accessible to educators, farmers, and everyday citizens.
The grassroots resurrection of this crucial resource was powered entirely outside government infrastructure, utilizing over 2,500 small donations and the expertise of more than 80 volunteer scientist reviewers. Climate. us restores access to interactive climate dashboards, expert science explainers, and the now-deleted Fifth National Climate Assessment.
By rebuilding essential features like search systems and data visualizations, these scientists are ensuring that public knowledge remains shielded from political interference. As Rebecca Lindsey noted, trusted climate science should not disappear just because political administrations change.
source: Barnes, J. (2026). Trump dismantled a federal climate website. These women rebuilt it. The 19th News.
ALT The Trump administration fired its climate researchers — but the scientists refused to let public climate data vanish.
Meet the woman behind this work.
In 2025, the federal government terminated operations of NOAA's Climate. gov, laying off its staff and making decades of climate data, maps, and reports difficult for the public to find.
Rather than letting 15 years of vital research fade into obscurity, former program director Rebecca Lindsey, along with her sister Mary Lindsey and colleague Anna Eshelman, decided to take matters into their own hands.
The trio rallied the scientific community and successfully launched Climate. us on June 23, 2026 — a nonpartisan, nonprofit website dedicated to keeping complex climate information accessible to educators, farmers, and everyday citizens.