WORRISOME

EPA Website Removes Climate Science Site

To “reflect the views of the leadership of the agency.”

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday removed several sites from its homepage on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, a move the agency says is meant to “reflect the views of the leadership of the agency.” The agency warned on Friday that its site would be “undergoing changes,” an announcement followed by the removal of a website on climate change cited to balance EPA head Scott Pruitt’s statements on the matter. Pruitt has faced scrutiny and a backlash from many researchers for his very public skepticism of climate change, saying explicitly last month in an interview with CNBC that he does not agree with the idea that human activity is causing global warming. Even after those remarks, the EPA website had continued to link to data from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that contradicted Pruitt’s argument. That link, which had been up for nearly two decades and contained detailed explanations of climate change, was one of several taken down Friday as part of the site’s overhaul. A website explaining greenhouse gas emissions and the former administration’s Clean Power Plan was also removed. “As EPA renews its commitment to human health and clean air, land, and water, our website needs to reflect the views of the leadership of the agency,” J.P. Freire, the agency’s associate administrator for public affairs, said in a statement. “We want to eliminate confusion by removing outdated language first and making room to discuss how we’re protecting the environment and human health by partnering with states and working within the law,” Freiere was cited as saying by The Washington Post.