Re: “Websites hosting major U.S. climate reports taken down” (July 1, Nation):
The disappearance of U.S. climate assessment websites is not just a bureaucratic shuffle, it’s a dangerous act of willful ignorance. These reports, legally mandated and peer-reviewed, allow communities across the country to implement lifesaving climate adaptations, including elevating roads and relocating hospital generators.
Former Obama administration science adviser John Holdren and others have emphasized the immense value of these assessments for local decision-makers. Hiding this data from the public removes our ability to prepare for worsening floods, fires and heat waves, threats that are already here and growing. As University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs put it, the National Climate Assessment is “the most reliable and well-reviewed source of information about climate that exists for the United States.” Every American deserves access to that information, and the right to protect their health and safety.
We can’t navigate a climate crisis with a painted-over windshield. We need leaders at all levels who safeguard science, not silence it. The American people don’t need slogans like “Drill, baby, drill.” We need transparency. We need action. The climate is changing, and we need to “Adapt, baby, adapt.”
Ashley Cohen, Sammamish
