The Year the U.S. Abandoned Extreme Weather Preparedness
Federal websites, data tools, and monitoring systems that help communities deal with droughts, storms, floods, wildfires and other extreme weather hazards have been shut down or left in limbo. The federal grants and regional research programs that local and state governments count on to figure out which neighborhoods flood and what disasters to prepare for have been canceled, closed, or are barely operating. The staff and funding behind these data systems and programs are vanishing too. Without them, information we’re relying on to stay safe before, during, and after extreme weather events becomes outdated and unreliable, and right when we need it most. That’s why we need to protect what federal expertise and funding we have left if we care about keeping communities safe.
2,212 studies used disappearing federal climate justice tools. We analyzed them all.
Federal environmental justice tools like EJScreen and CEJST once made it possible to map inequities, teach students, and protect communities. Our analysis of 2,212 studies reveals how their disappearance is reshaping climate justice research across the U.S. and what’s being left behind.
Made Possible
Made Possible is a special PEDP series spotlighting the researchers, public servants, and advocates who rely on federal environmental justice tools to serve their communities and what happens when those tools disappear.
