DOE Website Rewritten to Downplay Impact of Fossil Fuels

DOE Website Rewritten to Downplay Impact of Fossil Fuels

The Energy Information Administration (EIA), within the U.S. Department of Energy, rewrote several paragraphs describing the environmental impacts of energy sources on its “Energy Kids” website. The new paragraphs downplay the impacts associated with burning fossil fuels. Two pie charts showing the link between coal and greenhouse gas emissions were removed, along with a statement that “[b]urning coal produces emissions that adversely affect the environment and human health.”

Following media reports of the changes, EIA released a statement indicating that they were not the result of political pressure from the Trump administration, and that it “has never been contacted by anyone in the new administration regarding the content of any part of [its] website.”