Trump officials removed web tools that interpret environmental data. Volunteers are racing to rebuild them

There's been a lot of news about the removal of environmental, health and diversity data from federal websites. But scientists, policy makers and nonprofits have run up against another critical issue: the removal of the tools that make sense of the data, particularly related to environmental justice.

Now, hundreds of volunteers are working not only to archive nearly 500 sets of data, but to rebuild the web tools that help scientists understand the impact of pollutants, climate change, and infrastructure decay on the country's most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The project is called Public Environmental Data Partners, and Jessie Mahr, director of technology at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center, is among the volunteers spearheading the work. She joins Here & Now to talk about why the tools are critical and what can happen without them.