To help people who are affected by pollution and other environmental harms, it’s common sense to first get a detailed picture of who they are and where they are. My research shows what can be gained – by policymakers and the broader public – from detailed environmental data and highlights what is lost when it’s not collected.

Since President Donald Trump began his second term, his administration has changed the U.S. government’s environmental data practices, collecting and reporting only average and aggregate pollution levels that do not differentiate exposure by race, gender, ethnicity or other social identities. That changes previous administrations’ practice of looking more closely, enabling researchers to learn who is most affected and least empowered to push back.

These changes are part of broader policy shifts across the federal government aimed at reducing information about environmental harms and eliminating policies that consider disparate impacts for racial and ethnic minorities, claiming those are racially biased.

I study environmental policy, and I often see the importance of having detailed data to understand the effects of various actions on people’s lives and who is most vulnerable and in need of help. One example involves fishing.

A close look at global fishing

Most research into fishing focuses on large vessels that fish on the high seas. While they are certainly important for global fish production,........

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