My first interaction with the U.S. government shutdown of 2013 came in the form of a website, or rather, in the form of an absent website.
While researching a video about bird banding (coming soon!), I attempted to access the U.S. Bird Banding Laboratory's website in the early hours of September 30th. Instead, I was directed to this page:
While researching a video about bird banding (coming soon!), I attempted to access the U.S. Bird Banding Laboratory's website in the early hours of September 30th. Instead, I was directed to this page:
As a science writer and video producer, I rely upon many online government resources to conduct research. Curious to see how the shutdown had affected other technical and scientific government websites, I found some sites to be almost completely offline and some almost fully functional.
Here is a summary of my search: a collection of homepages for various technical and scientific government agencies during the shutdown. Using data from the Office of Management and Budget and the Washington Post, I've indicated the percentage of each agency's workforce on furlough.
Here is a summary of my search: a collection of homepages for various technical and scientific government agencies during the shutdown. Using data from the Office of Management and Budget and the Washington Post, I've indicated the percentage of each agency's workforce on furlough.