#national oceanic and atmospheric administration

[allthegeopolitics]

Scientists warn that the Trump administration's abrupt firing of hundreds of weather forecasters and climate experts across NOAA will curtail important climate research and could result in preventable deaths during extreme weather events and related disasters. Over 800 employees across most divisions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — a premier U.S. federal agency at the forefront of climate research that provides timely weather forecasts to the public for free — were dismissed in mass layoffs that began Thursday afternoon (Feb. 27). The cuts targeted probationary employees, a term that refers to new hires in trial periods lasting one to two years as well as long-term federal workers who recently transitioned into new positions; with limited civil protections, these employees are easier to terminate. The layoffs are part of a broader effort by the new White House administration to shrink the federal workforce, which is being spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at its helm.

Continue Reading

[victusinveritas]

Reminder: the companies and political entities pushing Project 2025 have addresses and go out to lunch a lot and should never eat a spitless meal for the rest of their lives.

Practice bagpipes outside their secure compounds.

Follow them around ringing a bell wherever they go.

If they are going to be farcically evil, be Animaniacally good. Be the definition of chaotic justice.

Also, vote. It might just kick the ball down the road a bit, but that gives people more time to organize a concerted resistance (in no way on any social media platform) to the fascist creep happening in America. It is possible to take this country from the bastards who control it, it will take work, effort, and occasionally going offline and talking to humans though.

[aurifulgore]

Ok, y’all. I just want it to be understood how important the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is.

Tampering with NOAA would have more impacts than just the main one I've heard - privatization of weather tracking. Of course it would be catastrophic. That means their weather forecasts, guidance, and warnings would not be available for free. Weather is going to go subscription based if this happens, I bet. This undoubtedly would cause the most immediate impact on our daily lives.

Before long, however, more will come.

NOAA also administers the Coastal Zone Management Act. Under this act are the National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs), National Coastal Management Program (CZM), and the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP). 

There are 30 reserves established totalling 1.3 million acres. More are on the way.

No, this isn’t just our oceans! This impacts our freshwater coasts of the Great Lakes.

Grants and funding for institutions, including the University of Michigan. They manage the Science Collaborative, which funds research and exchanges to address coastal management needs of all 30 reserves or projects in collaboration with them.

Blending new technologies with indigenous knowledge with regards to management of wetlands and estuaries, strengthen food and economic stability, water quality, coral reefs, and resilience against climate change (ie. Ola i ka Loʻi Wai, Hawai’i) 

Restore ownership of indigenous ancestral lands (ie. Conservation of Cape Foulweather Headland, Oregon)

Identify for underwater archaeological sites for research and surveys, create a draft tribal climate action plan (ie. Penobscot Nation’s involvement in the Northeast Regional Ocean Council, Maine)

Work with each participating state (regarding the CZM, as it’s voluntary to participate) to address challenges along their coastlines. Maybe reach out to your representatives to see why they’re not involved - looking at you, Alaska!

Population enhancement of coral reefs, manage the Coral Reef Information System, minimize negative impacts of fishing on reefs, mitigate impacts of land-based pollution on coral reefs (Coral Reef Conservation Program)

And much, much more.  I’ll note that the aspects of the projects I highlighted above aren’t all they do. These are just a few I want to highlight here. Links can lead you further and I encourage you to take a few minutes to explore.

Another important note: both our oceans and freshwater lakes impact our biggest trade partners!! If dismantled, it would be yet another way that our foolish president will negatively impact our economy and relationships with our most crucial neighbors of Canada and Mexico. NOAA’s efforts also help support one third of the US's commerce. One third. 

Here is a map which breaks down the 1.3 BILLION in awards from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. This includes goals towards economic development, flood, etc…

Oh and they also help with oil spills. No one likes those.

And space weather, geomagnetic storms/solar flares ie. impacts to GPS, power grids.

I really stress people to look at what the agency does overall, as well as what they do in your state. It’s more than just weather. You can find that information here. 

Just please understand what we will lose if NOAA is gutted, or even just incapacitated for a long time. We already have little time to lose to slow the impacts of climate change and these are just some of the ways they're leading the charge with that.

It’s vital for us to understand what we will fundamentally lose, and it doesn't end at weather/hurricane predictions.

On a personal note, my dad has put what I can only estimate as hundreds of hours of work into one that was begun before the pandemic. If you can, I’d appreciate it if you’re in that area that you participate when you can, or if anything, donate to the UW Green Bay’s NERR General Fund. He’s also involved with portions of the Lake Superior NERR, so your time, if possible, or a donation if you can, would mean a lot to us.

[mindblowingscience]

A severe solar storm sparked by an intense flare from the sun could reach "extreme" levels as it bombards Earth, officials with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned on Thursday (Oct. 10). Scientists with NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Group (SWPC) said that a cloud of charged solar material, called a coronal mass ejection, slammed into Earth around midday, triggering a "severe" geomagnetic storm that could impact power grids and GPS and radio communications systems, as well as amplify aurora displays in regions that typically don't see them.

Continue Reading.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this press release from the Center for Biological Diversity:

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a Freedom of Information Act request that aims to reveal more about the sea life-saving work impeded by Trump’s mass firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The filing with NOAA seeks job descriptions and workplans of those fired by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. NOAA’s rapid loss of experts is crippling the agency’s ability to protect marine species such as critically endangered whales, sharks, sea turtles and corals.

“The incredible ocean animals that Americans adore are in serious danger as Musk plays power games with hard-working marine scientists,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center. “Unbelievably, they fired an orca-saving employee of the year, and the public deserves to know what other animals, marine sanctuaries and conservation programs are paying the price for DOGE’s cuts. Getting rid of the experts carrying out important conservation work has devastating and unlawful consequences for both wildlife and people.”

The sweeping DOGE cuts are already hampering agencies’ mandates, though many of the precise harms are unknown.

According to news reports and social media posts, DOGE has fired at least 700 NOAA employees and previously gave buyouts to around 170. Among the many fired experts are the orca-saving employee of the year and the director of an ocean acidification program, both in Washington, a fisheries management specialist assessing salmon stocks in Alaska, a scallop fishery observer in Massachusetts, a meteorologist at the NOAA National Weather Service’s Boston office, an aviating “hurricane hunter” in Florida, and scientists and science communicators around the country.

The agency is also reportedly disbanding two committees related to marine protection: the Marine and Coastal Area-based Management Advisory Committee and the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee.

NOAA Fisheries is responsible for safeguarding and stewarding the marine species and protected areas off the coasts of the United States. It has jurisdiction over 165 endangered and threatened species, including blue whales, Oceanic whitetip sharks, Chinook salmon, green sea turtles and several species of corals.

[onlytiktoks]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jordan Freiman and Tracy J. Wholf at CBS News:

Hundreds of staffers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, were laid off Thursday as the Trump administration and its newly-created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, continue slashing the federal workforce. A congressional source told CBS News the layoffs affected 880 NOAA employees. An administration official told CBS News about 5% of the agency's staff was let go, and individuals deemed critical to NOAA's responsibilities, such as National Weather Service meteorologists, were largely spared. A source at the National Weather Service disputed this, however, telling CBS News some meteorologists were impacted, including radar specialists, as well as staff of the Hurricane Hunters crew, which fly airplanes into storms to help forecasters make accurate predications during a hurricane. Laid off staffers who were considered probationary employees received an email Thursday, which read in part, "OPM has advised that '[p]robationary periods are an essential tool for agencies to assess employee performance and manage staffing levels.' (4) In light of that guidance, the Agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and/or skills do not fit the Agency's current needs." Some 400 employees at the National Weather Service were in a probationary period, a NWS source told CBS News, but it's not clear how many of them were included in the layoffs. Tom DiLiberto, who until Thursday had worked as a climate and weather scientist and public affairs specialist, told CBS News he started as a contractor for NOAA back in 2010, but became a federal employee less than two years ago. His probationary period was set to end on March 13, 2025, two weeks from the day he was terminated.  [...] Congressional Democrats had been worried DOGE and billionaire Elon Musk, who is classified as a "special government employee," had their eyes set on NOAA for deep cuts. Former NOAA officials told CBS News earlier this month that current employees had been told to expect budget cuts of 30% and a 50% reduction in staff. Prior to Thursday's cuts, NOAA had about 12,000 staffers across the world, including 6,773 who are scientists and engineers, according to the agency's website.

[...] The NOAA runs the National Weather Service, which issues vital weather warnings — such as hurricane and tornado warnings — and the National Marine Fisheries Service. It is also responsible for monitoring the health of the oceans and the warming of the climate. 

The Muskrat’s DOGE hammer took a mass swing at the NOAA and the NWS, which will negatively impact weather forecasting and modeling.

See Also:

AP, via HuffPost: Critical Weather Forecasters Fired In Latest 'Unconscionable' Wave Of DOGE Cuts

Daily Kos: Stormy forecast as DOGE axes weather agency workers

The Guardian: ‘Cruel and thoughtless’: Trump fires hundreds at US climate agency Noaa

Wonkette: DOGE Sh*theads Fire Hundreds From NOAA, Weather Service, Because Weather Is Too Woke

MMFA: National and local meteorologists express alarm as the Trump administration implements Project 2025’s scheme to dismantle NOAA

[sixbucks]

As Hurricane Helene approaches Florida, is now a good time to mention that Project 2025 calls for an end to the NOAA and the National Hurricane Center?

[thepastisalreadywritten]

xxx

[atlantichurricanes]

Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook issued by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL, USA

2024-11-03, 19:00 EST

Active Systems: The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Subtropical Storm Patty, located over the northeastern Atlantic Ocean east of the Azores Islands. The National Hurricane Center has also initiated advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone Eighteen, located over the south-central portion of the Caribbean Sea.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...high...near 100 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...high...near 100 percent.

Southwestern Atlantic: An area of disturbed weather could develop from an interaction of moisture with an upper-level trough digging near the northern Leeward Islands around the middle of this week. Some slow subtropical or tropical development of this system is possible after that time as it moves generally westward over the southwestern Atlantic.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...20 percent.

Near the Southeastern Bahamas: A trough of low pressure continues to produce disorganized showers and thunderstorms along with gusty winds over the southeastern Bahamas and adjacent waters. This system is expected to be absorbed into Potential Tropical Cyclone Eighteen (AL18) over the Caribbean Sea by late Monday, and development before that time is no longer anticipated. Regardless, locally heavy rains are possible during the next couple of days across the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...near 0 percent.

&& Public Advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone Eighteen are issued under WMO header WTNT33 KNHC and under AWIPS header MIATCPAT3. Forecast/Advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone Eighteen are issued under WMO header WTNT23 KNHC and under AWIPS header MIATCMAT3.

$$ Forecaster Papin

[victusinveritas]

[alyfoxxxen]

NOAA layoffs today: 1,000 employees laid off; workforce shrinks by 20%

[meteorologistaustenlonek]

"When NWS forecasters can't communicate with Canadian forecasters, things like plane accidents happen." - #AltNOAA

[historysurvivalguide]

NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Posters

Free for download!

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this New York Times story:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one of the world’s leading climate science agencies, has been ordered to identify grants related to global warming and other topics targeted by President Trump’s executive orders, raising fears that those grants are at risk of being canceled.

The instructions were issued on Thursday at the direction of the Commerce Department, which includes NOAA, according to a copy of the document viewed by The New York Times. NOAA staff members were given a list of all “active financial assistant awards” at NOAA and told to identify which of those grants could be “potentially impacted” by one of Mr. Trump’s orders.

One of the directives in question, signed by Mr. Trump the day he took office, is aimed at demolishing federal government programs that address climate change. Based on that order, NOAA staff members have been told to search their existing grants for terms that include “climate science,” “climate crisis,” “clean energy,” “environmental quality” and “pollution.”

The executive orders do not specifically mention NOAA. But Project 2025, the policy blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation that is reflected in many of the actions taken by the Trump administration so far, calls NOAA “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.” The document urges that NOAA be dismantled and some of its programs terminated. And it calls for the privatization of the National Weather Service, a division of NOAA. Project 2025 was written by many people who now hold senior roles in the administration.

[xtruss]

Illustration by João Fazenda

The Burning of Maui

The governor called the fires Hawaii’s “largest natural disaster” ever. They would more accurately be labelled an “unnatural disaster.”

— By Elizabeth Kolbert | August 20, 2023

The ‘alalā, or Hawaiian crow, is a remarkably clever bird. ‘Alalā fashion tools out of sticks, which they use, a bit like skewers, to get at hard-to-reach food. The birds were once abundant, but by the late nineteen-nineties their population had dropped so low that they were facing extinction. Since 2003, all the world’s remaining ‘alalā have been confined to aviaries. In a last-ditch effort to preserve the species, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has been breeding the crows in captivity. The alliance keeps about a third of the birds—some forty ‘alalā—at a facility outside the town of Volcano, on the Big Island, and the rest outside the town of Makawao, on Maui. Earlier this month, the Maui population was very nearly wiped out. On the morning of August 8th, flames came within a few hundred feet of the birds’ home and would probably have engulfed it were it not for an enterprising alliance employee, one of her neighbors, and a garden hose.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “many factors” contributed to the ‘alalā’s decline, including habitat destruction, invasive species, and the effects of agriculture on the landscape. Owing to these developments, Hawaii’s native fauna in general is in crisis; the state has earned an unfortunate title as “the extinction capital of the world.” Of the nearly hundred and fifty bird species that used to be found in Hawaii and nowhere else, two-thirds are gone. Among the islands’ distinctive native snails, the losses have been even more catastrophic.

Last week, as the death toll from the fires in West Maui continued to mount—late on Friday, the number stood at a hundred and eleven—it became clear that the same “factors” that have decimated Hawaii’s wildlife also contributed to the deadliness of the blazes. Roughly a thousand people have been reported as still missing, and some two thousand homes have been destroyed or damaged. The worst-hit locality, the town of Lahaina, which lies in ruins, was built on what was once a wetland. Starting in the mid-nineteenth century, much of the vegetation surrounding the town was cleared to make way for sugar plantations. Then, when these went out of business, in the late twentieth century, the formerly cultivated acres were taken over by introduced grasses. In contrast to Hawaii’s native plants, the imported grasses have evolved to reseed after fires and, in dry times, they become highly flammable.

“The lands around Lahaina were all sugarcane from the eighteen-sixties to the late nineteen-nineties,” Clay Trauernicht, a specialist in fire ecology at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, told the Guardian. “Nothing’s been done since then—hence the problem with invasive grasses and fire risk.”

Also contributing to the devastation was climate change. Since the nineteen-fifties, average temperatures in Hawaii have risen by about two degrees, and there has been a sharp uptick in warming in just the past decade. This has made the state more fire-prone and, at the same time, it has fostered the spread of the sorts of plants that provide wildfires with fuel. Hotter summers help invasive shrubs and grasses “outgrow our native tree species,” the state’s official Climate Change Portal notes.

As Hawaii has warmed, it has also dried out. According, again, to the Climate Change Portal, “rainfall and streamflow have declined significantly over the past 30 years.” In the weeks leading up to the fires in West Maui, parts of the region were classified as suffering from “severe drought.” Meanwhile, climate change is shifting storm tracks in the Pacific farther north. Hurricane Dora, which made history as the longest-lasting Category 4 hurricane on record in the Pacific, passed to the south of Maui and helped produce the gusts that spread the Lahaina fire at a speed that’s been estimated to be a mile per minute.

After visiting the wreckage of Lahaina, Hawaii’s governor, Josh Green, called the Maui fires the “largest natural disaster Hawaii has ever experienced.” In fact, the fires would more accurately be labelled an “unnatural disaster.” As David Beilman, a professor of geography and environment at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, recently pointed out, for most of Hawaii’s history fire simply wasn’t part of the islands’ ecology. “This Maui situation is an Anthropocene phenomenon,” he told USA Today.

A great many more unnatural disasters lie ahead. Last month was, by a large margin, the hottest July on record, and 2023 seems likely to become the warmest year on record. Two days after Lahaina burst into flames, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a revised forecast for the current Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through the end of November. The agency had been predicting a “near-normal” season, with between five and nine hurricanes. But, because of record sea-surface temperatures this summer—last month a buoy in Manatee Bay, south of Miami, registered 101.1 degrees, a reading that, as the Washington Post put it, is “more typical of a hot tub than ocean water”—noaa is now projecting that the season will be “above normal,” with up to eleven hurricanes. Rising sea levels and the loss of coastal wetlands mean that any hurricanes that make landfall will be that much more destructive.

A few days after noaa revised its forecast, officials ordered the evacuation of Yellowknife, the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories. A wildfire burning about ten miles away would, they feared, grow to consume the city. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation called the evacuation order “extraordinary.” This summer has been Canada’s worst wildfire season on record, and, at times, the smoke has spread all the way to Europe. There are currently something like a thousand active fires in the country.

Two days after the Yellowknife evacuation was ordered, another Pacific hurricane—Hilary—intensified into a Category 4 storm. Hilary was being drawn north by a “heat dome” of high pressure over the central Plains, which was expected to bring record temperatures to parts of the Midwest. The storm’s unusual track put some twenty-six million people in four states—California, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona—under flash-flood watches.

How well humanity will fare on the new planet it is busy creating is an open question. Homo sapiens is a remarkably clever species. So, too, was the ‘alalā. ♦

— Published in the Print Edition of the August 28, 2023, New Yorker Issue, with the Headline “Fire Alarm.”