One House Republican’s Latest Plan To Undermine Climate Research
After years of attempts at cutting the agency’s funding, House Republicans want the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to focus more on predicting storms and less on studying climate change.
The House is set to vote next week on a bill that would force NOAA to prioritize its forecasting over its climate research. The bill, introduced last June by Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), wouldn’t require NOAA to stop its climate research, but it would require the agency to “prioritize weather-related activities, including the provision of improved weather data, forecasts, and warnings for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy.” Among other things, it would direct the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, NOAA’s research and development arm which studies weather, climate and other environmental forces, to create new weather programs, including one focused on tornado warnings.
Bridenstine, whose home state of Oklahoma was ravaged by severe tornadoes last year, said that the bill’s intent was to “protect lives and property by shifting funds from climate change research to severe weather forecasting research.”
But though scientists are still trying to determine what, if any, impact climate change has on tornadoes, science has shown that climate change is a driver of other forms of extreme weather. Bridenstine is also a known climate denier who last year asked President Obama to apologize to Oklahoma for investing in climate change research.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/29/3420703/noaa-bill-more-weather-research/
I believe these people are suicidal ...
= new reply since forum marked as read
