Recent U.S. Extreme Climatic Events Underscore the Need for NOAA Climate Service
(Washington, DC) – Today, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing titled, “Examining NOAA’s Climate Service Proposal”. The hearing reviewed the Administration’s reorganization proposal to create a climate service line office at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Testifying before the Committee were Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Administrator, NOAA, and Mr. Robert Winokur, Deputy Oceanographer, Department of the Navy.
New Federal analysis marks the halfway mark of 2011 among the most extreme weather years in history. Recent climate modeling results indicate that extreme weather events may become more common. Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) reiterated the need for timely, efficient long-term weather and climate information in light of recent extreme weather and climatic events around the country. She states, “From the tornados in the South, drought and fires in the West, and flooding in the Midwest, regardless of their relation to climate change, we have seen in recent months how even isolated instances of these phenomena can devastate economies. That said; why would we not want to give people the tools and information needed to anticipate what is to come?”
NOAA has a comprehensive observation network that gathers ground and satellite-based information from land and sea on weather, climate, atmospheric chemistry, and other environmental data. NOAA manages, archives, and makes this data available to a wide variety of stakeholders. This includes maintenance of the nation's historical climate record. NOAA also has an extensive network of regional and local offices delivering weather and climate information, and works in partnership with state climate offices, private sector weather providers, universities and other organizations with experience in developing and delivering information on weather and climate.
“The Climate Service Line Office at NOAA would be a single point of contact in NOAA to provide credible, useful, and timely information products,” described Dr. Lubchenco. “The proposed Climate Service Line Office at NOAA would improve NOAA’s organization, such that the agency can be a more accessible, transparent, and collaborative partner to achieve the agency’s climate goals and to ensure that all Americans’ needs for climate information are met.”
Mr. Winokur testified about the importance of climate information to the U.S. Navy. He said, “Part of the military mission is to anticipate threats and changes to national security. Climate change, and its interaction with and impacts on demographics, technology, globalization, and resource allocation and management, will be one of the drivers of security in this century.”
He continued with the importance for a more efficient and streamlined approach to the delivery of climate services and products. “The Navy believes that an organizational focus for providing reliable and authoritative climate data, information, and related products would be beneficial from the perspective of a climate services user….The Navy acknowledges initiatives that result in increased effectiveness and efficiency, and appreciates the potential benefits of a consolidated, centralized approach vice a distributed organizational construct.”
Ms. Johnson submitted several letters of support for the record from stakeholders in various sectors urging Congress to support the NOAA’s proposal for the creation of a climate service, citing increased demand from the public and industry for an integrated system of climate data and information. These letters included signatures from two former NOAA Under Secretaries, Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher from the Bush Administration and Dr. James Baker from the Clinton Administration, as well as twenty-three U.S. businesses and climate and weather-related organizations, the Southern Regional Climate Center, the Midwestern Regional Climate Center, and the Desert Research Institute.
Referring to the extensive discussions regarding a climate service that Congress has had with both the Bush and Obama Administrations, Ms. Johnson stressed that, “We may not yet agree on the mechanics, scope, and scale of a program, but I believe we can all see the benefit of providing the individuals, communities, governments, and businesses in our districts with the type of reliable long-term climate information and services that will reduce our vulnerability to weather and climate events. I would hate to look back and regard the years we have spent discussing this as a lost opportunity to do something good for the next generation.”
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