RIP: Obama's National Climate Service

Last Friday’s budget deal blocks funding for the Obama administration’s National Climate Service (NCS).

The bill reads:

SEC. 1348. None of the funds made available by this division may be used to implement, establish, or create a NOAA Climate Service as described in the ‘‘Draft NOAA Climate Service Strategic Vision and Framework’’ published at 75 Federal Register 57739 (September 22, 2010) 24 and updated on December 20, 2010: Provided, That this limitation shall expire on September 30, 2011.

Announced in February 2010 and organized under the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the pretext of the NCS was that:

“Americans are witnessing the impacts of climate change in their own backyards,” and that they “increasingly are asking the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for information about climate change in order to make the best choices for their families, communities and businesses.”

As we explained last February, the NCS was “more self-lampooning than informative.”

No need for global climate fretters to worry, though, coming back online soon will be a new-and-improved version of JunkScience.com’s (virtually) real-time global thermometer.

23 thoughts on “RIP: Obama's National Climate Service”

  1. Here we go again: “I don’t want to be the laughingstock of the Galaxy when they find out that a species that had the intelligence to stop an asteroid impact simply went extinct.” Who are the “they” that Tyson is talking about? According to Hawking we are the only intelligent life in the galaxy. Maybe these two ‘intellectuals’ should get together and compare notes!

  2. By what authority does Hawking suggest we are the only intelligent beings in the galaxy? Does he know something that the rest of us should hear about?

  3. “I don’t want to be the laughingstock of the Galaxy when they find out that a species that had the intelligence to stop an asteroid impact simply went extinct.”
    The above was the comment made by Neil deGrasse Tyson PHD, an Astrophysicist from Columbia University. The comment was published in Summer 2010 Columbia Magazine. He just made the statement without giving any reason for his comment. I fully agree with his statement and have I have been trying to contact him after I read the comment but still unsuccessful. I wanted to find out if we convergence of our thinkings.

  4. This time, Hawking’s views are given a stark spin: “Abandon Earth – or Face Extinction.” But Hawking isn’t really suggesting we should just give up on our planet. It’s just that right now we have all our eggs in one planetary basket. Here’s the key passage:

    “If we are the only intelligent beings in the galaxy, we should make sure we survive and continue. But we are entering an increasingly dangerous period of our history. Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill. But our genetic code still carries the selfish and aggressive instincts that were of survival advantage in the past. It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million. Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain inward-looking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space. We have made remarkable progress in the last hundred years, but if we want to continue beyond the next hundred years, our future is in space. That is why I’m in favor of manned, or should I say, ‘personed’ spaceflight.”

    Hawking said that “if we can avoid disaster for the next two centuries, our species should be safe as we spread into space.”
    This was the alarm given by Stephen Hawkins. But Humans cannot leave the Planet and propagate the Species. It will be another 500 to 1000 years Man can have intersteller flight. If the Humans want to survive as a Species urgent attention has to be given to Ocean to combat Chemical pollution. Technology is there to do the job.

  5. You may be right about all of what you’ve said, but as life has a beginning, so death creates an end. This Earth as we know it will not last forever. Neither will you or I. Our ability to control this resides only in our minds. Being a good steward of what we’ve been given is a responsibility that we all share. Some of us refuse to take this responsibility seriously, and some of us take it to an extreme. But most of us realize our duty toward each other and this world in which we live, and to feel as though we all have to shift into crisis mode to control a threat of ‘incomprehensible proportions’ is ridiculous. Fear mongering won’t work… just ask Algore. Civil debate is helpful, but don’t hold out for any miracles here either. The more you try to bend people toward your agenda with your hyper-sensitivities and arrogant snobbery, the further away you’ll push them. Your zealotry isn’t going to be shared!

  6. Global Warming is real but this is the least of the problem for the Planet. Ocean Acidification is the main problem now which can be easily corrected as I posted earlier. If Acidification is corrected Global Warming will be corrected automatically.
    But the main problem will persist. All these metallic ions, Hg, Cd, Pb, Ni, As etc. which are poisonous are all essential at some very low level in many Plants, Animals including Humans. These also exist in Ocean Water in very low level. By chemical pollution, contents of Coal Tar products, Oil Spills, disintegrating Plastics, most Medicines, household products react with these ions will make them inactive. Result will be severely defective animals and localized massive deaths of some aquatic and amphibian animals. This will spread to Land Animals and ultimately Humans. If corrective actions are not taken urgently, the problem will become irreversible. Planet will face extinction of life as it happened in Permean era when more than 90% life became extinct!

  7. Rising oceans? What a laugh! With no appreciable temperature increases having been recorded anywhere (and I’m not going to discuss the mythical-hockey stick charting that that phony at East Anglia U tried to sell us), no oceans overrunning their shores and Algore finally learning to keep his hot air in check, AGW has proven it’s irrelevance… at least to most thinking people. Of course the ‘religious whackos’ will continue to hold on to their “scientific theory” until the day they’re put in the ground. Sad, huh?

  8. Juan, I disagree with your hypotheses about acidification of the oceans, but I will probably drown in the rising oceans caused by global warming before I have time for a detailed response.

  9. How real is it when according to the British Royal Society, there hasn’t been any warming during the last 10 years, even though CO2 levels have been rising? And Dr. Phil Jones, ex-head of the CRU East Anglia U. stated that there hasn’t been any “statistically significant” warming during the past 15 years. The alarmists constantly claim that the atmosphere is warming while being contradicted by prestigious scientists and organizations.

  10. Yes John, global warming is real. However, as Adrian Vance has often pointed out CO2 alone is not sufficient to explain the entire temperature rise, unless you reverse the labels on your charts and ignore all other factors that effect global temperature.
    To quote a friend of mine who is chief climatologist at a state university, “CO2 can explain roughly 25% of the observed warming. Unfortunately, the current poitical climate makes it impossible to study the other 75% of the problem.”
    I totally and enthusiastically agree!

  11. Randolph,
    Let’s be a bit more precise.
    CO2 is an essential plant food, but only a minor greenhouse gas.
    Cheers

  12. No need to have him shovel. Just bring him near and the hot air he emits should melt the snow around your house, pronto.

  13. No reason to be so hard on Obama. He got himself elected in perhaps the worst possible set of circumstances. He marketed himself as a great new hope for America, right when America was f-ing broke. Yes, just about everything he’s done I disagree with. Yes, I wish he had simply cut spending from the moment he set foot in the White House. But that was never going to happen considering how much he promised on his campaign. The rude awakening is happening right as we speak, and the cold water is about to hit the patient.

  14. Sounds good until you get to the end: “Provided, That this limitation shall expire on September 30, 2011.” So we have to trust that next year’s budget and every budget going forward has a similar provision. Why can’t they just kill this stuff outright?

  15. Why I think Iron is there in Ocean Water but become inactive by Chelation
    In my previous posts I wrote about the report of Iron deficiency in Ocean Water. Some Companies added Iron in open Ocean to bloom Phytoplanktons that absorbed CO2 by Photosynthesis and release Oxygen to the Atmosphere. These Phytoplanktons absorbed Carbon Dioxide and released Oxygen to support life on the planet for billion years. Why should the Ocean have Iron deficiency now?
    About 150 years ago Super Volcano Krakatoa erupted and spewed enough Carbon Dioxide that is produced by Human activity over a few years. Yet there was no Global Warming at that. During any Volcanic eruption it spews dusts of metallic elements and replenish those depleted elements in the Ocean. There were many Volcanic eruptions, particularly one in 1991 spewed thousands of tons of Iron dusts in the Atmosphere and those washed in the Ocean. There is still Iron deficiency. Therefore by some mechanism Iron became inactive. My Hypothesis is by Chelation. I outlined chelating agents in last posts.
    If this Hypothesis of mine is true, then other elements also are becoming inactivated. For this reason I propose liumited and controlled addition of Iron

  16. Global warming is real alright. It is unfortunate that during the last cold snap and excess snow fall, the people who call Global Warming a hoax, said Global Cooling has already started. Excessive Snowfall or Rain over normal means Global Warming. During Global Cooling both Snowfall and Rain is less than normal. It is simple Physics, Vapor Pressure directly correlated with temperature. In warm periods Vapor Pressure of Water goes up and condenses as Snow or Rain. During Cooling periods Vapor Pressure goes down and therefore less Rain or Snowfall. In the Cooling periods, whatever Snow falls over the mountain builds up the Glaciers. At present because of Global Warming Glaciers are disappearing and raising the Sea levels.

    You can burn any amount of Fossil Fuels, Coal, Petroleum, Natural Gas if following conditions are met.
    1. Add exact amount of Iron daily within one mile of shore of the Ocean that will bloom enough Phytoplanktons to absorb enough Carbon Dioxide produced per day. This I explained in my last posts.
    2. Burn Coal 100% along with the Tar produced. Tar also burns and produces heat.
    3. Do not spill petroleum in the Ocean.
    4. Use substitute for Plastics with something Natural, like Glass or metal Cans.
    Contrary to popular belief, the planet will not run out of Petroleum and Natural Gas. All these Organic substances including dead Plankton, Fish and other Marine Organisms go to the bottom of the Ocean with Carbon Compounds in them. Under extreme Anaerobic condition Carbon becomes Methane. Methane is cooked under Ocean by Volcanic eruptions, Polymerize to Petroleum.

  17. Global Warming is the Indirect Effect of Burning Fossil Fuels.
    Whether it is Global Cooling or Global Warming, one thing is sure that Acidity of Ocean Waters is rising Worldwide. The effect of rising acidity is that the Phytoplanktons are dying. One report is that 40% of all the Phytoplanktons are already dead. These tiny Marine organisms take up Carbon Dioxide and release Oxygen by Photosynthesis. Some of these die naturally and take the Carbon compounds in them to the bottom of the Ocean and Carbon is sequestered for millions of years. These Planktons are also at the bottom of Food chain, eaten by bigger Planktons, these in turn by small fish, big fish and by the biggest. Each of these organisms also die naturally and take Carbon Compounds in them to the bottom of the Ocean.
    Therefore problem is not that we are generating too much Carbon Dioxide but the lack of enough Phytoplanktons to absorb extra Carbon Dioxide. As a result the stocks of other Marine organisms are going down owing to the disappearing bottom of Food Web.
    There are reports that there is iron deficiency in the Ocean Waters that are needed to bloom the Planktons.
    Hypothesis I: Iron is there in the Ocean Water but deactivated by Chemical process of Chelating.

    Sources of Chelating are:
    1. Coal products, particularly Coal Tar are full of Aromatic Compounds which are Chelating Agents. Coal Tar is the constituents of Asphalt, Black Top, millions of tons of which are used all over the World to coat roads, parking lots, driveways etc. the constituents leach to the Rivers and then to Oceans.
    2. Raw Petroleum contains Aromatic compounds and therefore, many Chelating Agents. Massive Oil Spills in the Ocean release these Chelating agents in the Ocean.
    3. Dispersants used after Oil spills are more dangerous than Oil Spill itself. The following piece is from BP dispersant (US Patent no 4597893) used to control the effect of Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico and other Oil Spills all over the world. Most constituents listed are Chelating agents. These bind Metal Ions and make these inactive
    “A dispersant composition suitable for dispersing crude oil or petroleum products floating on the surface of water comprises a combination of a selected non-ionic surfactant and an anionic surfactant in a suitable solvent. The non-ionic surfactant is an ester of a polyalkoxylated sorbitol or sorbitan and a fatty acid. The anionic surfactant is selected from the group comprising calcium sulphonate, magnesium sulphonate, sodium sulphonate, triethanolamine sulphonate and isopropylamine sulphonate. Suitable solvents are C5 to C10 alcohols, glycols and glycol ethers. The dispersant composition is particularly suitable for use in cold, low salinity water.”
    4. Most constituents of Plastics, for example Phthalates are Chelating agents. When Plastics degrade release these compound which are released to the Rivers and then to the Ocean.
    5. Most Soap, Shampoos and Household cleaners all contain Chelating agents.
    6. Most drugs Metabolites included contain chelating agents.
    There were fears that by large scale Fertilization of Ocean Waters could lead to Global Cooling and other problems. I propose a limited and controlled addition of Iron in the Coastal Ocean Waters. Calculate the exact amount of Iron needed to bloom Phytoplankton that will absorb and sequester Carbon Dioxide produced per day. This should be added to the Ocean within one mile of the Coast of the entire United States just before Sun rise.

    X=Y
    X= amount of Iron needed per day Y= Carbon Dioxide produced per day in US, known amount 16 million kilogram.
    Experiment:

    2.35 liter capacity BBL Anerobic jars were filled with Ocean Water with Iron added starting at 10ng to 2pg per ml. Jars were kept in sun light from Dawn to Sunset and observed accumulation of gases probably Oxygen produced by Photosynthesis by Phytoplanktons. At each concentration the accumulation was greater in the jar with Iron than the Jar in which no Iron was added. The experiment is in no way quantitative because of interference with dissolved air. The experiment should be performed in the Ocean with larger apparatus possibly10L or bigger in size with built in cylinder to collect the oxygen produced. Iron concentration to be extended to femto gram and even lower level.
    After the X is determined it should be added in solution within one mile of the entire coast of the US starting at dawn of each day. A sample should be taken every 200 miles and measure, Temperature, pH, Plankton Counts and number of hours in sunlight and if possible estimate free and inactive Iron. It is possible the amount of Iron to be adjusted for the above criteria every few hundred miles.

    Hypothesis II: If the hypothesis I is correct then other Metallic ions being deactivated by chelating.
    Metallic ions for example, Lead, Mercury, Cadmium Arsenic etc are considered toxic above some threshold level. Each of these are essential for some living organisms including Humans at some very low concentrations. After all Life originated in the Ocean and all these elements were present in the system.
    Example: Cobalt is a constituent of Vitamin B12. Deficiency of this Vitamin leads to Pernicious Anemia which will lead to Dementia in Humans. Only about 10 grams of Cobalt needed for the entire population of the United States to combat Vitamin B12 deficiency. Amount of Chelating compounds present in plastics and other substances listed above used by one person could deactivate this amount of Cobalt! There may be some metallic element needed for the entire population of US could be in the range of milligrams or even micro grams which are the beyond the sensitivity of current technology of measurements. Or not recognized by Scientists.
    If the Hypotheses are correct evidence will pile up very soon with some Aquatic Animals with severe Birth defects and Massive deaths of other Aquatic organisms and ultimately will affect Land Animals including Humans. If urgent action is not taken now to control Acidity, the situation may become irreversible and no amount of actions will prevent the destruction of life on the Planet. It will face the condition that brought the Extinction of life that occurred during Permean era about 200 million years ago because of Acidification of Ocean Waters. It is thought that during that period more than 90% of life on Earth vanished. Humans may not be able to escape that fate!

  18. if they want to help us why didn’t they send al gore around to shovel the couple of feet of “global warming” in my dooryard back in february and early march

  19. No one I know knew that it even existed , I wonder how they would answer someone asking how better to run their lives, just the thought of someone doing that is enough to make me laugh out loud. If this administration was not so dangerous we could all have a good laugh over it but it is deadly serious .

  20. Nothing that this Administration does surprises me anymore. This NCS fiasco is yet one more link in a chain of failures that Barack Obama must own. If the man had any leadership skills at all he wouldn’t have to lie his way in and out of these silly “programs” which have been created only to grow government and pay off political favors. This particular bureaucratic boondoggle is particularly offensive when you consider the FACT that our climate is in no way under our control in the first place. I’d like to see some documentation of the many requests that the American people have been making to NOAA in order to better control their lives and the lives of their families.

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