Latest news with #Sharpiegate
Bloomberg
28-04-2025
- Climate
- Bloomberg
Weather Maps in 3D Could Help Explain Extreme Climate Patterns
Welcome to Weather Watch, our weekly newsletter on how the planet's ever wilder weather patterns are impacting the global economy. Got feedback and forecasts? Write us at weatherteam@ And sign up here if you're not on the list already. The weather map is a powerful tool, packing information across space and time into a snapshot that can include intense storms and raging fires. It can also be contentious — recall President Donald Trump's attempt to alter a projected hurricane track back in 2019, dubbed 'Sharpiegate.'
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NOAA braces for mass layoffs, fueling concerns about lifesaving weather services
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is preparing to lay off more than 1,000 workers as part of the Trump administration's mandate for agencies to prepare "reductions in force," according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The cuts are fueling concerns that NOAA's ability to deliver lifesaving services, such as weather forecasting, storm warnings, climate monitoring and fishery oversight, will be hampered. The concerns are especially acute as hurricane and disaster season looms. MORE: How job cuts at NOAA could impact weather forecasting NOAA was "already significantly understaffed, so this is devastating. This is beyond a s---show," Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Ca., the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in an interview with ABC News. "It means we're going to be less safe. It means there will be all sorts of collateral damage." A person familiar with staffing levels at NOAA told ABC News that the agency is already down about 2,000 people since January as a result of the first round of the Trump administration's cuts, the "Fork in the Road" offer and regular retirements. In January, this source said, staffing was at about 12,000 employees, which is described as average. With an additional 1,000 cuts looming, the agency would be down 25% since the start of the year. "There is no way to absorb cuts of this magnitude without cutting into these core missions," Huffman said. "This is not about efficiency and it's certainly not about waste, fraud and abuse. This is taking programs that people depend on to save lives and emasculating them." MORE: Yes, NOAA adjusts its historical weather data: Here's why NOAA's reduction in force plan is currently in the Department of Commerce and is due to be delivered to the Office of Management and Budget this week, sources familiar said. It's unclear when exactly the resulting cuts will be announced, but sources said it could be as early as Friday. "NOAA was required to submit their cut plan today, and they were asked to eliminate entire functions, not just individual personnel. The number of terminations is more than 1,000, and that is on top of the probationary folks who've already been let go," Huffman said. "Our ability to forecast flood conditions and tornadoes is reduced, and in a matter of days, it's going to be significantly reduced, as we head into fire season, which is almost all year round now in the West. "Our ability to forecast red flag weather conditions for wildfires is significantly reduced," he added. "Literally, the people that run these systems are being terminated. The people that run these offices where these programs do this critical work are being terminated." MORE: Trump nominates 'Sharpiegate' scientist to lead NOAA Between the already announced and looming cuts, plus the funding battle that could reduce the agency's budget, a source familiar said NOAA "could be at a breaking point," adding that amid all the talks of reducing costs, taxpayers only pay 6 cents per day for all of the services provided by the agency. "More importantly, the services provided by NOAA wouldn't be as robust or functional -- or maybe even exist at all," the source said. NOAA braces for mass layoffs, fueling concerns about lifesaving weather services originally appeared on
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sound Off: March 9, 2025
For those who forgot 'Sharpiegate,' in his first term, President Trump erroneously claimed Hurricane Dorian was going to Alabama. When the National Weather Service corrected the mistake, the pPresident presented an altered track projection indicated by a 'sharpie pen' line added to a real forecast. This created a media sensation. Given the excessive sensitivity of this man to any contrary opinion to his, is it possible these mass firings are just payback to the National Weather Service? All of the Democratic congressman who attended President Trump's Joint Session Speech should be tarred and feathered. What a shameful exhibition of hatred for a man over the good of our country. Madness. Tariffs. No tariffs. Tariffs. No tariffs. Ol' Mr. Art of the Deal is really something else, huh? So Canada and Mexico called President Trump's bluff. Now he's looking for excuses to back down. I respect and am sympathetic to trans people, but I do not think trans girls should participate in traditional girls sports. I'm concerned about the fairness and safety of the competition. Genetic males have a significant natural advantage in many sports, especially regarding strength, over genetic females, so let's restrict traditional athletic competitions to genetically same genders. But I want trans people to have opportunities to participate in sports, which are a wonderful source of character and social development and fun, so I propose out of respect for the humanity and dignity of trans people that separate competitions be established just for them. No need to worry about Holloway returning as mayor of Ocean Springs or having to deport him back to Biloxi! Bobby Cox is young, very personable, and very open minded. He will crush Holloway in the election. Holloway has tried to advance his real estate career instead of governing. He seems to like 'secret meetings' and passing legislation without the input of constituents involved. He has been a real disappointment to the voters of Ocean Springs. The recent sound offs trying to attack President Trump are so very childish. It burns you to see a leader actually lead, not hide for 4 years. I have voted as a Democrat for many years but this time, I just couldn't vote for the candidate they put forward and I voted for Donald Trump. I was hesitant. After watching President Trump last night and seeing the disgraceful behavior of the Democratic Party, absolutely refusing to honor the position or any of the many victims introduced, I have decided to continue to vote as a Republican in the future. I'm afraid the Democrats have lost their way. Wednesday morning, a friend told us that Fishbone Alley stunk. I said it probably did after Tuesday. Who is responsible for the clean up of Fishbone Alley: The adjoining cafe and bar owners, or the city? It needs cleaning on a more regular basis. Did you vote for 70,000 Veterans Affairs employees being fired? Did you vote for all checks and balances being removed? Did you vote for the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau being shredded? I would hope not. Over 90 countries provided assistance to the United States after 9-11. None of them asked for a refund or for the USA's natural resources in payment. It is now clear that Donald Trump made a little boo-boo on the campaign trail and what he meant to say is that prices on all consumer goods will rise, and it's going to happen 'very quickly.' Now he informs us that we won't mind a 'little pain.' Any of you Trump voters recognize yet that you made a little boo-boo at the voting booth? Send your Sound Offs to soundoff@
The Guardian
04-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
First Trump threatened to nuke hurricanes. Now he's waging war on weather forecasters
Some politicians go whichever way the wind blows. Not, however, the US's esteemed leader, Donald Trump. He is such a force of nature that he can dictate the direction of the wind. During his first term, he suggested 'nuking hurricanes' to stop them from hitting the country. A few weeks after that, Trump seemed to think he could alter the course of Hurricane Dorian with a black marker, scribbling over an official map to change its anticipated trajectory in an incident now known as Sharpiegate. Weirdly, Dorian did not end up following Trump's orders. Hurricanes can be uncooperative like that. Six weeks into Trump's second term, the president hasn't bombed any hurricanes, but he has nuked the US's weather-forecasting capabilities. Last week, hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US's pre-eminent climate research agency, were abruptly fired. Experts and lawmakers have warned that the ramifications could be wide-ranging and deadly. 'Ships will not be able to safely navigate through our waterways. Farmers will not have the data they need to manage their crops,' Maria Cantwell, a Democratic senator from Washington, said in a statement. 'This action is a direct hit to our economy, because Noaa's specialised workforce provides products and services that support more than a third of the nation's GDP.' Doesn't sound ideal, does it? I know this is a bit like asking why water is wet, but why is the Trump-Musk administration being so reckless? Why are they waging war on the weather? Partly because someone stands to get rich from of all this, one imagines. The Noaa cuts may be shocking, but they weren't surprising. Republicans have long been pushing to limit the government's role in weather forecasting in order to privatise large sections of it. This plan was clearly laid out in Project 2025, a blueprint for the Trump administration, which recommended that the National Weather Service, run by Noaa, should 'fully commercialize its forecasting operations' and focus on providing data to private companies. There is always money to be made from dismantling government services. Elon Musk's businesses have received at least $38bn (£30bn) in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, according to a Washington Post analysis. It certainly wouldn't be shocking if Musk's vast Starlink satellite network – which Dutch meteorologists once warned was interfering with satellite measurements that are indispensable for accurate weather forecasts – suddenly got some lucrative weather-related government contracts. Privatisation of a public good isn't all bad news, though: we can probably expect exciting innovation. Subscription-based disaster services, perhaps. For just $9.99 a month, you can access exclusive information about whether a hurricane or wildfire is heading to your neighbourhood! Opt for the $999 a month plan and get private firefighters dispatched to your door while the poor watch their homes burn! Of course, Trump's war on the weather isn't just about money; it's also about science denialism. Project 2025 claims that Noaa should be dismantled because it is 'one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry'. If we get rid of data about the climate crisis, then it's bound to go away, isn't it? Remember when Trump advocated a similar approach to Covid? He said: 'If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases, if any.' Hard to argue with toddler logic. Ultimately, however, the attacks on Noaa show that even the weather has been swept up in the culture wars. It used to be a safe topic, something you could chat about with strangers. Now, simply providing context to weather reports can get people very heated indeed. For example, during the summer 2022 heatwave in the UK, when temperatures reached record highs of 40.3C, weather forecasters such as Laura Tobin found themselves getting harassed for linking the heatwave to the climate crisis. This abuse is part of a trend. Meteorologists around the world have been subjected to increasing harassment. This is partly, I suspect, because, deep down, even the science deniers are fearful. There is an apt tweet about the climate crisis that pops up a lot: 'Climate change will manifest as a series of disasters viewed through phones with footage that gets closer and closer to where you live until you're the one filming it.' What used to seem abstract and remote is now steadily encroaching on all our lives – even those of people living in places once considered climate havens. Trump can declare war on the weather all he likes, but it's become alarmingly clear that this is a war that no one will win. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hundreds of firings at key US climate agency: lawmaker
Hundreds of scientists and experts have been fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a leading US agency responsible for weather forecasting, climate analysis, marine conservation and more, a Democratic lawmaker said Thursday. The cuts come as Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency enacts sweeping reductions to the federal workforce -- moves that critics argue may exceed legal authority. NOAA has been a prime target for conservative ideologues behind Project 2025, a blueprint for governing which President Donald Trump's new administration appears to be following. The plan, developed by the Heritage Foundation, describes NOAA as one of the "main drivers of the climate change alarm industry" and calls for dismantling the agency. It also seeks to privatize the National Weather Service, leaving weather forecasting in the hands of companies like AccuWeather. "Hundreds of scientists and experts at NOAA just received the news every federal worker has been dreading," Congressman Jared Huffman of California wrote in a statement. "Musk's sham mission is bringing vital programs to a screeching halt. People nationwide depend on NOAA for free, accurate forecasts, severe weather alerts, and emergency information," added Huffman, who is the second most powerful member of the House Natural Resources Committee. "Purging the government of scientists, experts, and career civil servants and slashing fundamental programs will cost lives." Environmental advocates echoed those concerns. "Trump's mass firings at NOAA are an act of sabotage aimed at one of our most important federal agencies," said Miyoko Sakashita, the Center for Biological Diversity's oceans director. She added that gutting the agency "will hamstring essential lifesaving programs that forecast storms, ensure ocean safety, and prevent the extinction of whales and sea otters." Meanwhile, Trump has reappointed meteorologist Neil Jacobs to lead NOAA, despite his role in the Sharpiegate scandal during Trump's first term. Jacobs, who led the agency from 2018 to 2021, was officially censured for bowing to political pressure and misleading the public about a hurricane forecast. The controversy erupted in 2019 when Trump falsely claimed Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama. After the National Weather Service corrected him, Trump doubled down, displaying a doctored forecast map altered with a Sharpie. NOAA later issued an unsigned statement backing Trump, sparking backlash. Official investigations castigated Jacobs for his involvement in the statement. ia/st
