Latest news with #TimGallaudet
E&E News
3 days ago
- Climate
- E&E News
Red tape, staff cuts threaten NOAA operations
Staff shortages and new layers of bureaucracy are suffocating NOAA and threatening its ability to accurately predict extreme weather events, ensure U.S. ports stay open and safeguard the nation's commercial and recreational fisheries, say current and former agency officials. The coil around NOAA squeezes in two ways, they say. The first is personnel. More than 1,000 NOAA employees have left the agency since the start of the Trump administration, and the empty desks have led to staffing issues in key weather service offices — just as hurricane season approaches. For example, NOAA's Global Forecast System — which governments and industries worldwide rely upon — has 'measurably declined' in recent weeks because staff cuts have meant fewer weather balloon launches, said Tim Gallaudet, who served as acting NOAA administrator in the first Trump administration. Advertisement 'You're talking about a degradation and a measurable impact already,' Gallaudet said. 'It's not sustainable at all.'
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal NOAA cuts hit local Washington offices
The first round of firings started Thursday at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a government agency that monitors and predicts weather, climate, oceans, and coasts. According to the Associated Press, NOAA's 301 billion weather forecasts each year reach 96% of American households. The firings are 'going to affect safety of flight, safety of shipping, safety of everyday Americans,' Admiral Tim Gallaudet told The Associated Press Friday. President Donald Trump appointed Gallaudet as acting NOAA chief during his last administration. 'Lives are at risk for sure.' Washington Senator Patty Murray's office said that they are aware of at least 650 NOAA employees on their 'probationary' periods (meaning either recently promoted or hired) being fired at this point. The office said they are not aware of how many employees are in this position in Washington state, but said they are trying to get more information from agencies. KIRO 7 News took critics' concerns about the dismissals to the leader of Washington's Republican party. 'The National Weather Service and NOAA do valuable work, but I'm not sure that they are properly staffed and properly resourced in a way to deliver the information they deliver in the most efficient and cost-effective way,' said Washington's Republican Chairmen Rep. Jim Walsh. The layoffs come as The Hill reports that the Interior Department has halted employee spending and travel, impacting departments like the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS is a key partner of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, which monitors seismic risk and eruptions in our region. 'If that continues over some time, that's going to start to really degrade how our network operates,' said Harold Tobin, Director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. 'All of these hundreds of stations we have on mountaintops and everywhere else need maintenance all the time.' Those stations provide Washingtonians with early warnings of disasters. 'Everybody's got questions right now and as you've seen, what's happening at the federal level seems to be changing from day to day,' Tobin said. Walsh said cutting excess spending is what the American people elected President Trump to do, and he disagreed with critics' claims that essential services were being cut. 'The U.S. Geological Survey isn't going away, and the Interior Department scientific research isn't ending,' Walsh said. 'You have scientists with USGS saying, 'We can't get out there and do our research because we only have $1 on our procurement cards,'' inquired KIRO 7′s Madeline Ottilie. 'Can you really not call those essential?' 'Yes,' Walsh said. 'You cannot call those essential. Be careful of falling victim to political, partisan framing.'
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Firings at US weather and oceans agency risk lives and economy, former agency heads warn
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal weather and oceans agency touches people's daily lives in unnoticed ways, so massive firings there will likely cause needless deaths and a big hit to America's economy, according to the people who ran it. The first round of firings started Thursday at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a government agency that monitors the oceans, the atmosphere where storms roam and space, and puts out hundreds of 'products' daily. Those products generally save lives and money, experts say. NOAA's 301 billion weather forecasts every year reach 96% of American households. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The firings are 'going to affect safety of flight, safety of shipping, safety of everyday Americans,' Admiral Tim Gallaudet told The Associated Press Friday. President Donald Trump appointed Gallaudet as acting NOAA chief during his last administration. 'Lives are at risk for sure.' Former NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad agreed. 'We're getting into prime tornado time. We're getting into planting season for the agricultural season for the bread belt," Spinrad said. "It's going to affect safety. It's going to affect the economy.' That's because 'NOAA sort of gets forgotten, until it's very important,' said private meteorologist Ryan Maue, a conservative and a NOAA chief scientist under Trump. 'This throws sand in the gears' of an agency that is understaffed but doing 'a Herculean job,' Maue said. Elon Musk has repeatedly defended federal workforce cuts by his Department of Government Efficiency as 'common sense.' 'The people voted for major government reform, and that's what the people are going to get,' Musk said from the Oval Office this month. 'That's what democracy is all about.' What does NOAA do? The agency creates daily weather forecasts from 122 local offices, issuing warnings for deadly tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, wildfires and floods. Disaster and local officials use those to advise the public on how to avoid danger. Farmers use seasonal outlooks for crop advice. Pilots use aviation forecasts. Forecasts from private weather apps on phones, on television and elsewhere are based on NOAA satellites, data and forecasts. 'That's an amazing undertaking to monitor that. You can't count on TV meteorologists to fill this gap and you can't count on private meteorology," Maue said. "You can't count on your weather app to call you up and alert you'' to tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and floods in your area. What is the potential impact of the dismissals? In the west, dozens of NOAA meteorologists provide firefighting crews with up-to-the-minute forecasts on wind and other shifting conditions that affect fires and could mean life or death, said Elbert 'Joe' Friday, a former director of NOAA's National Weather Service. They also are key in avalanche warnings. In the water, ships use the agency's weather forecasts and mapping of water channels for safety, while NOAA manages fisheries worth hundreds of billions of dollars and stunning ocean sanctuaries. Gallaudet, who was a Navy rear admiral, said NOAA guidance on weather and shipping channels will be so hurt by the firings that America could see more accidents like when a massive container ship ran into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024. It was NOAA's quick work that enabled the reopening of Baltimore's economically critical port after a only a couple months, Spinrad said. In Alaska, the city of Nome wants to create a deep water port, but it needs NOAA to do a channel survey first, he said. NOAA provides the science expertise in the response to major oil spills in coastal areas, including 2010's BP Deepwater Horizon, Spinrad said. In space, NOAA forecasts help prevent satellites — including those belonging to Musk's SpaceX — from colliding. The agency also watches for solar flares that can knock out parts of the electrical grid and hurt air traffic communications, officials said. NOAA owns or operates 18 satellites in orbit. 'Three years ago, SpaceX lost 40 satellites due to their ignorance of space weather implications and upper atmosphere density impacts. They immediately came to NOAA and said, 'hey, help us out'," Spinrad said, calling it 'an object lesson there for Elon Musk himself' on the agency's value. The National Weather Service is worth $102 billion a year to the U.S. economy, according to a 2022 study by the American Meteorological Society and economist Jeffrey Lazo. Before the current Trump administration, NOAA had a $6.7 billion budget, including nearly $1.4 billion for the National Weather Service, one of six sub-agencies. How many NOAA workers were dismissed? NOAA officials would not reveal how many people were fired Thursday or are being let go, citing privacy. Current and past NOAA leaders and employees have given various estimates on job cuts, ranging from 580 to 1,200. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said the latest figure he has is 650 terminations. Jane Lubchenco, another former NOAA chief, said the firings "are a national disaster and a colossal waste of money." These are not high-paying jobs, but it's work being done by people who love it, so cutting NOAA is like going after coins in the couch, Maue said. 'These are people who just live and breathe this work. These are the kind of people who come in on a day off because there's a big weather event and they want to help out,' said Holy Cross University environmental sciences professor Keith Seitter, the former director of the American Meteorological Society. 'People don't go into meteorology because they want to get rich.' Seitter said there will 'be things that fall through the cracks where they shouldn't,' because of the dismissals, warning 'those things lead to situations that could be deadly'' Gallaudet, appointed by Trump, called the cuts 'self-defeating,' saying 'I could personally never work for Trump again. I did support some of the conservative policies. I still do, but he personally as a leader, he's despicable.' ___ Becky Bohrer contributed from Juneau, Alaska, and Brittany Peterson contributed from Denver. ___ Follow Seth Borenstein on X at @borenbears ___ Read more of AP's climate coverage at ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
28-02-2025
- Climate
- Associated Press
Firings at US weather and oceans agency risk lives and economy, former agency heads warn
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal weather and oceans agency touches people's daily lives in unnoticed ways, so massive firings there will likely cause needless deaths and a big hit to America's economy, according to the people who ran it. The first round of firings started Thursday at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a government agency that monitors the oceans, the atmosphere where storms roam and space, and puts out hundreds of 'products' daily. Those products generally save lives and money, experts say. NOAA's 301 billion weather forecasts every year reach 96% of American households. The firings are 'going to affect safety of flight, safety of shipping, safety of everyday Americans,' Admiral Tim Gallaudet told The Associated Press Friday. President Donald Trump appointed Gallaudet as acting NOAA chief during his last administration. 'Lives are at risk for sure.' Former NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad agreed. 'We're getting into prime tornado time. We're getting into planting season for the agricultural season for the bread belt,' Spinrad said. 'It's going to affect safety. It's going to affect the economy.' That's because 'NOAA sort of gets forgotten, until it's very important,' said private meteorologist Ryan Maue, a conservative and a NOAA chief scientist under Trump. 'This throws sand in the gears' of an agency that is understaffed but doing 'a Herculean job,' Maue said. Elon Musk has repeatedly defended federal workforce cuts by his Department of Government Efficiency as 'common sense.' 'The people voted for major government reform, and that's what the people are going to get,' Musk said from the Oval Office this month. 'That's what democracy is all about.' What does NOAA do? The agency creates daily weather forecasts from 122 local offices, issuing warnings for deadly tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, wildfires and floods. Disaster and local officials use those to advise the public on how to avoid danger. Farmers use seasonal outlooks for crop advice. Pilots use aviation forecasts. Forecasts from private weather apps on phones, on television and elsewhere are based on NOAA satellites, data and forecasts. 'That's an amazing undertaking to monitor that. You can't count on TV meteorologists to fill this gap and you can't count on private meteorology,' Maue said. 'You can't count on your weather app to call you up and alert you'' to tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and floods in your area. What is the potential impact of the dismissals? In the west, dozens of NOAA meteorologists provide firefighting crews with up-to-the-minute forecasts on wind and other shifting conditions that affect fires and could mean life or death, said Elbert 'Joe' Friday, a former director of NOAA's National Weather Service. They also are key in avalanche warnings. In the water, ships use the agency's weather forecasts and mapping of water channels for safety, while NOAA manages fisheries worth hundreds of billions of dollars and stunning ocean sanctuaries. Gallaudet, who was a Navy rear admiral, said NOAA guidance on weather and shipping channels will be so hurt by the firings that America could see more accidents like when a massive container ship ran into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024. It was NOAA's quick work that enabled the reopening of Baltimore's economically critical port after a only a couple months, Spinrad said. In Alaska, the city of Nome wants to create a deep water port, but it needs NOAA to do a channel survey first, he said. NOAA provides the science expertise in the response to major oil spills in coastal areas, including 2010's BP Deepwater Horizon, Spinrad said. In space, NOAA forecasts help prevent satellites — including those belonging to Musk's SpaceX — from colliding. The agency also watches for solar flares that can knock out parts of the electrical grid and hurt air traffic communications, officials said. NOAA owns or operates 18 satellites in orbit. 'Three years ago, SpaceX lost 40 satellites due to their ignorance of space weather implications and upper atmosphere density impacts. They immediately came to NOAA and said, 'hey, help us out',' Spinrad said, calling it 'an object lesson there for Elon Musk himself' on the agency's value. The National Weather Service is worth $102 billion a year to the U.S. economy, according to a 2022 study by the American Meteorological Society and economist Jeffrey Lazo. Before the current Trump administration, NOAA had a $6.7 billion budget, including nearly $1.4 billion for the National Weather Service, one of six sub-agencies. How many NOAA workers were dismissed? NOAA officials would not reveal how many people were fired Thursday or are being let go, citing privacy. Current and past NOAA leaders and employees have given various estimates on job cuts, ranging from 580 to 1,200. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said the latest figure he has is 650 terminations. Jane Lubchenco, another former NOAA chief, said the firings 'are a national disaster and a colossal waste of money.' These are not high-paying jobs, but it's work being done by people who love it, so cutting NOAA is like going after coins in the couch, Maue said. 'These are people who just live and breathe this work. These are the kind of people who come in on a day off because there's a big weather event and they want to help out,' said Holy Cross University environmental sciences professor Keith Seitter, the former director of the American Meteorological Society. 'People don't go into meteorology because they want to get rich.' Seitter said there will 'be things that fall through the cracks where they shouldn't,' because of the dismissals, warning 'those things lead to situations that could be deadly'' Gallaudet, appointed by Trump, called the cuts 'self-defeating,' saying 'I could personally never work for Trump again. I did support some of the conservative policies. I still do, but he personally as a leader, he's despicable.' ___ Becky Bohrer contributed from Juneau, Alaska, and Brittany Peterson contributed from Denver. ___ ___ ___
