A week after UCLA and UC ANR climate scientist Daniel Swain warned about the dangers of gutting the National Weather Service and the science it produces (statement here), Swain will discuss the importance of science in support of the nationwide Stand Up For Science rallies. In the on-the-record live briefing, timed to coincide with the marches, he'll address the vital role of climate science and weather science in daily life:
YouTube Office Hours with Daniel Swain
Friday, Mar. 7, 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET
The conversation will include "how weather and climate science function in the United States and globally, and how recent and further expected changes at the federal level in the U.S. are profoundly disrupting them," along with ideas, strategies, and opportunities for weather, climate and wildfire students and recently-fired federal employees.
Last week, Swain spoke up against the mass firings at NOAA and NWS and released a statement in a live briefing on YouTube and social media threads:
"The mass firing of both new hires and recently promoted senior staff within #NOAA, including mission-critical and life-saving roles at the National Weather Service (#NWS), is profoundly alarming. … The private sector, as it presently exists, simply cannot quickly spin up to fill any void left by substantial dismantling of NOAA and/or the NWS … In fact, though this is not widely known, most or all private weather companies in U.S. (including forecasts that you see on TV or your favorite app) are built directly atop backbone of taxpayer-funded instrumentation, data, predictive modeling, & forecasts provided by NOAA. … there will be people who die in extreme weather events & related disasters who would not have otherwise. The now-confirmed and rumored additional cuts to come at NOAA/NWS are spectacularly short-sighted, and ultimately will deal a major self-inflicted wound to the public safety of Americans and the resiliency of the American economy to weather and climate-related disasters."
