Page 8: of Marine Technology Magazine (March 2025)

OPINION LEADING OFF

SAVE A NICKEL, KILL A THOUSAND:

THE PENNIES-WISE, LIVES-

FOOLISH EFFORT TO

ELIMINATE NOAA

By Rick Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA Administrator from 2021-2025 know how to reduce the federal budget by $7B, if we are hoods, and property isn’t hyperbolic. In fact, just look back to willing to kill a few thousand Americans every year, put where we were before we had the bene? t of many decades of our economy further into debt, and guarantee the loss investment in what NOAA does for America … at a cost, oh of real property around the country. It can also be done by the way, of 6¢ per American per day.

I without eliminating many services currently provided by Before modern NOAA existed (established, incidentally by the federal government, except you’ll just have to pay hefty President Richard Nixon in 1970), an unforecasted hurricane user fees (assuming you’re actually allowed access) to a pri- hit Galveston in 1900 destroying the city and killing about vate company to get those services. And this all assumes that 8,000 people. A devastating geomagnetic storm in 1989 (be- someone is also willing to absorb the capital expenses associ- fore NOAA developed its current capacity for space weath- ated with operating their own air force, navy, and space force. er) wiped out large portions of North America’s electrical

The way you do this is by defunding the National Oceanic and grid, shutting down the Toronto stock exchange, causing

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), or just simply invok- widespread communications blackouts, and impacting mili- ing a reduction in force by removing personnel and incapaci- tary operations around the world, because there was insuf- tating the agency. ? cient warning to prepare for impacts. The great droughts of

With the threat of eliminating NOAA, or even just splitting the 1930s in the mid-west were mostly unpredicted, and left up its parts, or arbitrarily ? ring employees, and conducting millions of Americans destitute and starving, and millions what amounts to a ? re sale, that is the outcome we will see. of acres of farmland lost. NOAA now protects people and “Will”, not “might”. The predicted impact to lives, liveli- property from these (and countless other) disastrous weath- 8 March/April 2025

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