National Weather Service Hiring While Fake Science is Being Pushed

National Weather Service Hiring While Fake Science is Being Pushed

Recent reports highlight significant disruptions and policy shifts across several key federal agencies, including the National Weather Service (NWS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the current Trump administration. These changes, characterized by deep federal cuts, staffing reductions, and attempts to alter climate science narratives, have raised serious concerns about public safety, environmental protection, and the integrity of scientific information. While some efforts are underway to restore staffing, the long-term implications of these policies are a major concern.

  1. Severe Staffing Cuts and Under-resourcing in Critical Public Safety Agencies:
  • National Weather Service (NWS): The NWS experienced "sweeping cuts" earlier this year, losing "more than 500 people" due to the Trump administration's efforts to reshape the federal workforce. This resulted in a total of "more than 550 people" fewer staff since the administration began.
  • The Bay Area NWS office in Monterey, for instance, lost a meteorologist, an administrative support assistant, and a facilities technician. The Fremont-based Center Weather Service Unit in Oakland was left with a "single full-time meteorologist" after a forecaster retired, operating with two prior vacant positions.
  • These cuts led to NWS offices being "no longer able to operate overnight" and some curtailing "daily launches of weather balloons that send back critical data to power forecasts and forecast models."
  • Current employees are working "additional hours with additional responsibilities" to maintain 24/7 operations, facing "pretty daunting" stress, especially for those like the "lone wolf" meteorologist in the Bay Area.
  • There is now a plan to hire "hundreds of new employees," with 450 "critical positions" identified, potentially filling up to 770 empty positions. The NWS has been granted direct hiring authority and meteorologists are now classified as "necessary for public safety," exempting them from future hiring freezes. However, the process of filling these roles typically "takes months."
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): FEMA has "lost thousands of staff to layoffs, retirements and resignations since Trump took office." This understaffing was acutely felt after the Texas floods in July 2025.
  • Most calls to the federal aid hotline in the week after the Texas floods "went unanswered" because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "let funding lapse" for call center staffing agreements.
  • Internal FEMA logs show that from July 6-10, FEMA answered only "just over 15,000 of the approximately 55,000 calls" from disaster survivors. On July 7th, only "10% of the more than 15,000 calls" were answered.
  • The funding lapse was attributed to an "administrative bottleneck created by the Trump administration," where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "personally signs off on all funding requests for more than $100,000," a change from previous administrations.
  1. Systematic Undermining of Climate Science and Environmental Protections:
  • Altering Climate Reports and Data: The Trump administration is actively seeking to "update" the US's premier climate crisis reports, known as National Climate Assessment (NCA) reports.

Episoder(208)

Deadlines Loom for FEMA Hurricane Disaster Assistance, Unemployment, and Appeals

Deadlines Loom for FEMA Hurricane Disaster Assistance, Unemployment, and Appeals

Meteorology Matters provides details onthe Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) aid available to Florida residents affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. We explain how to apply for FEMA assistance and appeal denials, highlighting challenges faced by applicants. We also focus on DUA application procedures, deadlines, and eligibility requirements for individuals whose employment was impacted by the hurricanes. We go over supplemental information on DUA, including eligibility criteria, application methods, and appeal processes, emphasizing the importance of meeting deadlines and providing necessary documentation. We aim to inform and guide individuals seeking aid after the hurricanes before time runs out!

25 Nov 202416min

What a Second Trump Term Means for Science

What a Second Trump Term Means for Science

People express concern over the potential impact of a second Trump presidency on US science policy. They highlight anxieties regarding potential budget cuts to scientific research, increased focus on research security potentially hindering international collaboration, and a diminished respect for scientific consensus in policy decisions, particularly concerning climate change and public health. The appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a key position is cited as a cause for alarm due to his controversial views on public health. Finally, there are discussions of proactive strategies for the scientific community to engage with the new administration and advocate for continued funding and the preservation of independent scientific agencies.

25 Nov 202416min

Climate Change Supercharged Hurricane Season 2024

Climate Change Supercharged Hurricane Season 2024

Meteorology Matters looks at how Climate change significantly intensified the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. Multiple reports, including one from Climate Central and a peer-reviewed study in Environmental Research: Climate, confirm that human-caused ocean warming increased the wind speeds of all eleven hurricanes. This resulted in seven hurricanes being upgraded to higher Saffir-Simpson categories and two tropical storms becoming hurricanes. The increased intensity led to substantial damage and economic losses, with climate change attributed to a significant portion of the damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. A separate analysis by a hurricane expert highlights the unusually active 2024 season, noting record-breaking ocean temperatures and the occurrence of three simultaneous hurricanes in October.

23 Nov 202418min

November Florida Hurricanes & Potential Sara

November Florida Hurricanes & Potential Sara

A potential tropical storm, dubbed Invest 99L, is forming in the Caribbean and has a high chance of developing into Tropical Storm Sara within the next few days.Multiple weather models are forecasting Sara to potentially become a hurricane and threaten Florida's Gulf Coast next week, although the track and intensity of the storm remain uncertain. MeteorologyMatters discusses the rarity of November hurricanes, with only three recorded landfalls in the US since 1850, but warn that warm water temperatures in the Atlantic basin are fueling an unusually active hurricane season.

13 Nov 202417min

Abortion and LGBTQ Community Cause Hurricanes?

Abortion and LGBTQ Community Cause Hurricanes?

Meteorology Matters addresses Tucker Carlson’s bizarre assertion that abortions cause hurricanes, dismissing scientific explanations for their increased frequency and intensity, and instead linking them to a supposed “human sacrifice.” We examine these claims through a scientific lens, presenting evidence that contradicts their religious justifications and highlights their potential harm in influencing public opinion on scientific and social issues. We look back at televangelist Pat Robertson’s claims over the years that he can control the weather and that God is punishing the U.S. for its increasing acceptance of homosexuality, specifically targeting Disney World and abortion supporters.

12 Nov 202420min

Biden Protecting Climate Protections from Donald Trump

Biden Protecting Climate Protections from Donald Trump

Meteorology Matters looks at the potential impact of Donald Trump’s return to the presidency on science and environmental policy. Currently, the Biden administration is trying to solidify its environmental policies, such as those regarding greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle electrification, before Trump takes office. We examine the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s potential return to power and how it might influence scientific research, particularly concerning climate change, vaccine skepticism, and the role of government funding in science. There’s the potential for conflict between Trump’s agenda and the goals of the scientific community.

11 Nov 20248min

Climate Policy: Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump

Climate Policy: Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump

Meteorology Matters compares and contrasts the climate change policies of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. We explore their records on climate change, examining their stances on issues such as the Paris Agreement, renewable energy investment, electric vehicles, and fossil fuel projects. We look at the broader implications of their positions for the future of U.S. climate policy, highlighting their contrasting views on the urgency of climate action and their approaches to clean energy transitions. The candidates' foreign policy platforms, including their views on the war in the Middle East, the NATO alliance, climate change, trade with China, aid for Ukraine, and immigration. Delving into the potential impact of a Harris or Trump administration on climate and energy policy, we analyze the challenges and constraints they will face in implementing their agendas.

5 Nov 202423min

National Hurricane Center Monitoring Possible Development for November Tropical Systems

National Hurricane Center Monitoring Possible Development for November Tropical Systems

Meteorology Matters discusses the possibility of tropical development in the Atlantic basin during the final month of hurricane season. We look at three specific areas of interest: the southwestern Caribbean Sea, the northeastern Caribbean Sea and Greater Antilles, and the North Atlantic. We also emphasize the importance of monitoring these systems as their development and movement could potentially bring heavy rainfall and flooding to various regions.

2 Nov 202418min

Populært innen Vitenskap

fastlegen
tingenes-tilstand
rekommandert
jss
sinnsyn
villmarksliv
rss-rekommandert
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
rss-nysgjerrige-norge
forskningno
rss-paradigmepodden
fremtid-pa-frys
dekodet-2
fjellsportpodden
abels-tarn
doktor-fives-podcast
diagnose
rss-overskuddsliv
vett-og-vitenskap-med-gaute-einevoll
pod-britannia