Ocean science agency chief floats removing 'climate' from mission statement, new focus on trade defi
Source: Washington Post
Ocean science agency chief floats removing ‘climate’ from mission statement, new focus on trade deficit
By Chris Mooney and Jason Samenow June 25 at 10:48 AM Email the author
christopher.mooney@washpost.com; jason.samenow@washpost.com
A recent presentation by the acting head of the United States’ top weather and oceans agency suggested removing the study of “climate” from its official mission statement, focusing the agency’s work instead on economic goals and “homeland and national security.”
Critics say this would upend the mission of the $5.9 billion National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But the administration disputes that interpretation, saying the presentation did not intend to create a change of direction at a vast agency that tracks hurricanes and atmospheric carbon dioxide, operates weather satellites, manages marine reserves and protects endangered ocean species, among other functions.
NOAA’s mission, the agency currently says, (1) is “to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.”
But in a presentation at a Department of Commerce “Vision Setting Summit” earlier this month, Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet, the agency’s acting administrator, suggested a change to that mission statement, as well as a new emphasis on tripling the size of the U.S. aquaculture industry within a decade and moving to “reduce the seafood trade deficit.”
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Chris Mooney covers climate change, energy, and the environment. He has reported from the 2015 Paris climate negotiations, the Northwest Passage, and the Greenland ice sheet, among other locations, and has written four books about science, politics and climate change. Follow @chriscmooney
https://twitter.com/chriscmooney
Jason Samenow is The Washington Post’s weather editor and Capital Weather Gang's chief meteorologist. He earned a master's degree in atmospheric science and spent 10 years as a climate change science analyst for the U.S. government. He holds the Digital Seal of Approval from the National Weather Association. Follow @capitalweather
https://twitter.com/capitalweather
(1) http://www.noaa.gov/about-our-agency
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/06/25/ocean-science-agency-chief-suggests-removing-climate-from-mission-statement-adding-focus-on-trade-deficit/
David Fahrenthold Retweeted
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Ocean science agency chief suggests removing ‘climate’ from mission statement, adding focus on trade deficit
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You stop oil drilling where we catch/farm seafood, maybe, then just maybe? 
How quickly they forget this -
or this -
was what happened to the Chesapeake Bay. I grew up with my mom (born in 1930) who used to talk about how there were "oyster houses" everywhere here in Philly. They were as ubiquitous as any fast food chain today. Eventually the oyster industry there in the Bay area (MD, DE, VA) all but collapsed due to environmental factors and over-harvesting and for us kids, they became an almost "specialty" food, very expensive fresh and somewhat expensive canned or jarred, especially since you'd only get tiny ones. Clams and crabs became "the thing" at that point.
The industry is now slowly making a comeback in the Chesapeake Bay area, but I can imagine how letting this administration have its way could lead to all that work in cleaning up the bay and breeding more tolerant varieties of oysters, being all for naught.
and the water temp increases there are only going to amplify the intensity of hurricanes that form or move through there. It will be difficult to battle Mother Nature, Father Time, and the GOP all at once.
NOAA = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
It studies the skies and the oceans
Mission Statement - Science, Service and Stewardship. 1. To understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts: 2. To share that knowledge with others; and 3. To conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.
NOAA’s Vision of the Future: 1. Resilient ecosystems, Communities, and Economies; and 2. Healthy ecosystems, communities and economies that are resilient in the face of change.
The Trump administration is like Ray Bradbury’s firemen in Fahrenheit 451. Their mission statement would be “to start fires and burn all things that threaten government sanctioned groupthink”.
For them, there is the only metric that matters: "Is it profitable?"
Their actions are governed by the 286 Rules of Acquisition. Here are some excerpts:
1. Once you have their money, never give it back
6. Never let family stand in the way of opportunity
26. The vast majority of the rich in this galaxy did not inherit their wealth; they stole it
27. The most beautiful thing about a tree is what you do with it after you cut it down
28. Morality is always defined by those in power
29. When someone says "It's not the money," they're lying
34. War is good for business
35. Peace is good for business
46. Labor camps are full of people who trusted the wrong person
125. A lie isn't a lie until someone else knows the truth
126. A lie isn't a lie, it's just the truth seen from a different point of view
144. There's nothing wrong with charity ... as long as it winds up in your pocket
165. Never allow one's culture's law to get in the way of a universal goal: profit
178. The world is a stage - don't forget to demand admission
209. Tell them what they want to hear
239. Ambition knows no family
261. A wealthy man can afford everything except a conscience
283. Rules are always subject to change
284. Rules are always subject to interpretation
285. No good deed ever goes unpunished
286. When Morn leaves it is all over
