Add Nat'l Weather Svc and NOAA to crumbling infrastructure list (1 Viewer)

[Christo]

I was listening to a woman on the radio this morning (so no link to what i heard) talking about the sorry state of the NWS and NOAA systems.

Apparently the U.S. has only 2 satellites to help us predict the weather. Both are out of date and 1 of them was a friggin' demo model that was never meant to be put into actual service. Either could go down at any moment. And one did for a while a few years ago.

She talked about our back-up plan if the satellites do fail. One of our options is to get the data from the Chinese military! She says our system has been easily hacked in the past because of its age. One of the bigger problems with this is that the NWS/NOAA system is linked to both NASA's system and the DoD's system.

The other NWS/NOAA systems are just a decrepit. She said lives were lost in Hurricane Sandy because of the aging system. And the system regularly malfunctions and gives watches and warnings for storms that do not exist.

We have one--one!--expert on tidal problems for inland waterways.

NOAA and NASA have programs in place to upgrade the system but Congress won't budget for it.

Another issue she talked about was the fact we have the technology to give earlier warnings for earthquakes but haven't implemented if because of the cost.

Here's a link that discusses the issues. It predicts we will have a gap in the system by 2017.

 

[Johnny Rock]

It's unconscionable that pork is so often included in spending bills but critical infrastructure gets passed over. Dumb.

 

[Jack White]

Simple solution: take .00000001 percent of the money spent (wasted) by the Pentagon, CIA, FBI, NSA, and all the cabinet departments and put up a shiny new weather satellite.

 

[The General]

This seems like a no brainer. Just needs to get more attention. Old people, who we are always told vote, love the Weather Channel. It's like HBO for my parents. Threaten that and this thing gets bipartisan support.

 

[joffer]

Simple solution: take .00000001 percent of the money spent (wasted) by the Pentagon, CIA, FBI, NSA, and all the cabinet departments and put up a shiny new weather satellite.

we can launch a satellite for $70?

 

[The General]

Simple solution: take .00000001 percent of the money spent (wasted) by the Pentagon, CIA, FBI, NSA, and all the cabinet departments and put up a shiny new weather satellite.

we can launch a satellite for $70?

His math may be a bit off, but this would be pennies compared to the defense budget.

Weather prediction is important for many, many things. It is really stupid not to invest in this.

 

[McGarnicle]

Think of how exhilarating it would be to have no access to a weather forecast. Is it going to rain tomorrow??? Nobody knows!!!

 

[TheAristocrat]

If we can't forecast the weather, then we won't have news segments where the hot woman with really nice bazongas rambles on about who knows what.

 

[Jack White]

Hypothetical: the government gets out of the weather business.

You think that would be the end of weather forecasts?

 

[urbanhack]

It's unconscionable that pork is so often included in spending bills but critical infrastructure gets passed over. Dumb.

Corporate America and their profits are running this country.

 

[The General]

Hypothetical: the government gets out of the weather business.

You think that would be the end of weather forecasts?

No. This is exactly the type of thing our government should be investing in however.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Hypothetical: the government gets out of the weather business.

You think that would be the end of weather forecasts?

Nothing Embarrassed Republicans (aka "Libertarians") love more than when government creates a market then gets the hell out of the way so the deserving can skim their profit off the top.

 

[TheAristocrat]

I was listening to a woman

And now look what happened.

 

[Christo]

Hypothetical: the government gets out of the weather business.

You think that would be the end of weather forecasts?

Hypothetical: You go away and take your with you.

 

[Green and Gold]

Think of how exhilarating it would be to have no access to a weather forecast. Is it going to rain tomorrow??? Nobody knows!!!

Would be cool with me, unless I had to fly somewhere.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

weather?? really? who cares

 

[StrikeS2k]

If we can't forecast the weather, then we won't have news segments where the hot woman with really nice bazongas rambles on about who knows what.

I thought that was why Fox News existed.

 

[mr roboto]

Serious question - do large private companies have weather satellites? How does an app or website get the data for their maps? Is it all from ####ty NOAA satellites? I seriously don't know. Obviously private companies have ground based radar.

 

[Uwe Blab]

Hypothetical: the government gets out of the weather business.

You think that would be the end of weather forecasts?

Severe weather watches/warnings and flood forecasts would be extremely problematic in the private sector, Beej.

 

[Ilov80s]

It's amazing how much money we spend and yet how little we sometimes seem to get from it.

 

[Uwe Blab]

...not to mention the simple fact that over 100 weather service sites send up weather balloons 2 to 4 times a day. The data we get from that pays for the NWS alone as they form the backbone of any weather model (also government run) which goes into any private sector forecast or outlook.

The NWS is a bargain.

 

[GroveDiesel]

After reading this article at Popular Mechanics, it's pretty clear that these problems have nothing to do with lack of funding and everything to do with mismanagement by the NOAA, NASA, etc., cost overruns, and poor quality work.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/climate-change/us-weather-satellite-noaa-goa-report-2015-17640539?click=pm_news

But by all means, let's not place the blame where it belongs and just flush even more money down the drain by giving the same inept people more tax dollars.

 

[Christo]

After reading this article at Popular Mechanics, it's pretty clear that these problems have nothing to do with lack of funding and everything to do with mismanagement by the NOAA, NASA, etc., cost overruns, and poor quality work.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/climate-change/us-weather-satellite-noaa-goa-report-2015-17640539?click=pm_news

But by all means, let's not place the blame where it belongs and just flush even more money down the drain by giving the same inept people more tax dollars.

Reading that article and an earlier one it links to, it seems like it's both a mangement problem and a funding problem. The second article cites Clinton's decision to combine the NOAA's and the DoD's satellite programs to cut costs--which created the mismanagement, cost overruns and poor quality work.

Wherever the problem originated from, and whatever the specific problems are, it doesn't change the fact we have a problem.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

It's great schtick.

Starve agencies of funds -- then prove government doesn't work when agencies can't perform well and are constantly forced to make suboptimal decisions to meet the current year's budget.

 

[Johnny Rock]

After reading this article at Popular Mechanics, it's pretty clear that these problems have nothing to do with lack of funding and everything to do with mismanagement by the NOAA, NASA, etc., cost overruns, and poor quality work.http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/climate-change/us-weather-satellite-noaa-goa-report-2015-17640539?click=pm_news

But by all means, let's not place the blame where it belongs and just flush even more money down the drain by giving the same inept people more tax dollars.

Reading that article and an earlier one it links to, it seems like it's both a mangement problem and a funding problem. The second article cites Clinton's decision to combine the NOAA's and the DoD's satellite programs to cut costs--which created the mismanagement, cost overruns and poor quality work.Wherever the problem originated from, and whatever the specific problems are, it doesn't change the fact we have a problem.

Easy pickings for China and Russia to break into the DoD satellites by going through the MS-DOS NOAA satellites.

 

[JetMaxx]

Is this why the weatherman is never right?

 

[mr roboto]

Serious question - do large private companies have weather satellites? How does an app or website get the data for their maps? Is it all from ####ty NOAA satellites? I seriously don't know. Obviously private companies have ground based radar.

Anyone?