U.S. Says Climate Satellites Too Costly

United States Is Cutting Back On Efforts To Monitor Global Warming From Space

(AP)  The United States is drastically scaling back efforts to measure global warming from space, just as President George W. Bush tries to convince the world America is ready to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gases.

A confidential report to the White House, obtained by The Associated Press, warns that U.S. scientists will soon lose much of their ability to monitor warming from space using a costly and problem-plagued satellite initiative begun more than a decade ago.

Because of technology glitches and a near-doubling in the original $6.5 billion cost, the Defense Department has decided to downsize and launch four satellites paired into two orbits, instead of six satellites and three orbits.

The satellites were intended to gather weather and climate data, replacing existing satellites as they come to the end of their useful lifetimes beginning in the next couple of years.

The reduced system of four satellites will now focus on weather forecasting. Most of the climate instruments needed to collect more precise data over long periods are being eliminated.

Instead, the Pentagon and two partners — the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA — will rely on European satellites for most of the climate data.

"Unfortunately, the recent loss of climate sensors ... places the overall climate program in serious jeopardy," NOAA and NASA scientists told the White House in the Dec. 11 report obtained by the AP.

They said they will face major gaps in data that can be collected only from satellites about ice caps and sheets, surface levels of seas and lakes, sizes of glaciers, surface radiation, water vapor, snow cover and atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Rick Piltz, director of Climate Science Watch, a watchdog program of the Washington-based Government Accountability Project, called the situation a crisis.

"We're going to start being blinded in our ability to observe the planet," said Piltz, whose group provided the AP with the previously undisclosed report. "It's criminal negligence, and the leaders in the climate science community are ringing the alarm bells on this crisis."

Mr. Bush has repeatedly cited his administration's record on researching global warming as a response to criticism of his opposition to forced reductions in the greenhouse gases blamed for it. The administration has been spending about $5 billion a year on global warming: $2 billion on climate research and $3 billion on technologies for combating it.

Last week, Mr. Bush proposed the idea of the 15 largest global-warming polluters — the United States is the largest, followed closely by China — meeting to set goals for fixing the problem while leaving it up to each nation just how to do it. The problem will be a major topic at this week's summit of world leaders in Europe.

Mr. Bush requested $331 million for work on the scaled-back satellite system next year in his 2008 budget proposal. Congress has yet to act on it.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Academy of Sciences have both cautioned that downsizing the satellite program will result in major gaps in the continuity and quality of the data gathered about the Earth from space.

[toolmangler-2009]

We should be so lucky.
Posted by cozzicon at 05:35 PM : Jun 05, 2007

Nah!!!! God won't let us off that easy. We did it to ourselves.

[toolmangler-2009]

This comes under the heading "What you don't know, won't hurt you"
RRRIIIGGGHHHTTTTT!!!!!!!!

[cozzicon]

"Just because they want to poke out our eyes, that does not change the facts on the ground.

Man made climate change is real and the next generation will be the ones that suffer from its effects.

But fear not! The Rapture will come first!! LOL"
Posted by Terrapin78

We should be so lucky.

[pakaal]

AS we already know what causes global climate change (the Sun) we do need to spend our money where is is needed.
http://www.InteliOrg.com
Posted by DrColes at 12:43 PM : Jun 05, 2007

Oh, not THAT group again! Anyone who touts NASA's Tim Griffin as one of their "experts" on global warming deserves to be mocked mercilessly. Griffin's ex-CIA, and a Bush political appointee, he has no climatology expertise. He's shown himself to be of the same caliber as many other Bush appointees such as Michael "Yes, Katrina was on my watch" Brown - meaning politically loyal, and virtually no expertise in the job he was appointed to do.

Please DrColes, let's try a little harder next time to come up with something other than junk science to back up your points. Oh, sorry, I forgot, there is no science to back up your points, other than the junk kind.

[davebco]

I am a solar physicist, and was recently called on to comment on the assertion that the sun causes global warming, as I have 30 years experience in the link between solar variability and terrestrial effects (along with several thoushand other scientists worldwide). I can catagorically state that the sun does NOT cause global warming. There is virtually no data to support this claim. The http://www.InteliOrg.com site (and others) are so full of misinformation and fabrications it would be laughable, if it weren't so malicious. The tiny percentage ( 1%) of the critics of global warming are either unqualified or politically motivated (usually both). Thousands of solar-terrestrial scientists are unanimous: global warming is man-made and ominously severe.

[mountainzen]

Georgie blew all the money in Iraq looking for non-existent weapons of mass destruction.

He suggests hanging a rock from a string to predict the weather.

Who needs accurate weather reports?

Besides, those crazy satellites keep coming up with evidence of "Global Warming," so by getting rid of those pesky satellites we'll be getting rid of global warming, too! Sheer genius, Georgie!

[DrColes]

AS we already know what causes global climate change (the Sun) we do need to spend our money where is is needed.
http://www.InteliOrg.com

[davebco]

Lets see, 14 billion for valuable climate data, 140 million taxpayers, about 10 years avg satellite lifetime... less than $1 for each taxpayer.
The cost of the war will be at least $300 per taxpayer. The cost of global warming... who knows? I would guess, as a ballpark estimate, $1000 per taxpayer. Then there are the lives, political instability, and environmental destruction for generations to come. I think we should start taxing gas to pay for this tragic war. Maybe people would think more about what the costs really are. Imagine the benefits if the world could cut it's dependence on middle east oil.

[omega39-2009]

This kind of reminds me of the treasury report commissioned by Paul O'neil that was shelved before talk of big taxcuts, or the EPA report about the air quality in NY right after 9/11 that was altered because "the markets needed to be opened. What about trying to do away with the state department's terror assessment when you don't like the fact that the numbers are rising? then theres cutting funds to the IRS forcing them to lay off one half of their estate attorneys because you were unable to abolish the estate tax, you get the idea.

[talkingham]

This article should come with a big photo of Cheney talking out of the side of his mouth liek the Penguin in Batman movies (and John Stewart too).

This pack of liars lies about everything even when they don't have to-- they are just chronic liars. If it weren't for 911 his whole presidency would have been lableled a crock of u-know-what long ago. Isntead it's taken 6 years and thousands and thousands of lives and thousands of billions dollars. Can't say this country doesn't give a suckerer and even break.

[gil3al]

S_Temper, I will agree on your statement of credit card companies-another issue Congress prefers to not look at. However, on the issue of national debt, I just can't drink that kool-aid. The old standard about it being good to be in debt was made up by those that have their hands in your pocket. In order to maintain a balance, more debt means less money to invest or to get to work for you. Would you rather work for your debts or have cash to pay for what you want/when you want it? Debt is slavery.

[terrapin78]

Just because they want to poke out our eyes, that does not change the facts on the ground.

Man made climate change is real and the next generation will be the ones that suffer from its effects.

But fear not! The Rapture will come first!! LOL

[racam_us]

Since a lot of the blame lies with the burning of fossil fuel, force the biggest oil companies to pay for these satellites or at least part of them. I'm sure their profits from no more than 2 weeks would pay the whole amount.

[space_poet]

I've seen that Google vid Semper is propagating. I did some research on the makers, and lo and behold, no science backing what so ever, pure white washing at its best. Nice try, why don't you pick up a science journal some day and get back to us when you have some facts. People who care about the environment care about this planet and the people that live on it, and all you care about is killing an entire race of people, because of the backlash they gave us for terrorizing them, nice.

[space_poet]

Gee, 6.5 billion, what is that, 2 maybe 3 days in Iraq, yea, I see where our priorities are...

[coffeehead-2009]

The editor of Fortune Magazine, Andy Serwer, has done even better. He wrote:

"As for the bankruptcy bill, too many Americans have been copying big business %u2013 and they shouldn't be allowed to do that. Folks just don't understand that companies that declare bankruptcy %u2013 like US Air, Winn-Dixie, and Kmart %u2013 are living, breathing entities. And a bankrupt company like, say, Interstate Bakeries (they make Ho Hos and Ding Dongs) is more important than any one citizen, regardless of whether or not he or she makes Ding Dongs for a living. You follow? Another problem is that personal bankruptcies were cleaning out the credit card industry. According to CardWeb.com, profits in the card biz grew from $ 12.9 billion in 1995 to $ 31.6 billion last year. That's only a 144% increase in a decade, which is a scandal. Earnings should have been up at least 300%!

"I guess what I'm suggesting is a return to the Gilded Age, when it was %u2018anything goes%u2019 and everything did. The way we're stifling wages, ending personal bankruptcies, and blocking lawsuits, soon even corpulent guys in top hats may be coming back into style."

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0331-33.htm

[coffeehead-2009]

If you want to worry about a real problem, you should be very concerned about the practices of US credit card companies (US banks) and the innumerable card holder bankruptcies that are bound to occur.

ditto on your comment.......

Thomas Jefferson once said:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies . . . If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] . . . will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered . . . The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." -- Thomas Jefferson -- The Debate Over The Recharter Of The Bank Bill, (1809)

[crater7]

Since when does the saftey of the American People become too costly?

Satellites to Costly, Cut medicare by 10% in 08.

Give AMNESTY to 12 to 20 million illegal aliens, and give them immediate access to the medicare system.

Cut funding to the FDA, and inspect only less than two percent of imported food thats comes from countries like China etc.

BUT HEY! build a Radar System in the Czech Republic, and install INTERCEPTER MISSILES in Poland.

Do you feel as safe as I do?

[bluestardad]

The Geostationary Observational Environmental Satellite GOES is in orbit right now! Flight model J and K ! I worked building them! We dont need any thing else!

[luckygirl042]

Why am I not surprised?