Another Bait And Switch
Last week, the US made it clear to the other members of the G8 that it would not go along with the German proposal for a new set of goals for the period after the Kyoto Protocols on global warming expires. Instead, President Bush will be going to the formal meeting with a different proposal, one that will involve the top of 15 greenhouse gas contributors (the US is number one on the list, followed by China) in meetings to develop goals, leaving the implementation of those goals up to each individual nation. Now we discover from an AP report published in this afternoon's Sacramento Bee that the White House has been aware since January that one key component in our national research into global warming is going to be downsized by the administration.
The Bush administration is drastically scaling back efforts to measure global warming from space, just as the president tries to convince the world the U.S. 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. [Emphasis added]
And the reason for the delay and extreme cost over-runs?
The delays were caused in part because of problems with an infrared sensor that officials either didn't monitor closely enough or didn't bring to the attention of their managers, the Commerce Department's inspector general reported last year. That report also said a contractor on the project was receiving excessive fees. [Emphasis added]
In other words, no one was minding the store, which is certainly no surprise with this administration. What is so particularly infuriating in this case, however, is that the president has been aware of the situation since January, and still has the gall to tout his sterling record on global warming research and to announce that he has a better plan for the world wide crisis:
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 combatting it.
Without the scientific data which those satellites were to provide on a continuous basis, that research is going to be woefully incomplete.
Once again, the president has lied, to us and to the world.
The Bush administration is drastically scaling back efforts to measure global warming from space, just as the president tries to convince the world the U.S. 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. [Emphasis added]
And the reason for the delay and extreme cost over-runs?
The delays were caused in part because of problems with an infrared sensor that officials either didn't monitor closely enough or didn't bring to the attention of their managers, the Commerce Department's inspector general reported last year. That report also said a contractor on the project was receiving excessive fees. [Emphasis added]
In other words, no one was minding the store, which is certainly no surprise with this administration. What is so particularly infuriating in this case, however, is that the president has been aware of the situation since January, and still has the gall to tout his sterling record on global warming research and to announce that he has a better plan for the world wide crisis:
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 combatting it.
Without the scientific data which those satellites were to provide on a continuous basis, that research is going to be woefully incomplete.
Once again, the president has lied, to us and to the world.
Labels: Global Warming
posted by Diane at 4:37 PM
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