WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.919 Welcome to Meteorology Matters. If you're looking 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:06.339 for more in -depth conversations about all this 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:08.279 and want to see visuals that will help you understand 00:00:08.279 --> 00:00:10.779 this stuff better, be sure to follow meteorologist 00:00:10.779 --> 00:00:14.919 Rob Jones on Instagram. That's meteorologist. 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:19.140 On TikTok, it's TV meteorologist. And over on 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:21.420 YouTube, follow Rob Jones Hurricane, where you 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:23.660 can also find the Meteorology Matters playlist. 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:28.920 OK, so today we're diving into some... really 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:30.980 troubling stuff, things that could seriously 00:00:30.980 --> 00:00:33.840 mess with our ability to understand and prepare 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:36.159 for like severe weather, you know, environmental 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:38.700 challenges. Yeah. We're going to be looking at 00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:41.299 a whole bunch of recent actions that when you 00:00:41.299 --> 00:00:43.280 look at them all together, paint a really disturbing 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:46.039 picture, something we're calling Trump Nazi bullshit. 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:48.179 Yeah. Yeah. Nazi bullshit. Absolutely. We're 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:51.259 going to look at weakened protections for migratory 00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:55.390 birds. Right. We're going to see the. disappearance 00:00:55.390 --> 00:00:58.390 of a super important tool that was designed to 00:00:58.390 --> 00:01:01.030 predict future climate risks. And we're going 00:01:01.030 --> 00:01:04.030 to look at major upheaval within FEMA, the Federal 00:01:04.030 --> 00:01:06.750 Emergency Management Agency, the agency that's 00:01:06.750 --> 00:01:09.930 tasked with disaster response. And then on top 00:01:09.930 --> 00:01:11.810 of all that, we're also going to look at potential 00:01:11.810 --> 00:01:15.370 threats to NUA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 00:01:15.370 --> 00:01:19.040 Administration. Our goal today on Meteorology 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:21.439 Matters is to kind of pull out the really important 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:24.459 information from all of this to connect the dots, 00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:27.620 so you, the listener, really understand what's 00:01:27.620 --> 00:01:30.400 at stake here. All right, so let's unpack this 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:33.980 Trump -Nazi bullshit. Let's start with these 00:01:33.980 --> 00:01:36.680 weakened protections for migratory birds. OK. 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:39.079 So what's really interesting here is the Interior 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:43.180 Department, they suspended like 20 legal opinions 00:01:43.180 --> 00:01:45.859 that were put in place during the Biden administration. 00:01:46.700 --> 00:01:49.219 One of these opinions is really important because 00:01:49.219 --> 00:01:52.920 it held companies legally responsible. Their 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:55.739 industrial activities like oil and gas drilling, 00:01:56.019 --> 00:01:58.280 wind energy production, even things like mining 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:01.079 and construction, if those things accidentally 00:02:01.099 --> 00:02:03.920 led to the deaths of migratory birds. We're talking 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:07.659 about a lot of different species here, from ducks 00:02:07.659 --> 00:02:12.039 and cranes to pelicans and owls. And so this 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:15.020 legal term, incidental take, is what they call 00:02:15.020 --> 00:02:17.580 it. It refers to the unintentional killing of 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:20.699 these birds. That happens as a result of these 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:23.439 otherwise lawful activities. OK, so what does 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:27.539 the suspension actually mean? I mean, what does 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:29.400 it mean for these birds? What does it mean for 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:31.500 the environment? Well, basically what it means 00:02:31.500 --> 00:02:34.919 is that the Fish and Wildlife Service, they might 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:37.259 not take any enforcement action against these 00:02:37.259 --> 00:02:39.080 private companies if they unintentionally kill 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:42.360 these birds. And conservationists are really 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:45.360 worried about this because North American bird 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:48.639 populations have already dropped almost 30 % 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:52.500 since 1970. While industrial deaths aren't the 00:02:52.500 --> 00:02:54.500 main reason for this decline, these protections 00:02:54.500 --> 00:02:57.599 that we had in place, they did help prevent more 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:02.189 deaths. The key takeaway here is weakening these 00:03:02.189 --> 00:03:05.789 regulations could really have direct ecological 00:03:05.789 --> 00:03:08.129 repercussions, and it might even speed up the 00:03:08.129 --> 00:03:10.530 decline of these bird species that are already 00:03:10.530 --> 00:03:12.490 vulnerable. It's interesting, you know, the oil 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:15.159 and gas industry? They seem to support this move. 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:18.080 They're saying they want common sense policies 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:20.740 that both protect wildlife and support American 00:03:20.740 --> 00:03:23.419 energy dominance. But isn't there kind of a conflict 00:03:23.419 --> 00:03:25.259 there? I mean, when they talk about common sense, 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:28.120 aren't they actually putting short -term economic 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:31.240 gains ahead of potential environmental damage? 00:03:31.419 --> 00:03:34.560 Yeah, that's a really good point. And the way 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:37.500 the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that goes all the 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:41.120 way back to 1918. Wow. The way they interpret 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:44.319 this incidental take thing has been a big issue 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:46.759 for a long time. And different administrations 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:49.060 have had different views on it. During Trump's 00:03:49.060 --> 00:03:51.860 first term, there was this legal opinion that 00:03:51.860 --> 00:03:53.699 said accidental killings weren't prohibited, 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:57.659 but then a federal judge actually struck that 00:03:57.659 --> 00:04:01.139 down. Then Biden's administration reversed that, 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:03.979 and now Trump, he suspended Biden's reversal. 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:06.759 So it's been this real back and forth. It has 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:09.979 real financial and ecological consequences. You 00:04:09.979 --> 00:04:13.280 know, I was reading that if this current view, 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:16.019 the one that's in place now, had been in place 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:19.860 during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP might 00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:22.600 not have had to pay about $100 million in fines. 00:04:22.899 --> 00:04:25.959 And that money was used for bird conservation. 00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:29.160 That's a lot of money. That's huge. It really 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:31.620 shows you how much of a financial impact these 00:04:31.620 --> 00:04:34.480 changes in regulations can have. It really does. 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:38.680 And it highlights how much these legal interpretations 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:41.339 matter, both for the environment and financially. 00:04:41.779 --> 00:04:44.620 Absolutely. OK, so now this weakening of environmental 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:46.740 protection seems to be happening in another area, 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:49.500 too. And it's pretty disturbing. It's what's 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:52.319 going on with FEMA. the Federal Emergency Management 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:55.420 Agency. Yeah, FEMA. This is another part of this 00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:57.620 Trump Nazi bullshit we're seeing. This sounds 00:04:57.620 --> 00:05:00.060 really bad. I mean, we're hearing that the Homeland 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:02.579 Security Secretary wants to get rid of FEMA entirely. 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:05.060 Yeah. And that the agency is already a mess. 00:05:05.220 --> 00:05:07.120 What's going on there? Well, we're hearing from 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:10.120 multiple FEMA officials that disaster assistance 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:13.259 has stalled, grant money has stalled, and they're 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:16.199 even having trouble hiring people. Really? Yeah. 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:20.040 And there was even a meeting with top officials 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:22.730 from FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. 00:05:23.250 --> 00:05:26.089 Okay. They were discussing ways to quickly dismantle 00:05:26.089 --> 00:05:28.970 FEMA, like even faster than this FEMA review 00:05:28.970 --> 00:05:32.430 council that was recently set up. So the important 00:05:32.430 --> 00:05:35.170 thing here isn't just the delays. But what happens 00:05:35.170 --> 00:05:37.269 to all that knowledge FEMA has built up over 00:05:37.269 --> 00:05:39.410 the years? Yeah. I mean, if they get rid of all 00:05:39.410 --> 00:05:41.350 the experienced people, how are they going to 00:05:41.350 --> 00:05:44.009 learn from past disasters? Right, exactly. This 00:05:44.009 --> 00:05:46.430 sounds incredibly disruptive, especially with 00:05:46.430 --> 00:05:49.050 hurricane season starting so soon. Yeah, June 00:05:49.050 --> 00:05:51.790 1st. We need FEMA to be ready for that. Yeah, 00:05:51.970 --> 00:05:54.449 absolutely. And we're hearing reports that hurricane 00:05:54.449 --> 00:05:57.209 preparedness plans are on hold right now. On 00:05:57.209 --> 00:05:59.980 hold. Yeah, which is, you know. Really concerning. 00:06:00.379 --> 00:06:02.560 Yeah. And to make matters worse, there's this 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:05.680 new hiring process where Secretary Noem's team 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:08.560 has to personally approve renewals for a lot 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.180 of FEMA's workforce. Yeah. Like a lot of the 00:06:11.180 --> 00:06:13.699 public facing roles, the people who are absolutely 00:06:13.699 --> 00:06:16.860 essential for disaster response. Right. You know, 00:06:16.860 --> 00:06:19.600 the people who verify damage, who run the recovery 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:22.540 centers and help victims register for aid. Right. 00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:24.560 Those are the people on the front line. Exactly. 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:27.720 These core and reservist employees, they make 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:31.699 up something like 74 % of FEMA's workforce. Wow. 00:06:32.259 --> 00:06:34.420 So if their renewals are delayed, it'll have 00:06:34.420 --> 00:06:38.160 a huge impact on FEMA's ability to respond effectively 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:40.740 to a disaster. Yeah. I mean, if their renewals 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:43.139 are stalled and hurricane season is about to 00:06:43.139 --> 00:06:44.959 start, it's like we're purposely making ourselves 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:47.660 more vulnerable to these disasters. Yeah. I mean, 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:49.300 that's a good way to put it. And there are also 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:52.259 these reports that over $100 billion in grant 00:06:52.259 --> 00:06:55.790 money and disaster assistance is frozen. What? 00:06:56.149 --> 00:06:58.230 Yeah, they're waiting for guidance on some of 00:06:58.230 --> 00:07:00.509 Trump's executive orders about immigration funding. 00:07:00.990 --> 00:07:03.029 I see. And even though they've reportedly gotten 00:07:03.029 --> 00:07:05.850 that guidance recently, it's still not clear 00:07:05.850 --> 00:07:07.449 when they're actually going to release that money. 00:07:07.470 --> 00:07:11.089 Right. So this is affecting states, local governments, 00:07:11.750 --> 00:07:14.350 even nonprofits like fire departments. They all 00:07:14.350 --> 00:07:17.089 rely on this money. It's just another example 00:07:17.089 --> 00:07:20.170 of how these administrative actions can have 00:07:20.170 --> 00:07:22.629 a ripple effect. Yeah. You know, with some pretty 00:07:22.629 --> 00:07:25.089 bad real world consequences. And it gets even 00:07:25.089 --> 00:07:27.370 worse, right? I mean, I've heard that FEMA employees 00:07:27.370 --> 00:07:29.250 are getting fired because they supposedly went 00:07:29.250 --> 00:07:31.550 around their bosses to approve grant payments. 00:07:31.850 --> 00:07:33.709 Yeah, that's right. That's got to be creating 00:07:33.709 --> 00:07:36.529 a lot of fear in the agency. It is. People are 00:07:36.529 --> 00:07:38.769 worried about getting in trouble for making payments 00:07:38.769 --> 00:07:41.449 that could be misinterpreted. Right. And on top 00:07:41.449 --> 00:07:44.110 of all that, there's a hiring freeze. Really? 00:07:44.189 --> 00:07:46.649 And there's even a plan to cut down FEMA's workforce 00:07:46.649 --> 00:07:49.910 by combining different functions and shifting 00:07:49.910 --> 00:07:52.639 some responsibilities to the states. So they're 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:55.379 shrinking FEMA at a time when we really need 00:07:55.379 --> 00:07:58.779 them to be strong. Exactly. It's like they're 00:07:58.779 --> 00:08:00.560 setting them up to fail. OK. So then there's 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:02.860 this whole thing with the climate change risk 00:08:02.860 --> 00:08:05.000 tool that FEMA had. Right. This was supposed 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:07.779 to be a way to understand future threats. Right. 00:08:08.540 --> 00:08:10.379 And it seems like it's another piece of this 00:08:10.379 --> 00:08:14.240 Trump Nazi bullshit. It is. So FEMA developed 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:16.680 this tool. They called it the Future Risk Index. 00:08:17.019 --> 00:08:20.000 And it gave projections of how much money counties 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:22.759 would lose each year because of extreme weather 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:24.980 events. OK. We're talking about things like extreme 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:28.480 heat, coastal flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, 00:08:28.980 --> 00:08:31.540 drought, all that. I see. It even had a risk 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:35.379 rating for each county. And it used data. from 00:08:35.379 --> 00:08:37.720 all over the federal government, like historical 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:40.720 weather data and climate projections. So this 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:42.879 sounds like it was really valuable for local 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:45.120 governments. Yeah, they could use it to plan 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:47.059 and prepare for the future. So why did they get 00:08:47.059 --> 00:08:49.419 rid of it? What does that tell us about how they 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:52.379 view climate change? Well, they deleted the tool 00:08:52.379 --> 00:08:55.940 after Trump came back. Really? And before that... 00:08:55.820 --> 00:08:58.080 They tried to downplay the whole climate angle. 00:08:58.299 --> 00:09:00.259 How so? Well, they changed the name. They got 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:02.440 rid of anything about emission scenarios, stuff 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:04.679 like that. Interesting. And one person who worked 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:07.240 on the project said there was a real culture 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:10.519 of fear at FEMA about anything related to climate 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:13.820 change. Wow. People were afraid of getting in 00:09:13.820 --> 00:09:16.419 trouble if they worked on those issues. So they're 00:09:16.419 --> 00:09:18.059 basically trying to ignore the fact that the 00:09:18.059 --> 00:09:20.789 climate is changing. Yeah, it seems that way 00:09:20.789 --> 00:09:24.090 so they got rid of this important tool just because 00:09:24.090 --> 00:09:25.809 they didn't like what it was telling them pretty 00:09:25.809 --> 00:09:28.450 much But the good news is that the Guardian was 00:09:28.450 --> 00:09:31.330 able to recreate the tool using the data that 00:09:31.330 --> 00:09:33.149 was still available Okay, so the information 00:09:33.149 --> 00:09:35.309 is still out there. Yeah, and what it shows is 00:09:35.309 --> 00:09:37.610 that if we don't do something about emissions 00:09:37.610 --> 00:09:42.289 these climate Driven events are gonna get a lot 00:09:42.289 --> 00:09:45.500 worse, right? By the middle of the century, counties 00:09:45.500 --> 00:09:47.960 in New Jersey, New York, and Texas could have 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:51.299 the biggest risks from coastal flooding, while 00:09:51.299 --> 00:09:54.399 places like Las Vegas, Dallas, and St. Louis 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:58.559 would be hit hardest by extreme heat. Wow. Wildfires 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:00.580 are gonna be a huge problem in parts of California, 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:02.500 and Florida's gonna be dealing with a lot of 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:04.679 hurricanes. So it sounds like things are gonna 00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:06.980 get pretty bad. Yeah, and the financial costs 00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:09.600 are gonna be huge, too. Some counties could be 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:12.600 looking at annual losses of $191 million or more. 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:15.240 That's a lot of money. It is. And it really shows 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:16.919 how expensive climate change is going to be. 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:20.940 OK, so now let's talk about the National Oceanic 00:10:20.940 --> 00:10:23.740 and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. NOAA, 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:26.200 OK. They're in charge of weather forecasting 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:29.620 and climate monitoring. And they're also facing 00:10:29.620 --> 00:10:32.799 some serious challenges because of this Trump 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:35.399 -Nazi bullshit. So what's going on at NOAA? How 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:37.700 are they being affected by all this? Well, apparently 00:10:37.700 --> 00:10:39.559 there's this new rule that says the Commerce 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:42.460 Chief has to personally approve any contracts 00:10:42.460 --> 00:10:47.220 or extensions that are over $100 ,000. Wow. It 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:49.820 sounds like a small thing, but it's really messing 00:10:49.820 --> 00:10:51.980 things up in NOAA. How so? I mean, what kind 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:53.779 of problems are we seeing and how is it affecting 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:56.659 their work? Well, contractors all over the country 00:10:56.659 --> 00:10:59.019 are being affected because there are huge delays 00:10:59.019 --> 00:11:01.360 in getting contracts signed off. Oh, wow. Some 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:03.740 contracts have even expired or been canceled 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:06.620 because the review process takes so long. Really? 00:11:06.919 --> 00:11:09.320 Yeah, and people are worried that even really 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:11.679 important contracts, ones that have already been 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:14.779 awarded, might get canceled or changed based 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:16.600 on the commerce chief's personal... opinions. 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:19.519 So it's not about what Noah needs, it's about 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:22.100 what this one person thinks. Pretty much yeah. 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:24.179 And how many contracts are we talking about here? 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:25.840 Dozens of them are just sitting there waiting 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:29.299 for approval. Wow. It's a huge bottleneck that's 00:11:29.299 --> 00:11:32.240 preventing Noah from doing its job. So this is 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:34.820 affecting the really important work that NOAA 00:11:34.820 --> 00:11:37.419 does, like forecasting the weather and monitoring 00:11:37.419 --> 00:11:39.539 the climate. Exactly. It's making everything 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:42.139 much less efficient. And it could even be dangerous. 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:44.659 For example, the National Weather Service almost 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:48.039 lost its ability to process data from satellites 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:51.389 and weather stations in real time. What? Yeah, 00:11:51.450 --> 00:11:53.490 because they had to wait for a contract extension 00:11:53.490 --> 00:11:56.169 for the software that they use in all the forecast 00:11:56.169 --> 00:11:58.029 offices around the country. What software is 00:11:58.029 --> 00:12:00.370 that? It's called AWIPS. And they managed to 00:12:00.370 --> 00:12:02.730 get a last -minute extension, but it really shook 00:12:02.730 --> 00:12:04.789 people up. Yeah, but... I mean, they need to 00:12:04.789 --> 00:12:07.990 be able to process that data quickly to feed 00:12:07.990 --> 00:12:10.389 the weather models and spot storms as they develop. 00:12:10.590 --> 00:12:13.250 Right, of course. Any delays could mean that... 00:12:13.259 --> 00:12:15.879 people don't get warnings in time. That's scary, 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:17.919 the idea that we might not get warnings about 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:20.240 severe weather because of some bureaucratic mess. 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:23.820 And this isn't the only example. OK. Other NOAA 00:12:23.820 --> 00:12:26.179 contracts, like the ones for the people who operate 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:28.580 the weather satellites, have also been stuck 00:12:28.580 --> 00:12:31.179 in this approval process. Really? And it's led 00:12:31.179 --> 00:12:33.120 to layoffs at some of the contractor companies. 00:12:33.690 --> 00:12:36.909 Even basic things like facility services at NOAA 00:12:36.909 --> 00:12:39.809 headquarters have been suspended because of contract 00:12:39.809 --> 00:12:42.049 issues. Wow, so this is really affecting the 00:12:42.049 --> 00:12:44.649 basic operations of NOAA. It really is. And former 00:12:44.649 --> 00:12:46.889 NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, he called the 00:12:46.889 --> 00:12:49.190 whole thing outrageously inefficient. Boy, yeah. 00:12:49.330 --> 00:12:51.750 And he's worried that the people who are reviewing 00:12:51.750 --> 00:12:54.330 these contract recommendations are political 00:12:54.330 --> 00:12:57.830 appointees who don't actually know anything about 00:12:57.830 --> 00:12:59.950 the technical side of things. That's a problem. 00:13:00.169 --> 00:13:03.009 Yeah, it makes it seem like NOAA's mission Being 00:13:03.009 --> 00:13:06.009 eroded. Yeah, and all of this is affecting the 00:13:06.009 --> 00:13:08.769 organizations that Noah funds to do research 00:13:08.769 --> 00:13:12.529 Which could mean that our storm track and intensity 00:13:12.529 --> 00:13:15.789 forecasts become less accurate Oh and even really 00:13:15.789 --> 00:13:18.610 big things like buying new hurricane hunter aircraft 00:13:18.610 --> 00:13:21.700 and upgrading IT systems all have to go through 00:13:21.700 --> 00:13:24.279 this same approval process now. So it's like 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:26.679 they're trying to slow NOAA down at every turn. 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:28.460 Pretty much, yeah. And I've also heard about 00:13:28.460 --> 00:13:31.919 potential staff cuts at NOAA. Yeah, NOAA recently 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:35.759 laid off about 800 probationary employees. Really? 00:13:36.029 --> 00:13:38.429 Most of them were rehired and put on administrative 00:13:38.429 --> 00:13:41.230 leave, but they're planning more cuts. That doesn't 00:13:41.230 --> 00:13:44.049 sound good. No. And experts are worried that 00:13:44.049 --> 00:13:46.549 all of this, the contract delays and the staff 00:13:46.549 --> 00:13:48.509 cuts is going to make it a lot harder for NOAA 00:13:48.509 --> 00:13:51.190 to collect the data we need and issue timely 00:13:51.190 --> 00:13:53.409 warnings. Right. Some people are even worried 00:13:53.409 --> 00:13:55.690 that the National Weather Service might be privatized 00:13:55.690 --> 00:13:58.490 or downsized. That would be a huge change. Yeah. 00:13:58.570 --> 00:14:00.549 And some argue that it would upset the balance 00:14:00.549 --> 00:14:02.889 between the government, universities and private 00:14:02.889 --> 00:14:05.759 companies in the weather enterprise. Yeah, that 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.019 makes sense. And what about the hurricane hunter 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:09.940 flights? Yeah, those are really important. They 00:14:09.940 --> 00:14:13.000 provide data that's crucial for forecasting hurricanes. 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:16.100 Exactly. And experts are worried that these layoffs 00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:18.830 at NOAA could actually ground... some of those 00:14:18.830 --> 00:14:21.149 flights. So we could lose valuable data that 00:14:21.149 --> 00:14:23.669 helps us predict hurricanes more accurately. 00:14:23.870 --> 00:14:25.830 Yeah, it's a real concern. Is anyone pushing 00:14:25.830 --> 00:14:28.029 back against this? Yeah, at least one senator 00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:30.289 has asked the Commerce Department for more information 00:14:30.289 --> 00:14:32.669 about these cuts. So there's definitely some 00:14:32.669 --> 00:14:36.009 concern in Congress. So as we can see, this Trump 00:14:36.009 --> 00:14:39.289 Nazi bullshit is a really broad problem. Yeah, 00:14:39.350 --> 00:14:41.769 it's affecting the environment, our safety during 00:14:41.769 --> 00:14:44.690 natural disasters and our ability to understand 00:14:44.690 --> 00:14:47.799 and prepare for severe weather. Exactly. They're 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:50.460 weakening protections for migratory birds. They're 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:52.580 basically ignoring climate change by getting 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:55.659 rid of data. And they're undermining FEMA and 00:14:55.659 --> 00:14:58.080 NOAA. These are the agencies that are supposed 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:00.600 to be protecting us. It's all connected. So what 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:03.340 does this mean for you, the listener? It means 00:15:03.340 --> 00:15:05.860 the natural world could be less protected. It 00:15:05.860 --> 00:15:08.220 means we might not be able to respond to disasters 00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:11.279 as effectively. And it means we might not understand 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:13.740 the threats from climate change as well. Right. 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:15.980 And all of this could have a real impact on your 00:15:15.980 --> 00:15:19.269 life. So what can we do about it? Well, staying 00:15:19.269 --> 00:15:21.789 informed is a good first step. OK. You can follow 00:15:21.789 --> 00:15:24.169 meteorologist Rob Jones on Instagram, TikTok 00:15:24.169 --> 00:15:26.330 and YouTube to learn more about these issues 00:15:26.330 --> 00:15:28.149 and stay up to date on what's happening. Right. 00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:30.309 He's got a lot of great information and he talks 00:15:30.309 --> 00:15:32.830 about these things in more detail on his Meteorology 00:15:32.830 --> 00:15:35.019 Matters playlist. So here's something to think 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:38.559 about. What happens when the agencies we rely 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:41.399 on to understand and respond to the world around 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:43.980 us? What happens when those agencies are weakened? 00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:46.440 Yeah. It's something we all need to consider 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:48.600 because it affects everyone. It does.