Welcome to Meteorology Matters. Great to be here.
Today, we're stepping into something, well, pretty
unique, I think. Definitely. A massive online
gathering, right? Yeah. Of weather and climate
experts. Exactly. We've been looking at the details
on this. It's basically a huge multi -day live
stream. Uh -huh. Scientists talking directly
about what they do, their work. Yeah. So in this
Meteorology Matters discussion, we want to sort
of unpack what makes this event Tick right like
its purpose when exactly it's all happening the
format who you're gonna hear from and I mean
the sheer range of science they're planning to
cover it's huge it really is and why does this
matter to you listening well because the science
these folks work on I mean it touches everything
doesn't it absolutely from the weather you check
on your phone each morning to you know the big
long -term climate shifts that affect our future
planning and this event seems like a very specific
almost deliberate effort by scientists to connect
directly with the public about it all. Yeah,
cutting through the noise, maybe. OK, so let's
get into the specifics. Well, the first thing
that jumps out is just the scale and the format.
It's kind of a live stream marathon. Marathon
is right. When does it kick off? It starts Wednesday,
May 28th. That's 1 p .m. Eastern time. OK, so
10 a .m. out on the West Coast Pacific time.
Right. And it's not just, you know, an afternoon
thing. No. Definitely not. This thing is scheduled
to run for a hundred hours straight. A hundred
hours. Non -stop. Yeah, all the way through Sunday,
June 1st. Wow. Expected to wrap up around 5 30
p .m. Eastern. So that's 2 30 p .m. Pacific.
And people can just tune in. Yep. Streaming live
on YouTube. OK. And the basic idea behind these
hundred hours? Well, it seems pretty straightforward.
Participating scientists, they each get about
15 minutes. Just 15 minutes to talk about their
specific research. Exactly. Explain what they
do and why it's valuable. It's really scientists
in their own words. Yeah. Explaining their little
piece of the big puzzle. And the motivation behind
it all. Why do this? Well, the organizers, like
Mark Alessi from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
They state the purpose is really about sharing
weather and climate science directly with the
American public. Okay, so public outreach is
key. Definitely. They want to demonstrate just
how vital the work is and also, it seems, highlight
the impact of recent funding cuts. Ah, okay.
So there's that context too, funding reductions
for research. Yeah, across federal agencies and
academia as well. So if you connect those dots...
Yeah. while they might frame it as nonpartisan
science sharing. It definitely feels like a response,
doesn't it? Oh, absolutely. A response to policy
decisions that have, well, cut funding pretty
significantly for climate and weather research.
Right. You hear about agencies like the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA,
or NASA, the Department of Energy. And universities,
too, apparently having research funding withheld.
It sounds like an action born out of necessity
almost. There was a quote from one scientist
involved, Kate Marvel. She called the talks the
scientist -ese thing we could do. Hey, yeah.
That kind of captures it. It really does. It's
like they're using their core strength, the science
itself, to communicate why it matters. And to
show the public, hey, look at the return you
get on investment in this publicly funded research.
Exactly. And the timing adds another layer here,
doesn't it? How so? Well, the event happens to
coincide with the end of NASA's lease at Columbia
University for the Goddard Institute for Space
Studies, GISS. Oh, right, the big climate lab.
I heard about that lease cancellation back in
April. Yeah, forcing those scientists to work
remotely now. Yeah. So there's that backdrop.
And it's also happening right as hurricane season
officially begins. Good point. A time when accurate
weather forecasting and understanding the atmosphere
are just critically important. Absolutely critical.
So, okay, who are these folks? Who is actually
showing up to talk for a hundred hours? It seems
like a really broad mix. Scientists from all
over the country. Your agencies, universities?
Former government officials, too. Yeah. Looking
through the schedule, you see quite a variety.
Any examples jump out? Sure. Like, the very start,
Wednesday afternoon, features talks live from
that NASA GS lab during its final hours there.
Kate Marvel speaking then. Wow. That's symbolic.
It is. And there are panels, too. one on Wednesday
afternoon with employees who were terminated
from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, sharing their stories. And you
mentioned former officials. Yeah, like there's
a panel Wednesday evening with former directors
of the National Weather Service. Oh really? Like
who? Joe Friday, Louis W. Uccellini. Big name.
Definitely. Plus, they've got these primetime
talks scheduled each evening, highlighting different
researchers. Yeah, the speaker lists look pretty
packed with prominent scientists throughout the
week, covering a really wide range of expertise.
It really seems to underscore the depth and breadth
of the scientific community that's pulling together
for this. Absolutely. And that range is reflected
in the topics, too, right? I mean, the science
itself. Oh, totally. It's incredibly diverse,
mirroring all the different work that's being
done. You can learn about... Well, pretty much
anything weather and climate related. Like how
climate impacts agriculture. That involves work
from the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency,
and USDA. Right. Or you can get into really fundamental
atmospheric stuff. Clouds, thunderstorms, tornadoes.
That's a lot of Noah's area. And ocean dynamics,
too, I saw. Like ocean heat, acidification. Yeah.
and the carbon cycle. Yeah. Key areas for both
NOAA and NASA research. Plus things like the
water cycle, air quality. You see groups like
Ukar Sayed involved there in education and research.
Drought, floods, how we measure precipitation,
El Niño, La Niña patterns, all really crucial
NOAA topics. Even glaciers are on the list. That's
often USGS work, right? The Geological Survey.
Correct. And sea level rise, which involves a
whole bunch of agencies and groups like UCAR
site again. And even the basics like weather
stations, how we measure co -uras in the atmosphere.
Like the work at NOAA's global monitoring lab
that's featured. Even water quality is included,
linking back to the EPA. It's an incredibly long
list. What it really highlights, I think, is
how interconnected all this science is. Exactly.
You can't really understand hurricanes without
understanding ocean heat. Or climate change without
understanding the carbon cycle. It all fits together.
And this event seems designed to showcase that
interconnectedness, that whole system. Yeah,
it's not just a random collection of talks. No,
it feels like a demonstration of the huge body
of work needed to understand our planet's complex
systems. That level of detail in both the speakers
and the topics really hammers home the event's
goal, doesn't it? It does. Showing the public
the specific valuable work that's actually happening,
or maybe was happening at full capacity. OK,
so we've covered quite a bit here. The sheer
scope of this Meteorology Matters event is pretty
staggering. Yeah, from the long list of experts
sharing what they know to that incredibly wide
range of science topics they're presenting over
100 hours. It's clear that this push, this effort
to connect complicated scientific work directly
with the public, feels really crucial right now.
Especially, yeah, when you think about the context
that sort of sparked it, the challenges around
funding and staffing in the science community.
So reflecting on something like this, what does
it maybe mean for you listening? Well, perhaps
it's just a powerful reminder, you know, that
the science behind weather prediction, climate
understanding, it's not abstract. Right. It really
does impact your daily life, and it shapes the
big decisions we have to make about the future.
And maybe it shows how engaging directly with
these experts, hearing it straight from them,
can actually deepen your own understanding. Cut
through some confusion, maybe. Definitely. So
here's maybe a final thought for you to chew
on. OK. In this age where there's so much information
flying around, and let's be honest, misinformation
too, how important is access to this kind of
unfiltered direct communication from the scientists
themselves. Yeah. How does that potentially shape
public understanding? And maybe foster a deeper
appreciation for just how valuable this research
really is. Something to think about. That's a
great point to end on. If you found this Meteorology
Matters discussion valuable, definitely make
sure to follow meteorologist Rob Jones. He shares
a lot more insights into weather and climate.
Where can foes find him? You can find him on
Instagram. His handle is just meteorologist.
On TikTok, he's TV meteorologist. And over on
YouTube, search for Rob Jones hurricane. OK.
And on that YouTube channel, you can also find
the Meteorology Matters podcast playlist with
our other discussions.