By James J. Devine
One alarming Republican policy proposal in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 is the call for the elimination of the nation’s most dependable resources for tracking weather, combating climate change, and protecting the public from environmental hazards.
Targeting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for elimination is a misguided move, driven by the interests of corporate polluters who profit from environmental degradation and pose a grave threat to American safety, public health, and environmental stewardship.
“Break up NOAA,” the document says, referring to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its six main offices, including the 154-year-old National Weather Service.
“Together, these form a colossal operation that has become one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry and, as such, is harmful to future U.S. prosperity,” says the 922-page document published by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank most of whose recommendations were embraced by the first Trump administration, which crafted the plan with support from over 100 right-wing extremist groups.
The attempt to dismantle NOAA is not just an assault on a vital federal agency but a reckless bid to prioritize corporate profits over the well-being of our planet and its inhabitants at the same time as validating bizarre counterfactual explanations that are based on ancient religious texts.
NOAA’s contributions to public safety are indispensable. The agency’s National Weather Service (NWS) provides life-saving forecasts and warnings for severe weather events. From hurricanes to tornadoes, NOAA’s timely alerts allow communities to prepare and respond, minimizing harm and saving countless lives.
The idea of eliminating NOAA is not just a theoretical concern; it directly jeopardizes the safety of millions who rely on accurate weather information to make informed decisions and protect their families.
To dismantle NOAA in favor of corporate interests is to turn a blind eye to the fundamental need for public safety in the face of natural disasters.
“The National Weather Service, and NOAA more generally, is a key agency in tracking what’s happening with our climate — and in particular the ways in which humans are changing the climate,” said Matthew Sanders, the acting deputy director of Stanford Law School’s Environmental Law Clinic. “To propose undercutting, breaking up and quote-unquote streamlining NOAA is really an effort to block and make less available information about climate change in order to serve an agenda of climate change denial.”
NOAA is at the forefront of climate science, providing essential data and research that drive climate policy and adaptation strategies. The agency’s work in monitoring global temperature trends, sea level rise, and greenhouse gas concentrations is crucial for understanding and mitigating the effects of climate change.
The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which seeks to eliminate NOAA, aligns with a dangerous trend of climate change denial and disregard for scientific evidence.
By attacking NOAA, these efforts threaten to undermine the scientific foundation necessary for effective climate action, leaving future generations at greater risk from the escalating impacts of climate change.
NOAA’s commitment to ocean exploration and marine conservation is vital for maintaining the health of our oceans and coastal environments.
The agency manages marine protected areas, supports sustainable fisheries, and leads research on ocean health. Corporate polluters, driven by profit motives, often prioritize short-term gains over the long-term sustainability of marine ecosystems.
Eliminating NOAA would open the door for unchecked environmental exploitation, leading to further degradation of our oceans and loss of biodiversity. The desire to destroy NOAA is a direct assault on the delicate balance of marine life that is crucial for the health of our planet.
The move to eliminate NOAA is a clear example of prioritizing corporate profits over environmental responsibility. Corporate polluters have long sought to evade regulations and oversight that protect our environment, and targeting NOAA is part of a broader strategy to dismantle environmental protections.
By weakening or eliminating NOAA, these corporations aim to reduce their operational costs and regulatory burdens, regardless of the long-term environmental and public health consequences. It is a flagrant attempt to subvert the public interest in favor of private gain, undermining decades of progress in environmental stewardship.
NOAA also plays a critical role in public education and outreach, fostering awareness about weather phenomena, climate change, and ocean conservation. This educational effort helps individuals and communities make informed decisions and engage in responsible environmental practices.
The push to eliminate NOAA threatens to erode this vital educational component, leaving a void in the public’s understanding of important environmental issues and diminishing collective efforts to address them.
The proposal to disband a crucial federal agency has alarmed experts who assert that NOAA not only offers vital free data, like weather predictions and satellite imagery, but also life-saving information on hurricanes, heatwaves, atmospheric rivers, and other severe occurrences— many of which have been shown, through science, to be worsening due to global warming.
Eliminating NOAA is not merely a policy decision; it is a reckless move that endangers public safety, undermines scientific progress, and prioritizes corporate profits over environmental and public health.
NOAA’s work is integral to protecting our nation against natural disasters, advancing climate science, conserving marine ecosystems, and educating the public. The attack on NOAA is an attack on our collective well-being and future based on religious extremism and corporate greed.
As we face unprecedented environmental challenges, it is crucial to support and strengthen agencies like NOAA, not dismantle them. Protecting NOAA is essential for safeguarding our planet and ensuring a sustainable future for all.