John Abraham, mechanical engineering professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering, recently spoke with MPR’s “Climate Cast” about staff cuts at NOAA – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
From the interview:
Paired with previous cuts proposed earlier this year, the agency could lose up to 20% of its staff in just two months.
“It could be really debilitating,” said John Abraham, a professor at the University of St. Thomas, whose climate research includes critical ocean temperature reports. He says the cuts could impact NOAA’s ability to forecast and warn for severe weather.
“We have about $100 billion, or more, per year in weather-related disasters across the U.S. So losing our ability to just predict one of those would cost more than the cuts would save. It’s a small investment that pays off huge dividends in economic value, and that’s one of the things that makes these cuts so sad.”
