With global warming taking center stage among key environmental issues, scientific research that focuses on climate change is of the utmost importance. But some of the nation’s top climate researchers are finding themselves out of work, victims of competition among the nation’s scientists for federal research dollars.
As reported by The New York Times last week, the latest victim was the Center for Capacity Building in Boulder, Colo., which helped poor countries better prepare for weather-related calamities such as floods and droughts. It is a shame the program was closed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which gets most of its funding from the National Science Foundation.
Over the past five years, the national center has slashed at least 110 positions from programs related to solar physics, atmospheric chemistry and social science, the Times reported.
Those cuts and the elimination of the Center for Capacity Building could not have come at a worse time for those of us who believe we should be placing more emphasis on climate issues, not less.
The national center blames the cuts on shrinking federal science budgets, even though it got slightly more money this year from the foundation than in 2007. Scientists have complained for years that even when research funding is increased, it is often not enough to keep up with inflation.
The foundation, an independent federal agency with a $6 billion annual budget that it receives from Congress, is in a tough bind. It is forced to choose among worthy scientific endeavors for grants. Congress and the White House should increase funding for climate research so the foundation does not have to make such tough choices.
Helping Third World countries brace for brutal climate shifts not only can save lives, but also can avert the political upheaval that is possible when poor nations are devastated by floods or droughts. That is why the Center for Capacity Building should be revived. Its annual $500,000 budget is money well spent.
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