I spoke last week to Meteorologist and long time friend of the blog Jeff Masters.
We discussed recent hurricane developments, outlook for the coming season, and, in this clip, the un-wisdom of cutting NOAA research, scientists, and forecasters.
Turns out if you don’t know when, where, and how strong a storm is going to hit, it can cost you big time.
Journal of Health Economics and Outcomes Research:
While strategies to slow the rate of climate change and its damaging effects are crucial to addressing the root problem, early warning systems can save lives and reduce economic loss from the extreme weather that we are certain to encounter in the coming years.
Unfortunately, nearly half the world’s countries, primarily less-developed countries, lack early warning systems of the technology or regulatory frameworks to generate forecasts. The good news is that early warnings are effective and cost-effective. For example:
*An early warning system can yield a nearly tenfold return on investment (ROI).
- Spending US$800 million on early warning in developing countries could prevent $3 billion to $16 billion in losses per year.
- Twenty-four hours’ notice can reduce the damage from a hazardous event by 30%.
Gee, what could go wrong with cutting staff? It’s not like hurricanes are trending to extremely rapid intensification while approaching our shorelines. Oh, wait, that’s exactly what’s happening, making effective timely warnings more difficult, not less so.
But Jeff Masters quoted a study by NBER – and they’re one of those invaluable parts of the Executive, so Musk is probably coming for them. What’s even the word for the type of vandalism that affects millions and millions of people?