For those of us living in a land-locked state like Colorado, it might be easy to assume that an agency called the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, wouldn\u2019t have a lot to do with our everyday lives. But that misconception couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. It has provided good-paying jobs \u2013 NOAA employs roughly 12,000 people nationwide, including more than 900 in Colorado \u2013 and built a safer, healthier future for our state.<\/p>\n
Beyond the agency\u2019s state-of-the-art ocean research, NOAA\u2019s vital work on climate science, weather forecasting, and environmental monitoring is indispensable to Colorado, where we face the challenges of catastrophic wildfires and other extreme weather on a regular basis. Without NOAA\u2019s emergency alert systems, Coloradans wouldn\u2019t be able to prepare for and respond to these disasters \u2014 putting our homes, schools, local businesses, and lives at risk. As the effects of climate change continue to worsen each year, NOAA\u2019s work to keep our communities safe is more important than ever.<\/p>\n
But right now, NOAA\u2019s very existence is in jeopardy. Under the direction of Elon Musk, the Trump administration\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has set its sights on dismantling NOAA or even eliminating it altogether<\/a>. Concerning reports that DOGE staffers recently infiltrated NOAA\u2019s headquarters and gained access to confidential information heighten concerns that major cuts or changes are imminent. The Associated Press reported that about 10% of the staff, or about 1,200 people, was laid off. Some NOAA employees have been told to expect staff to be cut by half and the agency\u2019s budget to be cut by nearly a third.<\/p>\n If Elon Musk succeeds in his assault on NOAA, it will have especially devastating consequences for Colorado\u2019s future. As Coloradans across the state and across our major industries \u2014 from agricultural and manufacturing to recreation \u2014 grapple with the impacts of climate change and how to adapt for the years ahead, NOAA\u2019s climate monitoring and research is giving us the information we need about water availability and other major environmental changes. NOAA is invaluable to Colorado\u2019s ability to plan and prepare for a changing reality.<\/p>\n NOAA is also critical to shaping Colorado\u2019s next generation of leaders in research. As the first person in my family to go to college and pursue a career in research, I know firsthand that federal grants and funding are a lifeline for budding scholars who don\u2019t have access to the same resources that others do. Thanks to federal investments in science, like NOAA\u2019s research grants and programs, I have been fortunate to pour my passion into work that helps us all better understand our marine environments and how ocean conservation is driving a \u201cblue economy\u201d to deliver clean energy and sustainable food production across the globe.<\/p>\n NOAA grants and funding are particularly important for Colorado\u2019s young scholars. Across all 50 states, Colorado lies at nearly rock bottom \u2014 number 49 \u2014 when it comes to state funding for colleges and universities. That means our students and professors rely on NOAA-funded research and other grant programs to provide the top-tier education and workforce training that Coloradans are proud to call our own.<\/p>\n Beyond its critical contribution to science and research funding, NOAA is also a major employer in Colorado; many of our top scientists work in research and service centers across the state, including weather forecasting offices in Denver, fire technology testing hubs in Boulder, and meteorology data centers in Fort Collins.<\/p>\n Coloradans are resilient \u2014 we don\u2019t shy away from adversity or buckle under the weight of challenge. Our communities are standing on the frontlines of some of climate change\u2019s most threatening impacts and we are prepared to face them with determination and strength. But as we face these challenges, Colorado must be able to count on NOAA as the trusted partner it has been for more than 50 years. Reliable climate monitoring data, scientifically sound research, and accurate weather forecasting will be absolutely essential to the decisions we make about our shared future.<\/p>\n Now is the time to invest in and strengthen NOAA \u2014 not diminish it or sacrifice it to this reckless agenda. Local Coloradans and our elected representatives, including Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and every Coloradan in the House of Representatives, regardless of party, must stand up to protect NOAA, protect our safety and livelihoods, and protect our communities for many generations to come.<\/p>\n Karen Barton is a professor in the Department of Geography, GIS, & Sustainability at the University of Northern Colorado, a first-generation scholar, and a sustainability advocate based in Northern Colorado.<\/em><\/p>\n Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online<\/a> or check out our guidelines<\/a> for how to submit by email or mail.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For those of us living in a land-locked state like Colorado, it might be easy to assume that an agency called the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":281,"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions\/281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/spanishliteratureintranslation.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}