Mastodawn

It's sad to know US scientists invented the most sophisticated weather forecasting models in the world, the satellites and instruments to measure atmospheric conditions, and an advanced alert system to warn the public of coming disasters, and the Trump administration is destroying it all.

@petergleick woah woah woah, that sounds POLITICAL! Better not CAMPAIGN on such a POLITICAL issue! Only campaign on issues where both parties AGREE! 🤡

Why would someone vote for you if you're different from the fascists?! What, socialized healthcare is incredibly popular, to the extent vigilantes are being made folk heroes? Better avoid that issue, sounds POLITICAL to me!

@petergleick Evil corrupt consultants 🖕🏽

Same people who lost for supporting genocide are reprimanding us for daring to care about trans people or trying to resist American dis-integration by defending DEI. Because they are ideologically dedicated to global apartheid and genocide. They want poor people dead or divided.

Corrupt fascist scum

@petergleick Unfortunately these models couldn’t forecast this particular disaster

⏚ Antoine Chambert-Loir May 17

@wei @petergleick Some other models did.

Frank Bennett May 17

@antoinechambertloir @wei @petergleick Also, this particular disaster scrawled forecasts of itself in crayon on every available writing surface.

Frank Skornia May 17

@wei @petergleick But other models (historical, sociological, anthropological, economic, etc.) sadly did forecast it.
Not enough people listened.

@fskornia @petergleick Not nearly enough, no. In fact, they actively begged and groveled to set it into motion lol

Skewray Research {ICE≡Gestapo}May 17

@petergleick On the bright side, future historians and anthropologists will be able to write their PhD theses by sifting through the sherds of detritus left behind, so it's not a total loss.

@petergleick This feels so dystopian when you're reading how scientific and research facilities in the world are trying to save as much data as possible before it is finally lost.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01309-3

This is almost like a 21st-century version of what happened to the library of Alexandria - but intentionally.

Major European institutes join race to save US science data

As the administration of US President Donald Trump slashes budgets, crucial data sets on climate and other subjects could disappear.

@DP0 @petergleick

These idiots should be taken to court over this. For political terrorism.

Pure evil!

@petergleick @xs4me2 @DP0

With consequences.

I see so many court cases but no effects from them.

Might as well put him in a wet paper bag.

Violet Madder May 17

@Kirsty @petergleick @xs4me2 @DP0

The courts are corrupt.

Think of the billionaires and politicians as mafia and it all makes very plain sense.

The cynical imbeciles know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Nicole Parsons May 17

#TranslatedFromTheRepublican

"Trump's administration is corrupt.

It was ** paid ** by billionaires to destroy science."

The fossil fuel industry is getting what it paid for. It bribes Trump & bought elections

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-oil-industry-donations

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/big-oil-445m-trump-congress

The question is now: "Will Americans stand for a president that can be bought to enact billionaires' fascist agenda?"

Six dynasties fund Project 2025.
Bradley, Koch, Coors, Scaife, Seid, Uihlein.
https://www.desmog.com/2024/08/14/project-2025-billionaire-donor-heritage-foundation-donald-trump-jd-vance-charles-koch-peter-coors/

Trump to Big Oil Execs: Give Me $1 Billion and I'll Help You Wreck the Planet | Common Dreams

"You won't read a more important story today," said one commentator. "Trump is willing to literally destroy the planet for $1 billion."

Common Dreams

Emmy, Gendermancer May 17

@Npars01 @petergleick this seems most likely. Scientists, educators, and (some) politicians make noise about climate change. Corporations make financial decisions about it. Decisions that are quiet but still, at least, act as evidence. The best way to put a stop to that might just be to destroy research. You can't prove the planet is getting warmer without historical data.

This applies to everything else, too. Science defies the application of cruelty by showing that gender, anatomy, neurology, psychology, society, nature, etc, are diverse and that diversity is beneficial and unique. Cruelty is ultimately how the powerful maintain control. As much as it helps them, science also threatens their control.

This administration acts as if stupidity is a virtue…

Pure evil.

@petergleick Actually it was the 81 million Americans who put him in charge - clearly for many Americans the real world is a special case. In fact everyone is a special case!

Platypusman May 17

@petergleick If you love AI, you will love having it used to predict weather from now on. It’s much cheaper and the results are about as reliable. See https://www.atmo.ai/

Atmo | Ultra-precise AI weather forecasting

AI METEOROLOGY IS HERE · Atmo builds AI meteorology systems that solve weather prediction for countries, militaries, and enterprises.

@petergleick
I often need to remind myself that he was *elected* through the legal electoral system of that country. Regardless of my feelings towards him and his actions, millions of American votes led to his election, both in 2024 and 2016.

So yes it is sad, but he represents America and Americans.

tessarakt May 17

@Mehrad @petergleick I'm sure the OSCE and the Venice Commission had something to say about that election system?

@petergleick In fact, the 'European model' is just as good if not better. So, still another opportunity.

Margaret Sefton May 17

@petergleick I hate to say it, but Sharpiegate was truly the beginning of the end. The writing was literally on the map. https://americanoversight.org/how-sharpiegate-turned-a-simple-misunderstanding-into-a-media-frenzy-and-headache-for-noaa-employees/

How ‘Sharpiegate’ Turned a Simple Misunderstanding into a Media Frenzy — and Headache for NOAA Employees - American Oversight

Newly released public documents related to Hurricane Dorian show how an apparent misunderstanding spiraled into the politicization of basic government functions.

American Oversight

@petergleick There is a reason. Russia always knows how to be on top by brining other nations down.

atlovato May 17

@petergleick - How true; especially when there is an amateur President in the white house receiving advice from DOGE and Elon Musk.

Hopefully an opportunity for other countries to step up.

Overall it would be a global good for more science to be done outside the USA.

We've had " too many eggs in one basket ".

Abram Kedge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇦May 17

@rzeta0 @petergleick yes... But the data from US based weather stations will be missing. No matter where the model is, it needs that data.

@AbramKedge @petergleick

let's build weather stations elsewhere around the globe

(which will also have the benefit of disaggregating risk and also spreading investment to places that need it much more than the usa)

Abram Kedge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇦May 17

@rzeta0 @petergleick yes... But... You need weather stations everywhere to provide inputs to the models. A weather station in Brussels doesn't make up for the lack of a weather station in Birmingham AL. Whichever way you cut it, this vandalism is leaving a massive hole in the global data set.

@AbramKedge @petergleick

but currently they're not everywhere

the USA shouldn't be so important

we can learn to do ok without them

@rzeta0 @AbramKedge @petergleick Time for a grid of independent US citizen-scientists (home weather stations) to link with international weather observations.

There are plenty of rural areas without official NOAA stations now. I live in one. There are several automated instrument stations, in places where no one lives (on the side of a local mountain), which are useless when trying to monitor weather conditions. Our "official" predictions are based on a town 50 miles away.

I greatly appreciate the work of NOAA, but it could have been improved rather than destroyed.

Thoralf Will 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇹🇼May 17

@petergleick Hat was von "Don't look up!", oder?
Wenn ich nicht sehe, in welche Richtung sich das Wetter und das Klima entwickelt, löst sich das Problem Klimawandel ... oder so. 🤦

De-extincted Neanderthal May 17

@petergleick Maybe Europe can steal some of the scientists and recreate them.

Mario Guerra May 17

@petergleick I remember way back in 1993 how a meteo compute cluster was like. FSU. Funded by NSF. Sigh.

Flounder May 17

@petergleick I get that there are many, arguably more important, reasons to be angry at the current administration, but the gutting of NOAA really gets me

@petergleick businesses like the weather channel want to own the weather prediction business. Doesn't want to compete with NOAA...

@petergleick the weather models are open source, to be fair...

Darwin Woodka May 17

Not just sad, it's killing people.

Barry Cook May 17

@petergleick - I'm sure there's plenty of countries that will happily encourage these scientists and their research to find a home there.
Let the US moulder in its own MAGA-inspired pit of misinformation and ignorance - even if Agent Orange won't be able to blame China this time around for the deaths it engenders.

@petergleick that is intentional!

JamesWNeal May 18

@petergleick We did have "an advanced alert system to warn the public of coming disasters," but the public refused to heed the warning and so disaster hit Jan. 20, 2025 and has been hitting us over and over and over again ever since.

lupus_blackfur May 19

"sad" is a word... One characterization...

It is *so much fucking worse* than just "sad" that you do an injustice in this characterization.

🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️🫏🤡