US Strips Ocean and Air Pollution Monitoring From Next-Gen Weather Satellites (cnn.com)
- Reference: 0178825806
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/08/22/1612250/us-strips-ocean-and-air-pollution-monitoring-from-next-gen-weather-satellites
- Source link: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/20/weather/noaa-satellites-climate-trump
> The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is narrowing the capabilities and reducing the number of next-generation weather and climate satellites it plans to build and launch in the coming decades, two people familiar with the plans told CNN.
>
> This move -- which comes as hurricane season ramps up with Erin lashing the East Coast -- fits a pattern in which the Trump administration is seeking to not only slash climate pollution rules, but also reduce the information collected about the pollution in the first place. Critics of the plan also say it's a short-sighted attempt to save money at the expense of understanding the oceans and atmosphere better.
>
> Two planned instruments, one that would measure air quality, including pollution and wildfire smoke, and another that would observe ocean conditions in unprecedented detail, are no longer part of the project, the sources said.
[1] https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/20/weather/noaa-satellites-climate-trump
Three Orangutans (Score:4, Interesting)
"See none of our evil, hear none of our evil, speak about none of our evil"
If you stick you head too far in the sand... (Score:4, Funny)
If you stick you head too far in the sand, you will suffocate.
Re:If you stick you head too far in the sand... (Score:4, Funny)
> If you stick you head too far in the sand, you will suffocate.
It's okay, DOGE's cuts to meat inspections will give everyone brain-worms to pop up for air, an RFK brain-worm, I mean brain-child.
Re: (Score:2)
Likewise for sticking your head too far up Trump's ass.
what value? (Score:2)
Exactly how is this supposed to be good for "We the People?"
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
SCUTOS ruled corporations are people, and they are bigger and have more money than you little people, so STFU and worship the Profits.
Re: (Score:1)
Correction: SCOTUS, or more like SCROTUS
Re: (Score:1)
No, SCOTUS did not rule that. They didn't need to - the word "corporation" literally means "person".
What the Citizens United ruling really said was that humans didn't lose their political and first amendment rights when they work together with other humans using a structured organization.
Re:what value? (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah buddy, don't forget that spending cash is a form of free speech, that cannot be hindered (or even tracked apparently)
Citizens United is a direct assault on the American Public, and we are seeing he results
Re:what value? (Score:5, Insightful)
Corporations are for making money. They are not organized for political causes. They make a profit, which can be distributed to people, who are then taxed and who can then give money to political causes. Scotus's ruling prevented me as a stockholder from deciding whether I wanted to join some cause, unless I want to give up my investment. Moreover, there's no reason to believe that the drafters of the first amendment, intended that corporations, which only in Latin mean person but does not in English should have free speech. SCOTUS should have given deference to Congress in determining this, but as the Guardian points out, Roberts is an umpire who has chosen a side.
Re: (Score:1)
Technically, corporations are for avoiding liability. But I have the advantage in this conversation because I've owned a few of them ... and studied law.
Re: (Score:2)
It sounds to me like you're talking more about privately owned corporations, which are definitely about protecting yourself from liability (and ensuring that the performance of contracts survive an individuals death, among other things); while the parent is likely talking about publicly traded corporations, which it is reasonable to say are about making money. I say it's reasonable because the voting shareholders, in all likelihood, have one thing in common: they want the corporation to profit so that they
Re: (Score:2)
Remember that the people who wrote/signed "We the People" were mostly rich white men who owned not only property but also people. All men are created equal, but some are more equal than others.
Re: (Score:2)
So? Despite that now the descendants of rich, poor, enslavers, enslaved, are all benefiting from this rich framework. True it took far too long to get to this point, but nevertheless, it did happen. In other words it was the people and the application of their principles that were wrong, not the principles themselves.
Sadly it appears the current regime is out to destroy it all, including the very principles themselves.
Re: (Score:2)
> If it is important for "the people" to have this data then it should be in legislation and budget from Congress.
I agree that Congress probably should be more involved in actually governing. One of the problems with representative democracy is we end up with representatives who are good at getting elected and often not good at anything else. A problem which is exacerbated by the tendency to tribalism in both voting and governing.
But that isn't really the issue. It's unreasonable to expect Congress to pass a spending bill with a line item for, for example, every experiment in a satellite. That seems akin to expecting
Consistent strategy from the administration (Score:5, Interesting)
If you rewind back to COVID he wanted to limit testing so that there would be less positive cases reported. Same here with pollution.
Petty and spiteful (Score:5, Insightful)
It just occurred to me that a large part of what the Trump administration is engaged in is vandalism. These are mean, small-minded, small-hearted, short-sighted criminals who would be petty if they hadn't succeeded in winning the highest offices in the land.
The country that used to be considered the leader of the world is now run by small-minded, cunning habitual liars whose contempt for the truth is jaw-dropping. I'm not sure that the US can ever recover from the damage currently being done.
Re: (Score:2)
He's certainly solving the immigration problem. The country is becoming such a shithole that soon you won't be able to pay people to come here.
Re:Petty and spiteful (Score:4, Informative)
Just look at who has been appointed to the various government agencies. They’re all DEI hires.
It's not vandalism (Score:2)
This is a comprehensive plan to roll back to a gilded age style ruling class. One that gets enforced with technology so that it doesn't break down like the last one did.
Re: (Score:2)
> This is a comprehensive plan to roll back to a gilded age style ruling class. One that gets enforced with technology so that it doesn't break down like the last one did.
That's demonstrably true. Ironically, even the senile and doddering orange stain who is the face of the movement probably doesn't realize that. But guys like Musk, Thiel, Andreesen, and Yarvin certainly have that as an explicit goal. BTW, if you're not familiar with Technocrats and their chilling idea of an American Technate, you might want to look it up. Or not - it's pretty dismal and creepy stuff.
Re: Petty and spiteful (Score:3)
Vandalism has been the Republican plan since at least Reagan: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."
Re: (Score:2)
> Vandalism has been the Republican plan since at least Reagan: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."
Thanks - I hadn't thought of that, but you're absolutely right. It really is a "might makes right" or "divine right of oligarchs" delusion.
Don't look up. (Score:3)
n/t
Call it what it is (Score:3)
Terrorism. The pattern of behavior the Republican Party has been on for the last 50 years, and especially the last 25, has done nothing except deliberately harm the US for their personal gain. This treason should be punished to the most extreme extent imaginable.
Re: (Score:3)
Yes, but the Republicans don't just use violence as terrorism, they also effectively use stochastic terrorism.
Re: (Score:1)
Riots are a Dem specialty.
Re: (Score:2)
According to US government funded studies, our greatest domestic threat is right wing terrorism.
> When compared to individuals associated with a right-wing ideology, individuals adhering to a left-wing ideology had 68% lower odds of engaging in violent (vs. nonviolent) radical behavior (b = 1.15, SE = 0.13, odds ratio [OR] = 0.32, P < 0.001). On the other hand, the difference between individuals motivated by Islamist and right-wing causes was not significant (b = 0.05, SE = 0.14, OR = 1.05, P = 0.747). Exp
Somebody has to be the adult of the household (Score:5, Interesting)
California has been forming its [1]own space program to launch climate satellites. [ca.gov]
[1] https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/08/16/california-coalition-just-launched-its-own-damn-satellite-to-track-pollution
Re: (Score:3)
That's some extreme language right here.
It's short-sighted, stupid, and detrimental to the population, but it's not necessarily treason. We've had a lot of short-sighted stupid decisions in the last decades, from both sides. The answer isn't calling all republicans hateful and racists (or deporting them.. to where?), unless you fundamentally believe you should not be in the same country. Although... that latter one may be an answer. If we truly can't agree on even basic ideas, it may not be worth continui
Re: (Score:2)
Na, this is what the people want. Trump is the product of democracy. Deporting all the Rs wouldn't work anyway because there's plenty of hate and racism ingrained in the American left.
Reality is a opinion I guess (Score:2)
From the same people who said "If you stop testing for COVID the numbers will go down" This will work perfectly with his base though because they have no problem ignoring reality How many MAGA's does it take to change a light bulb? None Trump tells them it is changed and they sit in the dark applauding him
The Cylinder Spins– (Score:2)
and we pull the trigger, over and over.
Humanity is soooooo stupid!
Change the documentation, not the product (Score:1)
This is what they should do in response to the WH request.
Make it go away mommy! (Score:2)
Hear no evil, see no evil...
Get rid of mammograms, cancer rates will plummet.
Decline of US science (Score:4, Insightful)
The US is taking the first steps towards handing its mantle of science leader to other nations.
Not a foolish attempt to save money (Score:3, Interesting)
Nice article, except this is not a foolish attempt to save money. This is an attempt as all Fascists regimes do to denigrate the use of facts. Once a people become unmoored from a perception of reality it is easy to get them to do what the regime wants.
“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. ... Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow. The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.” Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
Re: (Score:3)
And since it's actually going to cost American tax payers more to remove these capabilities from the satellites already built or being built, it's more like "a foolish attempt to spend even more money, but get way less for that money as a result." Republicans do what Republicans do best: increase spending while destroying the services we rely on.
Re: (Score:2)
So you're saying its actually a jobs program? Thats even better!
Re: (Score:2)
Hehe ... I wish. No, it'll result in job losses, since those projects that we already paid for are being canceled, but we have to pay extra to cancel them :(
Re: Congress should require and fund this (Score:2)
Congress did do that. They did it by delegating.
Re: (Score:2)
Cite the bill or stop typing.
No Data - No Problems (Score:1)
Nothing like burying your head in the sand to make your troubles go away.
Same thing over again (Score:2)
This is exactly what he did with Covid.
If we don't count the infected people our number will be lower!
Potential Revenue Source (Score:2)
Trump has seemed intent on revenue gathering with all the tariffs ... so I'm slightly surprised he hasn't sent bills to other nations to pay for the services these satellites provide ... or will provide.
Re: (Score:2)
> Trump has seemed intent on revenue gathering with all the tariffs
So now the Democrats are coming out against taxes.
This is why it is hard to unspend tax dollars (Score:2)
Once government funds something, taking it away is going to be like killing babies or something, it does not matter what it is.
For some people there will never be enough research/monitoring spending. For others we spend way too much now. This is a completely subjective personal value judgement and there is no correct answer. There are some metrics one could use to try and objectively measure value for tax dollars. They are virtually never used by any government, and certainly not by the electorate eit
Re: (Score:2)
Knowledge is power.
Re: (Score:2)
And [1]time is money [byu.edu].
[1] https://www.et.byu.edu/~tom/jokes/Dilberts_Salary_Law.html
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not American, and I'm not particularly right wing. Completely objectively speaking you seem as big a moron as Trump.
Long term? (Score:2)
Come on, the world only has to remain tolerably livable for the duration of the Tech Bro's lives - it's maximize profits until then.
What you don't measure can't hurt you. (Score:2)
(Quoting Edward Smith, captain of RMS Titanic.)
Citizen-Sourced data. Is it feasible? (Score:1)
Can anyone point me to LoRA environmental sensors that we can mass produce in hopes of generating a citizen-sourced data set? Anyone want to help with this?
No data, no problem (Score:5, Funny)
If we just ignore the problem, it will go away. That's how science works, right?
Re: (Score:1)
> If we just ignore the problem, it will go away. That's how science works, right?
Seems to work. [1]https://www.yahoo.com/news/tru... [yahoo.com]
[1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-coronavirus-testing-stopped-testing-212011656.html
Re:No data, no problem (Score:4, Insightful)
Back in 2020 Trump said "If we stop testing we'd have fewer cases" in regards to CV19
A staple of fascistic governments is that everything has focused around aesthetics. That's why the flashy ICE raids in public and propaganda videos. The appearance of what you are doing is far more important than the actual thing.
This is related to Umberto Eco's point #3 of fascism The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”
Re: (Score:1)
Yes like many things Trump we can use the phrase "Yeah that's true but it's fucking stupid for you to say. You're the President and you don't understand"
Re: (Score:2)
Seriously? No, the cases still happen -technically- both in your post and DT's rhetoric. Not hard to understand - whether you measure or not illness still occurs, disease transmits. Same goes for ocean chemistry or forest fires.
The last line of the post you typed is *actually* just saying the boring claim: "If we stop testing we'll know about fewer cases"
Re: No data, no problem (Score:2)
I know for me, covid brought distinct symptoms. First was night sweats. The first time I had covid I woke up and the sheets were so drenched i thought I may have peed the bed. Fever only returned at night.
My second distinct symptom was extreme fatigue... like walking down one flight of steps was too much. Not a triathlete by any means but I do place ice hockey twice a week. That feeling did not happen when normally ill.
So even the times I didn't test, I knew by the symptoms that is was a very re
Re: (Score:2)
> Back in 2020 Trump said "If we stop testing we'd have fewer cases" in regards to CV19
>> Well, technically, that's true.
Yeah, that's not how reality works.
One of the problems here is (Score:3, Informative)
Right wingers will just avoid this thread. It's not just that they get a ton of bad information, they do, but they actively avoid good information.
They have to stay inside a bubble and a safe space because otherwise reality comes crashing down and they're just not prepared to deal with that. Too many Hang-Ups from when they were kids
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
The most devastating question you can ask a Republican today is "What sources do you trust and get your news from"
Re: (Score:2)
I know, I know. The AI told me!!!
Re: (Score:2)
There's a reason Musk had to force Grok to give conservative answers to questions instead of expecting it to come to them naturally through facts and history.
What I like best about right-wing AI (Score:2)
Is that just trying to tweak it to be a little more conservative, not even right-wing, and it immediately starts praising Hitler.
That's because to the training model a right winger is indistinguishable from a Neo-Nazi. The two of them were using the same talking points and dog whistles. Because it's all part of the same pipeline. And it all ends at the same place
I watched an x co-worker of mine (Score:2)
On his journey to becoming a Fox News lunatic. He moved away before it was complete but it was inevitable.
He would watch Fox News I would ask him why and point out that it was going to rot his brain. He would tell me it was just entertaining.
That's the real problem with right-wing propaganda. They have highly skilled professionals so to a lot of people consuming it is entertaining in and of itself. Even if you start watching it in a tongue-in-cheek manner the fact that you're being entertained by it
Re: (Score:2)
> They have to stay inside a bubble and a safe space because otherwise reality comes crashing down and they're just not prepared to deal with that.
The point were "deal with it" is going to be a harsh one then. A lot of people may even die, and from that standpoint the Darwin crowd may see it as a self-correcting problem.
Re:No data, no problem (Score:5, Insightful)
Exactly. It's not an ill-advised attempt to save money, it's an attempt to sweep any pollution problems under the rug.
Re: (Score:2)
Worse still, even if Trump doesn't get a third term, those satellites are expensive and supposed to last a lot longer than one term. Whoever inherits what's left of the US will have to decide between launching new ones with the proper equipment, or trying to make do with what other countries are willing to share. Which fortunately is a lot.
Re: (Score:1)
Works with COVID.
There's too much data (Score:2)
It's getting harder to call science a hoax with all the data they amassed. It's time for fair and balanced reporting, for that to happen both sides need to operate on ignorance and a lack of solid facts to back up their arguments.
Re: No data, no problem (Score:2)
Wow, they list me half-way into the second paragraph:
> The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is narrowing the capabilities and reducing the number of next-generation weather and climate satellites it plans to build and launch in the coming decades, two people familiar with the plans told CNN.
> This move â" which comes as hurricane season ramps up with Erin lashing the East Coast â" fits a pattern in which the Trump administration is seeking to not only slash climate pollution rules, but also reduce the information collected about the pollution in the first place.
The satellites we are discussing are going to be "planned and built over the coming decades", WTF does that have to do with a hurricane heading toward the U.S. coastline THIS WEEK?
The reporter is acting like DJT ran out to the launch pad and started ripping sensors off the weather satellites as they were ready to launch - these things are just specifications and goals written down to secure federal funding.
As best as I can figure, these satellites won't