August 21, 2014 — Climate change is an increasing problem on the global stage, and its effects, including increased droughts and natural disasters, are a cause for concern. A senior government official recently said not only is climate change present in Alaska. It’s accelerating. KDLG’s Chase Cavanaugh has more.
The head of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, is currently visiting the state of Alaska. While ostensibly present to accompany the Secretary of Commerce, she also took time to check in on state NOAA personnel. KDLG got the chance to interview Dr. Sullivan, and asked her about NOAA’s role in studying global climate change. She says its main purpose is to translate scientific data into useful analysis.
“I think of NOAA as America’s environmental intelligence agency. We’re the folks that specialize in collecting the observations and providing the models and the forecasts and the assessments that turn that fundamental scientific information into information products and services and insights that help us understand what’s happening to the planet around us and in a way that we can factor it into our decision making.”
One of the products that NOAA contributes to is the National Climate Assessment. First published in 2000, it reflects the findings of experts in both the public and private sector. Sullivan says the third version’s findings, published this May, don’t bode well for Alaska.
Read the full story and listen to the audio at KDLG