GÒP Budget Cuts Would Lead To Furloughs At Tsunami

[Mkitty is pro kitty]

Congressional Republicans’ 2011 budget would slash funding for government agencies directly responsible for issuing tsunami warnings and severely reduce the government’s capacity to track and respond to these disasters, the president of the union that represents employees of the National Weather Service told ThinkProgress today in the wake of the tragic tsunami in the Pacific. The House Republican budget, which was rejected by the Senate this week, would have cut funding to NOAA — the agency directly responsible for tsunami monitoring and warning — restricting the government’s ability to respond.

Dan Sobien, the president of National Weather Service Employees Organization, said in a statement to ThinkProgress that while his agency, a subsidiary of NOAA, has made contingency plans, the GOP cuts would “put considerable stress” on the country’s tsunami monitoring and response systems:
"NOAA has put together part of a contingency plan to handle such a massive cut and while it spares tsunami buoys, all other coastal buoys are non funded and there will be furloughs at both Tsunami Warning Centers (TWC). These furloughs will take away the TWC’s ability to upgrade tsunami models and will put considerable stress on watchstanders ability to react. This plan unfortunately only account for about half the cuts that need to be made, about 60 of the 126 million that needs to be cut. While today’s disaster is of particular concern to everyone, we are just now entering tornado season and soon will be hurricane season and our organization firmly believes any effort to defund and dismantle our nations early warning system for all disasters is very unwise."

More at

thinkprogress.org/2011/03/11/gop-budget-tsunami/

[jkapp]

As Japan has showed us...even the most robust warning systems are null when the tsunami starts out so close to land. Which means all that money would be wasted. Until they can predict earthquakes, increasing funding for tsunamis is pretty much a waste.

[handyman2]

Sounds like unions crying foul again. Don't forget the warning systems are automated and send signal directly to the oceanigraphic center. There will always people there.

[Mkitty is pro kitty]

As Japan has showed us...even the most robust warning systems are null when the tsunami starts out so close to land.

Have you found that thing that's 100% reliable yet?

Until they can predict earthquakes, increasing funding for tsunamis is pretty much a waste.

GOP Budget Cuts Would Lead To Furloughs At Tsunami

I hope moving that goalpost across the field gave you good exercise. Oh, and without money put into research and development, how do you expect it to improve?

[jkapp]

>>I hope moving that goalpost across the field gave you good exercise. Oh, and without money put into research and development, how do you expect it to improve? <<

tsunami warnings will never improve until they can accurately predict earthquakes...which they are no where near being able to do. So funding more research for tsunamis is a waste - tsunamis are an after effect of earthquakes: predict them and the problems of tsunami warnings are also improved.

[ed1066]

the president of the union that represents employees of the National Weather Service told ThinkProgress today

As soon as I read that sentence, your post moved to zero credibility immediately...

[ChiTownVenture]

Mar 16, 2011 11:18:39 GMT -5 jkapp said:

As Japan has showed us...even the most robust warning systems are null when the tsunami starts out so close to land. Which means all that money would be wasted. Until they can predict earthquakes, increasing funding for tsunamis is pretty much a waste.

Japan showed us that CA and OR can be saved with tsunami warnings specifically when the earthquakes happen in that small space between the west coast of the US and the east coast of Asian.

Instead of scrapping something because it doesn't help when the earth quake is in our back yard, why don't we weigh out the possibilities that a quake could happen further away giving us ample time to prepare (as long as someone is watching for it).

[steff]

As Japan has showed us...even the most robust warning systems are null when the tsunami starts out so close to land.

********************

actually, their warning system saved many lives. some parts had as much as 5 minutes to run for the hills (literally). In more than one video you can hear the sirens and the announcements to move to higher ground and can see many people doing just that. So IMO, to complete disregard the warning system as 'useless' isn't correct. It DID help save lives in Japan.

And it should always be said that unlike the idiots in california who ran to the beach to take pics, the Japanese headed for high ground, not the beach. They understand what they were facing and the destruction that could happen.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

It's just more of the same old bullshit scare tactics by Democrats. Every dollar cut from the budget = some enormous made-up number of Americans sick, injured, starving, or dead.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

It's just more of the same old bullshit scare tactics by Democrats. Every dollar cut from the budget = some enormous made-up number of Americans sick, injured, starving, or dead.

Removing the $60 billion in fraud from medicare could easily pay for the weather service's tsunami warning system.