Hurricane Iniki at peak intensity on Sept. 11, 1992, at 2358 UTC. This image was produced from data from NOAA-11, provided by NOAA.
Ahead of next week’s release of the first budget from the Trump Administration, Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) lead a bipartisan letter to the Trump Administration.
The letter urges reconsideration of proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that would disproportionately hurt Hawai‘i and other coastal states.
The proposed cuts, first reported by the Washington Post, would completely eliminate the Sea Grant College Program at the University of Hawai‘i and universities in other states. In 2015, the University of Hawaii received more than $2 million in federal funding for the Sea Grant Program. The proposal also drastically cuts NOAA’s satellite program, which provides critical imagery and forecasting information for U.S. military navigation as well as community disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD
In 2015, the University of Hawai‘i received more than $2 million in federal funding for the Sea Grant Program. The proposal also drastically cuts NOAA’s satellite program, which provides critical imagery and forecasting information for U.S. military navigation as well as community disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
The proposal also drastically cuts NOAA’s satellite program, which provides critical imagery and forecasting information for U.S. military navigation as well as community disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
The Senators wrote:
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD
“In 1992, Hurricane Iniki struck Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i, causing six deaths and $1.8 billion (1992 USD) in damage. If communities had not been warned about the hurricane in advance, the death toll could have been much higher. Deep cuts to NESDIS’ monitoring equipment and activities will directly increase coastal states’ vulnerability to hurricanes and other natural events that can threaten our communities and run counter to NOAA’s building of a Weather-Ready Nation.”
The letter was also signed by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Angus King (I-Maine), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i).
Hawai‘i business leaders and scientists underscored the necessity of adequately funding NOAA’s programs and services for the state:
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD
“The NOAA IOOS program provides the real-time data that we need to understand and adapt to changing ocean conditions. The system is critically important to our team members and the coastal communities where we operate,” said Ronald K. Lau, Operations Manager of Kona Coast Shellfish, LLC- Pacific Seafood Group.
“The Sea Grant College Program has been serving coastal communities and economies through the provision of science based information, tools and technologies for more than 50 years. Based at Universities in 33 coastal and Great Lakes states as well Puerto Rico and Guam, Sea Grant serves as NOAAs link to University research and the communities they serve,” said Dr. Darren Lerner, Director of the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program.
This comments section is a public community forum for the purpose of free expression. Although Big Island Now encourages respectful communication only, some content may be considered offensive. Please view at your own discretion. View Comments
