From Penn State:
Environment Canada cuts threaten science, international agreements
Recent cuts to the scientific workforce of Environment Canada, a government agency responsible for meteorological services and environmental research, threaten scientific research related to the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere and pollution in the lower atmosphere, according to environmental scientists in the U.S. These reductions in personnel and projected budget cuts also threaten existing international agreements.
“Canada is a bellwether for environmental change, not only for Arctic ozone depletion but for pollutants that stream to North America from other continents, ” said Anne Thompson, professor of meteorology, Penn State. “It is unthinkable that data collection is beginning to shut down in this vast country, in some cases at stations that started decades ago.”
The researchers, commenting in the current (Feb. 14) issue of the American Geophysical Unions Eos newspaper, state that since August when the cuts went into effect, ozone soundings have ceased at several Canadian stations. Lidar network measurements of particle pollution layers from five Canadian stations no longer occur, and the website that was distributing this data has disappeared.
Environment Canada conducts many programs in support of international agreements including the UN framework for Climate Change Convention, the Montreal Protocol and U.S. bilateral agreements. The Canadian government signed all these agreements, but their ability to fulfil their obligations is now in question.
“Research conducted by scientists in Canada has been instrumental for the success of the Montreal Protocol, the international legislation that has successfully reduced atmospheric levels of ozone depleting substances,” said Ross Salawitch, professor in the atmospheric and oceanic science department, University of Maryland, College Park. “The ozone layer, particularly in the Arctic, is still sensitive because of the long atmospheric lifetime of pollutants that cause ozone depletion.”
Binational agreements between Canada and the U.S. are also of concern to scientists and policy makers.
“A number of research areas in which Canada has shown past leadership now face a questionable future,” said Ray Hoff, professor of physics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “These include deposition of toxic organic chemicals from the air onto the Great Lakes and vertical profiling of aerosols using laser radar.”
Franco Einaudi, retired, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, adds, “Recent comments by Canada at the Durban Climate Change Summit have added to the concern that Canada’s environmental commitment may be changing.”
With Canada’s vast Northern Territory, tracking climatic sensitivities as well as ozone depletion and arctic pollution are concerns of scientists and policymakers alike. Environment Canada’s programs have long been a gold standard. With personnel losses and further decisions on reductions in force or re-assignment of personnel pending, the researchers are concerned that they and the international community can no longer rely on the exceptional efforts and past leadership that Canada exhibited.
“Canada stands to lose an entire community of highly respected scientists who are experts on ozone and climate if further proposed budget cuts go through,” said Jennifer Logan, senior research fellow in atmospheric chemistry, Harvard University.
Future budget cuts at Environment Canada appear certain. Until the community is given specifics about the long-term environmental program, the ability for Canada to maintain its key role in support of science and the international agreements like the Montreal Protocol is compromised. The world stands to lose an enormous amount of data necessary for our understanding of the environment in these cold reaches and around the globe if these programs end.
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Howard B says:
February 13, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Feds to upgrade weather monitoring and warning systems
By Linda Nguyen, Postmedia News January 20, 2012
TORONTO – The federal government announced Friday it will spend $78.7 million over the next five years to improve Canada’s weather monitoring and warning systems.
That at least makes sense. Spend money on weather forecasting and emergency preparedness. Get out from behind the computer simulations 100 years in the future and do something useful today.
If you solve today’s problems, tomorrow’s problems pretty much take care of themselves.
I’d like to see Canada contribute to programs such as AMSU and ENVISAT instead. A few less bodies trying to dream up some reason why CO2 must be sensitive to Milankovich cycles is a positive development.
Bruce says:
February 13, 2012 at 5:00 pm
UVic in Victoria BC has this group called the Pacific Climate Impact Consortium.
Oh right. Of the 3 GISS BC stations I could find with 2011 and pre-1950 data I noticed that 1950 was pretty much the coldest year ever.
The UVic has a spectacularly rabid bunch of AGW fanatics. They were the ones that announced their climate unit had a break-in the same day as the Climategate emails were released. Terrorist denier precision on a global scale to equal al-queda. Or “Free the Animals” trying to end the horrible CO2 climate experiments performed on living creatures. Were they the ones that turned fish deaf and dissolved defenseless mollusks in carbolic acid?
If the threat is serious, this would be an ideal chance for a set of volunteers and/or local businesses to take over the measuring stations and keep them honest. Perhaps supervised and linked by nearby TV stations with non-warmist weathermen?
I might add that savings from program reductions might just be applied to more deserving branches of science and/or technology. When Chretien came to power, “science policy” became entrenchment of the ivory tower mandarins, and instead of investing in research, the feds drained cash to the infamous “jobs” program.
I can only hope that technological research and DEVELOPMENT become important again in the sciences, rather than the politically correct pap that we’ve been living with for the past 15 or more years.
Will Canada also lose David Suzuki? One can but hope.
WTF says:
February 13, 2012 at 5:55 pm
“Approve the Keystone pipeline…”
This is actually a brilliant idea! Use money from the Keystone pipeline and oil production in Alberta to fund Canadian climate science! They could even erect signs near the pipeline such as “Your Canadian oil – funding our leadership in Climate Science”. It’s a win-win situation for all!
I am not against climate science or any other science but I hope they will bring in a “scientific method” demand for ALL future science before funding. Imagine if you will M&M getting to preview all climate study designs. That will weed out the gravy train slackers and make more money available for real science.
The 78.7 Million the Canadian Federal goverment is investing over the next 5 years includes:
The $45.2 million, five year funding will stabilize and life-cycle manage the existing Canadian Radar Network and will allow the existing newer generation radars to upgrade to state of the art “dual-polarization” technology in a staged approach.
Environment Canada’s Meteorological Service will be focusing on the 550 core hourly and daily reporting sites that are key for climate and severe weather purposes. The older equipment at these core sites will be replaced and upgraded using a life-cycle management process. The $18.8 million, five year funding will supplement existing resources and enable approximately 250 surface weather and climate observing stations to be upgraded.
The $4.2 million, five year funding will go towards upgrading the Aerological Network by replacing the obsolete long range navigational technology with new multi-sensor GPS radiosonde equipment. This technology upgrade will ensure continued access to the full suite of atmospheric wind and temperature data through the depth of the atmosphere.
The $10.5 million, five year funding will allow for maintaining and upgrading the Canadian Lightning Detection Network sensor and communications infrastructure and to improve the lightning information available on Environment Canada’s Weatheroffice website.
Come on, lay off Penn State, they are #1. See for yourself!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/13/top-slacker-colleges-according-college-humor_n_1272873.html
The reason Harper got reelected w/t a majority is that he succeded at convincing Canadian that he will do its best to deliver what was promised before election, and also that he is serious on the topic of putting Canada’ economy on robust ground.
In fact, I think it is now evident that most Canadian think that were all heading (all = world) into very deep sh*t at “vitesse grand V”. Here it is not possible to push a button to start a money printing device like south border where it seem so easy…
Now having the majority, Harper have the mean to do some much needed cleaning. Leaving Kyoto was the only realistic choice. Remember that if all the speculation about return of a colder climate are to be true, like many here like to joke, up here we may end up restarting trapping beaver.
However on the bright side, we’re already acustomized to a very cold winter w/t lot of snow (here we call it sh*t for a good reason). Unlike many places like Europe that simply cannot cope w/t a couples feet of snow & few degree below point of freeze, here if it’s minus 20degC or minus 30degC its business as usual. But still shortening of growing season & displacement or total loss of specific culture zone like grain must be feared & anticipated.
Wanna know how it’s like having to rely on an electric car stuck in 4 feets of snow at minus 20degC & how good these thing are at keeping the windshield free of ice & condensation frost? Come live here & see!
“A number of research areas in which Canada has shown past leadership now face a questionable future,”
Canada is once again showing what true leadership is about. Rather than throwing good money after bad funding research in areas that have a questionable future, Canada has taken the lead in climate science.
Leadership means leading. If we follow what the American’s say is right, we are followers not leaders. Canada is not a nation of followers.
Nice work, Canadians. We should do the same with our bloated climate establishment.
As usual, follow the money……money is drying up, so will the jobs and the science. I’ve heard and read that only rich countries can afford all this environmentally correct stuff.
Terminate with Extreme Prejustice! Then build that dammable pipeline.
James Sexton says:
February 13, 2012 at 5:22 pm …….
“How timely….. ”
Yes, for sure visit Dr Tim Ball’s website. His articles are excellent.
http://drtimball.com/
Don’t forget that he was sued by Mike Mann for his comment about state pen instead on Penn State
Search his site for comments on Environment Canada
Hopefully they will use the savings for GM studies to find grains that will grow north of the 49th.
Not to sound too right-wing, but the one area of research that consistently delivers innovation worth having in your country… is defense, and yet everyone wants to cut defense and support all these nonsense endeavors.
People seem to think defense and think people shooting people, but they fail to realize the army of engineers/researchers that are doing truly groundbreaking stuff for that investment.
It never ceases to amaze me when people who have emphasized CO2 as the main driver of climate suddenly see that their single focus has drawn attention away from other, and in this case, more important, research. If all the money the Greens have squandered, advocating and succeeding in shutting down nuclear power plants that now have to be rehabilitated and restarted so that the lights do not go out as all the windmills stop turning in July due to a high pressure system over the Great Lakes, and had funded the Arctic research, boreal forest management, etc. where would research be today? But no. CO2 took the lion’s share of resources and now we have? less money to go around. There is just so much blood one can squeeze from the Canadian public electric &heating bills. In a very ironic twist, the greens are the enemy of environmental research and understanding. The chickens sure do come home to roost.
We can only hope to ‘lose highly respected scientists in climate’. Perhaps Penn State is hiring:)
Urederra says:
February 13, 2012 at 4:51 pm
> CFCs do not deplect ozone.
> Ozone is a very unstable molecule, It does not need the help of any radicals to decompose, it
> does it by itself. The ozone depleted by CFCs theory is not compatible with the empirical data. If > it were, the holes should not appear over the poles, but over the equator, where there is higher > temperature and higher levels of radical forming radiation. And definetively not during the artic > winter, when there is no solar radiation to break CFCs into radicals.
Ozone is formed by very shortwave UV (near and under 200 nm), and is more stable at lower temperatures. The problem in polar areas is that clouds sometimes form in the ozone layer in polar areas in late winter and early spring. Clouds do not form in the ozone layer anywhere else. The problem is that an ozone molecule is quickly broken down when it touches a cloud ice crystal and chlorine at the same time. The ozone molecule then oxidizes the chlorine, to form O2 and chlorine oxide. Chlorine oxide has been found in polar areas, especially the antarctic, in late winter and early spring.
Also, ionically bonded inorganic chlorides are not a problem. A chloride ion is not oxidized by ozone the way a covalently bonded chlorine atom is. Apparently, ozone reacts with chlorinated hydrocarbons, or the chlorinated hydrocarbons get broken down to something more reactive by sunlight before winter or before they reach polar areas.
Ozone may also be destroyed by chlorine or chlorinated hydrocarbons elsewhere, but much more slowly than when and where clouds are present in the ozone layer.
I Am Canadian!
The opinion of these Yanks are nothing more than their interfering in Canadians internal affairs!
Isn’t that against “The UN Charter Of Domicile Freedoms, Don’t Question What I Do, Hey I’m Still A UN Member” thingy?
I think it is!
IB
Jusy says: “Or maybe we Canuckleheads may have woken up to the fact that ozone depletion is no more caused by CFC’s then acne is caused by chocolate”.
The general acceptance of that awakening, Jusy, will be a sobering day. It will shatter so much trust that the entire world will be shocked… shocked to the point that harsh, even draconian, demands are made of “experts” in every field in which the fate of humanity — from the individual to the entire community — is concerned.
We have been and are being ill severed by those in fields as far apart as medicine and economics, and need a blood letting of massive proportions.
Throw open the sluice gates.
Since Thompson and her fellow complainants are so concerned about the impact on the livelihood of those Environment Canada has (for whatever reason) deemed to be surplus, perhaps they could have a quiet word with their philanthropic Big Green benefactors … and suggest a redirection of those funds currently flowing to Canadian non-profits:
http://opinion.financialpost.com/2012/02/08/65-million-for-ducks-and-more/
These benefactors could pool their considerable resources and establish an Institute for De-Commissioned Canadian Climatologists (IDCCC) so that they may carry on their noble mission.
Canadians are returning to the practicality, that has enabled them to thrive where it is barely inhabitable. Concentrate on what is essential and do it with all your might and ability. Common sense is just a little more common there. GK