1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Today I take pen in hand to write and to urge you to take immediate action to block the wanton destruction of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and protect critical U.S. climate science infrastructure. NCAR has been instrumental in developing climate modeling science and climate observation measurements for over half a century. The facility's Mesa Lab in Boulder, Colorado has served as a hub for groundbreaking research that has advanced our understanding of atmospheric science and positioned the United States as a global leader in climate research. Dismantling this institution undermines decades of scientific progress and threatens our nation's standing in science and technology. The current administration is simultaneously targeting multiple pillars of climate science. The Mauna Loa observatory, where rising CO2 concentrations were first measured, faces defunding. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies is being evicted from its New York City location. NCAR's climate modeling laboratory in Boulder is being broken up. These coordinated attacks represent more than budget cuts. They constitute a deliberate assault on scientific knowledge that will cripple our ability to understand and respond to climate change’s growing side effects. This destruction will not stop climate science, but it will ensure that leadership in this field moves to other countries while the United States falls to second-class status among industrial nations. We are witnessing the destruction of institutions that have served the public interest for generations, driven by what appears to be the Project 2025 agenda backed by special interests that benefit from scientific ignorance. I urge you to use your position to protect NCAR's funding and operations, oppose any legislation that would dismantle climate research institutions, and publicly advocate for the continuation of federally supported climate science. Engage legal allies to file suit against the OMB under chief dismantler Russell Vought. We deserve leaders who will defend scientific research that protects public health, safety, and our economic future. After all, science is how all civilization reached this point. Thank you for your attention.