Oppose Dismantling of NCAR and Protect Critical Weather Research Infrastructure

I am writing to urge you to oppose the Trump administration's plan to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. This decision threatens 830 jobs, jeopardizes vital weather forecasting capabilities, and undermines American leadership in atmospheric sciences based on political grievances rather than scientific merit. NCAR is internationally recognized for groundbreaking advancements in weather prediction that directly protect American lives and property. The GPS dropsondes developed at NCAR revolutionized our understanding of tropical cyclone structure and improved hurricane forecasts, according to James Franklin, retired chief of the branch of hurricane specialists at NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Severe weather warnings that provide earlier alerts and reduce harm originated from NCAR research. These are not partisan achievements but essential public safety tools that benefit every American regardless of political affiliation. The administration claims it will preserve vital functions like weather modeling and supercomputing while eliminating what it calls climate alarmism, but this distinction is scientifically meaningless. Weather and climate are inseparable systems. The same models, data, and expertise that predict next week's storms also project long-term climate patterns. You cannot cherry-pick one without destroying the other. Even Roger Pielke Jr., a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who has vocally criticized climate alarmism, calls NCAR a crown jewel of the U.S. scientific enterprise that deserves to be improved not shuttered. He warns that if the U.S. is going to be a global leader in atmospheric sciences, it cannot afford to make petty and vindictive decisions based on the hot politics of climate change. The National Science Foundation provided $123 million to NCAR in fiscal year 2025, supporting research conducted through a consortium of more than 130 colleges and universities. Dismantling this infrastructure hands scientific leadership to China and Europe while eliminating jobs and research capacity we will need for decades to come. I urge you to publicly oppose this plan and work to protect NCAR's funding and operations. American lives depend on the weather forecasting capabilities this institution provides.