{"id":25889,"date":"2026-03-11T16:02:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=25889"},"modified":"2026-03-11T16:04:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:04:29","slug":"why-dismantling-the-nations-atmospheric-research-backbone-would-be-a-costly-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2026\/03\/11\/why-dismantling-the-nations-atmospheric-research-backbone-would-be-a-costly-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"Why dismantling the nation\u2019s atmospheric research backbone would be a costly mistake\u202f"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Coauthored by Zachary Decker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump Administration has a record of disregard for programs that support human life, safety, and public health. Now, it is targeting a research center that everything from our military to the insurance industry to our electricity providers rely on to keep us safe and informed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Center for Atmospheric Research, a federally-funded nerve center<\/a> in Boulder, Colorado, is a textbook example of government serving the public interest. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought has indicated the Trump administration\u2019s intention to \u201cbreak up\u201d NCAR, calling it one of the main centers of \u201cclimate alarmism.\u201d But environmental security without NCAR would be like trying to run a marathon blindfolded, without coordinating our feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump Administration thinks it\u2019s in the national interest to cut NCAR\u2019s programs and scope and that its value to all Americans can be preserved if it\u2019s broken up and scattered. This is why they\u2019re wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NCAR is in the national interest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2024 alone<\/a>, the United States suffered 27 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters causing ~$182.7B in damage and at least 568 deaths; and since 1980, cumulative losses exceed $2.9T. Silencing the science doesn\u2019t turn down the risk; it just blinds the people who must manage it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These risks are highly interconnected, which is why NCAR is so valuable. NCAR is much more than a single laboratory: it is the backbone of U.S. environmental intelligence, an integrated hub of supercomputers, aircraft and open community models, where a research-to-forecast pathway converts science into action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an annual budget of $125 million, NCAR contributes to the science infrastructure that generates over $31B in benefits each year<\/a>, while costing less than 0.1% of the U.S. weather and climate disaster losses in 2024. Included in its mandate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n