Climate scientist Tom Di Liberto had dreamed of working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) since college. After more than a decade as a contractor, he finally secured a full-time position nearly two years ago.
Last week, he was among hundreds abruptly fired in a sweeping US government purge which, critics warn, would delay hurricane forecasts, cripple climate research and disrupt vital fisheries.
Still more workers have accepted deferred resignation “buyouts” offered by the US Department of Government Efficiency, and even deeper cuts are expected imminently.
Photo: AFP
“This is the dream job — everything I want to do with my life,” Di Liberto said.
The 40-year-old father of two, who worked on the El Nino-La Nina cycle, was just days short of his two-year anniversary — a milestone that would have protected him from the first round of probationary workers cuts.
“We knew it was coming, but it’s never good to get such a dry, cold, callous e-mail saying you were fired because your skills weren’t needed,” he said.
A NOAA engineer, requesting anonymity for fear of losing her job, said the cuts were already taking a toll. Half of her satellite forecasting team was laid off because they were probationary, meaning malfunctioning satellites will not be restored as quickly.
“People won’t be evacuated on time from natural disasters,” she said. “They could lose property — or their lives.”
About 700 NOAA employees — out of a 12,000-strong workforce — have been fired, although the agency has not confirmed a final number. The New York Times reported that the total, including resignations, could soon reach 20 percent of employees.
The administration of US President Donald Trump appears to be following Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint that calls the NOAA one of the “main drivers of the climate change alarm industry” and proposes breaking it up. It also seeks to privatize the US National Weather Service, forcing Americans to rely on commercial services.
“Significant elements of Project 2025 have already been implemented, despite Donald Trump disavowing any knowledge of it,” US Representative Jamie Raskin said, vowing continued protests and legal action. “This is being carried out in a completely lawless and irresponsible manner.”
Some of those fired held leadership roles, including Sarah Cooley, 47, who was director of the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program. A longtime academic and nonprofit leader, she said climate science stagnated under Trump’s previous term, though states and nonprofits worked to fill the gap.
“But at the end of the day, loss of the work at the federal level can have a very extensive effect,” Cooley said.
While states and philanthropic organizations can fund research, they do not fly planes into hurricanes or maintain oceanographic expeditions — at least not at the NOAA’s level, she said.
NOAA scientists play a crucial role in marine conservation and fisheries management, collecting data on fish stocks, and monitoring ecosystem changes to set catch limits and other policies.
“If they aren’t there to do their important jobs, these fisheries may not go forward, they may not open for the year,” said Gib Brogan, a fisheries expert at nonprofit Oceana.
He said that the economic fallout for coastal communities could be severe, but it is NOAA’s role as a cornerstone of global climate monitoring that has made it a prime target.
“NOAA currently plays a major role as the clearinghouse for global climate data,” Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at The Breakthrough Institute said.
Its data inform major climate groups, he said, warning that severe cuts would amount to “willfully blinding ourselves to avoid the uncomfortable truth about the rapid changes the world is experiencing.”
As uncertainty looms, researchers worldwide are scrambling to preserve NOAA’s data.
“I am aware of several research groups that have pre-emptively downloaded the current version of their NOAA datasets of interest to mitigate some of the risks,” said Leonard Borchert, a climate statistician at the University of Hamburg.
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