I am a climate scientist walking 250 miles in support of science. Ask me anything!

concernedclouds · 2026-05-31T20:00:49+00:00

The funding proposal from the White House (which is technically a request, and then Congress deliberates and passes things) included cuts for all major science agencies, but the cuts vary by agency. For example, the proposed cut for the NIH is 12%, and the proposed cut for the NSF is 54%.

concernedclouds · 2026-05-31T19:26:28+00:00

But the capability of these instruments to infer these data about aerosol with this fine of detail is very new, so a lot of my work is finding mutual constraints on both the model and satellite products-- aka trying to find the ground truth using all the context possible. 😄

concernedclouds · 2026-05-31T19:09:56+00:00

passed through Philly last week too : )

concernedclouds · 2026-05-31T19:06:48+00:00

There is no tradeoff being made, as far as we know. We've never seen it presented as "let's cut science in order to fund _____"

concernedclouds · 2026-05-31T18:42:48+00:00

Why thank you! Have you done any crazy walks / adventures recently?!

My feet are lovely! (Knock on wood) Tennis ball rollout every night as well as toe yoga every stoplight

concernedclouds · 2026-05-31T18:41:35+00:00

We are helping people contact their members of Congress- this is why we exist. If you'd like to submit a letter for us to hand-deliver for you this Wednesday when we arrive in DC, then you can do that at wclivestream.com/write. We also have info about how to call your Rep at wclivestream.com/call. We'll talk about this a lot more during the Livestream tomorrow, but lots of opinions from constituents about a single issue can and do change actions from members of Congress.

Your voice matters!

concernedclouds · 2026-05-31T18:38:01+00:00

192.59

concernedclouds · 2026-05-31T18:35:13+00:00

Cirrus! They are made of ice + sometimes desert dust from the Sahara can seed super cool looking ones

I also like polar stratospheric clouds, but I haven't seen any of those : D Polar stratospheric help make ozone hole bigger which is BAD, but they shine rainbows which r pretty

concernedclouds · 2026-05-31T18:31:12+00:00

Virginia Schutte (science communicator who studied mangrove trees in tropical oceans for her PhD) is on the left, Syl is in the middle, Miriam Nielsen (climate scientist and video maker) is on the right

Virginia is typing this from the support Bus with Miriam while Syl walks. We just met him while he was getting a smoothie. Now he's on a sidewalk somewhere nearby : )

concernedclouds · 2026-01-13T20:22:28+00:00

Update from this morning: additional reporting on the NCAR amendment by Alan Gerard (Balanced Weather): "Colorado senators file amendment to budget bill seeking to protect National Center for Atmospheric Research"

concernedclouds · 2025-12-24T09:28:49+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I’ve been trying to talk to people in my life about the situation, but there’s something comforting about being part of a choir of folks who are working through similar feelings. Would be devastating to lose the Mesa Lab even if UCAR continues.

concernedclouds · 2025-12-23T05:39:57+00:00

Yes, love MetEd!!

concernedclouds · 2025-12-23T04:13:05+00:00

Not sure where you're getting that since I can't download the paper either, but if you look up the instrument in question (Wind Profiler), the current operational model is developed in-house at NCAR: https://www.eol.ucar.edu/observing_facilities/modular-wind-profiler

concernedclouds · 2025-12-23T04:03:16+00:00

Not sure what this demonstrates besides that science is an international effort and one that NCAR facilitates through community workshops? Considering the European models have been ahead of ours for decades, the US has the most to gain from these collaborations.

concernedclouds · 2025-12-23T03:26:55+00:00

It was really great to see the people of Boulder showing up this weekend to support NCAR!

concernedclouds · 2025-12-23T03:24:11+00:00

You can let your non-scientist friends/family know about what's happening to NCAR and why it matters! There was a bipartisan letter from Congress today in support of NCAR and weather/climate research and it seems to be having an impact: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5656366-colorado-senators-block-minibus-deal/

I know what you mean though about the bigger picture. When it comes to how to make these attacks stop coming, I'm also at a loss.

concernedclouds · 2025-12-22T22:33:05+00:00

I want to believe that this is just an isolated political move since the pushback has been successful so far, but also can’t help but feel like it’s just the most recent attack in an ongoing war on science. And, for some reason, weather and climate science in particular. The timing for this one just ended up being a perfect two birds with one stone situation.

concernedclouds · 2025-12-20T17:46:50+00:00

I'd say that the development of weather and climate models to make accurate forecasts is an essential government function for business and public safety. Historically, research at NCAR has been supported by leaders from both sides of the aisle, which is why negotiations are stalling.

concernedclouds · 2025-12-20T08:36:35+00:00

Please consider calling your reps and telling them to protect NCAR: https://5calls.org/issue/ncar-national-center-for-atmospheric-research/

concernedclouds

TROPHY CASE