White House pushes to dismantle leading climate and weather research center

Summary

William Brangham: The Trump administration says it plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, which is the nation's premier atmospheric science center.In announcing the closing, Budget Director Russell Vought called the center -- quote -- "one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country."NCAR, as the center is known, was founded in 1960 and has facilitated generations of breakthroughs in climate and weather science. The announcement has drawn outcry from meteorologists and climate scientists across the country.Earlier this week, I spoke with two of them who are very familiar with the center's work. Brown University's Kim Cobb is a climate scientist and director of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and Matthew Cappucci is senior meteorologist at MyRadar.Thank you both so much for being here.Kim Cobb, to you first. What is NCAR and why, as a climate scientist, is it so important and seemingly precious to this community? Kim Cobb, Brown University: Thanks for having me, William.NCAR is a really historic institution in our field. It, of course, dates back decades now. And, over that time, it has really woven itself into the fabric of both weather and climate science across the country and around the world.We're talking about unique, one-of-a-kind facilities like supercomputers, ticked-out airplanes, and most importantly, a staff of over 800 people who are at the top of their game in innovating in weather and climate science for public good, putting out data that is on every single climate scientist's computer around the country, if not around the world, and a nexus of collaboration as well that is important training grounds for the next generation of leaders. William Brangham: And, Matthew Cappucci, as a meteorologist, how important is NCAR to your profession? Matthew Cappucci, Senior Meteorologist, MyRadar: I mean, NCAR is really the birthplace of all the tools we use, both technologically.And, really, t...