A Navy admiral, a lawyer, a fisherman, an environmental group leader and a former head of the American Meteorological Society excoriated the Trump administration Wednesday for what they called a dangerous gutting of NOAA, the nation’s climate, weather and oceans agency.
In a forum hosted by Democratic members of the House Natural Resources Committee, panelists representing a broad cross-section of experts and groups cast a grim picture of a core science agency hollowed out by firings and budget cuts.
“I have hesitated to say this in prior instances in my life, but lives are at risk, people will die from this, I’m sorry to say,” Mary Glackin, the former AMS president and former senior vice president of the Weather Company, told attendees of the hearing led by Rep. Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island.
The alarming words from Glackin, who also served as a senior NOAA official under the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, came during a gathering at the Capitol that drew lawmakers, members of the media and former NOAA employees, some of whom were subject to cuts by President Donald Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
