Jane Lubchenco, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), expressed an interest in creating a National Climate Service when she took office nearly a year ago, and this week that plan moved closer to reality with the formal outline of the Climate Service and the launch of a new Climate.gov website.The site contains a ClimateWatch magazine with features that describe the impact of climate change, a global climate dashboard and educational materials that are designed to help citizens understand climate.
The proposed climate service would model the Weather Service, and would bring together hundreds of scientists and analysts that are now spread throughout NOAA. Administration officials said they hope to have the climate service up and running by Oct. 1, the start of the 2011 fiscal year. But meeting that deadline will require negotiating with Congress, employee groups and the Office of Management and Budget to work out the details.
