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It's time for a change in the way we look at the Earth. That's the conclusion from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA Administrator Vice Admiral (Ret.) Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr. says countries need to gain a deeper understanding of how the Earth works and create a system to help us take the pulse of the planet.
To accomplish that, Lautenbacher has announced plans for the U.S. to host an Earth Observation Summit in Washington, D.C., on July 31. The summit will bring together ministers from the G-8 countries and other nations to discuss ways of establishing a system that can monitor world weather more effectively. The current Global Observing System of the World Weather Watch is an example on which to build, according to Lautenbacher. That system focuses on weather and is supplemented by a new initiative called the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). NOAA is allocating $4 million this year to strengthen the climate-observing capabilities of GCOS.
Administrator Lautenbacher announced the NOAA's Earth Science Renaissance initiative at the 14th quadrennial session of the World Meteorological Organization Congress held in Geneva, May 5-24, 2003. To read the text of the announcement, click here.
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