Discussion Topic: On The New “National Climate Service”

It’s been a while since we’ve discussed climate change, and it seems the winds of, well, change are swirling around that very topic in Washington. So the question is, are you ready for a National Climate Service? Actually, it’s probably coming, ready or not.

From the _Washington Post:
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_The House Science and Technology Committee is scheduled to consider legislation . . . that would establish a “National Climate Service”. . . that would head up the government’s efforts to provide policy-relevant information about climate and climate change . . . .
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_Eric J. Barron, the director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, told the House Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment at a hearing earlier this month that the country’s current climate services are a “patchwork” that are ill-suited to help society prepare for and respond to climate change.
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“Currently, there is no single source of authoritative, credible and useful information that will allow society to span such important topics as the physical aspects of sea level rise, temperature and precipitation, the resource implications of failed crops, anticipating adverse human health outcomes, robust water supply, managing changes in ecosystems, or the social implications of migrations and resource competitions.

So what do you think? Good idea or not?