A peek at the U.S. budget for climate science

Do these numbers seem paltry, given the scale of the problems? Especially given the trillions of dollars wasted on a criminal war in Iraq: From PR-USA.net: The President has proposed a budget of $968.5 million for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in fiscal year 2009, a decrease of $38.0 million from the 2008 enacted level. The FY 2009 budget focuses on the highest priorities for research while ensuring that the USGS builds the expertise it needs to continue answering the complex scientific questions that may arise. The budget includes $34.9 million in program increases and $15.0 million in fixed costs, offset by $87.8 million in reductions for lower priority efforts and unrequested increases.

"The USGS is committed to providing timely, objective scientific information in support of key Departmental and Presidential priorities, including Water for America, Birds Forever, Healthy Lands, and Ocean and Coastal Frontiers" said USGS Director Mark Myers. "The proposed budget will also strengthen our efforts in climate change studies, priority ecosystems research and the development of a National Land Imaging Program"

…The 2009 budget reflects a restructuring to create a global change activity and sustains $5.0 million of the $7.4 million increase in 2008 for climate change science. The 2009 request of $26.6 million includes $21.6 million in base funds to continue current global change research, $4.0 million to establish a pilot program in Alaska for a national climate change network, and $1.0 million for climate change adaptation studies. These components will provide critical monitoring information needed for predictive modeling related to our changing climate and its effects on the landscape and the Nation’s resources.

The 2009 budget consolidates funding for a new Global Change Activity totaling $26.6 million that is supported by an additional $4.8 million in Climate Change Science, bringing total climate change funding to $31.4 million.

Priority ecosystems studies have a proposed budget of $10.4 million. The USGS will continue funding for work in the Greater Everglades, Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, the Mojave Desert, the Platte River, and Yellowstone.

Land Remote Sensing is funded at $62.6 million, including a programmatic increase of $2.0 million to develop a National Land Imaging Program. This program will assess the future need for civil, operational land imaging data and develop a blueprint to determine future needs for acquisition of satellite data to supplement Landsat 7 imagery.

Conductors bag with coin changer, "LosHawlos," Wikimedia Commons