We Are F%$#ed

This graph is being censoredIn response to the growing problems of anthropogenic climate change, the Trump administration is shuttering the Mauna Loa Observatory, which has been the gold standard for measuring atmospheric CO2 levels.

They are going to kill us all: 

More than 11,100 feet above sea level, surrounded by nothing but black rocks, white clouds and blue sky, the Mauna Loa Observatory is in a Goldilocks spot for studying the atmosphere.

The air that swirls around the isolated outpost located on a Hawaiian volcano is a mix from all over the Northern Hemisphere. That makes it one of the best places to measure greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It is indispensable to scientists around the world.

The readings collected from Mauna Loa, starting in 1958, were used to create what is famously known as the Keeling curve. It’s an upward-swooping line that charts the steady rise of carbon dioxide over the past seven decades — the result of nations burning oil, gas and coal.

But President Trump’s proposed 2026 budget would put an end to Mauna Loa, along with three other key observatories and almost all the climate research being done by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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The observatory is part of a global network of stations that monitor the atmosphere. The research performed at these labs lets scientists assess changes over the long term, figure out what caused the changes and make better predictions for extreme events like heat waves, droughts and floods. And the stations can help scientists tell which climate policies are working, which are not, and if global warming is accelerating.

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As important as the Mauna Loa Observatory is, it doesn’t work in isolation. To have a reliable and global picture of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, scientists need to collect samples from multiple places. NOAA operates three other monitoring stations — one in Alaska, one in American Samoa and one at the geographic South Pole — to compile its global average carbon dioxide trend.

The president’s budget would close all four stations, eliminating the United States’ pole-to-pole view of greenhouse gases. They cannot easily be replaced.

What's that New Yorker cartoon about this again?

Yes, this: