Defend the weather and disaster services this coast runs on

Why this Matters

The administration is moving to cut funding and staff at FEMA and at NOAA, including the National Weather Service. On a coast sitting on top of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, those are not abstract agencies. NOAA's Marine Operations Center-Pacific is up the road in Newport, home port for the research ships that survey this stretch of ocean. The tsunami warning that would reach Waldport comes through the National Weather Service. So do the king tide forecasts, the sneaker wave advisories, and the winter storm warnings that tell people whether to move the car off the low road. Preparation is cheaper than recovery, and it is a lot cheaper than the alternative.

Steps to Take

Step 1

Sign on through Sierra Club's Save Disaster Relief and Weather Services action page.

Step 2

Add a line about the coast if the form lets you. Tsunami warning, storm forecasting, and marine weather are concrete local stakes that a national petition will not mention on its own.

Step 3

Mention the Newport connection. NOAA's Pacific fleet operations are a working part of the Lincoln County economy, not only a science program.

Step 4

Share the action with a neighbor who follows the marine forecast. This is one where people who would not call themselves environmentalists still have a stake.

Sample Text

Option 1

I live on the Oregon Coast, and cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service are a public safety issue here, not a budget line. We are in a tsunami zone. The warning that would give my town time to move comes through the NWS. Our winter storm and king tide forecasts come from the same place, and NOAA's Marine Operations Center-Pacific in Newport supports the ships that survey this coastline. Please fully fund these agencies.

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Option 2

Extreme weather is getting worse, not better, and this is the wrong moment to dismantle the agencies that help us see it coming and recover afterward. FEMA has coordinated disaster response for nearly fifty years. The National Weather Service is the backbone of every emergency alert my community receives. Please protect the funding and staffing of FEMA, NOAA, and the NWS.