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U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

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Re: U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

#131

Post by hxtk »

mandeepj wrote: post #48
dwroberts wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US military budget is 900 billion dollars. The government can afford a few hundred million for some sensors, it should not need private sector patrons

> The US military budget is 900 billion dollars. The new budget proposal is $1.5T

That number, incidentally, is the entire NATO military budget. Which scares me because I can imagine someone planning on taking action that would result in the dissolution of NATO thinking they can make up the difference that way and choosing that number with that in mind.

Re: U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

#132

Post by arbitrary_name »

groundzeros2015 wrote: post #66
cactacea wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Science is evil and must be destroyed at all costs.

Applying even an ounce of argumentative empathy will make you more convincing and psychologically healthier.

it is extremely difficult to do in cases like this. again, why are we pulling the sensors? why not leave them in place and stop paying for maintenance?

why not find alternate funding mechanisms?

because we know who these people are, and what their motives are. they show us time and and time again.

empathy is something to be used against us.

Re: U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

#133

Post by msie »

WhitneyLand wrote: post #56
waterthrowaway wrote: post #26

As a physical oceanographer, the destruction of these observing systems is horrific. It is hard to stress enough how intentionally OMB is trying to disassemble American science. The new (proposed) OMB guidelines prohibit international collaboration without pre approval for example. They also codify a political grant approval process. https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/05/the-office-of-manage... Additionally, OMB is…

OMB = “Office of Management and Budget”. It’s a White House office run by Russell Vought, highly ideological maga institutionalist.

Sadly, he will not be jailed for all the destruction he has caused. Can we send him the repair bill after he's out of office?

Re: U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

#134

Post by nearlyepic »

jdw64 wrote: post #80

I cannot understand the decision to withdraw this for purely political reasons. What I don't understand about the Trump administration is that they are dismantling all of America's diplomatic power. Trump has the 'ability to become president'—self PR, black propaganda against opponents, that sort of thing. But he does not have the 'ability to run a country.' As Professor Ed Dever said, after ten years we are only now…

The reason they do this is because they are, like many other people in this country, completely driven mad by religious fervor. It seems completely irrational because it is.

Silicon Valley is filled with people, at the top echelons of the most valuable companies in the world, who genuinely believe they have invented divine intelligence by making a mathematical model of human speech.

Utah is for all intents and purposes a religious enclave.

We’re just like this - I don’t know what else to say. I guess we were better at hiding it when we felt we had something to lose.

Re: U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

#135

Post by SilverElfin »

WhitneyLand wrote: post #56
waterthrowaway wrote: post #26

As a physical oceanographer, the destruction of these observing systems is horrific. It is hard to stress enough how intentionally OMB is trying to disassemble American science. The new (proposed) OMB guidelines prohibit international collaboration without pre approval for example. They also codify a political grant approval process. https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/05/the-office-of-manage... Additionally, OMB is…

OMB = “Office of Management and Budget”. It’s a White House office run by Russell Vought, highly ideological maga institutionalist.

He’s a self described Christian nationalist. He literally believes the laws should reflect Christian morals and views. Like a right wing sharia. And that’s what Project 2025 includes. Things like age verification for porn are meant to be backdoor porn bans, and also meant to hurt gay and lesbian culture. But it’s based on a puritanical Christian theocratic sort of view.

Re: U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

#136

Post by naturalmovement »

xg15 wrote: post #73
waterthrowaway wrote: post #26

As a physical oceanographer, the destruction of these observing systems is horrific. It is hard to stress enough how intentionally OMB is trying to disassemble American science. The new (proposed) OMB guidelines prohibit international collaboration without pre approval for example. They also codify a political grant approval process. https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/05/the-office-of-manage... Additionally, OMB is…

Can anyone explain that "anti-science" crusade to me? This doesn't seem to have any effect than reduce America's standing in the world.

There's a lot of collateral damage that could have been avoided if millions weren't being squandered on dubious "science" like studying grooming habits of trans aboriginals in the Central African Republic (a made-up scenario, but there are many like it).

At some point the baby's going to be thrown out with the bath water until the course is corrected.

Re: U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

#137

Post by 20after4 »

anon_shill wrote: post #84
groundzeros2015 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well we could try to Figure out the motives and justification, or we can just get mad and feel smug.

Here is what the National Science Foundation has to say about it: > "The decision to de-scope aligns with NSF's wider strategy of a nimbler approach to prioritize support for evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies, as well as smart life cycle management within its research infrastructure portfolio." Seems like even if we want to understand the justifications, the people making these decisions don't…

Wow that quote is the most useless bullshit bunch of words I've seen strung together recently. It says a whole lot of nothing in the most insulting way possible. Must have been written by a highly paid consultant.

Re: U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

#138

Post by tetha »

square_usual wrote: post #8
ezfe wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they're scientific instruments to collect data

Specifically climate data, which can be used to argue for climate change action.

As the old joke went, the easiest way to not have detected covid cases in the country is to stop testing. Very simple, very effective.

Re: U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

#139

Post by autoexec »

rjrjrjrj wrote: post #31
arjie wrote: post #2

The scales of money at play always seem so strange. Oh a few hundred million for ocean sensors, or about what a few OpenAI / Cursor employees or a few hundred FAANG employees could personally fund if they desired to do so.

These sensors and a bunch of other scientific research for a thousand years, or pointless war with Iran for 3 months.

The war is making a lot of money for trump and his family, the science was just making some of Trump's biggest bribers look bad.

Re: U.S. pulling ocean sensors a 'shock' for Canadian research as El Niño nears

#140

Post by fancyfredbot »

adithyareddy wrote: post #99
fancyfredbot wrote: post #77

I understand the present US administration would want to stop funding this, and that they have the power to do so. I don't understand how that has led to the sensor network being dismantled. Surely it would have been cheaper to leave it in place and stop maintaining it?

It's not about the cost, it's about ideology. Same reason they've paid nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funds to energy developers to abandon offshore wind farm projects. The point isn't to save money, it's to stop green energy projects, which is an ideological goal. If their decisions don't make sense to you it's because you're not viewing them through their ideological lens.

The way I thought it worked was that congress would set a budget and scientists would decide how to spend it.

Perhaps naively I thought these scientists would want to do science and would be unwilling to steer funds away from whichever projects they liked in order to fund the removal of some sensors.

I guess maybe the scientists who make these decisions are also partisan and happy to do as the administration asks.

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