As we all know, last week was incredibly challenging and we want to thank the community for rallying to support us. We want to share with you some of the activities that have been going on and what to expect next.
AGU-led action campaign to support NSF NCAR
AGU initiated a campaign urging people to contact their members of Congress and ask them to take action to stop the dismantling of NSF NCAR. Since AGU sent out its advocacy message, more than 27,000 people have used the messaging tool to communicate with their representatives. AGU tells us that this is thousands more responses than any other campaign has received, and it is more responses than they often get in a single year. You can share the link to the AGU campaign with friends and family who want an easy way to reach out to their elected officials about this issue. Please feel free to pass this link along to your colleagues, students, friends and family.
Government Relations is working directly with congressional members
As you know, our government relations team is supporting a two-track effort in Congress. Senators are working to add language to appropriations legislation to protect our organization and maintain funding for the current fiscal year (FY 2026). A second track is a bipartisan letter in Congress, spearheaded by Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse and Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd, expressing support for NSF NCAR and calling for sustained funding for NSF NCAR in FY 2026 appropriations. We are encouraged by the support for NSF NCAR from both Republicans and Democrats. Thank you to those of you who reached out to your representatives last week urging them to sign on to this letter.
AGU town hall: "What We Stand to Lose: Protecting NSF NCAR"
Last week, AGU put together a last-minute town hall that many of you in New Orleans were able to attend entitled "What We Stand to Lose: Protecting NSF NCAR," where Tony Busalacchi had the opportunity to talk about the many, many ways our work provides value to the nation. The town hall was well attended by people who care deeply about the future of NSF NCAR (image below). A moment that resonated during the town hall was when people in the room were asked to stand if they collaborated with NSF NCAR or used any of the tools NSF NCAR provides for the community. In response, a vast majority of the people stood. After the town hall, Tony also held a media availability and answered many thoughtful questions from reporters.
Support from our public and private partners
We are hearing from our partners at multiple government agencies, as well from a broad range of industries and, who are asking how they can help. These messages are a reminder of the vital importance of our work to communities and businesses across the nation.
Colorado officials are voicing support
Our elected leaders have put out statements opposing efforts to break up NSF NCAR.
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Statement from Rep. Joe Neguse, and Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper: "The National Center for Atmospheric Research and its 830 employees are leading the nation's climate science research, delivering life-saving breakthroughs that provide early warnings for natural disasters and deepen our understanding of Earth's systems. They are a core component of our state's economy and an integral part of the fabric of Colorado. Efforts to dismantle this institution and its essential programs are deeply dangerous and blatantly retaliatory. This reckless directive would have devastating consequences for families in Colorado and communities across the nation. We intend to fight back against attempts to gut this cutting-edge research institution with every tool we have."
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Statement from Gov. Jared Polis: "Climate change is real, but the work of NCAR goes far beyond climate science. NCAR delivers data around severe weather events like fires and floods that help our country save lives and property, and prevent devastation for families. If these cuts move forward we will lose our competitive advantage against foreign powers and adversaries in the pursuit of scientific discovery."
News outlets from around the country are underscoring our value
We have been inundated with requests from reporters across the country and in Colorado who are covering this story. The resulting coverage has largely done an excellent job of laying out our value, including the many breakthroughs that NSF NCAR has been responsible for since its founding, the current breadth of our research, and the urgency of our work today.
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You can read some of the coverage here: New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, CBS Colorado, 9News, Bloomberg, Axios, Science, Denver Post, CPR News, and E&E News.
It is gratifying to see so much support, but we understand there is also a deep desire to know more details about what all this means. We truly value our university community and will share updates as we can.