Target: Rick Spinrad, Administrator of NOAA
Goal: Protect key global warming measurement tool from natural disasters.
A recent eruption from the world’s largest active volcano wreaked some environmental havoc of its own, but it also threatened the planet’s battle against climate change in a longer-lasting way. Mauna Loa in Hawaii is not only home to beautiful landscapes and volcanic activity. It also hosts an observatory that’s considered a global leader in measuring CO2 in the atmosphere and thus alerting the world to potential danger levels. For example, it has painstakingly catalogued the doubling of global warming-inducing CO2 concentrations in the relatively short historical time since humanity began using fossil fuels on a massive scale.
The volcanic activity at Mauna Loa essentially shuttered the observatory and left researchers at a standstill and scrambling for alternate solutions. Even if full operations are restored, the observatory—and the important work it accomplishes—still remains in a vulnerable position. A more significant event could eradicate it entirely.
Sign the petition below to urge the relocation and safeguarding of a crucial ally in Earth’s most critical battle.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Dr. Spinrad,
For over six decades, the Mauna Loa Observatory has served as an invaluable tool in recording the onslaught of global warming and climate change. Its location gives it certain advantages, but these benefits are outweighed by the incredible risks. Since 1843, the volcano on which the observatory stands has erupted nearly three dozen times. The last time it erupted prior to the recent activity constituted a three-week event. And this time, the observatory itself was imperiled.
The work accomplished at this observatory is too vital to always be placed on a precipice. Please shield this integral work by moving it to a safer and more secure location where uninterrupted and unendangered progress can occur.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: J. Ibasan
Common sense dictates the observatory be moved to protect what we have learned over the past many years. There is no question about this procedure.