So, the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang just tweeted out that Barry Myers — the CEO of Accuweather, is the front runner for NOAA Admin. To the uninitiated, that might not seem like a horrible choice — someone in the weather business running the nation’s weather agencies
But don’t be fooled — Accuweather has long been trying to get government OUT of the weather business. Free forecasts from government make their products much less valuable. Free tornado warnings cut into their ability to sell proprietary warning systems to TV stations and websites. They were behind Rick Santorum’s push to disallow the government from competing with the private sector in offering weather services (Accuweather is HQed near Penn State, which has a major meteorology program and supplies alot of the workforce for the company).
Now one can only imagine what a guy who would DIRECTLY profit (his brother founded the company after all) from removing government competition in the weather field, will do if he’s placed in charge of government weather services. A fox in the hen house.
This might seem like small potatoes during these times, but the consequences of privatizing the weather service would be disastrous. So go ahead and call your Senator and let them know that you oppose Barry Myers for NOAA administrator.