NY Times editorial: Overcast in Pennsylvania

[donsutherland1]

June 4, 2005

Overcast in Pennsylvania

Far from just talking about the weather, Senator Rick Santorum is doing something dank and cloudy about it: he is proposing to squelch the National Weather Service's growing role in the information age.

The Weather Service provides a priceless flow of nonstop measurements and readings that commercial forecasting companies package and sell to the public. Lately, the Weather Service itself has been trying to make all its information more accessible to anyone who wants it. But Mr. Santorum, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, has introduced legislation that would basically require the service to give much of its data only to those private weather forecasting companies. A dozen of those businesses happen to be located in Mr. Santorum's home state, Pennsylvania.

"It's not an easy prospect for a business to attract advertisers, subscribers or investors when the government is providing similar products for free," the senator said, somehow overlooking that taxpayers finance this round-the-clock national resource in the first place.

Senator Santorum, who is running for re-election, is vowing to protect hundreds of Pennsylvania weather company jobs. But timing is everything in both politics and weather, and his case was not helped by the fact that two days before the bill was introduced, his campaign accepted a $2,000 donation from one of the weather companies lobbying for protection. This was dismissed by the senator's supporters as a small-beer coincidence in a $25 million race. But as they say on the weather segment, it's a lingering disturbance on the Doppler.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/04/opinion/04sat2.html

[James]

It makes many good points.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; nobody forced these businesses to spring up. It seems pointless to object to the government providing free information, especially when that service was available long before these private business were founded. It would be a different story if these businesses were operating first, but since they were not, they perhaps should have considered the whole matter long ago.

[drudd1]

I've said it before and I'll say it again; nobody forced these businesses to spring up. It seems pointless to object to the government providing free information, especially when that service was available long before these private business were founded. It would be a different story if these businesses were operating first, but since they were not, they perhaps should have considered the whole matter long ago.

Well said, I agree 100%. This information, paid for by us already, is desseminated to protect life and property, not for profit. If our only source became the for profit weather companies, the almighty dollar takes center stage, with protection of life and property being second chair. Not a scenario I wish to see.

[dhweather]

$25 million to run for office. That's not even a down payment for the
new GOES Satellites.

His opponet, whoever it is, gets $ from me.

[Stephanie]

Aren't there more IMPORTANT things to be concerned about?

I hope Pennsylvania wisens up and kicks him out in a landslide vote this year.