FunkyHiFi
04-23-2005, 01:17 AM
Oh dear, we must help the private sector cuz they are always sooooo poor.....and make us citizens sit through pop ups while we wait for the latest tornado forecast. :mad:
Excerpted from this article (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/epaper/2005/04/21/m1a_wx_0421.html):
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Do you want a seven-day weather forecast for your ZIP code? Or hour-by-hour predictions of the temperature, wind speed, humidity and chance of rain? Or weather data beamed to your cellphone?
That information is available for free from the National Weather Service.
But under a bill pending in the U.S. Senate, it might all disappear.
The bill, introduced last week by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., would prohibit federal meteorologists from competing with companies such as AccuWeather and The Weather Channel, which offer their own forecasts through paid services and free ad-supported Web sites.
Supporters say the bill wouldn't hamper the weather service or the National Hurricane Center from alerting the public to hazards — in fact, it exempts forecasts meant to protect "life and property."
But critics say the bill's wording is so vague they can't tell exactly what it would ban.
"I believe I've paid for that data once. ... I don't want to have to pay for it again," said Scott Bradner, a technical consultant at Harvard University.
I'm assuming by "paid" Bradner means the taxes he paid to the Feds....and if so, I totally agree with him.
And check this out: Santorum is from Pennsylvania and Accuweather, one of the private weather services, is also located in Pennsylvania. Golly, could there be a connection? :rolleyes:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (http://www.noaa.gov/)
Excerpted from this article (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/epaper/2005/04/21/m1a_wx_0421.html):
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Do you want a seven-day weather forecast for your ZIP code? Or hour-by-hour predictions of the temperature, wind speed, humidity and chance of rain? Or weather data beamed to your cellphone?
That information is available for free from the National Weather Service.
But under a bill pending in the U.S. Senate, it might all disappear.
The bill, introduced last week by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., would prohibit federal meteorologists from competing with companies such as AccuWeather and The Weather Channel, which offer their own forecasts through paid services and free ad-supported Web sites.
Supporters say the bill wouldn't hamper the weather service or the National Hurricane Center from alerting the public to hazards — in fact, it exempts forecasts meant to protect "life and property."
But critics say the bill's wording is so vague they can't tell exactly what it would ban.
"I believe I've paid for that data once. ... I don't want to have to pay for it again," said Scott Bradner, a technical consultant at Harvard University.
I'm assuming by "paid" Bradner means the taxes he paid to the Feds....and if so, I totally agree with him.
And check this out: Santorum is from Pennsylvania and Accuweather, one of the private weather services, is also located in Pennsylvania. Golly, could there be a connection? :rolleyes:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (http://www.noaa.gov/)