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MIGLARESE I think the timing is right
with the commercialization, and I
think society is encouraging that. The
reason that I embrace this challenge is
that I’m really passionate about what
the data can do to improve the forecast
around the globe, and to give us better
science about what is going on with
our climate. Regardless of what your
personal beliefs may be about what
is changing the climate, the climate is
changing. We need to do a much better
job of trying to understand that and
to mitigate those changes. It’s so much
fun to be working on an issue that is so
important to society.
S&S There have been a number of
mandates to spur action, with such
things as carbon markets to factor in
the economic impacts of greenhouse
gas emissions, as well as the economic
benefits of carbon sinks. Are mandates
a necessity to spur the next level of
awareness
MIGLARESE I think there are a couple
of issues. There is the general commercialization
of space with this administration.
You just have to look at the
Space Shuttle program, and what’s
happened there. I don’t think anyone
would have thought that commercialization
was possible six years ago.
There are also all the financial
issues that our country has to face
in the next ten years, and how those
changes will impact the budgets of the
Air Force, NOAA, and NASA. We
need to consider the appropriate roles
of government, as you look at efficiencies
that can be garnered in the private
sector, but where the data can also
contribute to a public cause.
The important thing is that citizens
get an accurate forecast and can get out
of harm’s way, and that we understand
the impacts of weather on climate and
ecosystem services. There is a part of
that mission that is inherently governmental,
but does it have to be as a
supplier of data Those are huge policy
questions that I think will be addressed
in the next couple of years.
Every citizen, government and business
wants better weather data. Forecast
agencies across the globe have done
a fabulous job of improving the forecast
over the last ten years, and I think this
data can help them even more.
S&S The latest stumbles of the
GOES-13 weather satellite speak to a
greater redundancy. Has that spurred
you on, and helped the cause
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MIGLARESE They did a great job of
moving that spare satellite into action.
Imagine what would have happened
if that spare wasn’t there. Those satellites
are multi-billion dollar satellites,
and they are very important to have.
We aren’t talking about multi-billion
dollar satellites; we’re talking about $5
million satellites, with a constellation
that is going to cost $125 million that
provides a dramatic improvement on
the forecast when assimilated with the
other data.
IMAGING NOTES // WINTER 2013 // WWW.IMAGINGNOTES.COM
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