U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
Hearings
 
Statement of Ted Stevens
Hearing: Improving the Capacity of U.S. Climate Modeling for Decisionmakers and End-Users
Thursday, May 8, 2008

I think everyone knows that Alaskans depend on timely, accurate climate information for decision making on a range of issues, the same with the rest of the country, including home construction, transportation, but we particularly need it for fisheries and resource management.

 

 

I support the research and development of climate models that provide this information to federal and state agencies, as well as local people who depend on it every day. I remain concerned, however, that regional climate models with site specific data may not be accurate enough for planning on the state and community levels.

 

 

It is essential that we have not only the best modeling capabilities, but also comprehensive climate data to use in the model simulations.  Our nation should make it a priority to improve both climate modeling and access to the necessary supercomputing infrastructure.