Societal Impacts of NOAA

Valuing the Societal Impacts of NOAA

NOAA activities support science, service, and stewardship that  protect life, health, and property and create economic value, income, and jobs.  Across the agency, we have begun collecting data on the economic importance of the sectors we support, the costs of natural environmental hazards, and the value of NOAA activities that help society and commerce prepare for a constantly changing environment.  Here you will find our current knowledge of the economic value of the sectors we serve, societal risks we face because of our changing environment, and our emerging understanding of the economic and societal value of our work.  Our work spans most of society and commerce.  Here we provide data on several key areas: healthy oceans, weather, climate, coastal communities, and ecosystem services (the economic contribution of nature and ecological systems).

Value of a Weather Ready Nation

NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) is the Nation’s first line of defense against severe weather. NOAA provides weather, water, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters, and ocean areas for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. NWS collects environmental information and provides services for other governmental agencies, the private sector, the public, and the global community. More sectors of the U.S. economy are recognizing the impacts of weather, water, and climate on their operations and are becoming more sophisticated at using weather-related information to make better decisions. The NWS provides critical information to communities and emergency managers. The first installment of NOAA’s economic statistics, “Value of a Weather-Ready Nation” provides data on: What is at Risk and The Value of NOAA’s NWS Products.

Value of Resilient Coastal Communities

NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) provides ocean and coastal science, tools, and services to address threats to coastal areas such as climate change, population growth, port congestion, and contaminants in the environment, all working towards healthy coasts, coastal populations and coastal economies. The societal impact of these products, services and activities are highly diverse, both in terms of the sectors and populations impacted and in the nature of the impacts. The NOAA mission includes such elements as safe navigation, a national coordinate system, management of and research on coastal and ocean resources, restoration and response, and the provision of data, tools, and technical assistance for coastal zone management. The impacts of these activities reach a significant cross-section of society, domestically and internationally. This installment of NOAA’s economic statistics, “Value of Resilient Coastal Communities” provides data on: What is at Risk and The Value of NOAA’s NOS Products. These ocean and coastal statistics are not comprehensive or representative, but are intended to provide examples of the value that NOAA provides to the nation.