This morning I read a story about Captain James Stagg, the chief meteorological advisor to General Eisenhower and the man responsible for making the “go” or “no go” call for the invasion of Normandy. As the article lays out it was an incredibly complex decision not merely dependent on “good weather” on the day of the invasion but required various favorable conditions related to visibility, low tides, phase of the moon, and wind speeds over the course of multiple days. The odds of all of these factors aligning correctly was 13-1. As fate, science and good judgment would have it, Stagg made the right call. Delaying the invasion one day and no more – as had it been delayed longer the invasion would have been met with the worst storm in the English Channel in two decades.
After reading this story, I went down a meteorological rabbit hole. Learning that Aristotle is considered the father of meteorology, based largely on observations (many of which still hold true today). A man named Luke Howard, a chemist and pharmacist by trade, married more science to observation, creating the classification system for clouds we still use today and the first urban climate studies based on his work in London.
If I thought about it I probably should have realized this but both means for measuring temperature, Celsius and Fahrenheit were named after the people who invented them. Anders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer. Gabriel Fahrenheit was a German glassblower
I share these names at a time when we go to an app on our phone and check the weather with little regard for the people who made our understanding of weather possible in the first place or those who bring us that data today. Including scientists who help fortell the weather that brings natural disasters. These meteorologists save lives.
This makes it particularly alarming to learn that the current administration has already cut 2,000 jobs from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “the agency whose weather and climate research touches almost every facet of American life,” In addition, they are considering cutting up to 75% of its research budget.
It is without a doubt that a similar de-valuing of meteorology would have doomed the D-Day invasion to failure, altering history in unthinkable ways. Looking forward as severe climate events are on the rise, we can only imagine and brace ourselves for the unnecessary damage and loss to come from these capricious cuts.
When we read about budget cuts, many see dollars – when instead we should see people. Many of whom go to work each day searching for ways to make the world a safer and better place for others. When they lose their jobs, we all stand to lose even more.
This Week’s Recommendation. In my latest episode of Attribution, I interviewed Adam Chandler whose new book, 99% Perspiration looks at our relationship to work and what we value. It was a pretty telling conversation and one worth checking out if you’ve ever questioned your own relationship to work and wondered how it came to be and whether it has to stay that way.
Consider sharing this with someone whose work you value but largely goes unsung.