http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080513/ap_on_go_ot/climate_service

The U.S. Climate Change Science program does not do enough coordination between 13 agencies conduction research on climate change, says the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Conrad C. Lautenbacher wants to form a National Climate Service within his agency to better coordinate data from U.S. agencies and other countries.

Today everybody just cherry-picks the data that support their point of view, Lautenbacher said of the debate over climate change. "We need to deal with this in a scientific manner."

Whether there is warming or not, no one doesn't want solid, scientific information, Lautenbacher said. That, he added, could depoliticize the arguments.

The Bush Administration has been reluctant to subscribe to limits on carbon emissions that other countries have sought in an effort to combat global warming.

But Lautenbacher said the White House has signed off on "the idea" of a climate service, and he said he plans to seek funds to help organize it in the 2010 budget.

The National Climate Service would not take over other agencies' research. Now the question is, how much would a program like this cost? The media has picked up on this suggestion rather quickly, now we'll see what Congress thinks.

Associated Press; 5/14/08

Submitted by B. Shapiro