Tuesday, January 03, 2006

So Long, Weather Notebook

The last edition of The Weather Notebook aired on Friday, December 30. In case the name is unfamiliar to you, it was a two-minute radio show produced from the weather station on top of New Hampshire's Mount Washington. It's mission was to educate the public about meteorology and weather-related issues. The show aired on more than three hundred radio stations nationwide.

The Weather Notebook received most of its funding from Subaru and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Recently the NSF decided not to renew it's commitment. I find this troubling. The show was a perfect vehicle for the NSF's mission to "promote the progress of science". I wonder whether the decision is a result of budget cuts, or the perception The Weather Notebook violated the NSF's advocacy guidelines (pure speculation!), or something else.

In any case, you can still read The Weather Notebook Archives online. And perhaps the producers will secure enough funding to return the show to the radio. I hope so.
 

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