Making America Dumb Again: The Stakes of Slashing Climate Science — Ep200: Ralph Keeling & Ray Weiss

As the U.S. swings a budgetary axe at the federal government, one
of the biggest casualties is climate science. The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) faces a brutal 20%
workforce reduction—jeopardizing critical research just when we
need it most. So, what’s really at stake? And is Donald Trump
Making America Dumb Again?


This week on Cleaning Up, host Bryony Worthington takes us deep
inside the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where scientists
are on the front lines of tracking our planet’s most urgent
environmental challenges.


Meet Ralph Keeling, the scientist carrying forward his father’s
legendary legacy—the Keeling Curve, the definitive record of our
atmosphere’s rising carbon dioxide levels. His decades of
meticulous measurements lay bare the stark truth about climate
change and why these long-term observations are more vital now
than ever.


And that’s not all. We also sit down with Professor Ray Weiss,
the atmospheric detective who played a key role in saving the
ozone layer. His work helped drive the Montreal Protocol—one of
humanity’s greatest environmental victories.


With climate science under attack, what lessons can we learn from
past successes? And what happens if we stop listening to the
data?


Leadership Circle:


Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its
founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner,
EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini
Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature
Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on
the Leadership Circle, please visit
https://www.cleaningup.live. 


Links:


Scripps Institution of Oceanography:
https://scripps.ucsd.edu/

The Keeling Curve: https://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/

The Keeling Curve Foundation: https://www.keelingcurve.org/

AGAGE (The Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment):
https://www-air.larc.nasa.gov/missions/agage/

History of the Montreal Protocal:
https://www.unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol