Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa) has introduced a bill that would essentially block the National Weather Service from giving away their forecasts online. From the Palm Beach Post:
The bill… would prohibit federal meteorologists from competing with companies such as AccuWeather and The Weather Channel, which offer their own forecasts through paid services and free ad-supported Web sites.
Supporters say the bill wouldn't hamper the weather service or the National Hurricane Center from alerting the public to hazards — in fact, it exempts forecasts meant to protect "life and property."…
"The National Weather Service has not focused on what its core mission should be, which is protecting other people's lives and property," said (AccuWeather's executive vice president Barry) Myers, whose company is based in State College, Pa. Instead, he said, "It spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year, every day, producing forecasts of 'warm and sunny.'"…
(The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, parent agency to the National Weather Service,) has taken no position on the bill. But Ed Johnson, the weather service's director of strategic planning and policy, said his agency is expanding its online offerings to serve the public.
"If someone claims that our core mission is just warning the public of hazardous conditions, that's really impossible unless we forecast the weather all the time," Johnson said. "You don't just plug in your clock when you want to know what time it is."
Link (Thanks John Alderman, via Talking Points Memo)
