European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 20, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes monday february 20. 1989 dark Clouds hang Over weather service Washington a the nation Al weather service is facing a Money shortage and a reorganization that could Lead to the closing of Many local weather offices Over the next several years. The Money available for this fiscal Vear Likely won t cover costs and the budget under discussion for next year could be even worse. At the same time administrators Are trying to Complete a Long Range reorganization plan aimed at consolidating offices through new electronic equipment. Administrators Hope to keep most of the weather service s nearly 250 local offices across the country running for at least the next few years while automated observation equipment is purchased and installed. Goures could then be phased in. Perhaps Over a decade officials said. The budget crunch is More immediate however. The current fiscal year is expected to end with the service Short by $10 million to $28 million. The shortfall has prompted a hiring freeze and a search for savings said several National oceanic and atmospheric administration officials. A Reagan administration proposal set Noaa spending for fiscal 1990 at $1.14 billion Down from $1.19 billion this Fis Cal year. While the weather service s portion of the Noaa budget increases slightly under the proposal the allotment includes Money to buy new radar and observation equipment and a supercomputer. Congressional sources said the Reagan proposal called for closing As Many As 62 local weather offices this year and 77 More next year As part of a consolidation move to shift Many specialized forecast ing tasks to private weather services. Congressional sources said the Bush administration May be reconsidering whether such Sharp cuts Are needed. They said discussions Are under Way on keeping the local weather offices open for the time being anyway. Warren Kane of the Senate appropriations subcommittee that oversees Noaa said some closings May occur where stations Are located fairly close together. The National weather service employees organization has said that the Long term closings could affect 100 offices or More. And Noaa officials privately admit that after the reorganization is Complete they expect to have fewer than 150 local offices. Greenhouse effect s very dirty Crystal Ball has Congress confused traffic moves slowly past a smog Alert sign on the Santa Monica freeway. A file smog traffic crime pollute la Festy a residents soy los Angeles a residents of the nation s second largest City think Vio Lent crime smog and traffic jams Are lower ing the Quality of life a Survey shows. About half of 2.046 residents polled said they considered moving elsewhere because of the slide in their lifestyle the los Angeles times reported sunday. Sixty percent of those interviewed said life has changed for the worse during the past 15 years. Only 17 percent believe things have gotten better. Seventy eight percent said crime is the metropolitan area s worst problem and 46 percent said they do not feel Safe walking in their own neighbourhoods at night the Survey conducted this month has a 3 percent margin of error poll . Lewis said. Blacks were the most fearful of crime with 95 percent calling it the area s worst problem. The poll showed increasing pessimism since a Survey in March 1986, when 70 percent reported things were going Well or fairly Well. Fifty two percent said things were going Well in the latest Survey. After crime traffic congestion air pol Lution and a growing population were the major issues of concern. Washington a experts on global warming Uncertain whether the greenhouse effect will produce More Long hot Summers Are giving Congress conflicting advice on whether immediate action is needed. The disagreement to be aired before a House panel tuesday is unlikely to Sug Gest a solution to legislators wondering what to do about gases that trap heat in the Earth s stratosphere like the Glass roof of a Garden greenhouse. The searing heat wave and severe drought that afflicted Many areas last summer often were blamed on the theory that the Earth is slowly warming because of the phenomenon. Experts agree there is a greenhouse effect but they also realize they re gazing into a very dirty Crystal Ball according to a wit Ness scheduled to testify tuesday before a House subcommittee on Energy and Power. The Tough problem is How Long we clean the Glass before we act on what we think we see inside said Stephen h. Schneider of the National Center for atmospheric research in Boulder Colo. Schneider has written that immediate environmental action must be taken As an insurance policy against the uncomfortable risks of future grim  but Patrick j. Michaels a University of Virginia professor of environmental sciences will caution the subcommittee against acting hastily on clouded vision because lawmakers May take action they la regret. The greenhouse effect occurs when gases in the Earth s atmosphere trap Radiant heat near the planet s surface. The gases Are More transparent to incoming has nominee predicts Bush change solar Energy than they Are to outgoing infrared Energy. Gases have built up due to burning of Coal Oil and natural Gas and destruction of tropical rain forests. The difficulty is in guessing How much gases will increase and what effect they will have on climate the experts say. Michaels said there is evidence that the Earth is warming less than would be expected and that much of the warming occurs at night a development that could trigger beneficial effects like longer growing season. If we base rational environmental policy on the greenhouse effect and it turns out Over the next few years it s not going to warm up As much As some people feared. The basis of that policy will have lost its credibility he said. You can wind up setting Back the Progress on these important environmental matters another decade or  Michaels fears no one will heed such a cautionary View the first really hot Day of summer when people Start screaming you have to do something now " the Virginia professor said he sup ports taking actions that could alleviate the greenhouse effect buildup if they re done for other environmental reasons. An example he said would be stopping the destruction of tropical rain forests. Schneider adopts a More forceful tie in strategy that would be designed partly to reduce gases while simultaneously pro Viding other benefits unrelated to climate. This strategy envisions More efficient use of Energy including strict opposition to weakening automobile gasoline mile age standards he said. Atlanta not or. Louis a Sullivan presi Dent Bush s nominee to head the a department of health and human services says the administration is looking at establishing a goal of 25 percent Minori ties and women in senior positions in the government speaking informally to a group of students at More House College Sullivan who is a graduate of the historically Black College said saturday he thinks Blacks will see a different George Bush from the one they saw during his vice presidency. Sullivan s confirmation hearings have been delayed As the Fri investigates his background and amid controversy about his views on abortion. He said i be gotten to know president Bush and his True beliefs have been submerged during his time As vice president. They re looking at a goal of 25 percent women and minorities in senior administration positions. And i believe you Are going to see a change inthe climate in the Federal  the 55-year-old hem apologist said the administration is serious about this Effort. He said White House chief of staff John h. Sununu recently questioned him and other nominees on How their efforts to recruit women and minorities Are going Charles g. Chase Untermeyer director of presidential personnel said Sullivan s mention of a specific percentage goal was not entirely Correct. He said it was t the Republican Way to have lockstep  he added it s fair to say that a major priority in the formation of the Bush administration is to have More minorities and women in senior positions. To some peo ple s arithmetic that May translate into a set  but he said that it was not Correct to assume a specific figure and that the whole Effort was a concept and a commitment before his inauguration Bush pledged several times to actively recruit women and minorities for important positions in the administration. Untermeyer said this meant special Talent searches by the administration to fill Over 800 jobs at the level of under Secretary assistant Secretary ambassador an regulatory agencies. Sullivan the outgoing president of Morehouse school of Medicine in Atlanta was in town for Cere monies celebrating the 122nd birthday of the Black men s College and to receive one of the school s most prestigious alumni awards. His comments came during a session when he and others who were scheduled to receive the awards at a dinner on saturday night fielded students questions. Poster girl president Bush kneels in the White House Oval office to have a Chat with this year s National easter Seal child Joy Hall. She is from Balti More