TX State Climatologist Rises From Obscurity To Become One Of State's Best-Known Experts

[hatrack]

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Dr. Nielsen-Gammon grew up in Pinole, Calif., just north of San Francisco, in a spot his family dubbed “Hurricane Hill” because of the fierce winds that blew in from the Pacific Ocean. At 13, he persuaded his parents to buy him a weather station, which was on their roof for two years until it rusted. He earned three science degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before coming to Texas A&M in 1991. In 2000, he was appointed state climatologist. All states except Rhode Island and Tennessee have a state climatologist office, said Stuart Foster, Kentucky’s state climatologist and president-elect of the American Association of State Climatologists.

Climate change is a hot-button subject nationally, and state climatologists have sometimes gotten caught in the cross-fire, Dr. Foster said. Dr. Nielsen-Gammon said he has received no political pushback, even though he believes humans contribute to climate change.

Still, he said Texans occasionally ask him questions like: “You don’t believe in all this global warming nonsense, do you?” He said he does not believe in all the nonsense, but he added that temperatures are rising globally and greenhouse gases are the biggest driver of the trend, and “if things keep going like this there will be serious consequences.”

Dr. Nielsen-Gammon expects to stay on a few more years to continue to raise awareness about drought and climate issues. Would Mr. Perry then appoint another climatologist? “That’s something that we’ll take a look at at that time,” said Lucy Nashed, a Perry spokeswoman.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/02/us/state-climatologist-can-explain-why-texans-wont-need-umbrellas.html?_r=1

[ellenfl]

1. a few more years? is perry guv for life? eom