Description:
A weather-ready nation is a society that is able to prepare for and respond to environmental events that affect safety, health, the environment, economy, and homeland security. Urbanization and a growing population increasingly put people and businesses at greater risk to the impacts of weather, water, and climate-related hazards. Our Nation’s capacity to provide relevant information about changing weather can help create a society that is more adaptive to its environment; experiences fewer disruptions, dislocation, and injuries; and that operates a more efficient economy.
Over the long-term, climate change may increase the intensity and even the frequency of adverse weather events, which range from drought and floods, to wildfires, heat waves, storms, and hurricanes. Changing weather, water, and climate conditions affect the economic vitality of communities and commercial industries, including the energy, transportation, and agriculture sectors. Environmental information aligned with user needs will become ever more critical to the safety and well-being of those exposed to sudden or prolonged hazards and is essential to sustain competitive advantage, expand economic growth, and to secure the Nation.
NOAA Objectives:
1. Reduced loss of life, property, and disruption from high-impact events
2. Improved freshwater resource management
3. Improved transportation efficiency and safety
4. Healthy people and communities due to improved air and water quality services
5. A more productive and efficient economy through environmental information relevant to key sectors of the U.S. economy
Examples of appropriate topic areas for research applications from small businesses include, but are not limited to the following:
• Technologies that lead to improved community preparedness and fewer weather-related fatalities
• Products or services that support impact-based decisions and result in avoidance of economic loss and property damage from flooding
• Tools to support wildfire modeling, predictions, and impact on air quality
• Products or services that support integrated or improved water forecasts to support water supply management
• Tools that support increased efficiencies in water usage in the transportation, hydropower, and agriculture sectors
• Tools that support a reduction in aviation delays, grounding or sinking of cargo vessels, transportation fatalities, unnecessary evacuations, or economic losses due to weather-related events
• Technologies that facilitate improved information on the linkages among human health, weather, water, and climate for decision makers
• Products or services that result it reduced adverse health impacts attributable to air pollution
• Technologies that facilitate production gains in renewable energy through better information about weather or support sustainable wind energy development
• Tools that facilitate advanced warning of geomagnetic storms
• Technologies that facilitate the development of an integrated suite of weather- and climate-related information relevant to food security needs
