Environment Canada, the government agency responsible for meteorological services and environmental research, has recently had to decrease staff who performed research related to the Arctic ozone layer and pollution—both of which can impact global weather patterns and climate changes.

American researchers know that Canada has led the way in much of this research and worry that a reduction or stoppage in data collection will also impact their own studies such as monitoring the level of airborne toxic organic chemicals that fall into the Great Lakes. In fact, Environment Canada’s research programs are considered the “gold standard” in the area of environmental studies.

A senior research fellow at Harvard University commented, “Canada stands to lose an entire community of highly respected scientists who are experts on ozone and climate if further proposed budget cuts go through.”

The cuts could also affect many international programs such as the UN Framework for Climate Change Convention, the Montreal Protocol, and bilateral agreements with the United States. The Montreal Protocol, in particular, has helped to greatly reduce atmospheric levels of ozone depleting substances on an international scale.

It’s a fact of life today that governments are struggling for fiscal balance and, sadly, scientific studies are often the first things to be sacrificed. Let’s hope that Environment Canada can find a way to continue providing the data that impacts all of us in so many ways.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/ps-ecc021312.php