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Stanitski
Wed Aug 04, 2004
Listen in RealAudio 
Dr. Diane Stanitski
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Hi, I’m Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook. Now that folks have had a chance to
see the movie, "The Day After Tomorrow," I thought it would be interesting to see what
a real climatologist though of it. This is Dr. Diane Stanitski, who is working with NOAA’s
Office of Global Programs in Washington, D.C.
BY: What did you think of the movie?
DS: I certainly thought that there were many holes in the science. The special effects
were interesting, and the movie as a whole was pretty dynamic.
DS: I think the general themes were fairly consistent with scientific thinking. But
beyond that, there were huge errors. There’s no way that in the matter of days we could
see a breakdown in the overall system. The oceans and the atmosphere work in
much longer time scales.
BY: Now, what do you think of the scientists? Is that what people are like in your office?
DS: I do know a number of other climatologists and paleoclimatologists, and to be
honest, it’s EXACTLY the way that they act; they’re passionate, they’re dedicated, and if
they’re true field scientists, they love the data.
BY: I asked Dr. Stanitski what our sequel, as a community, should be.
DS: The key in understanding the kinds of issues that were brought forth in this kind of
a movie – the key is to read – read your newspapers – read scientific journal articles to
get a true picture of what’s happening in regard to climate change and also how we as
humans can modify the way that we do things on a daily basis so we can curtail those
kinds of dramatic changes in the future.
BY: After her stint at NOAA ends, Dr. Stanitski will return to Shippensburg University,
where she is an associate professor. The Weather Notebook is funded by Subaru of
America and the National Science Foundation.
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