The Weather and World Peace

I think the weather can lead to World Peace.
Well perhaps not, but hear me out before you click on to the next blog.

I've sat through quite a few scientific conferences in the half dozen or so years that I've been involved in science. Almost all of these conferences have had a strong international contingent: Europe, China, Japan, Canada, Russia, Australia, etc.
The field I'm in (Atmospheric science) lends itself quite well to international collaboration: weather is global. More importantly, observing the weather needs to be global. The only way to completely understand one part of the atmosphere is to understand how it changes over the entire globe.
I've personally been involved with several international projects: one of them allowing me to work in the United Kingdom for two years. Two of them more recently were field projects: They involved cooperation with Europe, Canada, the US, and Australia (among others) to investigate and observe the atmosphere in unique ways. One of them involved putting observations in parts of the Atlantic Ocean that were expected to have large impacts on computer model forecasts later in time. Another, involves taking observation of potential tropical systems to better predict which ones will become hurricanes and which will not.
So, how does this lead to world peace? Well these scientist work together on problems despite international politics. Political conflict gets in the way of what they want to do. Also, when the teams meet up for conferences or meetings, they eat, socialize, debate, and drink together. Friends are made. Future connections are formed. Science moves forward.
I'd love to see a political candidate use this as part of their platform. In fact, I'd love to see a political candidate use ANYTHING scientific as an element of their platform. How about:,

I will try to strengthen international relations by funding projects that encourage international collaborations. I hear-by will make scientific visits visa free from all countries. I will increase funding to have visiting graduate students attend our Universities. More incentives will be given to those research projects that either

a) decrease our dependence on fossil fuels

b) alleviate world poverty

Imagine the power of a science-based political platform.
Now, why weather? Well it's hard to argue that weather, or any Earth Science really, is bad for our country or amoral. Perhaps a few creationists might be upset if we advocate using evidence and facts in our studies of geology, but I think even the "Intelligent Design" community argue that the physical sciences are worth while to pursue. It's important, it's non-controversial, and most importantly, it saves lives. This argument can of course apply to lots of different earth sciences, life sciences, and medicine. It's the scientific framework, with the goal of saving lives that can be used as the focus. The religious can certainty not be opposed to that.
World peace? Maybe not. World health? Good international politics? Definitely!