For 14 years, Jason Laney has worked for the National Weather Service in the El Paso/Santa Teresa area as a warning coordination meteorologist. In his role, he does his part to warn and educate the public about the dangers of extreme weather resulting from climate change.
Laney will give a talk about how the weather service is meeting the challenge of extreme weather head-on as part of the “Cambios Climate Change Speaker Series” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 9 at the Rio Grande Theatre at 211 N. Main Street. The presentation is free and open to the public.
The “Cambios Climate Change Speaker Series,” formerly known as the New Mexico State University Climate Change Education Seminar Series (NMSUCCESS), was launched in 2018 as an interdisciplinary series to bring a range of experts to NMSU and Las Cruces and promote informed discussion of the causes and consequences of climate change.
"While there are many different opinions on the cause of climate change, it is hard to deny that conditions are definitely changing,” Laney said. “The NWS is determined to work towards creating a more resilient and responsive nation through its recently unveiled "Climate Ready Nation" initiative. The best place to start is to educate the public on the current state of our climate. This is where I come in, using platforms like "Cambios" to share climate change data with our local community."
In their efforts to build a “Climate Ready Nation,” the weather service works to get vital information and data into the hands of community decision makers. For the El Paso and Santa Teresa communities, these efforts have become increasingly more important as the summers become hotter every year.
Laney will discuss how the local office uses a detailed risk assessment, among other methods, to effectively communicate with and warn residents about what to expect as we approach another summer.
This discussion will conclude the speaker series for the Spring 2024 semester. Visit cambios.nmsu.edu to look for next semester’s events or email cambios@nmsu.edu to get in touch with the team.
