Interview: Vice Adm. Conrad C.Lautenbacher

NOAA Administrator 2001-2008

Conrad C. Lautenbacher is the chief executive officer of GeoOptics. He served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and as the eighth administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2001 to 2008. He rose to the rank of vice admiral in the U.S. Navy, where he was commander of the U.S. third fleet. Lautenbacher also served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations in charge of programs and budget. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in applied mathematics from Harvard University.

Why does America need NOAA? What does NOAA contribute to the nation?

Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher: NOAA has been and remains an essential part of the success our nation has experienced since its foundation. For a very small annual investment, NOAA provides the critical information needed to understand the enormous effects the Earth’s atmosphere and ocean together contribute to our existence. There is good reason Earth is known as the “Blue Planet”; 70 percent is covered by the ocean, and 100 percent is covered by the atmosphere.

Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher during his tenure as NOAA administrator, 2001-2008.

Weather information depends on both ocean and atmosphere, and directly affects our ability to prosper. 30 percent to 50 percent of our economy, depending on the author of the calculation, depends directly on weather forecast information, and without that base, the other 50 percent to 70 percent could not exist. NOAA provides the foundation of the value chain from basic science understanding to successful applications by society in underpinning economic success. The ocean plays a vital role in shaping the weather, providing basic food sources, and worldwide delivery of goods and services! Ocean and atmosphere are wedded and we humans are the beneficiaries of that fortuitous NOAA marriage.

Was there anything about the organization that surprised you after you began your work there?

I would have to say after 40 years of U.S. Navy service, nothing really surprised me! The best description of my reaction was extreme pleasure with the professionalism, knowledge, and productivity resident in all parts of NOAA, from the headquarters staff to individual scientists on station in such remote locations as the South Pole; Mauna Loa, Hawaii; and Point Barrow, Alaska.

How did NOAA change while you were in charge?

My first activity was devoted to meeting and learning as much as possible from the outstanding professionals that staff NOAA. That internal dialogue culminated in the formation of a committee composed of experienced and energetic younger folks from all parts of NOAA to canvas the organization for ideas and develop a plan for the future. One of the concepts incorporated in that plan was to build a “One NOAA” spirit as the core of our operations, the goal being to encourage the diverse scientific disciplines resident in this widespread and productive organization to work together in harmony across the various NOAA resident earth sciences and operational skills.

Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher answers a question during a press conference in Geneva, 2007.

You were warning of the deterioration of coral reefs almost two decades ago. What has caused the situation, how serious is the risk to the planet, and what solutions can you see that might help ameliorate the problem?

Having spent a career in the Navy, my time at sea and in our coastal zones provided a background of how poorly the ocean was treated by human development and blatant misuse of the ocean as a dumping ground. There was a general lack by the public in understanding the degradation taking place, and particularly in regard for the damage to coral reefs. Fortunately, many others were also interested in improving the situation, and finally, the rules as well as the practices of not using the ocean as a dumping ground for huma-generated waste changed for the better. There is still very much to do in this area. Not only is this caused by dumping trash at sea, but also every piece of paper or refuse dropped on the land, unless policed, will end up in our watersheds and hence increase the degradation of the ocean. The ultimate answer is building sustainability into everything we as humans created, as well as continue to create and use for our comfort without regard to the future. We must also clean up the ocean as it is today!

You supported the Open Rivers Initiative. Why was and is this initiative important and how much progress has been made?

To continue the discussion of our watersheds from the previous question, Open Rivers was an important piece of building sustainability into our operations and planning for the future use of rivers worldwide. Overuse and lax administration of watersheds can result in contamination and outright waste of fresh water needed worldwide for sustainability. One of the initiatives we championed was removal of obsolete dams and creating a sustainable balance among human uses for development, agriculture, fishing, and recreation. Over the past 10 years or so, we have seen some improvement, particularly in the U.S. Northwest, in managing our rivers for long-term sustainability, but much more needs to be done.

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You spearheaded the Earth observation summit in July 2003, and encouraged world scientific and policy leaders to build a Global Earth System of Systems (GEOSS). Why was this initiative important and what has resulted from it?

To paraphrase Sean O’Keefe, a former head of NASA and friend from our Navy service together, the Earth is our home in space, and a planet from which we are not likely to escape in the near future. It is up to us to maintain it sustainably! The Earth is a “system of systems” and we need to think of and maintain it as such. Each earth science is extremely important, but how those individual sciences are connected and work together in maintaining our environment is paramount. NOAA itself, as it has progressed since formation 50 years ago, has demonstrated the wisdom of viewing each earth science as a coordinated part of human stewardship of the planet. Like most of my vintage, I was educated in separate courses devoted individually to biology, chemistry, and physics, and of course we cannot forget about mathematics, which plays a role in each! The ocean, the atmosphere, the land, and the cryosphere are indeed complementary and each affects the other in important ways. Maintaining our planet requires we work together across the earth science disciplines in all nations to achieve worldwide sustainability. I am pleased that the global organization founded during my NOAA tenure remains in operation today and continues to grow. There is indeed a greater understanding of the connectivity of the earth sciences and the effect of that connectivity on achieving sustainability.

What do you consider to have been your greatest challenges during your tenure as NOAA administrator?

Certainly, working to see the initiation of GEO and GEOSS was a major challenge, and I am grateful to all those who participated with me in this undertaking. Working continuously to obtain the resources necessary to meet NOAA goals and objectives was, and I have to say, a challenge for me and remains a challenge today. There are many needs for government funding, but NOAA’s cross-disciplinary mission and backbone of sustainability for us and the planet should always be in the top echelon of that list! I am indeed grateful to the President and Executive Staff, the Department of Commerce, and congressional and senatorial members and staff who supported the NOAA budgets during my tenure.

What achievements or results are you most proud of that came about during your term as administrator of NOAA?

First of all, the achievements listed below are those of the knowledgeable, enterprising, and dedicated NOAA team of men and women who worked tirelessly to meet and fulfill the needs of our nation. I am proud to have served with them. It would be a very long list indeed if I were to name all of the achievements of this team during my seven-year tenure as NOAA Administrator.

The list would certainly include:

The establishment of GEO and the GEOSS; the formalization of the “One NOAA” approach; revitalization of the NOAA Corps and NOAA fleet; the Open Rivers Initiative; Establishment of the Pacific Ocean Tsunami Warning [Center]; Establishment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (Papahānaumokuākea) Marine National Monument), doubling the size of the Pacific Islands Sanctuary; Development of a climate change science initiative; Significant improvements in hurricane prediction; Reauthorization of the Magnusson and Stevens Fisheries Management Act; and many others led by dedicated team members in every part of NOAA!