oceans we are unlikely to make much progress in our understanding of 
climatic change. 
We do not wish to give the impression that nothing is being done to fill 
the gap. In addition to GARP, discussed above, important contributions 
have been and are being made by scientists in such groups as NOAA’s 
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, the National Center for Atmos- 
pheric Research, and numerous public and private institutions carrying 
on activities connected with the Department of Transportation’s Climatic 
Impact Assessment Program (concerned with climatic effects of aircraft 
operations in the stratosphere), the National Science Foundation’s Inter- 
national Decade of Ocean Exploration, and other programs. 
However, while the United States possesses a formidable array of re- 
sources and capabilities with which to address the problems of under- 
standing and predicting climate variation, they are widely dispersed. 
Significant portions of the present Federal program in climate are carried 
out as indicated above, by the National Science Foundation, the Depart- 
ment of Defense, NOAA, and the Department of Transportation, with 
important peripheral activities in the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, the Atomic Energy Commission, the Department of the 
Interior, and elsewhere. In each of these agencies climate research is but 
one of many competing research programs, and no single organization is 
able tu conduct an integrated study of the entire problem. This has led 
to a proliferation of subcritical efforts — particularly in the areas of 
monitoring and modeling. The scientific community is aware of these 
shortcomings, and in recent months a number of studies recommending 
remedies have been initiated. 
We are encouraged by the fact that the President’s Domestic Council 
has recognized the seriousness and the national importance of the problem 
of climatic change, and has established a committee to look into this 
matter. NACOA believes that there should be a clearly identified focus 
of authority within the Federal Government with responsibility for devel- 
oping and maintaining momentum in climatological research. NACOA 
recommends additional funding in this area and oversight jointly by NSF 
and NOAA who would coordinate academic and private investigation with 
those undertaken within the Government. 
Man’s Impact on Climate 
While many of man’s activities can and do affect local climate — de- 
forestation, irrigation, large cities, industrial smoke, etc.— these efforts 
pale to insignificance when compared with the potential climatic impact 
of the rapid growth of energy consumption and its conversion to waste 
heat that has taken place in recent years. 
The global rate of energy consumption is growing at a rate of about 
10 
