[sbe-eas] National FIPS Code

[Richard Rudman]

We tried to come up with a way to implement "FIPS Plus" in the Los Angeles with our NWS office in Oxnard years ago.

We could not come up with a way to do this that made any type of sense for weather events, or other emergencies to broadcasters, the local NWS people, or emergency managers.

I did propose when we were having those discussions that the weather service use the last FIPS "digit" to identify what might be called "Isoclimes", namely areas that have different weather. Ex: Coastal weather in Los Angles County is different from San Fernando Valley weather, which is different from Los Angeles basin weather, etc.

Never went anywhere.

CAP solves the issue with the ability to define polygons that could be "Isoclimes", targeted locations that need a specific warning, or any shape that helps. Another reason to migrate to CAP and put SAME out to pasture as soon as possible.

Keeping SAME alive will deprive the American public of better warnings. Getting the public better warnings was the goal of the Partnership for Public Warning formed shortly after September 11, 2001, and one might assume the goal of what I call the EAS public/private stakeholder community. 

To me, this all comes down to two questions of economics:

1. How much time, effort and money is national and local government willing to invest to better protect lives and property? 
2. Is the current broadcast and cable industry willing to invest as a partner with government to achieve better warnings?

Unfortunately, we will have the answers to these questions if the public/private EAS stakeholder community chooses to keep SAME alive for years or more.

If anyone can come up with a good reason for staying with SAME in light of the goal to issue more informative targeted warnings that can help people at risk take faster and better protective actions to preserver their lives and property, please let me know. 

Richard Rudman

On Nov 27, 2011, at 6:43 PM, Adrienne Abbott wrote:


> Chriss--

> The concept was quickly abandoned because it was quickly obsolete. 

> Adrienne