Conclusion

Abstract

This concluding chapter calls the NASA Earth Science/sea-level rise program a success. There was success owing to sustained bureaucracy-driven policy in spite of an often chaotic and sometimes hostile national context for climate change. This was a successful program in going from vision to transatlantic commitment because of: (1) unifying goals—both long-range and short-term; (2) a supportive constituency; and (3) dedicated administrative leadership. Leaders used various strategies, including international partnership, to gain their ends domestically. What stands out is human and organizational persistence over decades coupled with a dose of shrewdness.

NASA’s sea-level rise program is likely to continue and advance as long as the danger of climate change endures—a very long time. There are plans for successors to current satellites. What the past shows is that NASA will need to adapt its research program—and risk communication—not only to an evolving geophysical problem but also to an ever-changing political and international environment.