In Brief: UV Index
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
UV Index: Partners for Sun Protection Awareness, a coalition of medical, environmental, consumer and public health groups, asks Commerce Secretary Ron Brown to support "continued dissemination of the Ultraviolet (UV) Index by the National Weather Service (NWS)." According to the coalition, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees NWS, may cut the UV Index service due to "pressures to privatize several NWS functions." The coalition's March 29 letter argues that the service "costs very little" and "has already started to have a positive impact in raising public awareness about overexposure to UV radiation and the need to take protective measures." NWS has been airing the UV Index in 58 cities since July ("The Rose Sheet" June 27, p. 16)...