short-sighted and eventually blind

There's a sad story from PBS's Nova about our dying weather satellites. By 2016 the United States is likely to lose its only remaining weather satellite in polar orbit. Our whole system is failing because of a host of bureaucratic and budget problems. NOAA, NASA and the Pentagon are all to blame, but NOAA most of all. Each agency tried to pass the buck. Actual coordination was minimal. Future programs were delayed when budgets got squeezed. And some satellites failed during launch. As a result, we are likely to have greatly reduced weather data in just a few years, with avoidable human and commercial costs as a result.