When Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal took a cheap shot at the volcano monitoring program, I winced. Just what we need, another ignorant anti-science comment from a Republican spokesperson—and on top of it, this came from a spokesperson who promoted and signed a stealth creationism bill.

Less than a month later Alaska’s Mount Redoubt exploded in a massive eruption, sending clouds of superheated smoke and ash 11 miles into the atmosphere, and airplane pilots were very grateful for those volcano monitors Bobby Jindal slammed: Will Jindal Eat Words On Volcano Funding?

The Alaska Volcano Observatory was ready with warnings to flight officials when Alaska’s Mount Redoubt blew, sending potentially deadly ash clouds north of Anchorage.

Readings from seismometers and atmospheric pressure sensors alerted scientists that an eruption had occurred. Weather radar confirmed the presence of an ash cloud that ascended more than 11 miles above sea level.

“Without instruments in the ground, we would not have been able to tell you this was coming,” said John Power, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Volcano monitoring became a political issue when Jindal gave the Republican response to President Obama’s message to Congress on the economic stimulus package. Jindal said the package was “larded with wasteful spending,” including $140 million for volcano monitoring.