Standing Together for Science: How to Support the Federal Scientific Workforce
In my last From the Prow post on 14 February, I expressed AGU’s alarm regarding the Administration’s intent to massively erode the federal scientific workforce.
Today, I want to update you on some of the ways AGU is taking action, and on how we can help you to communicate your own concerns and real life impacts to your elected officials.
Let me start by saying to our members in the U.S. federal government: AGU and your entire science community are here to support you. Take a moment to ensure your contact information is up to date via our Member portal or by contacting our Member Services team, so we can stay in touch with ways to support you during this time.
The Administration’s Destructive Actions in Science Agencies are Reversing Societal Progress
The Administration has already terminated a significant portion of the federal workforce, beginning by firing workers in the probationary period of their employment. Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, U.S. Forest Service, and many others have already been affected by these cuts.
Last week, the new head of the EPA announced he would begin to claw back $20 billion in grants that had been awarded to clean energy projects as part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. This program, part of the Inflation Reduction Act, would have offered substantial funds to install equipment like heat pumps in homes or build community cooling centers. Disadvantaged communities—the ones that typically suffer the worst impacts of climate change—would have benefited greatly from this initiative.
Although some federal grant money has been unfrozen, much of it is still in limbo, including projects under the Department of Energy to build new battery factories for renewable energy plants. More of these shameful interruptions to the scientific enterprise seem to be happening every day.
These decisions are rash, unwarranted, and legally questionable. They will deal a major blow to science and societal progress.
AGU Can Help You Take Action Today
Join AGU in raising our collective voices to the U.S. Congress. Right now, our Representatives and Senators are deciding how much money to provide to our science agencies, including NSF, NOAA, and NASA, even as those agencies have been severely impacted by federal grant freezes and mass layoffs.
Our science policy action center will get you in touch with your elected representatives to advocate for proper science funding. In just two minutes you can use our script—a little personalization makes a big impact—to send an email or use the easy phone call option. If we want America’s scientific enterprise to receive appropriate funding and begin to recover what is being lost, we must come together to show a vast community in support of robust, sustained federal funding for Earth and space sciences.
AGU is Charting the Path Ahead
As a global, non-partisan scientific organization, AGU has a rich history of advancing ethical and inclusive science and applying it to benefit humanity.
As initial steps, we are strengthening our coalitions with fellow scientific societies, universities, global non-governmental organizations and others. Working with the American Psychological Association and 46 other scientific organizations, AGU signed on to a letter, which will be published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, affirming our commitment to U.S. researchers, educators and academics and the work they do for the betterment of society, human health and the health of our planet. AGU is also calling on Congress to protect and preserve public access to federal data by joining more than 200 organizations on a letter from the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics.
The experts on AGU’s science policy staff continue to meet regularly with legislators to communicate the concerns of our members, starting with how important it is that they support science for the health, safety and benefit of their constituents, as well as the ongoing prosperity and security of our nation.
The nation’s path toward environmental sustainability, healthy communities, global competitiveness and national security depends on robust support for science at the federal level. AGU stands united with our members and our entire scientific community, especially in this moment, where federally funded science and the dedicated scientists who carry out this essential work need us to speak up, together.
