Tuesday, results of a 2018 Scientific Integrity Survey of 16 federal agencies administered by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology (CSSM) at Iowa State University were released. Among the agencies surveyed were the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). AGU provided … Read more
AGU is pleased to see that President Trump has taken action to appoint Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, a well-qualified scientist from our community, to head the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). After nearly 560 days, the longest any Administration has been without such crucial science advice, this nomination has been long in coming. AGU has been consistently … Read more
Frustration is mounting over nationalist policies in the U.S. and other countries, which are obstructing the free exchange of ideas and effective collaboration among scientists. These policies have multiple impacts. The most immediate and visible human tragedies are borne by refugees and immigrants. At the same time, several academics have lost their jobs or their … Read more
With the federal spending bill process for FY19 well underway, AGU has been tracking how our federal science agencies are faring. The process has a long way to go yet, but with some preliminary numbers in for each of the science agencies, I wanted to let you know where things stand today. Currently, the House … Read more
Earlier this week, AGU signed onto a letter to Puerto Rico’s governor and leaders of its House and Senate. The letter voices concern over Governor Ricardo Rosselló’s efforts, and now an approved plan by the Puerto Rican legislature, to overhaul the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics (PRIS), an independent government statistics agency. The plan would … Read more
By Denise Hills, President-elect AGU Earth and Space Science Informatics Section and Director, Energy Investigations, Geological Survey of Alabama The best advocates for science are those of us actively engaged in it. No one is better suited for expressing the impact of what we do than we are. If we find common values, we can … Read more
We have exciting news about two AGU scientists: Lora Koenig, President-elect for the Cryosphere Sciences Section, and Zoe Courville were featured this morning on the StoryCorps segment of NPR’s Morning Edition program, which airs on hundreds of public radio stations across the nation, in an interview about how they work to balance their love of … Read more
Today, President Trump unveiled his proposed budget for 2019. Included within this proposal are steep increases in defense spending and infrastructure, much of which comes at the expense of funding for the federal scientific agencies that provide the technical expertise to realize the President’s policy priorities. The NSF would be flat funded, receiving no increase … Read more
For the second time in five years, congressional and presidential impasses have resulted in a shutdown of the federal government. The repercussions of this shutdown destabilize scientific federal agencies that are essential to the nation’s economic stability, public health, and national security. The far-reaching costs of such a shutdown are very real. For example, in … Read more
As 2017 began with a new administration in Washington, D.C., there was evidence that we could expect to face serious challenges to science policy and the scientific enterprise; some have come to pass, and others have not. Throughout this tumultuous year, AGU has played a significant role both in addressing these far-reaching issues and supporting … Read more