The State of the Science Union
What You Didn’t Hear Last Night but Need to Know
Last night, President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress. Titled “The Renewal of the American Dream,” there was heavy emphasis on the economy, border security, and foreign relations, but what you didn’t hear was the realities of a hollowing out of the federal workforce that has weakened critical scientific expertise, abdicated climate leadership, shrunk important research, and frozen global cooperation. Not a dream but a nightmare of loss and uncertainty for the United States and the world.
Declaring that “America is back” and “at the dawn of a golden age,” the president highlighted more than $1.7 trillion in investments made since he took the oath of office, including increases in energy production.
But missing from last night is the reality that fast and furious halts to science funding along with sweeping terminations of federal workers at key agencies is ushering in a dark age of retreat on climate research, leadership, and international engagement.
The United States is becoming increasingly isolated, from our withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement to a pull back from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, blocking future participation of federal scientists and diplomats. The nation’s vital science is cut off from the world.
The president spoke of “a comeback” – one of economic vigor and committed deregulation, but it is chaos that is reigning with widespread and indiscriminate cuts to federal research funding.
You also did not hear about how proposed funding cuts are causing significant distress among research institutions.
Universities are implementing hiring freezes and reducing Ph.D. admissions. The uncertainty is prompting concerns about a potential brain drain, with researchers considering opportunities abroad if domestic funding continues to dwindle.
If cuts to agency workforces and funding freezes were not enough, just before the president’s speech the Administration informed two pivotal centers for weather forecasting that their leases would be canceled.
These are not simply buildings, but nerve centers for life-saving meteorological information. The NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park, Maryland, ensures data is correctly processed for accurate forecasting. The Radar Operations Center in Norman, Oklahoma, works to improve and repair the nation’s aging fleet of Doppler weather radars.
The president praised farmers in his address, declaring a new day for their productivity and success, but without reliable weather data how can they bank on that bright future?
In his closing, the president vowed to “conquer the vast frontiers of science.” But with scores of scientists being fired or muzzled and with funding frozen, one must ask: How do we do that?
Sadly, at the moment, the state of our science is not strong, but the resolve of our community in Earth and space sciences to restore and renew it is.
AGU is committed to advocating for our members and for the whole of our scientific enterprise. We urge continued action and pressure on Congress: Act here today.
