The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy

November 12, 2014

A Reason for Optimism

Congress runs on coffee – and as new congressional fellows we do too. Like the unseen support staff operating beneath the Senate offices, the legislative staff working in the background for each Senator, Representative, and Committee are an impressive group that should give you reason for optimism.

November 6, 2014

So Now What?

With words plastered over news sites like “wave”, “tsunami”, “earthquake”, “landslide”, etc. you’d think that a major natural disaster occurred instead of run-of-the-mill democratic elections. Many woke up yesterday morning taking a hard look in the mirror, and while some predict the world will end in the next two years, we’ve got a prediction of our own: this is a great opportunity for science advocates.

November 4, 2014

We Can Vote Science 2014

It’s the day you’ve been waiting for all year – the 2014 Midterm elections. No matter where you live, the location of your polling place, or how busy your day is, there are few things more important you can do as a citizen than make your voice heard in the ballot box.

October 1, 2014

Nobody Lobbies for Geosciences Like Geoscientists

I confess that, if I had my druthers, I would spend my days solely ‘sciencing’—conducting fieldwork in remote places, examining samples in the laboratory, and interpreting data with my graduate students. I am now convinced that geosciences advocacy should be added to my list of regular duties.

August 7, 2014

Dysfunction Junction (Part 2)

Several weeks ago I wrote a piece on the background of the U.S. congressional appropriations process, outlining the procedure through which the Federal government is funded. Progress to Date: The Senate has begun work on several appropriations bills, but as of today none have been passed by the full Senate. The Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill which funds NASA, NIST, NOAA, NSF, and the White House’s Office of Science and Technology was passed by the full Appropriations committee in June with broad bipartisan support, and appeared destined for the president’s desk.

July 17, 2014

Come One Come All

The Public Affairs team at AGU is hosting a webinar 17 July 2014 titled ‘How to Have a Successful District Visit’ from 1:00-2:00 EDT today! Join us for an interactive lesson on science communication.

July 15, 2014

Dysfunction Junction (Part 1)

When Fiscal Year 2014 comes to a close on 30 September, the clocks should roll over to 1 October without another catastrophic government shutdown. But, here we are, in the middle of a hot and steamy July, and while things aren’t as bad as they were last year, they most certainly are not where they should be.

May 29, 2014

Representative Johnson Weighs in on the FIRST Act

Read an AGU-exclusive post by House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas-30th District) regarding her thoughts on the recent passage of the FIRST Act.

February 26, 2014

March Madness

The most recent budget showdown has just barely faded over the horizon. The president and Congress can finally talk about something that doesn’t involve the contentious issue of doling out funding for the government to stay open and operating. We can finally get back to focusing on setting policy – or can we?

February 10, 2014

Citizen-Scientists Find a Receptive Climate in Congress

Residing in a state that is about as blue as they come, I had reservations that participating in AGU’s Climate Science Day to visit offices of my Massachusetts congressional delegation would involve little more than preaching to the choir. Although that was mostly true, the staffers we met did sincerely seem to appreciate the visit. Still more rewarding for me, I was paired with a New Hampshire scientist and got to tag along on his visits to a mixed delegation. Well, it is mixed in terms of political parties, but, curiously, all four of NH’s senators and representatives are women. What’s that got to do with climate change science?