The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy

January 28, 2014

AGU’s State of the Union Wishlist

Every January, the president of the United States appears before Congress and the nation to reflect on the previous year and to set forth his agenda for the next 365 days. As President Obama embarks on his fifth State of the Union, the American Geophysical Union has put together a list of critical issues that should be included in tonight’s address.

November 22, 2013

Speak science to me: AGU’s expert outreach network

Let me tell you… “People should know about this!” That comment, or a variation on it (“More people should know about this!”; “Why don’t people know about this?”) is one that comes up often when talking about science. It’s a phrase I used a lot when I was still studying marine invertebrates, and it was one of the main reasons I went into science communication and outreach. Whether it’s about …

November 19, 2013

Make STEM Education a Priority

I feel so lucky to be working at AGU as an intern in the Science department, but my geoscience career has not been without challenges and struggle. Through my inherent passion for Earth science and the confidence that a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degree could provide job security, I fought to attain a B.S. from the Department of Geosciences at Penn State University. If not for the encouragement …

November 6, 2013

Top 5 Reasons You Should Check out AGU’s Thriving Earth Exchange, and more information

AGU has launched the Thriving Earth Exchange, a new initiative that supports communities as they protect themselves from hazards, adapt to a changing planet, and create sustainable futures. Featured in this week’s edition of Eos, learn more about the program where AGU members will work with local leaders to contribute their Earth and space science expertise to significant societal challenges. The Thriving Earth Exchange is inspired by a series of …

October 29, 2013

Eos Interviews Reveal Impacts of the Government Shutdown

The recent shutdown of the U.S. government highlighted the critical role that government funding plays in supporting scientific research. This week’s edition of Eos, AGU’s newspaper covering Earth and space science, features an article assessing the impacts of the shutdown through interviews with AGU members in a variety of fields. The interviews reveal common concerns across the geosciences about losses of data, inability to make long-term plans, and worries about …

October 1, 2013

Science Shutdown

Today, 1 October 2013 marks the first shutdown of the United States’ Federal government since 1995. Unlike in 1995, zero appropriations bills have been passed for the current fiscal year. As a result, the effect of the shutdown will be much larger – more than 800,000 federal employees have been furloughed and numerous federally-funded services shutdown. Earth and space science is not immune to this crisis. Furloughs A number of …

September 19, 2013

Resilient Communities Move Forward with the Help of Science

September marks the 10th annual National Preparedness Month. The President, FEMA, and disaster organizations encourage communities to prepare for and become more resilient to emergencies. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate recognizes that preparedness seems difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. “Preparedness is more about a state of mind than a stack of supplies,” he suggested during a recent National Academies meeting on Disaster Resilience in America. This includes using the information around us …

July 11, 2013

Accomplishments and Future Needs of Science in the United States

The first full day of the 2013 AGU Science Policy Conference, on 25 June, began with a plenary session that provided a frame for discussions throughout the day. The plenary session, Preparing for Our Future: The Value of Science, not only elucidated the myriad of economic and societal contributions of science in the United States, but also issued a call for scientists to communicate their contributions and defend their role. …

July 3, 2013

AGU Science Policy Conference as a Call to Action for Research Community

For the American Geophysical Union, fitting a conference on “science policy” into a two-day span is no small feat. Compare that to the Fall Meeting in December where just the “science” alone stretches out across an entire week, with over 800 science-focused sessions already registered for the 2013 meeting (note: I am leaving out Education, Public Affairs and Union sessions in this count). Of course, the science is historically …

June 24, 2013

Placing a Value on Science

The first plenary session of the 2013 AGU Science Policy Conference, Preparing for Our Future: The Value of Science, will be a discussion about the importance of science at a pressing time. Many interesting and significant science issues are presently in the news. President Obama’s proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2014 includes a reorganization of the nation’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Once the world’s leader in …