The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy

May 5, 2016

Funding Season is Open: Part 1

Well, it’s official – the appropriations season in Congress has begun. That’s not to say that Congress hasn’t been contemplating where to spend – and not spend – money all year, but we now have actual legislation that tells us what Congress’ funding priorities are – and more specifically, what their science funding priorities are. On 14 April, the Senate Appropriations Committee finished work on the Energy and Water spending …

December 23, 2015

What Does it Mean to Be a Geoscientist?

Today’s post is part of a series written by student bloggers from the AGU Fall Meeting. By: Emily Parker, Ph.D. student in environmental engineering, University of California, Irvine What does it mean to be a geoscientist? I did not know it was a question that needed answering – I thought it was a well-defined occupation. After attending an AGU Fall Meeting session focused specifically on what being a geoscientist means, however, …

November 2, 2015

Visiting My Legislators Was a Bit Like ‘The West Wing’

This blog post was written by Ryan J. Haupt, a paleoecologist working on his Ph.D. in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Wyoming. Ryan notes “I am not an expert in science policy but it is something I am deeply interested in it as a science communicator via my podcast and as a citizen reliant on the U.S. producing the cutting edge of scientific research.” Recently, I had the …

October 16, 2015

Making a Path for Geologic Maps

Today’s focus for Earth Science Week is Geologic Map Day. The goal of the day is to highlight the importance of maps and how they contribute to improving our quality of life on a daily basis. Maps have more uses than getting us from point A to point B; they are applied to tracking the spread of diseases and monitoring migration patterns, both producing significant public health and safety benefits. …

August 24, 2015

Women’s Equality Week Q&A With Marcia McNutt

For the entire week, we are celebrating prominent female figures in science and science policy to recognize Women’s Equality Day on 26 August. Today, we are excited to highlight Marcia McNutt, the current Editor-in-Chief of Science and nominee to become the first ever female President of the National Academies. McNutt received her BA in Physics from Colorado College and PhD in Earth Science from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. What is an …

June 8, 2015

AGU Members Share Their Science on Capitol Hill

Even April showers couldn’t keep American Geophysical Union (AGU) scientists away from the first-ever AGU-only Congressional Visits Day in Washington, D. C., on 13–14 April. Twenty scientists, from nine states whose legislators play leadership roles on science and funding committees, were invited to meet with lawmakers and describe the positive impacts of federal research funding on American jobs, infrastructure, and quality of life. The states represented were Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, …

May 27, 2015

Should NASA be Studying the Earth?

This past spring, Congress took a number of steps that seemed to imply that NASA should be reprioritizing its focus away from the Earth Sciences. For example, during a hearing on March 12, 2015, some members of the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness suggested to NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. that NASA should shift its attention from Earth Science to space exploration and research, which they suggested …

May 14, 2015

Making My CASE

This blog post was written by Annie Putman, a Ph.D. student in the Geology and Geophysics Department at the University of Utah. Once the excitement of receiving my acceptance from AGU to attend the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) Workshop in Washington subsided, I faced up to the next hurdle: a trip to the mall to supplement the flannels in my …

April 30, 2015

Ruptured Science and Policy: The Nepal Earthquake

Geologists have long recognized the potential for a catastrophic earthquake in Nepal. After all, the Himalayas are icy, saw-toothed proof of the power of the region’s tectonic processes. The range is one of the fastest-growing mountain belts in the world, the result of roughly 50 million years of collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates. But the true impact of last Saturday’s magnitude-7.8 earthquake goes beyond geology. The epicenter was …

January 26, 2015

The State of the Climate, According to Obama

On Tuesday night, the president carried on the time-honored tradition of appearing before Congress and delivering the State of the Union address. So what exactly did he say? The President spent a full two minutes discussing the topic of climate change, which is pretty lengthy considering the totality of individual issues mentioned in a typical SOTU address. Notably, the president called out United States leadership in combating climate change: “In …