Now more than ever, we must demonstrate the importance of science to policymakers and the public.
Here you can stay up-to-date on the issues, understand the role that science plays in policy, follow AAAS advocacy activities, and learn about ways to take action.
Senate appropriators moved this week to rise above some of the steep spending reductions included in President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal that threaten to weaken the nation’s science and technology enterprise and blunt the economic benefits that science programs deliver.
The scientific process is threatened by a lawsuit seeking to compel the disclosure of more than a decade worth of emails, some private, between two prominent University of Arizona climate scientists, says an amicus brief that the American Association for the Advancement of Science joined on July 17.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is conducting a review of all designations and expansions of National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments. As part of the public comment period it is important that decision-makers understand the scientific importance of these sanctuaries.
Have you been to or conducted research in any of these National Marine Sanctuaries? We encourage you to submit your own comments by July 26, 2017.
RECENT NEWS AND RESOURCES
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and The Lemelson Foundation have joined forces to create the AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassadors Program designed to celebrate and highlight the importance of invention and inventors. Join us for the 2017 Celebrate Invention event on July 20 at 5:30pm EST.
American Association for the Advancement of Science CEO Rush Holt wrote a letter to Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to affirm support for the goal of promoting energy innovation, as expressed in the Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017.
“Recent economic and policy research show that when the federal government invests in research, that investment incentivizes further research investment from the private sector, leading to innovation, jobs, and economic growth. Indeed, over half of our economic growth since World War II has been tied to science and technology-based innovation,” wrote Holt in the letter.
AAAS greatly appreciates Senators Murkowski’s and Cantwell’s effort to update our nation’s energy policy in a bipartisan fashion and invest in energy innovation. We stand ready to work with the Congress, federal agencies, and institutions of higher education toward our common goals of energy security and affordability and long-term environmental sustainability.
Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson must act swiftly to appoint a respected scientist or engineer as his science and technology adviser upon the departure Vaughan Turekian, who has effectively presented the views of the global scientific community and helped incorporate scientific findings into foreign policy considerations, said Rush Holt, the CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in a statement issued Thursday.
Two leading scientific organizations are urging the Trump administration to consider the extensive “scientific, cultural and historical significance” of 27 national monuments placed in safekeeping by three previous presidents in its review of whether to limit or end the protections now preserving the sites.
Imagine this: A cop pulls you over and arrests you because you match the description of someone wanted for a heinous crime. You are innocent, but after being charged and brought to trial, you watch as experts testify with “scientific certainty” that hair and footprints at the scene match your own, and you are led from the courtroom in shackles.
This may seem like a scene straight out of a TV melodrama, but this scenario happens in real life far too often. A number of forensic techniques lack scientific validity and reliability yet are used frequently in our nation’s courtrooms.
The U.S. Department of the Interior is considering abolishing or reducing 27 National Monuments designated or expanded since 1996 under the Antiquities Act of 1906. These monument designations currently protect lands such as the Upper Missouri River Breaks in Montana, the Berryessa Snow Mountain in California, and Craters of the Moon in Idaho. As part of the decision-making process, the Department is specifically requesting comments related to whether the designated land includes “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, [or] other objects of historic or scientific interest.”
We are concerned about President Trump’s announcement that he will walk back relations between the United States and Cuba, and the potential negative impact on cooperation between scientists in our twocountries. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) remains committed to engaging in the exchange of scientists and scientific knowledge between the U.S. and Cuba.
After President Trump released a proposed FY 2018 budget on May 23 that would severely cut funding for scientific research, our members have been busy contacting their representatives. Through AAAS’s advocacy platform, more than 550 members sent 1,687 letters to 330 congressional offices expressing a range of views on how the budget request would impact research.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is seeking nominations of technical experts to serve on the Board of Scientific Counselor’s (BOSC), a federal advisory committee to EPA’s Office of Research and Development.