June 7, 2018
AGU Policy Action Center facilitates advocacy for NOAA funding [World Oceans Month]
Posted by Laura Guertin
Anyone that spends time on Twitter goes through a range of emotions when they scroll through their Twitter feed. From powerful hashtags to animated GIFs, we enjoy a laugh, we become informed, and we grow concerned. This recent tweet is one of the concerning ones for me:
#NASA and #NSF receive strong funding in House Appropriations bill; #NOAA takes a hit. Urge your Senator today to support robust funding for all three agencies: https://t.co/4lFzqmHisC
— AGU Science Policy (@AGUSciPolicy) June 6, 2018
Here’s the situation… In May 2018, the House Appropriations Committee passed their version of the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) spending bill, which funds NASA, NOAA, and the NSF (full information available on the AGU Current Federal Funding Landscape page).
- NASA received $21.5 billion or a 3.7% increase over FY2018 Omnibus levels
- NSF received $8.2 billion or a 5% increase over FY2018 Omnibus levels
- NOAA received $5.2 billion or a 11.5% decrease from FY2018 Omnibus levels
Below is a chart from the American Institute of Physics (AIP) showing the proposed budget changes within NOAA. More details are available on the AIP Federal Science Budget Tracker.
AGU members are familiar with NOAA and the importance, relevance, and value of its services. But now, NOAA needs more voices than those from the scientific community to advocate for funding. Here are easy steps to help our non-scientist colleagues, family and friends learn about NOAA and take action.
Introduce NOAA – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Many non-STEM people I speak to unfortunately have never heard of NOAA. I start with the “NASA is to space as NOAA is to the ocean and atmosphere.” I share some additional taking points in my GeoEd Trek post A New Year’s resolution: help the public learn about NOAA. And there is a video NOAA released earlier this year that is a great introduction to this federal agency:
Tell your NOAA story, and why NOAA matters to us all
I have blogged on this topic as well in my post What NOAA means to me, and how to “make it matter” to others. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere RDML Tim Gallaudet is well aware of how stories are key to communicating how NOAA directly benefits individuals and society as a whole – my conversation with Dr. Gallaudet and an interview with AIP are just a couple of examples of these stories.
Topics such as weather forecasting and and decision support services to emergency managers are not “hard sells” to individuals. But we as scientists need to know who are audiences are that we are trying to talk to about NOAA. For my friends of outdoor sports, I show them articles on the NOAA Climate.gov website that talk about the impact of warming on athletics, such as Warmer April high temps for the Boston Marathon and Low snow drives Iditarod north for third time. For my friends that love boating, whether on their own boats or on cruise ships, I share the importance of hydrographic surveying, tide/current data and nautical charts, all part of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. And NOAA has a collection of ocean facts where you can find something of interest for anyone and everyone!
Visit the AGU Policy Action Center, take 5 minutes to show support for NOAA
AGU’s Policy Action Center (http://actioncenter.agu.org/) makes it so easy for anyone to contact their elected officials and support funding for science.
On the main page of the Policy Action Center, click on Urge your Senators to Robustly Fund NASA, NOAA, & NSF. Enter your zip code of residence, and a form automatically populates with the names of your elected officials (in this case, the Senators that will be discussing this spending bill).
The form includes instructions and sample talking points that you can use to write your message to your Senators. There are talking points about NOAA which I used in my 300-word message, including my own NOAA stories for why NOAA matters to people in Pennsylvania.
I can’t emphasize how quick and easy this was to do. AGU has done the legwork in setting up the interface for taking action on important policy issues. If you have never visited or used this interface, please explore the link and connect with your Senators while we still have time to support NOAA during World & National Oceans Month.
Laura Guertin is a Distinguished Professor of Earth Sciences at Penn State Brandywine in Media, PA. Her research focuses on how technology can enhance teaching and student learning in introductory-level geoscience courses for non-science majors. Her blog focuses on geoscience education/outreach, science communication, and technology tools in the classroom, online, and in the field.
I thought I’d continue documenting the process of what happens when you utilize the AGU Policy Action Center to connect with your elected officials. Seven hours after I submitted my message through the AGU site, I received the following email from one Senator’s office:
“Thank you for contacting me. Your e-mail has been received and will be responded to shortly.
Sincerely,
Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.”
I received another email today (July 23, 2018) from Senator Casey’s office:
Dear Dr. Guertin:
Thank you for contacting me about science and technology research, development and funding. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.
Various federal agencies, including the Department of Energy Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Institutes of Health, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, initiate innovative science programs and manage the investment of federal scientific research funding. Investments in scientific research are vital for America to continue to lead in innovation in an increasingly competitive world. When we lead in science research, we are able to produce the innovative products needed for economic growth. Investments in science education and research will create jobs now and power economic growth for years to come.
Agencies that engage in scientific research and development are of great importance to the United States and they should be well-equipped with the staff and funding necessary to promote impartial, essential scientific research. Impartial scientific research helps move our Nation forward by advancing technology, enabling breakthroughs in medicine, improving people’s quality of life and strengthening our economy. Every day, policymakers use science to inform decisions that affect Americans’ health and safety. However, scientific research and results have the potential to be distorted through censorship, political interference or conflicts of interest. Scientists employed by the federal government and across the Nation should be able to do their jobs and conduct research without fear of censorship or pressure to conform to specific political priorities. Impartial and independent scientific research helps ensure we are informed and making decisions based on the best possible information.
In March of 2017, the Trump Administration released a federal budget proposal that called for drastic cuts to science agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Weather Service, NASA and the Department of Energy. I am deeply concerned and opposed to these proposed budget cuts and the indiscriminate slashing of funds to agencies or programs that support innovation and increase economic competitiveness. As the Senate considers appropriations legislation, please be assured that I will keep your views in mind and know the essential role investments in science research and development play in our long-term growth.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.
For more information on this or other issues, I encourage you to visit my website, http://casey.senate.gov. I hope you will find this online office a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.
Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator