Exodus

In its relentless effort to slash the budget, our current happy government has taken aim at anything that smacks of science. Research, practical applications, geologic realities, university laboratories: if something operates under the tenets of logic and reason, it’s out.

Throughout my life I have never ceased to be amazed by how wealthy and important people can be so manifestly ignorant of the basics of science, and how vitally important it is to our daily lives. You would think that folks who have ascended to the highest levels of government and entertainment, among other fields, would rally behind science at every opportunity. Such is not the case.

I remember when I was doing the book version of Disney’s The Black Hole and, because I am not made to ignore the obvious, sent along a letter detailing 70 things involving matters of basic science that could be fixed in post-production. That is, after principal photography had been completed. Were any of those suggestions to be used, I asked for no recompense and no credit. There was apparently a big meeting about the letter, some shouting and yelling, and as is typical of such meetings, nothing was done.

In the same way, our current administration receives dozens if not hundreds of recommendations on how to treat science, not only to have them not only be ignored but actively contested. Take the radical changes at NOAA. Weather forecasting: obviously something we don’t need. But the farmers are protesting, so NOAA’s agriculture stats are being reinstated. And now hurricane season is upon us, so with some 500 staffers and researchers having quit or taken the proffered early “retirement,” suddenly the current administration’s shadow version of the agency has put out a desperate call for folks to fill many of those jobs. Probably because lotsa rich folks live by the sea.

Or NASA. Primary focus is being shifted from interplanetary research (Mars, Titan, Ganymede) where we might just find evidence of non-terrestrial life, to getting us back to the moon (where we’ve already been) and to Mars. Getting to Mars is a noble endeavor, and of particular importance to a certain friend of the current administration. I’m all for it even if it does look like Yuma, but not at the expense of every other piece of important space science.

Then there are the CDC and HHS, currently being supervised by an appointee with zero experience in either health or medicine, who favors dispensing with the accumulated medical knowledge of the last hundred years or so in favor of remedies better flogged from the back of a horse-drawn wagon covered with garish paintings and florid lettering. But hey, what’s a growing measles outbreak among friends? Besides, it has only killed a couple of kids (so far). Except that someone who has contracted measles even in childhood is at risk later on for damage to the immune system and a little cutie called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (usually fatal). You don’t hear that last one discussed much, though. Probably because the person currently in charge of the CDC and HHS can’t pronounce it.

The current budget for NASA is $35.11 billion. Or 0.2% of the federal budget. That for NOAA is $6.6 billion, a percentage so small I’m not even going to mention it. CDC is $25.7 billion. HHS is a lot bigger. The projected cost for one F-47 jet fighter is $300 million. Arguments are ongoing about whether we even need the damn thing, in an age when drones are taking over many of the functions of military aircraft.

But weather forecasting, space exploration, and the public health? Plenty of room to cut “fraud and waste” there.

I haven’t even touched on the cuts to scientific research. I don’t worry about that as much, however, because such research will continue and thrive. Just not in the US. Flowery invitations and financial promises have been extended to American scientists from countries all over the world who recognize the importance of such research not only to science itself, but to economic growth. France has been especially active in wooing our best minds. The UAE is planning a huge AI research center. Who do you think is going to staff that?

Let’s see. Have your funding cut, your passport constantly scrutinized, and your position eliminated vs. continuing your work fully funded and absent political supervision while driving into Paris or Dubai for the weekend. I dunno. Tough choice.

The biggest cheerleaders for the current government’s attitude toward science? Possibly the Chinese government, which fully supports research and development with an eye toward dominating critical future technologies such as solar and wind power, the transportation transition to electric vehicles, and yes, space exploration. All of which are proceeding full speed ahead while our current administration marches proudly onward into the 17th century.

My recommendation? Observe, cry, and above all, don’t let your kids get sick.