US Basic Science in Decline
Eric Berger's SciGuy blog tells us that this is...
A dark time for "big" physics in America
U.S. physicists have had a couple of weeks to digest the finalized version of the 2008 federal budget, and they're not finding it any more to their liking than before. Among the last-minute cuts:
- Cuts $88 million from high-energy physics program, primarily particle accelerators.
- Entirely nixes the 2008 U.S. contribution, $149 million, to ITER, the international fusion project.
- Cuts cuts funding for development on the proposed International Linear Collider from $60 million to $15 million.
Over at the blog For Entrepreneurs, we read about more big cuts in science research funding:
In Illinois, we have two great National Labs: Argonne and Fermilab.
Both of these Illinois National Labs have had their budgets slashed to the point where there are massive layoffs underway and many important scientific research projects have been cancelled or put on hold.
These are not "cut the fat" changes. Rather, these are "cut out the essential organs" cuts. They put a big part of our national scientific research efforts on life support and jeopardize our national competitiveness.
Indeed, the Fermilab Today site reports that:
The diminished funds will have a powerful impact at Fermilab, requiring workforce adjustments and forcing the cancellation of R&D for experiments and technology key to the future of particle physics.
And there is more bad news from the pages of American Medical News:
For the fifth consecutive year, the National Institutes of Health budget will fail to keep pace with growth in the cost of conducting biomedical research. . .
There aren't many positives for scientific research in the 2008 budget, said David Moore, senior associate vice president for government relations for the Association of American Medical Colleges.
"What we're going to see is less research, a slowing down of certain research programs," he said. "It's a slowing of medical progress."
Why is all this important? Does it really matter to the rest of the world if science funding in the United States is flat or declining? I think it does matter, partly because the U.S. economy and federal budgets are by far the largest in the world -- meaning they have the ability to support more basic science research than anyone else -- but also because so much important policy toward science and technology emanates from the United States.
If the U.S. government is unwilling to provide adequate funding for basic science, that sends a message to business, government, and research institutions worldwide: that science is less important than other priorities (such as making war and making profits), and that the benefits of basic research are not worth supporting, even if it means that future generations -- not to mention our own generation -- will suffer as a result.
It is disgraceful.
[Cross-posted from Responsible Nanotechnology]
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Basic Science and the Paradigm Shift
There occasionally occurs a paradigm shift in the way that particular problems are recognized and solved. It often takes years and even decades before these new ideas are incorporated into the prevailing scientific thought. One reason for this may be because of the inability to effectively communicate those ideas to the rest of the world. When such paradigm shifts take hold and begin to grow, there's a critical point where the idea is tested by suitable independent experimental scientists. These are often the unsung heroes of newer scientific ideas and technologies breaking through to recognition and eventual acceptance. So far the links between physics and biology seem rather esoteric and remote, yet we all accept that we are physical beings subjected to the same physical laws that govern the universe around us. So why haven’t we made greater progress toward a more direct connection to our underlying physical relationship with the universe? Perhaps we have a resistance to such knowledge. We may not really want to know these things unless we can be more mentally and spiritually prepared to accept them. Not everyone may be able to accept the direct scientific evidence for these connections and not every mind is prepared to understand how these connections occur, but for those who wish to explore these connections consider the following link that may change the way that you view how physics meets biology - http://ombamltine.blogspot.com/2008/05/welcome.html
Accidental duplicate, please remove
Basic Science Cuts -- OUCH!
Mike,
Thank you for raising this issue here. There is an economic and educational issue as well as a research one. Big science projects will go on elsewhere, and the U.S. will no longer be a magnet for talent from other countries. Instead, we will have a "brain drain" from this country to Europe, Japan, Israel, Singapore, India, and even China, where high-tech research is finding support.
Also, major U.S. laboratories, and Fermilab in particular, have a history of supporting innovations in science education. When researching my middle-grade six-book Library of Subatomic Particles and my history of twentieth-century physics for junior high through adult readers, Fermilab's Lederman educational center was an excellent resource.
Stories like this make it all the more important to raise the issue of science and technology policy and funding in the upcoming presidential campaign through efforts like Science Debate 2008.
Fred Bortz -- Science and technology books for young readers (www.fredbortz.com) and Science book reviews (www.scienceshelf.com)
Science/Education
While living in Germany I came to the Realization that in many aspects of their society the Europeans have advanced beyond a stagnant America. All the stories of America being the strongest economy, the most advanced in everything, the best infratructure,etc,etc. really were little more then the Elite establishment here in the states brainwashing the American public into accepting their Economic/Political System which is geared for making a very few richer at the expense of everyone else.
Well in 2008 the Stock Market and American Economy Collapsed into a heap of rubble exposing the hollow shell America had become since the Early 1980's when the old Social/Economic Order was replaced with the new Bubble Economy, low education/skills, No Science or Reason, Dictatorship Model.
The US Elites jumped ship and invested most of their fortunes in the ex-communist countries and even much money in the High wage/Socialist Western Europe leaving Americans holding the bag and installing their prison/police state while they weakened the educational base for 80% of the people to reduce their reasoning levels and so they would be totally dependent on the shit fed to them by the Media without being able to think things through and use logic-just be Patriotic and trust in the lord everthing else is secondary. While we have 40% of the world's Correctional Populaton(Prison, Jail, Probation, Home arrest, Parole,etc) and almost 50% of the world's Debt(Trade, Government, Corporate, Consumer, Medicare,Military,etc).
The Science funds have not increased and have actually been decreasing since 1987 when inflation is taken into account.
When one does not include the Military Reseach Budget and just includes non-military(weapons)research the USA only comes in 22nd per Capita in Research Spending while even including the Military end of the research the USA comes out 9th per capita.
Most of tht big basic Reseach Projects are in Europe and Asia.
Cern(Physics labs), ITer(Fusion Research) European Space Agency, Renewable Energy Development,basic manufacturing/product research,etc. is being done in Western Europe and Japan.
Europe Exports about 3 trillion dollars worth of Goods and Services year(2008) while the Euro is much higher then the US dollar. The Yen has appreciated above the US dollar and Japan is also a very large Export/Creditor Nation.
The Infrastructure of Japan and most of Western Europe is the most advanced in the world while America's infrastrucuture(roads, rail, water systems, sewage systems, Dams, Ports, Electrical Grid, Renewable/sustainable economy,etc needs trillion of dollars worth of repairs and expansions.
The average American's life span is ranked 50th in the world and falling compared to other countries.
America's wages and benefits are not even in the top 20 countries-Mercer Survery 2006 including cost of living and taxes taken out!
The US primary education k-12 is ranked at the bottom of the OECD countries and America's Universities are the most unaffordable in the World, only the Upper Middle and Rich Kids get the real educations and even then much of it follows a certin Rigid Ideology in a Narrow box leaving much left out of the educational process.
Germany's people's have free College Tuition,Extensive Vocational/Technical Training for all, extensive Welfare to take care of the countries needs, Healthcare for all, 50 paid days off a year, sick days, sick leave-paid, free Child Day care,etc.
90% of the German Adult Population have a Technical/Trade Education or a University Education compared to about 30% here in the USA.
That should wake folks up if nothing will!
If the majority of the population does not have skills, good reasoning,etc how would America have a strong Society? Democracy? Good living Standards for the Majority? Etc.
Everything in this world starts with the Mind and what is in that Mind. Also of course we need Natural Resources which is number one on the list for Survival everything else is just static.
The Mind/Body and the Natural Resources available will dictate what a Civilization becomes.
Money is but paper-worthless only a vehicle of exchange for a Capitalistic system. Going back to research/Engineering/Science- the Mind is what makes this possible and the Natural Resources is the fuel to sustain us.
A Theolistic, Fear based, Divided,uneducated, Rich and Poor Society will not have a Good Foundation for Science or much of anything else.
And America's been going down this Road for awhile now, of course we are not number one in Science nor Economy nor in Democratic/egalitarian principles. Far from it!