The County of Washington is an ideal place to develop an earth scientist.
I know – I’m one. I can easily retrace my scientific roots in the county of Washington – of the deep respect for the nature that I developed in the boy scouts of the Anawanna camp, with the fear and the inspiration to see the rings of Saturn at the Mingo Creek Park Observatory. My public education in Trinity led to excursions on the ground at the National Radio-Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, W.VA., where I learned to see the universe in a different light, literally, and to appreciate the importance of federal scientific research.
I went to university and higher education for earth and environmental sciences. I prospered thanks to federal student loans, working prices, NASA courses and research subsidies from the National Science Foundation (NSF). I am proud of the work: identify and predict forest fires; Understand the relations between forests, climate change and land management practices; And more recently in my current position, fill the gap between scientific data and the development of policies.
This work would not have been done by a for -profit company. Science funded by the federal government openly provides results to the American people on behalf of the public service – even when the results are unpopular or take years to return their value. From the National Weather Service (NWS) of the NOAA to the US Forest Service at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), scientific agencies provide critical information that could save your life and fuel innovation in the private sector. Where do weather applications get their data? NWS public data sets. Google Maps was based on Landsat satellite imaging of NASA and USGS. These investments are profitable, returning several times more value than they cost.
Unfortunately, last month experienced devastating discounts for federal scientific agencies, dismissed thousands of employees and overwhelming billions of dollars in grants on which the communities count. Even if the courts have ordered that some staff and programs are restored, the cuts are continuing. Many of the best and brightest scientists in the country are informed that their work and their skills are not valued. When you cut staff working on extreme weather forecasts to NWS, public health subsidies at NIH or forest and fire managers from the USFS, you remove expert knowledge. Operations become slow and ineffective, and life is more dangerous for all of us.
This is a problem that affects the two Washingtons – including thousands of federal employees and millions of dollars in federal funding in the southwest of Pennsylvania. Federal workers are your neighbors and friends who provide services and resources. These are people and agencies that give storm alerts, monitoring air quality, helping farmers plan the coming season or cleaning of watercourses and local rivers. They improve our quality of life.
In 2024, Pennsylvania received $ 332 million in NSF prices, including the support of university research, STEM education and local businesses. The state also received $ 2 billion in NIH funding. This money supports local staff and savings and provides vital resources to people who need them. This also helps to bring more people in science and engineering, so we will have competent scientists to support the next generation.
I am a scientist because of the place and the way I have been raised – developing a deep curiosity and an appreciation for the natural world, and a desire to serve my community. I want children to go from school now and in years to have the same opportunities as me. We need bipartite support for public sciences and education. The Pennsylvanians deserve the quality of life that science can provide.
Contact your representative and ask them to oppose personnel and funding for federal scientific agencies: https://www.house.gov/repressentifs/find-your-repressentative; Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, who represents the counties of Washington and Greene: https://reschenthaler.house.gov/contact/.
Dr. Shane Coffield is a scholarship in scientific and technological policy of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, DC, he worked in the analysis of data to support federal agencies on subjects such as agriculture, land use, forestry and forest fires. The opinions expressed here are his and do not represent Aaas or no federal agency.