To Whom This May Concern:
I am writing this letter in regards of the constant budget cuts we've undergone in scientific research and as what many people have dubbed "The War on Science". Society and Science has butted heads throughout history from the science of genetics, to the shape of the world, even to something as simple as washing your hands to prevent the spread of germs. Society and Science has never been on the same page. We as society improved both technologically and efficiently yet why do we still deny and reject science? We live in a society where vaccinations and climate change is furiously debated even though there is overwhelming evidence that says otherwise. These are serious issues that need to be discussed, but time and …show more content…
NASA Earth Science budget has been cut by more than $320 million. This fund is used to research the ever changing Earth and more frankly climate change. Now lets compare the other budgets to NASA more specifically the military budget. The U.S. military approximate budget of 2015 is around $600 billion which is more than half of the U.S. GDP. NASA approximate budget on the other hand, is around $20 billion, merely 3% of the U.S GDP. NASA isn't the only scientific agency having budget cuts the NIH or National Institute of Health is also affected; their budget has been reduced by 22% since 2003. These are the scientists who are responsible for the bio medical and health related research. They are the people who discover new diseases and finds way to combat them. From cancer, mental health, to even drug abuse, they are the people who keep us healthy. To cut the budgets of these agencies that helped the longevity of mankind is just, in a word, …show more content…
countries like the U.K. are also having major budget cuts. The U.K only spends 0.5% of their GDP on scientific research. That is the lowest its been in two decades. Australia, in 2014 alone, has been estimated to have lost 20% of CSIRO (Australia's science agency) staff. Why is there so much budget cuts across the world at such a crucial time where science needed. From 2012 to 2014 the number of measles cases in the U.S has rose at least 900%; measles a preventable disease that has a vaccine but is rejected because of society belief. Vaccines have saved hundreds of thousands of lives and prevented millions of cases. Anti-vaccination does not just endanger you but also the people around you. Climate change is also huge issue. Everyday it has been estimated that up to 100 species goes extinct; the rate of extinction is 20 to 100 times faster than it was in the past which is in fact a conservative estimate. Scientists had dubbed this issue as the brink of the 6th mass extinction with the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction, the last mass extinction, being 65 million years ago. Greenhouse gases emission is rising at the highest rate its ever been in 30 years. The fact of the matter is you don't even have to believe in climate change. "I get the feeling that a lot of people believe global warming is a myth to justify not caring about the world. Which is saying I don't have diabetes yet so I'll continue eating [garbage]." - Dean
I am writing this letter in regards of the constant budget cuts we've undergone in scientific research and as what many people have dubbed "The War on Science". Society and Science has butted heads throughout history from the science of genetics, to the shape of the world, even to something as simple as washing your hands to prevent the spread of germs. Society and Science has never been on the same page. We as society improved both technologically and efficiently yet why do we still deny and reject science? We live in a society where vaccinations and climate change is furiously debated even though there is overwhelming evidence that says otherwise. These are serious issues that need to be discussed, but time and …show more content…
NASA Earth Science budget has been cut by more than $320 million. This fund is used to research the ever changing Earth and more frankly climate change. Now lets compare the other budgets to NASA more specifically the military budget. The U.S. military approximate budget of 2015 is around $600 billion which is more than half of the U.S. GDP. NASA approximate budget on the other hand, is around $20 billion, merely 3% of the U.S GDP. NASA isn't the only scientific agency having budget cuts the NIH or National Institute of Health is also affected; their budget has been reduced by 22% since 2003. These are the scientists who are responsible for the bio medical and health related research. They are the people who discover new diseases and finds way to combat them. From cancer, mental health, to even drug abuse, they are the people who keep us healthy. To cut the budgets of these agencies that helped the longevity of mankind is just, in a word, …show more content…
countries like the U.K. are also having major budget cuts. The U.K only spends 0.5% of their GDP on scientific research. That is the lowest its been in two decades. Australia, in 2014 alone, has been estimated to have lost 20% of CSIRO (Australia's science agency) staff. Why is there so much budget cuts across the world at such a crucial time where science needed. From 2012 to 2014 the number of measles cases in the U.S has rose at least 900%; measles a preventable disease that has a vaccine but is rejected because of society belief. Vaccines have saved hundreds of thousands of lives and prevented millions of cases. Anti-vaccination does not just endanger you but also the people around you. Climate change is also huge issue. Everyday it has been estimated that up to 100 species goes extinct; the rate of extinction is 20 to 100 times faster than it was in the past which is in fact a conservative estimate. Scientists had dubbed this issue as the brink of the 6th mass extinction with the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction, the last mass extinction, being 65 million years ago. Greenhouse gases emission is rising at the highest rate its ever been in 30 years. The fact of the matter is you don't even have to believe in climate change. "I get the feeling that a lot of people believe global warming is a myth to justify not caring about the world. Which is saying I don't have diabetes yet so I'll continue eating [garbage]." - Dean