Science, the Public, Business, and the Government
How does science serve the public interest?
Analogy - wagon trains in American West always sent scouts to survey the territory ahead. Why? Small investment in resources to look ahead and scout alternative paths can help avoid difficult paths ahead - one doesn't want to march blindly into a desert or impassable moutain range.
In other words, research is an investment in our future. Increase in knowledge base helps us to become more successful at improving our surroundings through ingenious use of tools and energy.
Return on research dollars can be enormous. Examples: dollars invested to understand how buildings respond to earthquakes can be recouped many times over by decreased fatalities and damage during major earthquake. Dollars invested to design manufacturing processes that minimize solid and chemical waste reduce needed landfill space and expensive clean-ups.
Public interest is thus often best served by small investments in pure and applied research, yet government and private spending on research has decreased steadily over past decade as a percentage of our gross domestic product. One theme during past presidential campaign was whether we as a nation are investing enough in our future. US investment in research has slipped steadily for the past decade. Japan's has increased dramatically to the point where our two societies now stand in the position that the other stood 20-30 years ago.
Research investment requires careful scrutiny - Example - Japan has invested enormous monies into earthquake prediction efforts with no success. US effort is much lower. Prediction may fundamentally be impossible. Will their investment ever pay for itself? Probably not, but if they developed capability to predict, it would pay for itself.
NOTE: Global research - US also benefits from Japanese advances in earthquake prediction - no investment required!
The Public's Dilemma
Average citizen is affected by many environmental issues that he or she doesn't have the time or background to understand fully. Yet, circumstances often force a person to render an opinion!
Example: residents in Forest County, Wisconsin are now faced with proposed Exxon/Rio Algom mine and its potential environmental problems. Most lack background to understand the issues, yet their lives could be affected. What to do?
Environmental organizations:
The Nature Conservancy: A well-respected not-for-profit organization whose goal is to preserve habitats through outright purchase or other means. Run by ecologists, owns 1.3 million acres in U.S., 1500 preserves, has 830,000 paying members. Works in concert with state and federal governments.
The Sierra Club: member supported, non-profit organization that promotes conservation by influencing public policy decisions. More than half-million members. Politics heavily biased toward environment - few middle-ground positions. But serve as excellent citizen counter-weight to industry-financed political action groups.
Activist organizations include Earth First! and Greenpeace. Tend to include more fringe environmentalists, with attitude of act first, think later, if at all).
A web listing of environmental organizations (www.webdirectory.com) and search engine gives further info - the number of organizations is large, with different organizations focusing on different topics. Something for everyone!
Environmental organizations often establish one side of the political debate - often approach problems from a fundamentally different point of view than do Congressional and/or business-oriented people. In Europe, environmentalists have translated their numbers into political power; the Green Party gained seats in West Germany's Bundestag over a decade ago and have remained there since. Political power of environmental organizations here is considerable and if most often wielded through Democratic congressional representatives. Republicans have traditionally stood for big business and nothing they have done in the past 20 years has changed that perception. Republicans consistently get more money from big business than do Democrats, and they consistently vote against bills that include environmental regulations or new parklands.
The public is increasingly aware of arguments and rationale underlying need for change from growth-oriented economy to one that operates on a more sustainable basis (limited population, preservation of green space, efficient use of resources). Takes many years to shift fundamental beliefs of a society, and it must be done in a way that people perceive is in their best personal/economic interests.
Business
Business viewpoints are often under-represented to public. However, businesses often hire highly-paid lobbyists that have access to politicians at all levels of state and federal government. Business interests are thus often over-represented in government! Over the past severay years, the representatives and senators that receive the most money from big business have been the ones that voted the most often to cut programs that protect the public and environment.
Business ultimately survives by making a profit, and unless the government provides an economic incentive for ethical business practices, business behavior is typically determined by the path to the greatest profit. Many times, this path works against the public interest. History has demonstrated the following:
Since the free market is driven largely by short-term profit motive, federal and state governments provide the means by which citizens ensure that the long-term interests of the public are protected. Government mandates for improved energy efficiency, government investments in research, emission regulations, clean-up of toxic waste dumps, and safeguards on water quality are all examples of government actions that have protected public interest from business.
Government agencies
USGS - Broad mission - little or no conflicts of interest
DOE - Mission is to provide technical info and scientific/educational foundation necessary to achieve efficiency in energy,, diversity in energy sources, a more productive and competitive economy, and improved environmental quality. DOE research dollars in energy technology/efficiency have declined 75% since 1978. DOE attempting to reverse the trend - difficult when under attack by Republican-controlled Congress, which believes that private industry is answer to energy problems. Unfortunately, private industries investment in energy R&D has been decreasing steadily for years, leaving the country in a potential energy R&D deficit for the upcoming decade. DOE national labs (Oak Ridge, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia, Argonne) all conduct energy research and development.
EPA - Environmental Protection Agency - wide mission regarding anything regarding protection of environment. Includes responsibility for setting federal industrial and automobile emission standards, permitted levels of various toxic chemicals in drinking water and air, grants to encourage sustainable development in local communities, regulation of pesticides and other high-risk wastes, assistance to citizens and businesses with compliance, etc... Has been favorite target of Republican Congress and industry. Industry likes to talk about how much much environmental regulations have cost over past several decades, but they don't like to discuss the alternatives! EPA is an essential and important element protecting Americans from unregulated discharge of toxics into environment.
DOA/ ArmyCorpsEng. / NOAA / NASA / Dept Interior (BLM, FWS)