WHY WE NEED ACTIVE CITIZEN-GEOSCIENTISTS

Geoscientists often express their distress that policymakers are not more aware of the contributions made by the geosciences to society. After all, improved understanding of the Earth and its processes has been applied to reduce impacts from natural hazards, identify energy and mineral resources, decontaminate water sources and safely dispose waste. But who knew?

This lack of recognition manifested itself in 1995 when Congress threatened the U.S. Geological Survey with elimination. The proposal to abolish the survey was not motivated by concerns over shoddy work, but by a lack of understanding about what the agency did. The events of 1995 jolted the geoscience community, fostering greater recognition of the need to actively raise the profile of our science among not only elected officials but also their constituents -- the American public. Because popular needs and concerns drive legislative action, efforts to affect public policy cannot be separated from efforts to improve public awareness.

Success on both those fronts requires the active engagement of individual geoscientists with their elected officials and with their neighbors. In other words, it requires active citizen-geoscientists. Activity can take many forms: writing to elected officials, forming local science advisory councils, participating in local government or even working for Congress through the congressional science fellowship program.

The ultimate goals of such active engagement are to increase government investment in the geosciences and improve the use of geoscience information and analysis in governmental decisionmaking. To reach these goals, geoscientists must relate their science to issues people see as relevant, such as hazards, climate change, and education.

Lack of societal recognition is not unique to US geoscientists. We have much to learn from the approaches taken in other countries to address this problem. To facilitate a learning process, the International Union of Geological Sciences recently established a working group on public affairs. Hopefully, a greater dialogue will help to identify new ways to tackle these challenges.