Servants of the People, Champions of Science

Suppose there was a committee on football in the House of Representatives. If I were a congresswoman, trust me, you would not want me chairing that committee. We all want to do well in our work, of course, so I’d give it the ol’ college try. But no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t bring myself to care about football.

Baseball committee? Sign me up. But football? No way. Put someone else in charge, someone who cares about it. It’s only logical.

The November elections, though, have done the equivalent of putting me in charge of football.
Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) is the new chair of the House Committee on Science. With ties to ties to big oil, a stated intention to interrogate climate scientists, and a disappointing voting record, Hall stands in stark contrast to the previous chair, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), who had chaired the committee since 2007..

In the previous congress, Gordon introduced legislation to ensure long-term research and development, authorize the America COMPETES Act, encourage development of electric vehicles. Not a bad pedigree. Hall, on the other hand, introduced legislation in the 111th congress to demonize climate scientists and stifle the innovation clause of the America COMPETES Act. I’m sure that, like anyone, he will take his new role seriously. But a work ethic can take you only so far when you don’t have a true passion for the task.

Gordon, who has retired from Congress, is not a scientist himself. But his passion for our field came through in his votes and in his voice. I attended a talk by Rep. Gordon in 2009 at the AAAS Public Policy Forum, where he encouraged the scientists and engineers in attendance to “put a face on science.” That’s how we spur public support for what we do: Talk about what we do, how it helps others, and how it affects the country. Gordon wanted us to sell our work so he could support science even more effectively.

This issue is not about party or politics (in fact, Hall himself was a registered Democrat until 2004). No, it’s about championing science, and it’s about being an enthusiastic advocate for scientists. Hall is no champion. Hall is me, in charge of football.

So what can we do about it? Well, as Gordon says, putting a face on science helps. I hope we can all talk a bit more about what we do. Making science and technology accessible to all helps make our case in a broad way. Nothing can substitute for public support.

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3. Festivals that Celebrate Science and Spark Discussion
4. The White House Science Fair: Wish you were young again?
5. Science Contest – Girls Shatter the Glass Ceiling