Science and Society

From the National Academies: The National Academies is seeking community input for a study on expanding systems approaches for Earth science (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and human institutions and infrastructure) research at NSF. This study will develop a vision for a systems approach to studying the Earth and identifying facilities, infrastructure, coordinating mechanisms, computing, and workforce development needed to support ...

By Sumeep Bath, Communications Manager, IISD Experimental Lakes Area  Admittedly, it hasn’t been the summer we expected or planned for at IISD Experimental Lakes Area—the world’s freshwater laboratory—but we made sure that the core monitoring of our lakes and ongoing research was maintained, and that our community stayed safe. There was also some good news to celebrate. The International Institute ...

Guest post by Kelly Luis OCEAN is a webinar series committed to amplifying early-career Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) working in marine environments. OCEAN is a pilot initiative hosted by the School for the Environment Graduate Student Anti-Racism Taskforce at the University of Massachusetts-Boston and is funded by Woods Hole Sea Grant. The OCEAN webinar series invites early-career ...

1 June 2020 "While current protests are focused on law enforcement, ASLO acknowledges that the scientific community has a history of racial inequality. Further, our efforts to promote diversity and build inclusiveness, while a core value, are far from complete. Can we envision a richer, more equal scientific community? Can we act to advance positive change? These are the questions ...

By Eilea Knotts Have you heard about consulting as a possible career path? Have you asked the questions, “am I a good candidate to go into consulting”, “what are the pros and cons”, and “how do I start a consulting business”? The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) recently uploaded a course module titled, How Consulting Works. The module’s instructor is Dave ...

By Eilea Knotts The world has been following the reports of COVID-19's spread and has been considering ways in which science education can continue. There has been a massive movement for online educational resources and virtual instruction for students of all ages. The response for sharing these resources with each other has been heartwarming. Scientists from around the globe have ...

SciComm Social hour: A new way to deliberate outreach by Maha Cziesielski This year’s Ocean Sciences Meeting in San Diego is pleasantly packed with science communication, policy, journalism and outreach events. There are numerous poster and oral sessions, and a wide range of workshops and lunch events for participants to choose from. In fact, the assortment of science communication related ...

By Brittany Schieler One of my favorite television series of the early 2000’s was “Friday Night Lights.” On the show, a charismatic high school football coach dramatically recites the team’s motto before big moments: “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” To this I day I still find myself repeating this mantra. The pithy saying has a lot of relevance beyond high school ...

by Teresa L. Curto, ASLO Executive Director; Mike Pace, ASLO President; Adrienne Sponberg, ASLO Director of Communications and Science   This week, ASLO joined over 125 scientific societies and journal publishers to respond to a rumored forthcoming Trump Administration executive order that would make all papers produced by federally funded research freely available upon publication. If implemented, this would completely eliminate the ...

By Maha Joana Cziesielski On November 6th the Supreme Court of the United States held a hearing for the case County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. The arguments pertained to the question on whether the Clean Water Act requires a permit for the discharge of pollutants when the pollutant has traveled from a point source and through groundwater into ...