BUDGET CUTS TO SCIENCE IN AMERICA:

Annika Peterson | Opinion | December

   Science is an essential part of society. While some might disagree, science and scientific discoveries played essential roles in everyday items, such as cellphones, medications, and microwaves. This is only a very small list of the many contributions science has given to society.

   While science is many things, the Oxford Dictionary defines it as, “the systematic study of the structures and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation.” However, this definition does not take into account the applications of science and how it can be used to develop and innovate new technologies everyday.

   Although the importance of science cannot be emphasized enough, the American government, some months ago, drastically cut funding for almost every science field. Billions of dollars were taken out of the funds for the scientific field, and thousands of grants had been cancelled. Many experiments had been interrupted, some even having to stop all their research and pack up their supplies.

   With the loss in funds, researchers have begun to feel as if they can not work in the United States anymore. The journal “Nature” reported that seventy-five percent of researchers were considering leaving the country in search of better work. Researchers are being disrespected, and their work is being undervalued. 

   Science and scientists have been at the forefront of discovery for decades. For instance, medical scientists work to find things like the cures for diseases like cancer, AIDS, and many more that impact people daily. These scientists worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to produce a vaccine to keep people safe. Nuclear chemists study the nuclei of atoms, chemical reactions, and radioactivity, aiming to increase the efficiency and safety of nuclear energy.

   When the science field has its funding cut so greatly, the creation and innovation of new technologies will slow greatly. This, in turn, puts more people at risk. Any delay in the development of safer technologies is just an extension of time that people can be hurt by already existing technologies. If another pandemic were to appear again, the response would not be able to be as fast, leaving more people vulnerable to the disease.

   America will lose a lot as it loses more researchers. Progress can not be made as quickly, if at all, without scientists working in the labs. Taking all this into account, the oncoming loss of researchers and all the research they’ve worked on will be detrimental to the country. 

   For the past couple of years, I’ve been considering going into the science field. When I first heard about these cuts, I felt deeply upset. To me, science is one of humanity's most valuable aspects, allowing the gap of missing knowledge to close more and more every day. To see such a valuable field be so severely undervalued and dismissed disappoints me.

   As someone who has looked into the science field before, I feel as if I have to be extra cautious of which field I choose and where I go, if I can go anywhere. With less funding, there is also a smaller number of researchers that will be able to work in each field. This leads me to believe that I have to either pursue a higher demand job, pursue a different career path, or pursue a scientific job in another country.

   While I love science and really want to study it, my hands feel tied. Watching some researchers leave the country and others wanting to leave, a job in the science field feels like a pipe dream. Watching a field that should be respected slowly shrivel away is disheartening, and it feels as if my own dreams have been reduced to shambles.