1 We live in a time when there are few public advocates for a national investment in science.We want "common sense." Evidence-based scientific inquiry is denigrated as the province of “elites”& is viewed as offering no viable solutions to national problems.look.substack.com/p/lets-make-sc…
2 President Trump’s 2020 federal budget proposals reflect this view. He has proposed cuts to the Nat Institute of Health, the Nat Science Foundation, the EPA, and NASA, with much of NASA's remaining funding being reallocated to a moon shot. But it hasn’t always been this way. 
3 In 1838, the fed govt made an astonishing commitment to science w/ the launch of the Unites States South Seas Exploring Expedition [gen known as the Ex. Ex.]. The Ex. Ex. was a four-year mission to chart the sea areas and adjacent coastal regions of the entire Pacific Basin.
4 The Ex. Ex. consisted of 6 sailing vessels and 346 men and included a team of 9 scientists and artists. The Ex.Ex. was 1 of the largest voyages of discovery in the history of Western exploration & would mark the start of government involvement in science.look.substack.com/p/lets-make-sc…
5 The Ex.Ex. retraced many of the routes taken by the British explorer, Capt James Cook in his 3 Pacific voyages of the 1760s &1770s. The Ex.Ex. made 2 trips to Antarctica, surveyed all known Pacific islands, Australia and New Zealand, and surveyed the American Pacific Northwest.
6 The Ex. Ex. documented details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural navigation aids, information on tides and currents, and the location of any structures, such as harbors.look.substack.com/p/lets-make-sc…
7 The Ex. Ex. completed the first American survey of the Columbia River, the coast of California, and part of northern Mexico, making the assertion of a territorial claim to this land feasible.look.substack.com/p/lets-make-sc…
8 When the Ex. Ex. returned in 1842 after its four year mission, it brought home an overwhelming array of materials. Experts have described the mountains of data collected by the Ex. Ex. as so large “they outran the intellectual resources of the country." look.substack.com/p/lets-make-sc…
9 The Ex. Ex. mission, with its public display of scientific collections and the publication of scientific reports on its wide-ranging findings, established the U.S. as a prominent force within the international scientific community. look.substack.com/p/lets-make-sc…
9 The vast array of artifacts -- maps, charts, plants, animals, anthropological items, drawings, etc. -- became the nation's first museum, the Smithsonian, and the study of science -- once a hobby of rich guys, became a recognized academic discipline. look.substack.com/p/lets-make-sc…
10 This week will make many people feel that the nation has gone off the rails and is incapable of progress. I believe we can still do great things. My suggestion: let's come together around some great idea(s). Then let's work on making them happen. Start with science.
{Tesla}
{Tesla}
11 We invite you to read our widely shared report on the Ex.Ex.
History shines a bright light, not only on our current problems, but on the path forward.
The Ex.Ex. is one such example.
look.substack.com/p/lets-make-sc…
History shines a bright light, not only on our current problems, but on the path forward.
The Ex.Ex. is one such example.
look.substack.com/p/lets-make-sc…
