Good science assures the nation’s health, wealth and national security. As we approach the November elections, the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) urges all national, state and local elected officials, and those who are candidates for election, to stress the importance of best scientific practices in legislative and policy deliberations.
In his capacity as an alumni member of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents in Washington, D.C., Ammonite Managing Partner Skip Hobbs serves as the chair of the CSSP Committee on Government and Public Affairs. Hobbs was recently tasked with, and was the principal author, of a policy statement of the CSSP calling on politicians to use good science.
The well-being of Americans is currently challenged on many fronts. These include: a pandemic that has seriously affected the nation’s health and economy; drought; catastrophic fires; flooding from torrential storms and sea level rise; and threats to our crop, forest and fishery resources – all being exacerbated by climate change. Cybersecurity is a growing problem leading to compromises to personal identities, intellectual property, through the hijacking and ransoming of websites and databases belonging to companies, municipalities, and healthcare systems; and even putting the integrity of our electoral process into question. Good science will help resolve these threats and provide hope for a future in which we can all be vested.