A first glance at Obama's proposed 2011 budget, and I feel relief. Given earlier rumors of a freeze on discretionary spending I had feared the worst, but it seems our government is investing heavily in science as way out of the current economic mess. The National Science Foundation (NSF) may see an 8% increase- great news for biologists! NSF is the primary source of support in this country for basic science, including myrmecology.
Incidentally, the New York Times' graphics department deserves a raise. Their simple interactive summaries of complex issues are absolutely brilliant- the 2011 budget graph is no exception.
More like this
The Scientist blog reports that a representative of the National Science Foundation (NSF) was at the annual meeting of the America Society for Cell Biology (ASCB). The NSF representative pointed out a couple of things things:
Melody points me to this gem of an advisory from the NSF:
On January 8, NSF will be hosting a very important panel discussion on climate change and journalism. Details are below.
NSF to Host Panel Discussion on Communicating Climate Change
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
January 8, 2009
Some awesome photos from NSF teams working in Antarctica (click for larger versions). This one makes me want to hum "O Little Base of McMurdo, how still we see thee lie. . . "
Yeah, that's one heck of a graphic!
I note a 10% cut to the Army Corps of Engineers over in the Natural Resources rectangle. That's good and bad:
-- Less money to construct gargantuan, environmentally destructive, infrastructure projects
-- Less money to deconstruct old gargantuan, environmentally destructive, infrastructure projects.
No reduction for the Tobacco Trust Fund, whatever that is.