You may have heard that America doesn't have enough scientists and is in danger of "falling behind" (whatever that means) because of it. Tell this to an academic scientist and watch her laugh. For the last thirty years, the amount of the U.S. annual budget that goes to non-defense related research has been frozen. From a purely budgetary perspective, we don't have too few scientists, we've got far too many, and we keep graduating more each year. America may say that it values science, but it sure as hell doesn't want to pay for it. Within environmental science in particular, we see the crippling effects that come from having been resource-hobbled for decades: degrading farmland, species extinction, progressive deforestation.. The list goes on and on. Hope Jahren
About This Quote

Scientists and scholars are people with special skills and knowledge. When we say "scientist", we mean the object of study, such as "the scientist" or "the scientist's research". These people are trained to analyze and understand data and information, and to apply knowledge to solve problems. While almost any person can use a computer, not all scientists can make use of it; some scientists prefer using books and papers to explore their subjects, and others prefer working with their hands and tools.

Source: Lab Girl

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