Kristen L. Marhaver, a PhD student in marine biology, has written a piece titled "Ecosystems in the Age of Cassandra" in Science Progress that urges the scientific community to change the way research findings are shared with the public and with policy makers. Currently, major scientific research results get minimal time in the fast-paced media cycle before they are brushed aside and forgotten. If a policy maker wants to compile the latest information on a scientific subject by going to the source instead of relying on mass media, s/he must sift through hundreds of publications, many of which are subscription based or protected by the university or lab who 'owns' the results. Because there is no coordinated database for compiling such results, many policy makers are ill-informed of the current recommendations and warnings the scientific community is making, especially in regards to climate change and ecosystem deterioration due to human actions.
The solution Kristen discusses is to create a comprehensive, free, open-to-the-public database of all federally-funded research. It would also feature a search engine that policy makers could use to type in, say, "wetland habitat damage" and immediately have access to the latest information from the experts. This would make it much easier to determine the scientific consensus as to which recommended actions would avoid said problem or threat.
The importance of getting the appropriate information to the decision makers of our country cannot be overstated. Kristen puts it like this:
The solution Kristen discusses is to create a comprehensive, free, open-to-the-public database of all federally-funded research. It would also feature a search engine that policy makers could use to type in, say, "wetland habitat damage" and immediately have access to the latest information from the experts. This would make it much easier to determine the scientific consensus as to which recommended actions would avoid said problem or threat.
The importance of getting the appropriate information to the decision makers of our country cannot be overstated. Kristen puts it like this:
"Science produces some of the world’s most powerful information and we should be harnessing the full power of the information age to compile this knowledge and transmit it to policymakers. Otherwise we will simply be documenting, in exquisite detail but out of earshot of our decision makers, the death of planet Earth."
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