USGS Research Protects Lives, Creates Jobs

Posted by Alexandra Matiella Novak Mar 2, 2009

Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, coastal erosion, water contamination, landslides, floods, climate change, avian influenza, droughts and wildfires. What do all these things have in common? They are natural hazards studied by researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey. The mitigation of these hazards is what USGS scientists spend their entire career studying, helping to alleviate the loss of life and property in our country.

Unfortunately, and ironically, the current governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, does not have enough foresight to see how investing in natural hazard science is not only great for our economy, but great for the prosperity of our nation.

Following Pres. Obama's speech to Congress Tuesday night about the stimulus package, which includes a $140 million dollar investment into the USGS, Jindal said of the investment, "Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington." This off-handed remark referred to a description of the USGS allocation stating that part of the money would be used for "volcano monitoring".

But it is not just Jindal's comment about volcano montoring that is so disturbing. What is also disturbing is that this politician, whom the state of Louisiana is trusting with their lives, seems to be uneducated about Earth science research and what it is exactly that the USGS does for America.

The USGS and Job Creation

When I read this story in the Washington Post, I thought that everyone should know about this. Here's an excerpt:

"Much of the actual preparation for the money is occurring down the ladder in smaller corners of the government. The U.S. Geological Survey, within Interior, is preparing for $140 million that, among other things, will go toward paying private firms to use new airplane-based laser technology to produce a more accurate topographical map of the country. The information is useful for such things as tracking sea-level rise and flooding. "

Basically, this supports what USGS scientists have been saying for years - money in scientific research is a worthwhile investment. In this example, it's going to a private firm and paying for technology. And this isn't an uncommon case. USGS research uses all kinds of technology for data collection and hazard monitoring. Someone has to make these high-tech instruments and many times they come from small companies based right here in the U.S. Isn't that a great way to spend tax-payer money - for expansion of private businesses and technology? Investing money into these kinds of projects will almost certainly create new jobs in the immediate future.

Moreover, having been a graduate student for most of my 20's, I can attest to the fact that the USGS also invests money further down the economic ladder. They help create jobs when they fund research through universities that will help to support graduate students. Not only is the education being paid for - so we don't have to graduate thousands of dollars in debt - but the students get paid for their research just like it's a job, so the local economy benefits as well.