Not The Worst News Ever

The president has released his proposed 2013 federal budget and ScienceInsider has been rolling out updates on how the budget is set to affect science funding.  You can find a list of recent posts related to the budget here.  Also, Wired Science has weighed in with a post on proposed cuts in the NASA budget.

Since I'm not an expert in such matters, and since the subject has obviously been tackled by folks who are much more knowledgeable than yours truly, I'd rather not delve into the details of the president's proposed budget.  I will, however, sum up the whole situation as I understand it by saying that the field of science is receiving a mixed bag by the administration's budget.  A lot of department budgets are being cut, but money is then being shuffled around so that science and research funding in these departments will actually be increased relative to the previous year.  Except for NASA.  Their funding is being cut and programs are being cancelled, so it seems to be all bad news for the space agency.

So I guess all-in-all, its only slightly bad news.  Not horrific.  But not good, either.

Do You Want The Bad News or The Bad News First?

First, I'm going to start with what is probably the least significant bad news in the grand scheme of things. I arrived onto campus this morning to find that my building does not have air conditioning. As I write this, it is not quite 9:00 am, and the thermostat in my office just hit 80 degrees and is rising fast. I mean, seriously, it's like the hottest week in human history and the air conditioning decides to peter out now? Let me tell you, if it wasn't 9 am, I'd be packing up my computer and heading to the pub to do my proposal writing with a cold refreshing craft beer. Not that I have anything against enjoying an adult beverage in the morning. The pub just isn't open yet.

Now for the other bad news, which is somewhat more important than my mild discomfort. While reading through one of my new favorite blogs, The Evolving Scientist, I ran across this post. It looks like NASA and the NSF are going to see significant cuts in their budgets. And that means less money being sent down the pipe to researchers like me in the form of research grants. Even more troubling is that this will also mean less money being spent on science education, which is one of NSF's primary directives. I suppose this was inevitable, as we are currently creeping through what is being called the Lesser Depression - the result of the 2008-2009 economic recession and the subsequent and continuing lack of action by the federal government. It still really sucks, though.