The Cost of the US Government Shutdown To Science

An anonymous reader writes "Richard Schiffman writes in The Guardian that the Republican-led shutdown of the U.S. government caused significant damage to many scientific programs. For example: shortly before the shutdown started, over a hundred scientists had gathered to perform critical equipment tests on the James Webb Space Telescope — Hubble's successor — and that work was unable to continue without the government around. 'Not only did this delay cost the program an estimated $1M a day, but, given NASA's tight schedule, some tests may never get done now.' It doesn't stop there: 'This is only one of untold thousands of projects that were mothballed when Congress's failure to approve a budget defunded the US government at the start of the month. Federal websites were taken offline, scientists couldn't receive emails, attend meetings, or interact with their colleagues. Crucial environmental, food safety and climate monitoring programs were either suspended, or substantially scaled back.' Schiffman provides a few more examples, including one project that's losing a year's worth of work and equipment that will end up buried under snow in Antarctica. But it goes beyond even the basic funding issues; in many cases, scientific work is simply too intertwined with the government to continue without it. Andrew Rosenberg, the director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' center for science and democracy, said, 'It is all so interconnected now. Federal researchers collect data that is utilized by researchers in academia, by people working in industry, at state and local levels, so when you ask how dependent are we on the federal government in terms of science, it's a bit like asking: do you need your left leg?'"

Comments

The reason why you're a moron

[shiftless]

The short answer is because the demands were unreasonable, and ending health care reform to appease a small minority of the country's demands doesn't make sense.

Do you know why you're a moron? Or as Stalin would say, a "useful idiot"?

Because you actually believe it's only a "small minority" of the country who wants to get rid of Obamacare.

You believe this because it's convenient to your ego to believe it....but it has no basis in reality whatsoever.

At least half the fucking country wants to see Obamacare go. Even many idiot liberals who have been Obama cheerleaders for years, are starting to change their minds after getting their (greatly increased) Obamacare quote.

Why do you think the Obamacare web site doesn't work? On fucking purpose, so that masses of idiots will continue to believe in the narrative that everyone and their mom wants this fucking bullshit and it's only a "tiny minority" of "anarchists" and "extremists" which disagrees.

And of course this mistaken, idiotic belief will make it a lot easier for dumb asses like you to agree wholeheartedly when Obama decides to declare martial law and arrest the GOP.

Nazi Germany, part 2. Welcome to it......asshole. Are you ready to meet Jesus?

Re:The reason why you're a moron

[shiftless]

Bingo. Hey, I have no great love for ACA, I think it's mostly a handout for the insurance companies, and gee, written by the insurance lobby - go figure. But it's a law, passed by the house and senate, signed by the president, and upheld by the SCOTUS. If you want it removed, then you write a bill to revoke it that passes the house and senate, and that will be signed by the president. That's the way the government works

Again you illustrate your stupidity. Yeah, it passed the house, passed the senate, and even the SCOTUS.....which is exactly why our government is totally fucked. Think about it.

if you can't get it to pass, then stomping your feet like little children and holding everything else hostage until you get your way

Did you ever notice how these days anyone who disagrees with the government is a "little child" who is "stomping their feet" or "throwing a tantrum" or any number of other similar analogies, if they disagree with a government policy?

No of course you didn't notice. That's because you're too stupid to understand the nature of the stereotype you fit.

I'm not a fucking child just because I disagree with your insane government policies, or because I believe this government has been irretrievably lost to the forces of evil. That just makes me an informed realist. Try educating yourself some time.

I bet you also truly believe deep down in your corrupt, black heart that 90% of Americans actually support gun control too, don't you? LOL.

New to this shutdown

[gd2shoe]

AC troll.

For those not paying attention, This is the first shutdown that spent unknown amounts of money to close down things that should have simply sat there. As mentioned above, the shoulders of the road outside Rushmore were coned off; national parks, even ones that aren't normally closed or patrolled... closed and patrolled heavily; closing down open air national monuments (normally open 24/7); shutting down non-essential, but revenue positive programs; forcing private businesses to close on the thinnest excuses. The list goes on.

These are all new. These weren't the result of a government shutdown, these were the result of this government shutdown.

Someone in the executive branch decided that if Republicans were going to shut down the government, then they were going to take it upon themselves to make the shutdown as painful as possible. The shutdown should have been about saving money until a budget came about. Instead, it became about spending money to ensure pain. This is a new policy, and one worth noting.