Convincing legislators of the need for geoscience research in this area remains an uphill battle. Fortunately, half of the funds cut in fiscal year 1996 were reinstated in the fiscal year 1997 budget. In cutting out this external program, legislators reasoned that they should fund internal programs first in a time of shrinking budgets. In fact, the opposite approach makes more sense. Agencies can stretch limited resources by reaching out to academic and private sector partners and to state and local governments.
More work is needed both here and abroad to bridge the gap between research and implementation.
We cannot wait for enlightened administrators to seize the opportunities that already exist.