NPR has a story about America's largest particle accelerator that will no longer operate by the end of this year. This was once the largest particle accelerator on Earth, now it is replaced by a larger one in Geneva.
We've been beaten by the Swiss!!
Do we really need a large and scary adversary to spark interest in science, like the Soviets and their launching of Sputnik that set off the race to the moon? The Swiss don't even pose a threat and they've ousted us out of the game in the arena of astrophysics and particle sciences.
For shame. If people in America do not invest in leading aspects of science, there is no way that we can stay ahead of the rest of the world. I may be focusing on this one instance but in past years, we have needlessly surrendered many areas of science to other nations who have become leaders (stem-cell research, cloning, chopping the shuttle program, and now particle physics).
I would like to take this moment to tell readers to send a message to Americans out there that seem to think that science is a waste of public funding that just because you don't understand the research, doesn't mean it's insignificant! Popular pseudoleaders, like Sarah Palin, are quick to dismiss fruit fly research when that research has led to an in depth understanding of molecular genetics and disease progression/development.
Please fight the emergent American allergy to science. It's bad enough that NASA lost the shuttle program so now children cannot aspire to become astronauts anymore. Don't settle for this regressive attitude that cutting our research and development in cutting edge science will help us get out of the mess created by our flawed financial system.
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