One of most recurring themes in conversations with scientists and science educators is the need for another "Sputnik moment" in the U.S. They refer of course, to the transformation of American society following the launch of the world's first artificial satellite by the Soviets in 1957. It shocked an American public that thought of the nation as the unassailable leader in science and technology.
Almost overnight, the demand to catch up and surpass the Soviet Union meant bigger science budgets, hordes of students pouring into science classes and careers, and a perception of scientists as the people who would correct this great mistake.
In the last half decade, as the U.S. faces a spreading realization that once again we have taken our scientific capabilities for granted and even dismantled some of them, some of my colleagues wish for a return to those good old days by means of some dramatic new event that will again grab the public's attention and motivate them to demand our leaders take action.
But after a few minutes of waxing wistfully about this, reality weighs in, and we all understand that the Sputnik moment was the result of a unique set of events and dependent of a complex series of historical and political situations, that are unlikely to be replicated.
So, are we destined to watch science slowly adapt to a second-class status, ruefully recalling the good old days? My own sense was that we scientists have been in a defensive position for many years and will be spending more and more time to just try to stay where we are in terms of funding and national commitments.
My colleague Mark Leckie, professor of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, however, knocked me out of this dreary perspective the other day, when he postulated that climate change may just be the new Sputnik moment for today's students.
There are obvious differences of course. Sputnik was an overnight surprise that challenged the world's stereotypes instantly.
Climate change has been under fierce examination and debate for many years. But for students entering college this year, they have grown up for much of their lives learning about climate change and society's seeming failures to adequately deal with the consequences. Just as the dawning of environmental consciousness over the last four decades is now fully implanted in society, the debate over climate change is quickly moving from whether or not it's real, to how are we going to respond to the consequences of it.
From sequestering carbon dioxide, to finding alternative energy sources, to fantastic plans for geo-engineering the entire planetary system, there are huge scientific and technical hurdles that have to be passed. These are the kinds of challenges and visions that can energize a generation and a society.
Can climate change be the rallying issue that revitalizes society's recognition of the role and value of science and scientists? Is response to climate change capable of capturing our imagination's the way space exploration did a half century ago?
There may be a subtle shift underway in our collective consciousness that is passing by largely unnoticed. We may wake up one morning much sooner than any of us expected and realize that by God, we have had that new Sputnik moment, but one that is more broadly based and longer lasting.
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