Remarkable advances in Earth system sciences and related technologies were made in the twentieth century. As our capacity for understanding more complex scientific questions has increased, however, it has become more difficult to translate the resulting insights for a broad audience. As a result, AMS members face an additional challenge in the twenty-first century: the widening gap between scientific and technological advances and society’s ability to understand, evaluate, and use those advances.

The AMS Policy Program works to close this gap by promoting science in the service of society. It does this primarily in three ways: 1) by teaching scientists about the policy making process and ways to effectively influence that process; 2) by helping inform policy makers by translating complex scientific understanding into information that can more readily be used by policy makers; and 3) by bringing together researchers, policy makers, business leaders, and members of the media to foster exchanges among these interdependent communities. The members of the AMS Policy Program also work to understand how scientific advances intersect with the existing policy framework and to help decision makers make the most effective use of the insights our community can provide. This is an increasingly challenging task. Despite our growing knowledge, disaster losses continue to mount as the economy grows increasingly sensitive to the environment (and to varying degrees of skill in environmental forecasts). At the same time, new threats are emerging that our community had not widely recognized, such as biological impacts to the habitats, ecosystems, and biodiversity upon which society depends. Furthermore, our community’s work increasingly interacts with new disciplines that are nontraditional for AMS members, particularly the social sciences: communications, psychology, sociology, economics, and political science, for example. The battle to harness science in the service of society will be won or lost in the policy arena, at all levels—local, state, federal, and international.

A key foundation for policy formulation and debate is the benefits side of what our members do. It’s easy to calculate what we cost. The investments in satellites and other observing systems; in ground stations, communications, and IT; in data assimilation, modeling, and dissemination; in product and service provision—all are readily estimated. Analyzing the benefits is far more daunting—even for those benefits that are readily monetized, but especially for nonmarket dimensions such as lives saved, environmental services, quality-of-life issues, etc.

Does our science have policy relevance to society and, if so, how can we make our science more meaningful? As an important first step we have to get the governing policy framework right. Do we want effective, science-based policy formulation on environmental matters? Then we have to value these issues correctly. And undergirding all of this is the ongoing task of effectively communicating with policy makers and the public. It’s not just “framing the message,” although that is an important part. It’s also about listening. We have to be sensitive to society’s needs, and certainly not exclusively through the lens of Washington, D.C., politics.

The nascent AMS Policy Program, only seven years old, is rapidly becoming the Society’s principal tool for addressing these issues. Contrary to what many members might think, the Policy Program deals less with direct advocacy on any particular issue, and much more with creating an environment in which all our members and member institutions can present their (sometimes similar, sometimes diverse) positions more effectively. Through the Summer Policy Colloquium and other means, we help educate our members on the policy process. Through our Environmental Science Seminar Series, we help policy makers keep abreast of the rapid pace of science that bears upon important policy considerations. We also bring isolated groups together to work on tough problems. These groups include scientists, policy makers, business leaders, members of the media, and nongovernmental organizations. The problems we address include climate change, space weather, and natural hazards, and involve sectors that include surface transportation and aviation, water resource management, hurricane and emergency response, insurance/assessing and managing risk, and energy security.

Again, contrary to what many AMS members might think, the bulk of this work (approximately 70–80%) is carried out with soft money—from contributors such as the AMS patrons displayed in the accompanying box, from federal agencies, and from your individual donations. As we begin to reach out to large individual benefactors and foundations, to make this important work more robust, your individual donations become even more critical. In making their giving decisions, large donors often look at the giving patterns of the members—especially at the percentage of those who give. Please consider a donation to the AMS Policy Program. Your contribution will enhance society’s ability to understand and use our community’s science, technology, and services.

If you would like more information on the AMS Policy Program or how you can help, please contact William H. Hooke, the program’s director, at 202-737- 9006, ext. 420, or or Stephanie Armstrong, AMS director of development, at 617-227- 2426, ext. 235.

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