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2017 GSA PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

“Mind the Gap”: GSA’s Role in an Evolving Global Society

Isabel Patricia Montañez, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA,
ipmontanez@ucdavis.edu

GEOSCIENCES: THE SCIENCE INTEGRATOR relevance of its findings. Since that time, aspects of the “gap” have
been a recurrent theme in presidential addresses. This has been
Geoscience is the integrator of the natural, physical, and math- articulated by past GSA presidents as the need for increased
ematical sciences as our efforts increasingly span across a spec-
trum of disciplines. As such, we are the stewards of the Earth.
Our science, whether basic or applied, has relevance to society.
It provides the foundation and path forward for addressing
everything from environmental and natural hazard issues to
informing discussions on public health, climate change, and
global security. And it provides the fundamental context for
understanding humanity’s existence in the universe. Should it
not follow then that the geosciences are a fundamental science—
taught as part of a foundational curriculum in all schools in
order to create an earth-literate public? The answer to this rhe-
torical question is clear.

There continues to be broad public support for the nation’s
scientific achievements, a trend that has been stable for the past
few decades. Approximately 76% of Americans have at least a
fair amount of confidence in scientists to act in the public inter-
est (Pew Research Center, Oct. 2016), including an appreciation
for the positive impact that science research has on the environ-
ment. And about the same number (~70%) think that government
investment in basic science research pays off (Pew Research
Center, 29 Jan. 2015). There is, however, substantial disparity
between how the public and scientists perceive science-related
issues and the contribution of scientific efforts to society. For
example, the same study (Pew Research Center, 29 Jan. 2015)
reveals the divide among the public regarding perceived consen-
sus by scientists on fundamental topics such as the big bang the-
ory, climate change, and evolution (Fig. 1A). The public is also
largely pessimistic regarding the role geoscience research plays
in guiding clean air, water, and land-use regulations. And
despite the fact that nearly 60% of the public appreciates the
impending resource limitation due to population growth, 4 in 10
remain confident that “the world will find a way to stretch its
existing natural resources” (Fig. 1B). In this context, it is not
hard to appreciate why we struggle to generate government and
public support for the geoscience enterprise.

“MIND THE GAP”: A PERSISTENT MULTI- Figure 1. Pew Research Center study (29 Jan. 2015) of the public’s view
DIMENSIONAL PROBLEM on science and society. (A) Results illustrating the divide among the pub-
lic regarding perceived consensus by scientists on the big bang theory,
This introduces the “Mind the Gap” in my title. Eldridge climate change, and evolution. (B) The public and scientists’ response to
Moores, my long-term friend and colleague at the University of whether the growing world population will negatively impact food and
California Davis, introduced “the gap” in his GSA Presidential resources.
Address, 21 years ago (presented in Oct. 1996, published as
Moores, 1997). He spoke of the divide that separates the science
literate from those in society who have far less knowledge of and/
or regard for the sciences. And he articulated how this divide fuels
misunderstandings regarding the scientific process and the

GSA Today, v. 28, no. 3–4, doi: 10.1130/GSAT17PrsAdrs.1.

24 GSA Today | March-April 2018