QUARTERDECK
The Garden of Science
It’s summertime, and I’ve been thinking a lot about gardens. Nearly
30 years ago, when my husband and I bought our home, the small
back yard was a strange mixture of a grass lawn, a day lily patch that
bloomed for one glorious week per year, azaleas, oak trees—some
healthy, some nearly dead—and crumbling terraces for smaller plants.
During the next phase of life, the dead trees came down, the lily patch
was replaced by a swing set, and the highest spot on the lawn became
my son’s pitching mound. Today, there’s no lawn at all, trees that were
planted when my children were young stretch far into the sky, and a
winding path runs through what is now a shade garden. Nothing stays
the same for very long. The acidic contributions of three large dogs cre-
ate additional challenges to keeping the garden lush. If the past is any
indication of the future, the new young raspberry bush I just planted in
the male dog’s favorite spot doesn’t have a chance. But, I remain hope-
ful, and will do my best to see that it survives whatever may come.
Reading the newspaper each morning can make it difficult to be
optimistic about the current direction of US science. Day after day, we
read about possible significant budget cuts to science agencies, while
at the same time learning about the enormous chunk of Antarctica’s
Larsen C ice shelf that just broke free, the mass bleaching of corals,
and the many wildfires that are burning vast acreage in the western
United States and elsewhere around the globe. Confronted with these
disheartening developments, it may be helpful to think about the
US scientific enterprise as a garden that thrives with the proper amounts
of sun and rain, and at other times suffers from drought or neglect.
The scientific landscape has changed many times over the years with
shifting personnel, policies, and priorities. It’s not new for Congress to
cut science budgets, nor for an Administration to challenge scientific
research. It’s not new for politically appointed agency heads to recon-
sider science-based regulations. It’s not new for an Administration
to weigh (or ignore) science based on economic or political inter-
ests. In times like these, it is more import-
ant than ever that we not neglect the scien-
tific garden, that we continue to nurture
it as best as possible, so that when the
time is right, it will come into full
bloom once again.
Ellen S. Kappel, Editor
December 2017
Celebrating 30 Years of Ocean Science
and Technology at the Monterey Bay
Aquarium Research Institute
March 2018
Ocean Observatories Initiative
June 2018
Ocean Warming
September 2018
Mathematical Aspects of Physical
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