 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY BILL INGALLS, NASA | |
By Victoria Jaggard, SCIENCE executive editor
I woke up this morning thinking about Newton’s first law of motion.
Today, amid the uncertain results of the U.S. presidential election, the country has formally withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, an international accord in which nations commit to meeting targets in our collective fight against the climate crisis. The break was initiated by incumbent President Donald Trump, and if the final results swing in his favor, we’re that much less likely to be compelled to change this state of motion.
Likewise, the election uncertainty raises the prospect that the country’s ineffectual response to the COVID-19 pandemic will keep skidding on the metaphorical ice, as the U.S. death toll heads toward 250,000 and the number of Americans infected climbs to almost 10 million. Or that the controversial wall building on the southern border will continue, zombie-like, for months, even if a different leader is chosen. (We'll have more on this later in the newsletter.)
In some areas, inertia may be a good thing. Trump increased the pace of research and exploration of space (my particular passion) and that may glide on under either a Trump or a Biden administration. (Pictured above, left to right, Second Lady Karen Pence, Vice President Mike Pence, and Trump watch the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in May.)
As Scientific American points out, “presidential administrations have a history of changing space-exploration plans, with the inevitable result of delaying any eventual goal by forcing NASA to change gears.” But so far, the Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, has had little to say about the future of the space projects that sprung up under Trump, signaling only a broad endorsement for humans returning to the moon. Under either candidate, our lunar ambitions will most likely sail forward unimpeded.
Inertia, which comes from the Latin for “idleness” or “laziness,” is something that can be countered by an external force. For instance, if Biden ultimately wins, he could yet have the U.S. rejoin the Paris agreement, as could any future president, Alejandra Borunda writes for Nat Geo. But no matter who holds the seat of power, the question will be whether we as a nation manage to overcome forward motion quickly enough to address the most critical issues. “The U.S. being absent from the Paris Agreement hasn’t stopped long-term momentum,” climate analyst Kate Larsen tells us, “but it has slowed it—and put the U.S. at a disadvantage.”
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