Contention 1 is Inherency – The National Ocean Policy is a failure. Budget and coordination efforts hamstring holistic strategy for exploration

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Adv – STEM

US STEM Low Now

STEM is Good and US falling behind

Eberle 10 (Francis Eberle, Ph.D., is the executive director for the National Science Teachers Association. “Why STEM education is important”. The International Society of Automation. September/October, 2010. https://www.isa.org/standards-and-publications/isa-publications/intech-magazine/2010/september/why-stem-education-is-important/ nyy)

Thirty five years ago, I entered the classroom as a young eighth-grade science teacher because science fascinates me. Letting students explore ideas in science and watching them learn is truly a passion that most science teachers share. It is inspiring to watch a student work through a science investigation and get to the "aha" moment of understanding, seeing their eyes light up, the smile broaden across their face, and the explosion of energy as they rush to explain to someone what they have just discovered. Good science teachers capitalize on the "aha" moments and work hard to help students not only understand science, but also foster a lifelong learning in science. Why is this so important? Because science is the one subject that encompasses everything in life and helps students be curious, ask questions, and make connections as to why the world exists as it does. It is the backdrop for understanding our world, and helps us to explain and appreciate it in new ways. Science is the "S' in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. We define STEM education as the preparation of students in competencies and skills in the four disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math). A successful STEM education provides students with science, math, and engineering/technology in sequences that build upon each other and can be used with real-world applications. STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators. Innovation leads to new products and processes that sustain our economy. This innovation and science literacy depends on a solid knowledge base in the STEM areas. It is clear that most jobs of the future will require a basic understanding of math and science-10-year employment projections by the U.S. Department of Labor show that of the 20 fastest growing occupations projected for 2014, 15 of them require significant mathematics or science preparation. It is imperative that as a nation, we make STEM education a top priority. We have a lot of work to do. Consider this: U.S. student achievement in mathematics and science is lagging behind students in much of Asia and Europe. International test scores tell us that in science U.S. eighth-graders were outperformed by eighth-grade students in Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong SAR, Estonia, Japan, Hungary, and Netherlands. In math, U.S. eighth-graders were outperformed by their peers in 14 countries: Singapore, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong SAR, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Belgium, Netherlands, Estonia, Hungary, Malaysia, Latvia, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, and Australia. The 2010 ACT College and Career Readiness report found only 29% of the tested 2010 graduates are considered college-ready in science and 43% are considered college-ready in math. President Barack Obama has declared we need to increase student achievement in mathematics and science and expand STEM education and career opportunities to underrepresented groups, including women. In a speech at the National Academies of Science last April, Obama said, "Reaffirming and strengthening America's role as the world's engine of scientific discovery and technological innovation is essential to meeting the challenges of this century. That's why I am committed to making the improvement of STEM education over the next decade a national priority." Obama's Educate to Innovate campaign is designed to lift American students to the top of the pack in science and math achievement over the next decade. The campaign involves public-private partnerships involving major companies, universities, foundations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. One of the main goals of this campaign is to increase STEM literacy so all students have the opportunity to learn deeply and think critically in science, math, engineering, and technology. Funding will come from the many corporate, private, and foundation sponsors who are interested in taking part in the campaign efforts by serving students with their own initiatives. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) fully supports Educate to Innovate and is a proud sponsor of National Lab Day (NLD), a cornerstone of Obama's initiative. NLD is a teacher-driven nationwide effort to build local communities of support between STEM professionals and STEM teachers that will foster ongoing collaborations to strengthen the education we provide to our students.. To further support businesses and other stakeholders in efforts to establish a STEM pipeline, the STEM Education Coalition, advocates from over 1,000 diverse groups, works to raise awareness in Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and other agencies that offer STEM related programs. This coalition, co-chaired by NSTA, keeps the dialogue going between and among stakeholders and supports initiatives that strengthen K-12 STEM education. Increased commitment from businesses and other stakeholders that support STEM education is critical, now more than ever. STEM education creates the pipeline of future innovators that will move this country forward. Making STEM education a priority is important, for our nation's short and long-term future.

AT: “Educate to Innovate” Solves

Obama’s Current “Educate to Innovate” policy falls short

Burke and McNeill 11 (Lindsey M. Burke is a Policy Analyst in the Domestic Policy Studies Department and Jena Baker McNeill is Policy Analyst for Homeland Security in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation. ““Educate to Innovate”: How the Obama Plan for STEM Education Falls Short”. The Heritage Foundation. January 5, 2011. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/01/educate-to-innovate-how-the-obama-plan-for-stem-education-falls-short nyy)

President Obama’s Educate to Innovate initiative has provided billions in additional federal funding for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs across the country. The Administration’s recognition of the importance of STEM education— for global competitiveness as well as for national security—is good and important. But the past 50 years suggest that federal initiatives are unlikely to solve the fundamental problem of American underperformance in STEM education. Heritage Foundation education and national security analysts explain that, though Educate to Innovate is intended to raise the U.S. “from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math,” the federal program’s one-size-fits-all approach fails to remedy the underlying problems of academic performance and does not plug the leaky pipeline in the American education system.

Specifically the “One-Size-Fits-All” approach fails

Burke and McNeill 11 (Lindsey M. Burke is a Policy Analyst in the Domestic Policy Studies Department and Jena Baker McNeill is Policy Analyst for Homeland Security in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation. ““Educate to Innovate”: How the Obama Plan for STEM Education Falls Short”. The Heritage Foundation. January 5, 2011. http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/01/educate-to-innovate-how-the-obama-plan-for-stem-education-falls-short nyy)

Despite increasing federal control over the American education system over the past 50 years, educational achievement across the country has continued to deteriorate.[12] A large part of the problem is that the federal focus centers on a one-size-fits-all approach. Most recently, this approach is part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to impose national education standards and tests on states. This is a significant federal overreach into states’ educational decision-making authority, and will likely result in the standardization of mediocrity, rather than a minimum benchmark for competency in math and English.[13] Applying a blanket approach to education reform undermines innovation in STEM education, increasing conformity at the expense of meeting the diverse needs of students and parents.

Econ Low Now - Brink

Economy declining now, but can be turned around- action is key NOW.

Lambro 14 [Donald, chief political correspondent for The Washington Times, U.S. Economy Slides Deeper Into Decline, Townhall, May 02, 2014, http://townhall.com/columnists/donaldlambro/2014/05/02/can-obamas-nogrowth-jobless-economy-get-much-worse-it-can-and-it-will-if-we-do-nothing-to-change-his-policies-n1832247/page/full]-DaveD.

WASHINGTON - The Obama economy nearly stopped breathing in the first quarter, giving the Republicans new political ammunition for a full takeover of Congress in the November elections.No sooner did the Commerce Department announce that the economy barely grew by one-tenth of one percent in the first three months of this year, than the news media was searching for the toughest words to describe the U.S. economy's demise under President Obama's anti- growth, anti-job policies."U.S. Economic Growth Slows to a Crawl," was the way the Reuters news agency put it Wednesday, and even that was being generous. Some said the economy "stalled," or "barely grew" or "hit a wall." Others called the 0.1 percent growth rate "anemic," a word that doesn't do justice to an economy that has all but ground to a halt.¶ But after one excuse after another for the president's economic failures, some in the news media weren't pulling their punches. Here's the way the Wall Street Journal put it: "U.S growth nearly stalled in the first three months of the year, fresh evidence that the economic expansion that began almost five years ago remains the weakest in modern history."¶ "U.S. economic growth stalled to near zero," the Journal said on its website, minutes after the government announced its shocking number. Even the liberal New York Times, one of the Democrats' biggest apologists, pointed out that the economy's failing grade was actually a continuation of what Americans have been experiencing ever since Obama's first year in office, without any sustained improvement. "For all the attention devoted to the quarterly fluctuations, the current underlying rate of expansion is not much different from the frustratingly slow trajectory in place ever since the economy began to recover from the Great Recession," the Times said.¶ "The average quarterly rate of growth since the summer of 2009 stands at 2.2 percent," the newspaper noted, a pathetic, sub-par rate of growth for the largest and once strongest economy on the planet.¶ The White House was still peddling their belief that the economy would soon pick up in the second quarter and that the slowdown was the result of a harsh winter.¶ But wiser economists aren't buying the administration's excuses.¶ Dan North, the chief economist at Euler Hermes North America, a large insurer, told the Times that even if the growth rate picks up in the second quarter, "the annual growth rate in 2014 will most likely still be below the post-World War II average of just over 3 percent."¶ "We've been living in a sub 3-percent land, and people have gotten used to that as the new normal," North said. "But it's not.¶ It's anemic."¶ Yes, a bitter winter took its toll on growth, but it was not the driving force behind a snails-pace economy.¶ Its precipitous plunge into recession-leaning territory -- defined by two back to back quarters of near minus growth -- was driven by multiple weaknesses across the nation's economic landscape.¶ U.S. exports plunged 7.6 percent, a victim of Obama's failure to negotiate new trade deals. Business investment fell as many companies cut back on their inventories in the face of a weak economy.¶ The real estate markets were in decline as higher interest rates and rising prices pushed homeownership beyond the reach homebuyers.¶ "The housing market has cooled recently as buyers have struggled to afford homes," the Los Angeles Times reported this week.¶ The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the "recovery in the housing sector remained slow."¶ And remember all that inventory businesses bought in the second half of 2013, believing the economy was going to take off? Well, their shelves were still full throughout the first quarter, resulting "in manufacturers receiving fewer orders" in the past three months, Reuters reported.¶ But the biggest factors behind the economy's decline is the shrinking labor market, high, long-term jobless rates, and stagnant or declining incomes.¶ "A separate report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday on the employment cost index showed that private sector wages and salaries in the first quarter of 2014 increased at the slowest rate since the bureau began tracking the data in March 1980,"¶ the Times reported.¶ Little wonder, then, that the Conference Board reported Wednesday that U.S. consumer confidence fell in April as a result of growing concerns about job cuts and business pullbacks in investment.¶ There are lots of ways that this economy can be turned around, but Obama and the Democrats are opposed to all of them.¶ We need revenue neutral, job friendly tax reform that scrubs corporate welfare out of the tax code, broadens the tax base, and lowers income tax rates across the board for businesses and individuals.¶ The Republicans in the House have a plan ready to go, but Senate Democrats want no part of it. And Obama's too busy trying to raise the minimum wage, even though the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says it will kill 500,000 jobs.¶ We need tax incentives to unlock trillions of dollars in capital investment to expand existing businesses, create new ones and boost employment. In his second term, Bill Clinton signed a GOP-passed capital gains tax cut and his economy took off. Obama and the Harry Reid Democrats flatly oppose this.¶ We need to enact fast track trade authorization to open up world markets to American goods and services, but the Democrats won't even discuss it for fear of angering their party's union bosses. Sad to say, but the American economy is on a slippery slope to further decline and it's not going to get any better until we have tough, new leadership in the Senate and the Oval Office.

STEM = Comp/Econ

STEM is vital to economic growth and competitiveness to cement leadership.

Gillibrand and Kennedy 14 (Kristen, U.S. Senator representing New York, Joe, III, U.S. Representative representing Massachusetts a member of the House Committee on Science & Technology and serves as honorary chair of the Governor's STEM Advisory Council, “STEM Jobs Key to Better Economy”, USA Today, January 10, 2014, http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/01/10/engineering-mathematics-stem-gillibrand-kennedy-column/4361837/, nyy)

From Taunton, Massachusetts to Buffalo, New York, the innovation economy is redefining our nation's story of recovery and growth. Middle-class industrial towns and working-class urban epicenters alike are experiencing transformative shifts toward advanced manufacturing, life sciences, information technology and big data. We see this trend amplified across our national job market. Over the past decade, jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have grown at a rate three times faster than non-STEM jobs. According to the Department of Commerce, that momentum will continue over the next decade as STEM jobs will grow at a staggering rate of 17% – compared with a projected 9.8% growth in other occupations. But if we want to capitalize on this economic bright spot, it's time to expand the conversation we are having about STEM. Too often pigeonholed as the vehicle by which upper middle class students pursue PhD programs at MIT, STEM is also the tool a first-generation vocational student from Fall River, Massachusetts uses to get a $50,000/year advanced manufacturing job right after graduation or a student from Rensselaer, New York uses to secure a good-paying job in upstate New York's fast growing nanotechnology industry. In a time of slow recovery, decreased mobility and pervasive income inequality, STEM is not just the fuel our high-tech workforce requires. It is the best hope we have of creating what our fragile economy needs most: a sustainable supply of well-paid, middle-class jobs. But before we can reap the benefits of a skilled workforce we must improve and invest in our efforts to reach populations historically underrepresented in this country's STEM pipeline: women, minorities and students from economically distressed communities. In 2011, 26% of STEM workers were women and 74% were men. According to a 2011 report by the Department of Commerce, underrepresented minorities account for only 3 out of 10 professionals in STEM fields. Half of all STEM jobs are available to workers without a 4-year college degree, but the vast majority of federal funding is channeled into higher education institutions that students from economically distressed communities are priced out of from the start. These statistics underscore a disconnect in our STEM efforts that – left unchecked – will throw a wrench in our economic future. By excluding critical segments of the American workforce from the STEM pipeline, we don't just hurt those individuals, their families and their communities – we leave a staggering amount of economic potential on the table. Global leadership in the 21st century requires all hands on deck. If we want to preserve this country's competitive edge, we need to increase points of access to STEM for underrepresented populations. With that in mind, we were proud to introduce the STEM Gateways Act in Congress at the end of the year. The Gateways Act will create a grant program for elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, and partner organizations that support students from historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Grant funds can be used for classroom learning, career preparation, mentoring, internships, informal learning, and other relevant activities designed to encourage the interest and develop the skills that young women, underrepresented minorities, and students of all economic backgrounds will need to succeed in our country's STEM workforce. Broadening our STEM efforts isn't just about jobs today and tomorrow. It's about leveraging the collective capacity of the American workforce to tackle our most pressing modern challenges, from renewable energy to medical research to cybersecurity. If we don't keep the doors of opportunity wide open to students of all genders, ethnicities and backgrounds then we will collectively forfeit a huge portion of the talent that these next generation challenges demand. At a time when our global leadership is being challenged on multiple fronts; when American students lag behind other developed nations in the skills required to support innovation industries – we cannot afford to leave that much potential untapped.

STEM is essential to economic growth, innovation, and job creation.

STEM jobs are key to US competitiveness- filling the job gap is key.

NMS 2011(National Math and Science Initiative, mission to improve student performance in STEM, Why m Education Matters”, NMS, 2011, http://www.nms.org/Portals/0/Docs/Why20Stem20Education20Matters.pdf)

Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are where the jobs are.¶ STEM job creation over the next 10 years will outpace non-STEM jobs significantly, growing 17 percent, as compared to 9.8 percent for non-stem positions.1 Jobs in computer systems design and related services – a field dependent on high-level math and problem-solving skills – are projected to grow 45 percent between 2008 and 2018. The occupations with the fastest growth in the coming years – such as biomedical engineers, network systems and data communications analysts, and medical scientists – all call for degrees in STEM fields.2¶ STEM workers can expect higher salaries.¶ College graduates overall make 84 percent more over a lifetime than those with only high school diplomas. But further analysis of 171 majors shows that STEM majors¶ can earn higher wages. For example, petroleum engineering majors make about $120,000 a year, compared with $29,000 annually for counseling psychology majors. Math and computer science majors earn $98,000 in salary, while early childhood education majors get paid about $36,000.3 According to the Commerce Department, people in STEM fields can expect to earn 26 percent more money on average and¶ be less likely to experience job loss. The STEM degree holders also tend to enjoy higher earnings overall, regardless of whether they work in STEM or non-STEM occupations. 4¶ And yet the United States is failing to produce enough skilled STEM workers.¶ Sixty percent of the new jobs that will open in the 21st century will require skills possessed by only 20 percent of the current workforce.5 The U.S. may be short as many as three million high-skills workers by 2018. Two-thirds of those jobs will require at least some post-secondary education. American universities, however, only award about a third of the bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering as Asian universities. Worldwide, the United States ranks 17th in the number of science degrees it awards. 6The United States is fast losing its competitive edge.¶ The competitive edge of the US economy has eroded sharply over the last decade, according to a new study by a non-partisan research group. The report found that the U.S. ranked sixth among 40 countries and regions, based on 16 indicators of innovation and competitiveness. They included venture capital investment, scientific research, spending on research, and educational achievement.7 The prestigious World Economic Forum ranks the U.S. as No. 48 in quality of math and science education. 8¶ American students aren’t keeping up with students in other countries in math and science.¶ International results released in 2010 showed once again that U.S. students rank¶ well below many foreign competitors in the crucial areas of math and science. The rankings from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed American students scored 17th in science achievement and 25th in math ability out of 65 countries. According to the 2009 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), the “Nation’s Report Card,” only one percent of U.S. fourth grade and 12th grade students and two percent of eighth grade students scored in the highest level of proficiency in science. In fact, the NAEP science results showed students’ performance worsened the longer they were in school, with 72 percent of the fourth graders, 63 percent of the eight graders, and just 60 percent of the 12th graders scoring at or above the “basic” level. In an analysis comparing the NAEP math scores of “advanced” 8th graders with their counterparts overseas, the only countries that the U.S. ranked ahead of were Portugal, Greece, Turkey and Mexico.9¶ The decline in STEM knowledge capital is reducing the basic scientific research that leads to growth.¶ The U.S. is no longer the “Colossus of Science,” dominating the research landscape¶ in the production of scientific papers, that it was 30 years ago. In 1981, U.S. scientists fielded nearly 40 percent of research papers in the most influential journals. By 2009, that figure had shrunk to 29 percent. During the same period, European¶ nations increased their share of research papers from 33 percent to 36 percent, while research contributed by nations in the Asia-Pacific region increased from 13 percent to 31 percent. China is now the second-largest producer of scientific papers, after the U.S. with nearly 11 percent of the world’s total.10¶ ¶ American STEM shortcomings mean crucial research and development that pushes the frontiers of innovation is waning.¶ According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 83 percent of research and development was carried out in developed countries in 2002, but dropped to 76 percent by 2007. China was leading the pack of emerging nations with 1.4 million researchers. By 2009, for the first time, over half of U.S. patents were awarded to non-U.S. companies.11¶ Other nations are racing to establish dominance in math and science.¶ Russia is building an “innovation city” outside of Moscow. Saudi Arabia has a new university for science and engineering with a $10 billion endowment. China is creating new technology universities by the dozens and has replaced the U.S. as the world’s top high technology exporter. Singapore has invested more than a billion dollars to make that country a medical science hub and attract the world’s best talent. These nations and many others have rightly concluded that the way to win in the world economy is by doing a better job of educating and innovating.12¶ The STEM gap is costing Americans jobs and money.¶ U.S. students fall behind 31 countries in math proficiency, according to a 2011 Harvard study that concluded the U.S. could increase GDP growth per capita by enhancing its students’ math skills. Over an 80-year period, economic gains¶ from increasing the percentage of math proficient students to Canadian or Korean levels would increase the annual U.S. growth rate by 0.9 percentage points and 1.3 percentage points, respectively. That increase could yield $75 trillion.13

STEM is key to global competitiveness

Gordon 14 [Bart, Chairman of the Committee on Science & Technology from 2007-2011, USA Science and Engineering Festival: The Blog, Science blogs, April 19, 2014, http://scienceblogs.com/usasciencefestival/2014/04/19/stem-education-key-to-americas-global-competitiveness/]-DaveD.

Our nation has a long and proud history as a global leader in the development of technological breakthroughs and the development of revolutionary products that change and save lives around the world. In recent years, however, fewer young Americans are entering fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and as a result, our global competitiveness is in jeopardy. For the past six years, the majority of patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have been awarded to international owners, and fewer American students are pursuing advanced science degrees and the World Economic Forum ranks the United States 52nd in quality of math and science education. We can and must do better.¶ At the same time, STEM occupations are poised to grow more quickly in the future than the economy as a whole. More than half of our nation’s economic growth since World War II can be attributed to development and adoption of new technologies and this area holds the path toward sustainable economic growth and prosperity for the next 50 years. A report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the workforce projected 2.4 million job openings in STEM fields by 2018. Only by developing a generation of workers prepared for those opportunities can America secure its continued global competitiveness.¶ A critical component of solving this crisis is recognition on the part of government leaders and the business community that public and private resources must be brought to bear. During my time in Congress, we worked to create policies that made STEM education a national priority and President Obama has continued that focus throughout his Administration. Training teachers, reaching traditionally underrepresented populations and ensuring funding is available for the groundbreaking research that goes on daily at America’s national labs and other facilities are all investments that will pay tremendous dividends in the future.¶ Perhaps the most important element, however, is making science more and more appealing to America’s youth. To that end, I am proud to be a part of the USA Science & Engineering Festival, the nation’s largest such effort, which will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington DC on April 26th and 27th. The Festival was founded on a simple premise: society gets what it celebrates. Now occurring for the third time in our nation’s capital, this Festival is poised to be the best yet. The Festival’s creator, Larry Bock, a highly successful serial entrepreneur, has assembled a tremendously diverse cast of participants that will make the last week of April in Washington DC truly the “Superbowl of STEM”.¶ The Festival will present thousands of hands on, interactive, engaging programs for people of all ages and from science enthusiasts to novices. Hundreds of thousands of participants will meet science celebrities and inventors, learn about new technologies, and see for themselves the amazing feats of innovation. The unique assortment of the country’s leading technology companies, colleges and universities, community groups, federal agencies and professional societies is tremendous. The commitment on behalf of such varied participants underscores the importance of this effort to our future.¶ Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of the Festival and designating the days it will take place as “National Science Week”. Such recognition of and commitment to solving this crisis of competitiveness is heartening. Years from now, historians will look back to these years as those that changed the tide and created a generation of inventors and explorers who will solve the challenges of the future and keep America the innovation center of the world.

Educational Innovation K/T Heg

Innovative education is vital for preserving global leadership.

Barber et al., 12 (Michael, chief education advisor at Pearson, and Katelyn Donnelly, managing director of Pearson Affordable Learning Fund, and Saad Rizvi, SVP Efficacy @ Pearson, “Oceans of Innovation,” Institute for Public Policy Research, August, http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/policy_library/data/01645)

There is much debate in academic and intellectual circles about whether we will see an Asian or a Pacific century ahead, or whether the United States will emerge from the doldrums and lead in the next century as it did in the past one. This paper takes a different perspective. We take as a point of departure the fact that, after 350 years of Atlantic leadership of the global economy, we will see the Pacific rise. At the very least, the Pacific will share that leadership. The questions we focus on and the debates we believe necessary are: What kind of leadership will the twenty-first century require? To what extent is the Pacific region ready to provide this leadership? And what are the implications of the answers to these questions for public policy in the region and for education systems in particular? Our answers to these questions emphasize the importance of innovation. Innovation drives economic influence; economic influence underpins global leadership; and global leadership requires innovation to solve the many problems facing humanity in the next half century. If this is correct, and innovation is the key, then even the best education systems in the world, many of them clustered around the Pacific, need to radically rethink what they offer every student.

Plan => STEM

OSEA would engage students in STEM topics

Bidwell 13 (Allie, Education reporter for US News & World Report, “Scientists Release First Plan for National Ocean Exploration Program”, US News & World Report, September 25, 2013. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/09/25/scientists-release-first-plan-for-national-ocean-exploration-program. Nyy)

Expanding the nation's ocean exploration program could lead to more jobs, he adds, and could also serve as an opportunity to engage children and adults in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. "I think what we need to do as a nation is make STEM fields be seen by young people as exciting career trajectories," Schubel says. "We need to reestablish the excitement of science and engineering, and I think ocean exploration gives us a way to do that." Schubel says science centers, museums and aquariums can serve as training grounds to give children and adults the opportunity to learn more about the ocean and what opportunities exist in STEM fields. "One thing that we can contribute more than anything else is to let kids and families come to our institutions and play, explore, make mistakes, and ask silly questions without being burdened down by the kinds of standards that our formal K-12 and K-14 schools have to live up to," Schubel says. Conducting more data collection and exploration quests is also beneficial from an economic standpoint because explorers have the potential to identify new resources, both renewable and nonrenewable. Having access to those materials, such as oils and minerals, and being less dependent on other nations, Schubel says, could help improve national security. Each time explorers embark on a mission to a new part of the ocean, they bring back more detailed information by mapping the sea floor and providing high-resolution images of what exists, says David McKinnie, a senior advisor for NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research and a co-author of the report. On almost every expedition, he says, the scientists discover new species. In a trip to Indonesia in 2010, for example, McKinnie says researchers discovered more than 50 new species of coral. "It's really a reflection of how unknown the ocean is," McKinnie says. "Every time we go to a new place, we find something new, and something new about the ocean that's important." And these expeditions can have important impacts not just for biological cataloging, but also for the environment, McKinnie says. In a 2004 expedition in the Pacific Ocean, NOAA scientists identified a group of underwater volcanoes that were "tremendous" sources of carbon dioxide, and thus contributed to increasing ocean acidification, McKinnie says. Research has shown that when ocean waters become more acidic from absorbing carbon dioxide, they produce less of a gas that protects the Earth from the sun's radiation and can amplify global warming. But until NOAA's expedition, no measures accounted for carbon dioxide produced from underwater volcanoes. "It's not just bringing back pretty pictures," McKinnie says. "It's getting real results that matter."

AT: STEM = Patriarchy

White House STEM efforts to make STEM as inclusive of Womyn as possible

In 2009, President Obama set an ambitious goal: to move U.S. students from the middle to the top of the pack in math and science achievement over the next decade. The key to accomplishing this vision rests not only in raising the number and performance of students currently excelling in STEM subjects, but also engaging girls and other students who are historically underrepresented in these areas. That’s why the Administration’s $4.35 billion Race to the Top 2009 competition focused not only on encouraging states to develop comprehensive strategies to improve achievement and provide rigorous curricula in STEM subjects, but also to broaden the participation of women and girls. To achieve this, states applying for these funds received competitive preference if they demonstrated efforts to address any barriers to STEM careers for women, girls, and other underrepresented groups. Launched in November 2009, the President’s Educate to Innovate campaign features among its three core pillars a commitment to “expand STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women.” Working with teachers, businesses, philanthropists, foundations, non-profits, scientists, and engineers, the campaign has attracted more than $700 million in financial and in-kind support and partnerships that will help prepare more than 10,000 new math and science teachers.

Obama’s using womyn role models to expand STEM to the unrepresented—plan provides more jobs for these womyn

White House 13 [The official United States Federal Government website, “Women and Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)”, http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/stem_factsheet_2013_07232013.pdf, ] NN

The President recognizes the need for more women champions and role models in STEM fields as is evidenced by his appointment of many talented women in senior STEM leadership positions. This includes Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewel (an engineer), Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Arati Prabhakar, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Acting Administrator Kathy Sullivan (a former astronaut), and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg (a medical doctor). Launched in the summer of 2011, the Obama Administration’s Women in STEM Speakers Bureau brings role models like these top officials one step closer to their future successors, capitalizing on existing travel schedules to send these women into communities across the country to meet and inspire girls in grades 6-12. In March 2013, the Office of Personnel Management in partnership with NSF and Techbridge hosted a training session open to these and other Federal STEM employees on how best to engage girls in STEM to ensure that Federal staff responding to the President’s call to volunteer in their communities would have the tools needed to serve as role models to this particular population.

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