Dear Colleagues,
"Our world is stronger when we embrace, rather than reject, our diversity, and it is imperative that we continually strive towards a community of inclusion and equity. Our society could be, and *should* be, more reflective of the threads that make up the fabric of the global community, and we must continue working to ensure that opportunity and success are fairly achievable by all.
We recoil at the painful inequalities on display over the past several weeks in the United States, and similar expressions of hatred and abuse elsewhere in the world. We must reject any notion that they reflect the ideals to which we endeavor. It is evident that people in our community are hurting, including those close to us, personally and professionally. As leaders of the AGU Planetary Sciences section, we commit ourselves to the purpose of actively leading not just our sliver of the global science community, but all who seek to attain a culture of fairness and equity. We will listen, learn, and be active allies in the fight against the pernicious effects of both explicit and implicit bias in science and society. We endorse the statement by AGU leadership recognizing the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion as it leads all our actions, and will strive to achieve the ideals it espouses."
Rosaly Lopes, President
Michael Mischna, President-Elect
David Williams, Secretary
Samuel Birch, Early-Career Representative
Ashley Schoenfeld, Student Representative
Sarah Stewart, Past President
Decadal Survey Now Accepting Whitepapers and Nominations
The Decadal Survey on Planetary Science and Astrobiology was formally initiated by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on 20 March. Websites for the submission of whitepapers and nominations have been established and can both be accessed via the main decadal survey website at http://nas.edu/planetarydecadal. The deadlines for the submission of nominations and white papers are 1 May and 4 July, respectively.