[toggles title=”In this Issue”] [toggle title=’NSF: FORMER DIRECTORS EXPRESS CONCERN WITH DRAFT PEER REVIEW BILL’] On May 8, six former officials who headed the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Science Board during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations sent a letter to the leadership of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee expressing concern with the High…
Perceived food safety risk from wildlife drives expensive and unnecessary habitat destruction around farm fields. Meticulous attention to food safety is a good thing. As consumers, we like to hear that produce growers and distributers go above and beyond food safety mandates to ensure that healthy fresh fruits and vegetables do not carry bacteria or viruses that can make us sick. But in California’s Salinas Valley, some more vigorous interventions are cutting into the last corners of wildlife habitat and potentially threatening water quality, without evidence of food safety benefits.
The Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) long-standing program to diversify the field of ecology recently got another boost from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The federal research agency awarded ESA a grant of $183,158 to support the Society’s “Diverse People for a Diverse Science” project. Not only will the funding go to key existing program components, such as research fellowships, it will also fund an independent evaluation of SEEDS.
Ecological dimensions of biofuels: a report on the state of the science. Looking to tributaries for conservation gains: a case study in large river fish of the Mississippi Basin. Oyster reefs buffer acidic inputs to Chesapeake Bay.
August 4 – 9 Sustainable Pathways: Learning From the Past and Shaping the Future The Ecological Society of America’s 98th annual meeting “Sustainable Pathways: Learning From the Past and Shaping the Future” will meet in in Minneapolis, Minn., from Sunday evening, August 4, to Friday morning, August 9, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Early bird registration opens the first…
Educators & scientists to swap ideas for a robust biology classroom For immediate release: 11 March, 2013 Contact Nadine Lymn, (202) 833-8773 x 205; nadine@esa.org Say you’re a plant biologist who wants to devise educational components for your research project but you’re not sure what might work well for high school students. Or say you’re a high school biology…
Future of Alaskan forests, proliferation of plastic greenhouses, and the intersection of watershed protection and urban renewal Weighing the costs and benefits of plastic vegetable greenhouses The economic benefits of intensive vegetable cultivation inside plastic greenhouses, particularly for small-holders, have driven a rapid mushrooming of long plastic tents in farmlands worldwide – but particularly in China, where they cover…
ESA’s Leadership Meeting for Underrepresented Students For immediate release: February 13, 2013 Contact: Nadine Lymn 202.833.8773, ext. 205; nadine@esa.org “Just watch these students—watch for their names. They will continue to shine and you will keep coming across their names. Some are already taking leadership roles and after this meeting will be doing even more to help bring ecology alive.” Teresa…
[toggles title=”In this Issue”] [toggle title=’BUDGET: CONGRESS PASSES BILL TO SUSPEND DEBT CEILING TEMPORARILY’] On Jan. 23, the House passed H.R. 325, the No Budget, No Pay Act. The bill would temporarily eliminate the debt ceiling until May 19 while temporarily suspending pay for Members of Congress until the House and Senate each pass a budget. The measure prevents the…
[toggles title=”In this Issue”] [toggle title=’BUDGET: BEYOND THE FISCAL CLIFF, SPENDING BATTLES AWAIT‘] As battle lines on both sides are beginning to be drawn, the initial makeup of what will prove to be a highly contentious battle next month over how to raise the national debt ceiling and address pending budget cuts to federal agencies has already begun to simmer….
Landscape corridors and connectivity in conservation and restoration planning We live in a human-dominated world. For many of our fellow creatures, this means a fragmented world, as human conduits to friends, family, and resources sever corridors that link the natural world. Our expanding web of highways, cities, and intensive agriculture traps many animals and plants in islands and cul-de-sacs…