[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”CLIMATE LEGISLATION: HOUSE DEMOCRATS UNVEIL DRAFT CLIMATE AND ENERGY BILL”] On March 31, Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) released their draft climate change and energy bill—the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009”— reiterating plans to hold a final committee vote on the measure before the Memorial Day recess. Highlights include:…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”PUBLIC LANDS: SENATE USES PLACEHOLDER BILL TO AID PASSAGE IN THE HOUSE”] On March 19, the Senate passed the much discussed public lands omnibus 77-20. The bill includes measures to address land management and water supply issues, and would create or expand a significant number of public lands, including more than 2 million acres of…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”2009 BUDGET: WITH DEADLINE APPROACHING, SENATE PREPARES TO VOTE, SCIENTIFIC REVIEW LIKELY TO RETURN TO THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT, POLAR BEAR RIDER CAUSES CONTROVERSY”] The Senate is preparing to vote on the fiscal year 2009 omnibus spending bill, following its February passage in the House. The $410 billion measure covers the nine appropriations bills that…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”STIMULUS: NOW LAW, STIMULUS PACKAGE IS WINDFALL FOR GREEN ENERGY, SCIENCE”] On February 17, President Obama signed into law the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, following swift conference negotiations between the House and Senate. Although the negotiations resulted in some minor reductions, the final bill represents a major expansion of federal…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”ACTION ALERT: NONNATIVE WILDLIFE INVASION PREVENTION ACT”] On January 26th, Representative Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) introduced the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act (H.R. 669), a bill designed to better control the introduction and establishment of nonnative animal species in the United States. The bill defers to the Federal Plant Pest Act for the regulation of nonnative…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”ACTION ALERT: OPPORTUNITY TO WEIGH IN ON SCIENCE FUNDING PROPOSED IN ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE”] This week, House appropriators marked up the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. Now is a critical juncture for individual scientists to contact their congressional representative and Senators and express their views on…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”TRANSITION: OBAMA FINALIZES ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT TEAM”] With his selection of Colorado Senator Ken Salazar (D) as Secretary of the Interior, President-elect Barack Obama has now named all his top energy and environmental advisors. His team, which will be tasked with carrying out an aggressive agenda on climate change, deploying low-carbon energy technologies, and reducing…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION: WHAT OBAMA’S WIN MEANS FOR ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT”] Throughout his campaign, President-elect Barack Obama has consistently highlighted the importance and immediacy of government action on energy and the environment. He followed in suit during his Chicago victory speech, identifying the economic crisis and climate change as the greatest challenges facing Americans…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: CANDIDATES REVEAL COMMON GROUND”] Both Barack Obama and John McCain agree that climate change is real, immediate, and, perhaps most significantly, that it is the result of human activity. Furthermore, each understands the important connection between climate, the energy debate, and the economic crisis, a connection that may keep environmental issues…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”ENERGY: CONGRESS APPROVES, PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNS MODIFIED BAILOUT PLAN THAT INCLUDES RENEWABLE ENERGY TAX EXTENSIONS”] On October 3rd, the House voted 263-171 to approve a modified version of the Wall Street rescue package they rejected earlier in the week. The new plan, which President Bush signed later that day, was adjusted by the Senate to…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”ENERGY DEBATE: DEMOCRATIC PLAN PASSES IN THE HOUSE; POLITICS, ECONOMY LEAD TO UNCERTAINTY IN THE SENATE”] In the House: On September 16, the House voted 236-189 in favor of HR 6899, the Democratic energy bill, which includes a provision to widen offshore oil and gas exploration while expanding renewable energy incentives. This legislation would: Relax…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT ACTION ALERT : BUSH ADMINISTRATION PROPOSAL WOULD ALLOW FEDERAL AGENCIES TO DETERMINE WHETHER SCIENTIFIC REVIEW IS NECESSARY FOR NEW PROJECTS”] The Bush Administration has proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that would allow federal agencies to decide whether protected species would be threatened by agency construction projects. These changes were…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”ENERGY DEBATE: CONTINUED DISPUTES NARROW CHANCES FOR DEAL BEFORE AUGUST RECESS”] On July 25th, Senate Democrats came up short of the 60 votes necessary to move forward on a bill that would curb “excessive” oil market speculation by expanding Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulation. The bill has become the center of the current energy…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”ESA CO-SPONSORS WILDFIRE BRIEFINGS ON CAPITOL HILL”] On July 9, 2008, the Ecological Society of America (ESA) co-sponsored House and Senate briefings on “After the Fire: Approaches to Revitalizing Ecosystem Resources.” The Society teamed up with the Soil Science Society of America and the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics to address this timely…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”SCIENCE FUNDING: ESA participates in Hill Exhibition showcasing NSF projects”] On June 25, the Ecological Society of America (ESA) sponsored ESA member and graduate student Robert Pringle (Stanford U.) to participate in the annual Coalition for National Science Funding Exhibition and Reception. Pringle joined scientists from more than 30 other scientific societies, organizations and universities…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”ESA hosts House and Senate Briefings on Cellulosic Biofuels”] On June 11, the Ecological Society of America hosted House and Senate briefings on The Sustainability of Cellulosic Biofuels. Three scientists discussed the ecological and economic considerations surrounding the use of cellulosic sources the leaves, stems, and other fibrous parts of a plant for producing biofuels….
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”AGRICULTURE: Farm bill veto override process continues amidst clerical blunder”] The Senate joined the House May 22 in voting to overturn the President’s veto of the five-year farm bill, despite questions over a missing section of the bill. The 82-13 vote in the Senate enacted more than 90 percent of the five-year farm bill into…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”AGRICULTURE: New farm bill still faces threat of Presidential veto”] House-Senate negotiators announced a final agreement on the nearly $300 billion five-year farm bill on May 8, and Bush Administration officials vowed to veto it. The five-year bill includes spending increases for nutrition and conservation and a new program that pays farmers to grow dedicated…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”AGRICULTURE: Long-awaited farm bill agreement heads to conference”] With an agreement among key farm bill negotiators finally in hand, the conference committee is expected to work swiftly the week of April 28 on the reauthorization of the five-year bill overseeing agriculture, conservation, energy and nutrition programs. The committee will hold a formal conference meeting April…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [toggle title=”CLIMATE: Feinstein, Snowe float bill to force EPA action”] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would have 60 days to complete its Supreme Court-mandated endangerment finding on greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles under legislation Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced April 2. The move follows EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson’s announcement that…