Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by ESA’s Science Policy Analyst, Piper Corp. Read the full Policy News here. WHITE HOUSE BUDGET REQUEST FOR 2011 SHOWS STRONG COMMITMENT TO SCIENCE–President Obama’s $3.834 trillion 2011 budget request shows continued support for science, in spite of the three-year freeze on nondefense discretionary spending that he has…
This post was contributed by Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs As is tradition on the first Monday in February, the President yesterday unveiled his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year of 2011. All over Washington, DC, federal agencies held budget briefings, with more to come over the next several days. Although President Obama called for some fiscal…
Two timely reports have surfaced this week regarding the decline of honeybee populations in Europe, and France has taken action in an attempt to curb the falling numbers. A recent study linked honeybee health and plant biodiversity In a study published in the Journal of Apicultural Research, scientists have found that managed honeybee populations across Europe have dropped an average…
This post was contributed by Piper Corp, ESA Science Policy Analyst, and Katie Kline A lot has happened over the last couple of weeks when it comes to climate change: 2009 was tied for the second warmest year on record, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski took aim at the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and China joined…
This post was contributed by Nadine Lymn, ESA Public Affairs Director When the hacked Climatic Research Unit email story broke shortly before the Copenhagen climate summit, there seemed to be a collective groan of dismay and frustration in the scientific community. Just when positive momentum appeared to be gathering for policymakers to address climate change, this had to happen, casting…
Riding on the heels of Copenhagen, a study published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences outlined one way the United States might address enormous CO2 emission levels. Not surprisingly, the researchers propose carbon sequestration; it is the location, however, that makes this study unique. Beach at Sandy Hook, New Jersey Photo Credit: National Park Service The…
This post was contributed by Piper Corp, ESA Science Policy Analyst. In a recent op-ed, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd recently astonished the coal industry by criticizing its lack of flexibility and unwillingness to work constructively with the federal government. The following excerpt summarizes much of the senator’s message: Most people understand that America cannot meet its current energy needs…
Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by ESA’s Science Policy Analyst, Piper Corp. Read the full Policy News here. COPENHAGEN SUMMIT ENDS IN NON-BINDING ACCORD–The UN climate summit in Copenhagen concluded on December 19, with the world’s largest emitters vowing to cut emissions and help developing countries adapt to the changing climate, and with…
This post was contributed by Meg Lowman, ESA Vice President for Education and Human Resources, who just recently returned from the Copenhagen climate summit. With good intentions, delegates arrived from 192 nations in Copenhagen, Denmark last week for the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework for Climate Change Convention). Their goal was to meet, talk, draft, edit and finalize a document to…
This post was contributed by ESA Science Policy Analyst Piper Corp. Next year, the US Navy will enlist as many as 20 bottle-nosed dolphins and California sea lions to provide around-the-clock surveillance of Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Washington State. The new recruits have been trained through the Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) to locate and apprehend swimmers and divers in…
Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by ESA’s Science Policy Analyst, Piper Corp. Read the full policy news here. COPENHAGEN NEGOTIATIONS The December climate summit commenced today. Of chief concern to the international community are numbers on the following two matters: 1) Near-term emissions reduction: President Obama recently pledged that the US will reduce emissions “in…
A new study out in the December issue of the ESA journal Ecological Applications has shown that human interests are having a disproportionate impact on the selection of marine protected areas, or MPAs, which are meant to protect biodiversity in marine ecosystems. Their paper shows a consistent bias in Australian and Tasmanian MPAs toward areas with little commercial resource value….