Southeast Asia’s R&D performance shoots up through the aughts, eclipsing US A Feb. 11 Capitol Hill briefing orchestrated by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) National Science Board (NSB) showcased the board’s latest biannual Science and Engineering Indicators report, which outlines the current state of science investment domestically in the United States as well as internationally among other countries. The briefing…

From 2014 onward, the editors of ESA’s journal Ecological Applications will require authors to make their data publicly available. Authors must deposit data that they discuss in the results of their research reports in a permanent, publicly accessible data archive or repository before publication of the manuscript.

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston.  Read the full Policy News here. STATE OF THE UNION: OBAMA HAILS 2014 AS ‘YEAR OF ACTION After a year of very few real legislative achievements in Congress outside of averting a politically self-inflicted federal government shutdown, President Obama cautioned that continued gridlock and inaction from…

This post contributed by Terence Houston, Policy Analyst and Liza Lester, Communications Officer President Obama’s 5th State of the Union address came after a year where Congress experienced an unprecedented amount of partisan gridlock and the first lengthy government shutdown in nearly 18 years. Consequently, the theme of President Obama’s most recent State of the Union address was a call…

“Can we expand Mandela’s vision of reconciliation to our own planet, to offer ourselves a shot at redemption from Nature, just as he offered his oppressors?”

In another great guest post, landscape ecologist Lisa Schulte Moore shares stories of infusing everyday kid activities with a connection to science and nature—and, most importantly, having fun doing it.

APPROPRIATIONS: congress passes FY 2014 spending bill
TOXIC SUBSTANCES: West Virginia spill sparks chemical safety policies review
WHITE HOUSE: OSTP director Holdren explains ‘polar vortex’ via Youtube
USGS: Kimball nominated as new director
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS: ESA weighs in on federal employee conference attenance
EPA: environmental education grant applications accepted
POLICY ENGAGEMENT: ESA announces 2014 GSPA recipients
FWS: wildlife refuges to offer free days in 2014

The history of science is filled with famous, pivotal individuals, who were in fact surrounded by brilliant, inquisitive colleagues working on the same goals, ideas, collections, and experiments. The puppets tell the tale.

In this guest post, Kellen Marshall, a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois, shares the challenges of combining her passions for environmental justice and ecological research.

Denitrification heroes?
The dense urban life of Queens surrounds Jamaica Bay, NY, where Timothy Hoellein and Chester Zarnoch measured the effect of oysters on the nitrogen cycle. Can oysters help remove an excess of the nutrient from the bay?

This past week, the Endangered Species Act celebrated its 40th birthday. Throughout 2013, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) commemorated the occasion with special news articles highlighting the major success stories for various plant and animal species protected by the Act. President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law on Dec. 28, 1973. Since its enactment, FWS…

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston.  Read the full Policy News here. BUDGET: CONGRESS APPROVES BILL ON SPENDING LEVELS FOR FY 2014, 2015 In its last major legislative achievement before the holiday recess, Congress passed a bipartisan budget bill (H.J.Res. 59) that sets overall federal spending levels for Fiscal Year 2014 and…