A Bi-Monthly Publication of the Ecological Society of America<\/p>\n
Opportunity to support National Science Foundation<\/strong> The House Dear Colleague letter also requests that Representatives include the NSF in their \u201cprogrammatic requests\u201d to the Appropriations Committee.<\/p>\n Similarly, Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Kit Bond (R-MO) are circulating a \u201cDear Colleague\u201d letter on the Senate side asking the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science to support NSF by providing at least the President\u2019s FY 09 request of $6.85 billion.<\/p>\n If you are interested in supporting this effort, contact your Representative and Senators to request support for NSF. Encourage them to sign the NSF Dear Colleague letter. When speaking with your Representative\u2019s office, please also request that he or she includes NSF in their programmatic requests to the Appropriations Committee. The deadlines for signatures in the Senate and House are Friday, March 7, and Wednesday, March 12, respectively. Contact information for your members of Congress is available at www.house.gov<\/a> and www.senate.gov<\/a><\/p>\n Please let us know of any communication you make and of any response you receive \u2013 contact Colleen Fahey at mailto:collen@esa.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n CLIMATE: EPA chief finalizes denial of California waiver Johnson\u2019s notice reiterates views he presented to House and Senate panels recently, saying the Clean Air Act does not allow California to create state standards aimed at addressing global climate problems.<\/p>\n California did not present a \u201ccompelling\u201d argument in its bid to receive the waiver, the notice says. House and Senate Democrats had urged Johnson during hearings this week to reconsider his denial of the waiver. Several, including Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA), predicted the courts would overturn his decision.<\/p>\n The Senate panel produced documents revealing that several top EPA staffers and a former EPA Administrator warned that EPA would lose a lawsuit challenging the denial.<\/p>\n California and nearly 20 other states hoping to implement similar standards are suing EPA over the waiver denial. Boxer has noted that leading presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton (D), John McCain (R) and Barack Obama (D) all have promised to sign the waiver.<\/p>\n ENDANGERED SPECIES: Interior will evaluate 71 listing proposals this year Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dale Hall told a House panel that the Administration would chip away at a backlog of hundreds of species awaiting protection. The Service will decide on listings for 71 species this year and 21 more in 2009.<\/p>\n There are more than 280 species on the candidate list, whose listing is \u201cwarranted but precluded\u201d because of lack of funding or other higher priorities, federal scientists say. And there are hundreds of additional plants and animals on whose behalf environmentalists have filed petitions.<\/p>\n The effort marks a turnaround for the Administration that has hesitated to list any new plants or animals. President Bush\u2019s Interior Department has listed only eight species \u2014 compared with 62 by the Clinton Administration and 56 under President George H.W. Bush. All eight listings came in response to lawsuits.<\/p>\n If the agency decides to protect any of the 92 species on its list for determinations, the long timeline for such considerations would likely move final decisions to the next administration.<\/p>\n The Bush Administration\u2019s most high-profile listing decision, the polar bear, should be made \u201cwithin weeks,\u201d Hall said. He said the FWS has completed its work and the Interior Department is reviewing the decision.<\/p>\n If listed, the polar bear would be the first mammal protected under the Endangered Species Act because of global climate change.<\/p>\n OCEANS: House approves research and exploration bill <\/strong><\/p>\n The House approved a bill on February 14 that would authorize more than $750 million for ocean research and exploration at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).<\/p>\n The bill would formally establish existing ocean exploration and undersea research programs at NOAA. It would authorize $486 million for ocean exploration and $265 million for undersea research between fiscal years 2008 and 2017. It would also create a public-private task force to help transfer new exploration and research technology and improve data management.<\/p>\n CLIMATE: California company abandons controversial ocean-offsets plan <\/strong><\/p>\n The California company Planktos is halting plans to sell ocean-based carbon credits, citing money concerns and strong opposition from \u00e2\u20ac\u0153anti-offset crusaders.\u201d<\/p>\n The company had proposed producing the credits by seeding the world\u2019s oceans with iron. That would theoretically spur the growth of carbon dioxide-consuming plankton that would reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The company said it would \u201cindefinitely\u201d abandon those plans.<\/p>\n In January, 16 researchers published a cautionary essay in the journal Science, arguing that it is not clear whether fertilizing the world\u2019s oceans with iron would actually reduce CO2, despite at least 12 field trials over the last 15 years. Furthermore, they warned, the technique could have unanticipated effects on marine life. The essay called for \u201ctargeted research\u201d to determine the safety and effectiveness of ocean fertilization.<\/p>\n Another California-based company with a business model similar to Planktos\u2019 has already responded to such criticism. Climos said last fall that it would set a \u201ccode of conduct\u201d for ocean fertilization projects. The draft plan requires companies to follow fertilization methods that have been approved by an independent body, avoid sensitive ecosystems, and track and register offsets.<\/p>\n CAMPAIGN 2008: Scientists rally to former DOE official\u2019s bid for Hastert\u2019s seat<\/strong><\/p>\n For much of President Bush\u2019s tenure in the White House, members of the scientific community have often complained they are being squeezed out of the political process on issues such as climate change, energy policy, and federal spending.<\/p>\n Now, with one of their own locked in a high-profile congressional race, scientists from across the country are rallying to support Democratic nominee Bill Foster, a physicist who spent much of his career at the Energy Department\u2019s Fermilab.<\/p>\n Foster is running to fill the seat left vacant by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) in a March 8 special election. But observers say it is unlikely that his scientific background or the issues that are important to the scientific community will be much of a factor when voters head to the polls.<\/p>\n Officials from various scientific organizations say it is important to get people into the halls of Congress who understand their scientific issues and who employ the logical decision-making embraced by the scientific community.<\/p>\n EPA: Agency names Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science<\/strong><\/p>\n The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appointed Kevin Teichman to be Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science at the agency\u2019s Office of Research and Development.<\/p>\n Teichman has been serving as Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator and previously was the Director of the Science Policy Office.<\/p>\n He directed the Science Policy Office\u2019s air staff during enactment of the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990. He also managed EPA\u2019s indoor air quality research program. Teichman has bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, all in mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n Sources:<\/em><\/strong> Environment and Energy Daily, Greenwire, and Land Letter\u00c2 <\/p>\n Send questions or comments to Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs, Nadine@esa.org<\/a> or Colleen Fahey, Policy Analyst, Colleen@esa.org<\/a>\u00c2 <\/p>\n If you received Policy News from a friend and would like to receive it directly, please send an e-mail to listserv@listserv.umd.edu<\/a> with the following in the body of the message: sub ESANEWS {your first and last name}<\/p>\n If you wish to unsubscribe to ESANEWS and your biweekly Policy News, send the command \u00e2\u20ac\u0153signoff ESANEWS\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to listserv@listserv.umd.edu<\/a><\/p>\n Visit ESA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s website at https:\/\/esa.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n
\nESA would like to alert you to an opportunity to help increase funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF). Representatives Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Bob Inglis (R-SC), and Brian Baird (D-WA) are circulating a \u201cDear Colleague\u201d letter to each member of House of Representatives asking for their signature on a letter requesting that the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations subcommittee make NSF a priority in the fiscal year (FY) 09 appropriations process.The Dear Colleague letter requests that the CJS subcommittee restore NSF to a pathway to double its budget as outlined in the America COMPETES Act. Specifically, the letter is seeking a FY 09 appropriation for NSF of $7.326 billion. The President\u2019s FY 09 request is $6.854 billion.\u00c2 <\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson signed off on a notice February 29 finalizing his rejection of California\u2019s request for a waiver that would allow it to regulate motor vehicles\u2019 emissions of greenhouse gases.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Interior Department will decide this year on proposed endangered species listings for 71 species, a nearly tenfold increase in the number of species listed in the Bush Administration\u2019s first seven years.<\/p>\n
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