{"id":7533,"date":"2012-07-13T14:15:15","date_gmt":"2012-07-13T19:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=7533"},"modified":"2012-07-13T14:15:15","modified_gmt":"2012-07-13T19:15:15","slug":"httpwww-esa-orgpaopolicynewspn20120713-php","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2012\/07\/13\/httpwww-esa-orgpaopolicynewspn20120713-php\/","title":{"rendered":"ESA Policy News: July 13"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Science Policy Analyst Terence Houston.\u00a0 Read the full Policy News\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

WILDFIRES: FEDERAL MANAGEMENT EFFORTS CONTINUE<\/strong><\/p>\n

A number of federal agencies, including the US Forest Service (FS), the Department of Interior (DOI), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Defense, are continuing to support community recovery efforts from wildfires in Colorado and across the western US.<\/p>\n

As of this week, there are 40 large wildfires reported in the states of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Alaska, according to DOI. Federal officials report that wildfires nationwide have burned over three million acres, slightly above the 10-year average for this time of year.<\/p>\n

President Obama formally declared Colorado a federal disaster area on June 29, upon a request from Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and the state\u2019s entire congressional delegation. The designation will offer federal money for assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including temporary housing, debris removal and repairs to public facilities. The president toured the state in late June and DOI Secretary Ken Salazar visited Colorado Springs in July to survey damage and meet with first responders and other local officials.<\/p>\n

The FS has also opened a public comment opportunity to seek input on its broader forest conservation efforts. The comment period ends Aug. 13. For more information, click here<\/a>.\u00a0To view the National Interagency Fire Center\u2019s recently released National Wildland Significant Fire Potential Outlook for July \u2013 October 2012, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>BUDGET: ESA JOINS EFFORT TO PREVENT NONDEFENSE DISCRETIONARY CUTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

On July 12, the Ecological Society of America joined nearly 3,000 national, state and local organizations in signing a letter to Members of Congress requesting that they take a balanced approach to deficit reduction that does not include further cuts to nondefense discretionary (NDD) spending. The organizations are representative of a wide breath of fields that benefit from federal NDD programs including science, education, health and civil rights.<\/p>\n

The letter comes ahead of a potential across-the-board cuts to discretionary spending in Jan. 2013 that the Budget Control Act (P.L. 112-25) stipulates. Under the current law, the $1.2 trillion in cuts would come 50 percent from defense spending and 50 percent from non-defense discretionary spending. The letter notes the important role NDD programs play and urges Congress to work to reduce the deficit in a manner that prevents further significant cuts to these programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn total, if Congress and the President fail to act, between fiscal 2010 and 2021 NDD programs will have been cut by 20 percent overall. Such indiscriminate cuts threaten the entire range of bipartisan national priorities,\u201d the letter warns. \u201cFor example, there will be fewer scientific and technological innovations, fewer teachers in classrooms, fewer job opportunities, fewer National Park visitor hours, fewer air traffic controllers, fewer food and drug inspectors, and fewer first responders.\u201d<\/p>\n

The slated cuts were intended to motivate Congress to take on a comprehensive approach to deficit reduction that included politically unpopular areas of revenue increases and entitlement reductions, similar to what has been recommended by several bipartisan deficit reduction committees. However, there is concern among organizations that benefit from NDD programs that Members of Congress seeking to protect defense spending and unwilling to deal with revenue or entitlement reform, will introduce measures that force NDD programs to bear 100 percent of the sequestration instead of half.\u00a0View the full letter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CLIMATE CHANGE: FORMER GOP REP LAUNCHES CONSERVATIVE CLIMATE INSTITUTE<\/strong><\/p>\n

On July 10, 2012, former Congressman Bob Inglis (R-SC) announced the formation of the Energy and Enterprise Institute (E&EI), a new organization aimed at \u201cpresenting conservative solutions to America\u2019s energy and climate challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inglis has been vocally critical of \u201cclimate deniers\u201d and has repeatedly called upon incumbent Republican lawmakers to join the overwhelming majority of scientists who say that humans are contributing to climate change. Inglis has famously used the analogy \u201cYour child is sick. Ninety-eight doctors say treat him this way. Two say no, this other way is the way to go. I\u2019ll go with the two,\u201d to express his frustration with his party on the issue of climate change. He also worries that other countries that are taking steps to address climate change will leave the US behind in innovative approaches to tackle the issue. He has lamented that being vocal with his views on climate change contributed to his primary loss to a more conservative Republican in 2010.<\/p>\n

E&EI would seek consensus on conservative approaches to address climate change. The organization criticizes approaches that \u201cexpand the size or scope of government\u201d and \u201cfickle tax incentives\u201d while emphasizing a \u201cfree-enterprise approach.\u201d\u00a0View the full announcement here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

EDUCATION: HOUSE COMMITTEE REVIEWS STUDY ON RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

On June 27, the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Education convened a hearing entitled \u201cThe Role of Research Universities in Securing America\u2019s Future Prosperity: Challenges and Expectations.\u201d The hearing examined a recent report from the National Academies, \u201cResearch Universities and the Future of America.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a consensus among members on the importance of sustaining research institutions. \u201cParticularly in today\u2019s tough economic times, research universities play a vital role in America\u2019s ability to maintain its competitiveness in an increasingly technologically developed world, and the knowledge and skills produced by our nation\u2019s research graduates provide the fuel for these endeavors,\u201d stated Research and Education Subcommittee Chairman Mo Brooks (R-AL). In a subsequent press statement, the chairman noted that research universities \u201cprovide the backbone for the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce essential for US prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his testimony, the National Academies\u2019 Charles Holliday, Chair of the Committee on Research Universities said that the United States remains a leader in research and innovation noting that\u00a0 \u201c35 to 40 of the top 50\u201d research universities in the world are in America. He also cautioned that public universities \u201care on thin ice\u201d with state funding cuts that occurred from 2002-2010\u2014some as high as 50 percent\u2014putting a strain on the effectiveness of these institutions.<\/p>\n

The National Academies report was requested in 2009 by then-Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) (now retired from Congress), current-Chairman Ralph Hall (R-TX), as well as Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who serve as the Chairwoman and Ranking Member respectively of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families.\u00a0View the full report here<\/a>.\u00a0View the House subcommittee hearing here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NOAA: COMMITTEE EXAMINES GAO REPORT ON SATELITTE PROGRAMS<\/strong><\/p>\n

On June 27, the House Science, Space and Technology subcommittees on Energy and Environment as well as Oversight and Investigations convened for a joint hearing on two of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s (NOAA) satellite programs. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that rising costs could reverse the progress of NOAA\u2019s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite \u2013 R Series (GOES-R).<\/p>\n

Kathryn Sullivan, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction and Deputy Administrator at NOAA agreed with GAO\u2019s assessment. Noting the progress that has been made with both satellite programs, Sullivan cautioned that stable and sufficient budgets for the satellites are required to minimize disruptions that could increase launch delays and cost increases. When asked by Chairman Hall about the Senate\u2019s plan to shift control of NOAA\u2019s four satellite programs to NASA, Sullivan only acknowledged that the administration is reviewing the proposal, but has not yet taken an official position.<\/p>\n

GAO contended that data gaps from the lengthy and ongoing process of updating satellites could adversely affect the ability of NOAA satellites to provide accurate and timely weather forecasting data. While acknowledging the persistent cost overruns and potential forthcoming data gaps, GAO praised the current administration\u2019s management efforts. \u201cI think there\u2019s strong program management there. We\u2019ve seen many program managers over the years testifying before this committee and clearly, when you look at where the program is now, it\u2019s in a much better position than where it\u2019s been in the past,\u201d said GAO Director of Information Technology Management David Powner.\u00a0Click here<\/a> to view the full hearing.<\/p>\n

EPA: GRANTS ANNOUNCED FOR URBAN WATERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

On June 26, 2012 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is awarding $2.7 million to 46 organizations in 32 states and Puerto Rico for urban waters restoration and community revitalization.<\/p>\n

The funding grants, which range from $30,000 to $60,000, would go to urbanized areas with waterways that include canals, rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, estuaries, bays and oceans. The funding is aimed at boosting community efforts to improve their water resources, which can be damaged by sewage, runoff from city streets and abandoned industrial facility contaminants.<\/p>\n

The Urban Waters program supports the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, a partnership of 12 federal agencies working to reconnect urban communities with their waterways. Additional information on the Urban Waters Federal Partnership can be found here<\/a>.\u00a0A list of projects that will be funded through EPA\u2019s Urban Waters program can be viewed here<\/a>.\u00a0For additional information on EPA\u2019s urban waters program, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Science Policy Analyst Terence Houston.\u00a0 Read the full Policy News\u00a0here. WILDFIRES: FEDERAL MANAGEMENT EFFORTS CONTINUE A number of federal agencies, including the US Forest Service (FS), the Department of Interior (DOI), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Defense, are continuing to support community recovery efforts…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,91],"tags":[180,158,991,60,134,7,865,96,93,473,1255,800,113,114,910,70,179,598,58,133,375,401,1183,273,22,636,1095,265],"class_list":["post-7533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ecology-in-policy","category-policy-news","tag-bart-gordon","tag-budget","tag-climate-2","tag-climate-change","tag-congress","tag-conservation","tag-disaster","tag-education","tag-epa","tag-esa","tag-fema","tag-ken-salazar","tag-noaa","tag-obama","tag-oceans","tag-policy","tag-president-obama","tag-public-comment","tag-restoration","tag-science-policy","tag-senate","tag-stem","tag-urban","tag-us-forest-service","tag-water","tag-water-resources","tag-weather","tag-wildfires"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}