^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ AWG E-MAIL NEWS No. 2000-06 February 12, 2000 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CONTENTS: 1) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MONTHLY REVIEW-JANUARY 2000 2) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM SPECIAL UPDATE: 2-8-00 3) POSITION OPENINGS 4) POSTDOCTORAL OPPORTUNITIES 5) STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES ***Don't forget to check the AWG JobWeb at www.awg.org*** *Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue of AWG E-Mail News* For submissions to AWG E-Mail News, contact Editor Joanne Kluessendorf at editor@awg.org. For advertising, contact Ad Editor Kata McCarville at ads@awg.org. PLEASE SEND AD COPY OR OTHER SUBMISSIONS AS RTF FILES OR AS PART OF AN E-MAIL MESSAGE E-mail or address changes? Send to office@awg.org, please. For more information about AWG, contact office@awg.org or visit the AWG website at www.awg.org. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MONTHLY REVIEW-JANUARY 2000 **Preview of the President's Science Funding Request In a speech on January 20th at Caltech, President Clinton announced that his budget will include several large funding increases for science,technology, and engineering programs. Clinton stressed the importance of supporting increased funding in all scientific and engineering fields because "advances in one field are often dependent on breakthroughs in other disciplines." The President's budget request will include a $675 million increase for the National Science Foundation, the largest dollar increase in the agency's history. Clinton also announced $500 million for a nanotechnology initiative that will cut across several federal agencies. Although the President's budget is not officially released until February 7th, indications are that most geoscience- related agencies will see increases this year. The president's budget, however, is just a request, and it will take a concerted effort from the scientific community to convince Congress to turn the presidential request into bipartisan reality. **5th Annual Science-Engineering-Technology Congressional Visits Day Please come to Washington on April 4-5, 2000 for Congressional Visits Day (CVD). Over 200 scientists and engineers from academia and industry are expected to participate in this fifth annual event to voice support for increased federal investment in science and technology. Last year, 20 geoscientists participated, and we would again like to see a strong contingent of geoscientists visiting their members of Congress and congressional staff on Capitol Hill. We need your help to identify geoscientists who would be interested in participating, and we particularly encourage the leadership of AGI's member societies to come. CVD consists of an opening day of briefings by key administration and congressional leaders followed by a day of constituent meetings with senators, representatives, and their staff. AGI will join with AGU to hold a pre-briefing for geoscience participants on the first day, and we can help arrange the constituent visits. If this event appeals to you or you know of someone who would be interested in coming to Washington, please contact Margaret Baker by e-mail at mab@agiweb.org or phone at (703) 379-2480 ext. 212. **Interior's Solicitor General Releases New Mining Opinion Interior Department Solicitor John Leshy, fresh from tangles with Congress over his views on mill-site size under the Mining Law of 1872, issued another controversial legal opinion earlier this month that sets a precedent by which the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) can reject a mining permit application due to environmental and cultural degradation. The legal opinion was in response to a permit application for the Glamis Imperial Mine in southeastern California. In Leshy's view, the mine is located in an area of important religious, cultural, and historical resources for the Quechan people as well as a delicate desert environment. First proposed in 1994, Glamis Imperial mine would be an open-pit, cyanide heap-leach gold mine that is proposed to extract up to 150 million tons of ore. Leshy's opinion endorses the Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's request that Secretary Babbitt and the Department of the Interior help to protect cultural resources. More information on the decision is available in AGI's mining law reform update at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/miningup99.html. **Course and Name Change for National Institute for the Environment Supporters On January 26th, the Committee for the National Institute for the Environment (CNIE) announced that it was changing its name to the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), declaring victory in translating its goals for improving science information for environmental decisionmaking into National Science Foundation (NSF) initiatives. CNIE originally formed in 1989 with the goal of establishing a new federal agency-the National Institute for the Environment-but in recent years shifted toward a goal of establishing a semi-autonomous NIE within NSF. The National Science Board rejected the idea but undertook a study of environmental science at NSF. The ensuing report called for a major increase in funding for environmental research and, in CNIE's opinion, recommended implementation of "most of the activities initially proposed for a National Institute for the Environment." As a result, CNIE announced last October it fully supported implementation of the report and was suspending its call for the creation of a NIE. The newly named NCSE will work to "develop an online information dissemination system through which users can find understandable, science-based information about the environment." More at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/nie99.html. **New Forest Service Rules for Special Permit Cost Recovery *** In November, the U.S. Forest Service proposed new rules to include a fee for processing an application for special-use permits. Because many geologic research and educational activities in the national forests require such permits, the issue is of interest to our community. According to Forest Service staff, such permits include paleontological permits issued on National Forest System Lands. Processing fees range from $75 to $750, but can be waived for institutions submitting evidence of an IRS exemption under Code 501(c)(3) -- a classification that most scientific societies and universities fall under -- and that studies are of public benefit. Since most paleontological permits are issued to institutions or organizations for scientific or educational purposes, it is anticipated that they may qualify for a waiver of the processing and monitoring fees. However, any waiver or exemption is not automatic but subject to the required evidence being submitted with the permit application. Where a third party contractor (subcontractor) is involved, that contractor may require a permit and may have to pay associated fees. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The complete proposed rule: "Recovery of Costs for Processing Special Use Applications and Monitoring Compliance with Special Use Authorization" was published in the Federal Register on November 24, 1999. The comment period has been extended to February 24, 2000. Information can be obtained on the web at: http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/. **DOE Announces Geothermal Initiative On January 24th, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) announced a new Department of Energy initiative to expand and develop the use of geothermal energy in the western states. The program, known as GeoPowering the West, aims to provide ten percent of the electrical needs of the western states by 2020, to supply electric power to at least 7 million homes by 2010, and to double the number of states using geothermal energy. GeoPowering the West will award nearly $5 million in grants to geothermal activities in Nevada, California, Texas, Utah, Idaho, and North Dakota. A draft action plan for the program is available at its website: http://www.eren.doe.gov/geopoweringthewest/ -along with a list of the grants already approved by the program. In a Las Vegas Review-Journal article, Reid said: "This modest investment by the federal government has the potential to stimulate billions of dollars in investment and tens of thousands of new jobs ." **Gore, McCain Win in Granite State Alright, there is nothing particularly geologic about the presidential campaign except for the time period over which the campaigns have been waged. Nor have the geosciences been a hot topic in the debates, but New Hampshire's nickname is a good enough hook to remind geoscientists that campaigns are gearing up in all 50 states for the entire House of Representatives, a third of the Senate, and innumerable state and local offices (at least we can't enumerate them). In an earlier campaign season, the Nevada section of the American Institute for Professional Geologists (AIPG) set a great precedent by hosting a candidate's debate on issues important to geoscientists in Nevada, asking questions about resource development, environmental protection, and related topics. Non-profit societies cannot support or endorse candidates, but they can encourage a healthy debate of the issues. It's all part of being active citizen-scientists. **Looking for a Few Good Summer and Fall Interns AGI is seeking outstanding geoscience students with a strong interest in federal science policy for a twelve-week geoscience and public policy internship in Summer 2000 and a fourteen-week internship in Fall 2000. Interns will gain a first-hand understanding of the legislative process and the operation of executive branch agencies. They will also hone both their writing and Web publishing skills. Stipends for the summer interns are funded jointly by AGI and the AIPG Foundation and for the fall interns by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Applications must be postmarked by March 1, 2000. For more information on application materials and the internship, visit http://www.agiweb.org/gapac/intern.html. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 2) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM SPECIAL UPDATE: 2-8-00 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ **The President's Fiscal Year 2001 Budget: Part 1--NSF and USGS IN A NUTSHELL: On Monday, President Clinton released his Fiscal Year 2001 budget. As expected from the president's earlier remarks, science funding was up substantially in most agencies. For the geosciences, the big winners were the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey. Science at NOAA and EPA also fared well. The Department of Energy would see modest increases for geoscience-related programs. NASA's Office of Earth Science received a cut, presumably so that the agency could focus more attention on getting its Mars missions to work and getting the International Space Station back on track. This update includes NSF and USGS. A subsequent update will include the other agencies. And remember, this is just the president's request. Realizing increased funding for the geosciences will take a concerted effort by the geoscience community to convince Congress that this is a worthwhile investment. **National Science Foundation Even before the budget was released, President Clinton announced that he was requesting a 17.5 percent increase for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2001. The total request is $4.6 billion, up from $3.9 billion in FY 2000. Within that total, the research budget is up 19.7% to $3.5 billion. For the past decade, funding for the Geosciences Directorate (GEO) at NSF has been virtually flat in constant dollars. That has been especially true for the Earth Science Division (EAR), where the bulk of solid earth science research is funded. That trend could change dramatically this year if Congress grants the President's budget request for NSF. The president's budget for FY 2001 includes a 19.5% increase for GEO, including within that a 16.6% increase for EAR, a 17.7% increase for the Atmospheric Sciences Division, and a whopping 22.2% increase for the Ocean Sciences Division. By the numbers, GEO is up $95.2 million to $583.0 million. EAR is up $16.9 million to $118.51 million. Ocean Sciences is up $49.2 million to $270.5 million, and Atmospheric Sciences is up $29.2 million to $194.0 million. About two-thirds of the increase is tied to NSF-wide initiatives: Biocomplexity in the Environment ($39.5 million in new money), Information Technology Research ($16.6 million new), Nanoscale Science and Engineering ($7.8 million new),and 21st Century Workforce ($1.6 million of which $0.4 million is new). Except for the last one, GEO was not included in any of these initiatives last year. The earth sciences would also benefit from a request in the NSF-wide Major Research Equipment budget for the Earthscope initiative. This account is separate from the GEO account and would direct $17.4 million to launch the USArray and the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD). Planning will continue for the remaining two components: the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) and the satellite-based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) mission. This request is the first for the earth sciences in the Major Research Equipment budget, effectively doubling the EAR budget increase. USArray consists of a dense array of high-capability seismometers deployed in a step-wise fashion across the US. The seismic deployment will be accompanied by geologic, geochronologic, geochemical, and related research to provide a complete picture of the structure and evolution of the North American continent. According to the budget documents, "SAFOD, consisting of an instrumental borehole through the San Andreas fault with cores taken at intervals, will enable the direct observation of the physical and chemical processes controlling deformation and earthquake generation within a major, active plate-bounding fault zone." Polar research also receives a sizeable boost. The US Polar Research budget would increase 17% to $222.8 million. However, funding for the US Antarctic Logistical Support Activities is flat at $62.6 million. The Education and Human Resources Directorate stands to receive a 5% boost to $760.0 million. Included within that is a 3.9% increase for Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education; a 20.8% increase for Undergraduate Education; a 14.4% increase for Graduate Education; and a 6.0% increase for Human Resource Development. No breakdowns were provided for what percentage of these accounts goes to support geoscience education. **U.S. Geological Survey The good news continues with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which has requested a 10% increase to $895.4 million. That is the largest increase the Survey has ever requested. All four divisions would receive new money with the largest amount going to the National Mapping Division, up $28.6 million or 22.5%. The Biological Resources Division request is up $21.9 million or 16%. The Geologic Division (GD) request is up $13.6 million or 6.4%, and the Water Resources Division (WRD) request is up $11.8 million or 6.3%. USGS Director Chip Groat emphasized that the bulk of the increases are focused on the Survey's core activities, a focus that should sit well with Congress, which has criticized the Administration in recent years for seeking to branch the USGS out in new directions at the expense of core functions. Under the theme "Safer Communities," the Survey is proposing an increase of $7.1 million for developing real-time warning capabilities in the national earthquake monitoring network ($2.6 million), volcano monitoring in Alaska ($0.5 million), and the national streamgaging network ($4 million). These increases build on smaller increases last year and are the first steps toward achieving the goals set forth in recent USGS reports calling for major upgrades to the earthquake and streamgage networks. Over half of the proposed increase in the Survey's budget is tied to funds for state and community-level planning partnerships, which in turn are designed to support the Interior Department Lands Legacy initiative's goals of open space and sustainable growth. The Community/Federal Information Partnerships (C/FIP) initiative includes $7.5 million for geologic mapping grants to "expand, in cooperation with State Geological Surveys, the development of the Internet-based National Geologic Map Database and the production of National Spatial Data Infrastructure-compliant digital geologic map data that meet community needs to address hazards, resources, and environmental management issues." The budget also would transfer $0.5 million for the Great Lakes Mapping Coalition from the National Mapping Division to the Geologic Division. Other C/FIP increases include $0.5 million for energy resources data for communities, $2 million for water information, $10 million to collect and increase access to spatial data and maps, $2 million for improved Internet access to USGS geospatial data, and $8 million to overlay biologic datasets with other USGS geospatial data. Another $10 million would go to the National Mapping Division "to develop decision support systems to help America's communities respond to issues posed by urban growth." National mapping also would receive $5 million to assume long-term management responsibility for the LANDSAT 7 program from NOAA. The Survey has requested $10 million to provide predictive modeling tools and decision support information for natural resource managers (total includes at least $1.2 million from GD and $2.7 million from WRD). Finally, $15 million is requested to provide science support to the other Interior bureaus, particularly the land management agencies (total includes at least $2.0 million from GD and $3.3 million from WRD). The USGS is declaring the Ohio View project a success and seeking to redirect its funding to other parts of the country. This pilot project to deliver earth science data in real-time to a consortium of Ohio universities was added to the Survey's budget by House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ralph Regula (R-OH). It is not clear how he will respond to this redirection. Overall, the Survey's budget appears to include approximately $7 million in cuts removing congressionally earmarked projects in Alaska, Nevada, Hawaii, and several other states. Other decreases target "lower priority" projects, including a $2.5 million cut to hydrologic research and development, a $2.8 million cut to water data collection and management projects, and a $2.5 million cut to coal availability and recoverability studies. Additional budget information will be available shortly at AGI's website: http://www.agiweb.org/gap. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 3) POSITION OPENINGS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ **Carnegie Museum of Natural History Curator in Malacology and Invertebrate Paleontology Applications with Ph.D. are invited for the position of Assistant or Associate Curator to oversee the Section of Malacology and Invertebrate Paleontology. Applicants should send c.v., addresses of three references, reprints, and letter describing professional goals by 1 March 2000 to: Bradley C. Livezey, Dean of Science, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080 **School of Marine Affairs, University of Washington, Seattle, WA Tenure Track Assistant Professor Preference will be given to candidates with training or experience in marine affairs and who can connect scientific research to policy development. Full application information/instructions are available on the SMA home page: http://www.sma.washington.edu. Applications should be mailed to: Faculty Search Committee, ATTN: Mary Prior, School of Marine Affairs, 3707 Brooklyn Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98105-6715. Deadline is February 23, 2000. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 4) POSTDOCTORAL OPPORTUNITIES ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ **Postdoctoral Position in Evolutionary Morphology of Arthropods I am seeking a postdoctoral collaborator to work on a NSF-funded project focusing on the evolution of locomotion in chelicerate arthropods using comparative anatomical and electrophysiological methods. I am primarily interested in recruiting a person with expertise in the morphology and/or systematics of living or fossil arthropods. The successful applicant will be trained in the necessary techniques. It is expected that the successful applicant will spend about 50% of the time on the locomotion project and 50% of the time on a collaborative project in the postdoc's area of interest. The base annual salary will be about $26,000 (negotiable) with premiums for health insurance added to this base amount. Further information on the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland can be found on the Department's website (http:\\www.entm.umd.edu\). Application material should include 1) a CV, 2) name and email address of three references, 3) a brief statement of research interestes and plans. Send this inform to Jeff Shultz, 4112 Plant Sciences Building, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 or via email to js314@umail.umd.edu. Applications will be accepted until March 15 and a decision will be made soon after. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 5) STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ **Research Opportunity for Undergraduates: Field, Geochemical, and Geophysical Studies into the Origins of Blue Ridge Mafic/Ultramafic Complexes Interested undergraduate students are encouraged to participate in a collaborative research effort involving field-based geochemical, geophysical and structural analysis of intriguing mafic/ultramafic rock associations within high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina. This 7 week summer program, beginning June 11, 2000, involves 4 weeks of field studies at Western Carolina University, followed by 3 weeks of laboratory work and analysis using analytical facilities at the University of South Florida. Participants will define and pursue a collective research problem through focused mapping, geochemical, geophysical, and petrologic investigations. Students and faculty will work collectively throughout the program with opportunities for individual post-summer research activity. Individual and collaborative research results will be presented at the following spring GSA Southeastern Section meeting. Students will gain experience in detailed geological mapping in a metamorphic terrane, digital map and data compilation, geophysical data collection and analysis using a variety of methods, and geochemical preparation and analysis techniques using a Direct Current Plasma Emission Spectrometer. Participants will receive a $300/week stipend, plus room, board and most travel expenses during the summer program. Students should be Geology majors or have an extensive Earth Science background. Course work in igneous & metamorphic geology and structural geology with a good background in chemistry and/or physics is recommended. Students with at least Junior standing and > 3.0 GPA are preferred. Applicants should send a letter explaining their interest in the project and expected gains from this experience, resume, unofficial transcript, and the name and contact information of a willing faculty mentor at their institution to Dr. Ginny Peterson, Department of Geosciences, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723. Recommendations from 2 faculty members are required and must be solicited by applicants. Complete application materials received prior to March 8, 2000 will receive first consideration. For more information check our web site http://wcuvax1.wcu.edu/~peterson/BC.html or contact Dr. Peterson (828-227-3821; FAX: 828-227-7647; peterson@wcu.edu )