^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ AWG E-MAIL NEWS No. 2000-10 March 1, 2000 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CONTENTS: 1) AGI EDUCATION PROGRAM UPDATE JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2000 2) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MONTHLY REVIEW-FEBRUARY 2000 3) MEETINGS 4) POSITION ANNOUNCEMENTS **Director, Institute for Environmental Science and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago 5) STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES **Paleobiological Fund's Student Research Grant Program ***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. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1) AGI EDUCATION PROGRAM UPDATE, JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2000 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ **Curriculum Projects AGI released three chapters of EarthComm (high school) and three modules of Investigating Earth Systems (middle school) for field testing. The EarthComm Advisory Committee convened at AGI January 29-30 to review progress. Joining the committee were the publisher, NSF program officer, and project evaluator. Minutes of the meeting will soon be available on the AGI Education wen site at http://www.agiweb.org/education/update.html **NSF K-12 Curriculum Developers Conference AGI hosted a conference for 100 developers of K-12 math and science programs whose projects are or were funded by the National Science Foundation. The meeting was held February 3-6, 2000 in Alexandria, Virginia. Developers showcased their materials and worked through a series of panel discussions intended to explore ways to enhance the implementation and evaluation of curriculum. A web site established for the conference is at http://www.agiweb.org/education/k12conference/ **Content Reviewers Needed AGI seeks volunteers to review chapters and modules of its middle school and high school programs for content accuracy. Reviews will help AGI to improve the field test version of the two programs for commercial release. Reviewers must hold a Ph.D. and have at least 5 years experience in the geoscience field related to the chapter/module. They should be willing to conduct a review of the 70-100 page chapter/module within 30 days of receipt. Interested individuals should reply to Mike Smith (msmith@agiweb.org) or Eric Shih (es@agiweb.org) with the following information: Name Street address E-mail address Phone Fax Brief description of relevant experience Name of the chapter to review Chapters currently available for review are: EarthComm: volcanoes, earthquakes, plate tectonics, landscape evolution, river systems, land use planning, water resources, mineral resources, cryosphere, and solar system. Investigating Earth Systems: soil, minerals and materials, water resources, dynamic earth, oceans, landforms, and life through time. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 2) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MONTHLY REVIEW-FEBRUARY 2000 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ** High Prices at the Pump Lead to Senate Hearing With oil prices at record lows last year, Congress focused attention on legislation to provide tax incentives for the domestic petroleum industry. Now -with oil prices hovering around $30 per barrel and price spikes for diesel fuel and home heating oil-congressional focus has shifted to tax relief for consumers and calls for increased domestic production in order to decrease reliance on foreign oil. At a February 24 hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the main witnesses-including former Energy Secretary James Schlesinger-argued that US dependence on foreign petroleum puts the country in a predicament when it comes to economic and national security concerns. Although the witnesses mainly discussed the commodities market, they also noted that the fluctuation in the cost of oil could be dampened by the production of more domestic petroleum. In heated opening statements critical of the Clinton Administration's attitude towards petroleum development, many senators called for new federal policy regarding the production of domestic petroleum. Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) was especially vocal, blaming overly strict environmental policy that has closed many areas of the country to exploration and development as one of the causes of the decrease in national oil productivity. More at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/oil_price_hearing.html. **Nuclear Waste Bill Fails to Veto-Proof Itself The latest congressional attempt to overhaul the nation's high-level nuclear waste disposal program came to a head in early February. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) forced a vote on S. 1287, which he introduced last summer after his previous bill (S. 608) met with substantial opposition. In a major concession to the Administration, S. 1287 does not include provisions to establish an interim storage facility adjacent to the proposed permanent site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. In place of interim storage, the bill authorizes the federal government to take possession of waste at individual sites and also authorizes early receipt of waste at the Yucca Mountain permanent repository facility when construction begins. Compromise efforts ran aground, however, over a provision that would shift responsibility for developing radiation standards from EPA to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC). Shortly before the final vote, Murkowski offered then withdrew one last compromise that would have returned responsibility to EPA but required that rules be consistent with recommendations from the US NRC and the National Academy of Sciences. S. 1287 passed the Senate on February 10 by a 64-34 vote, a large plurality but three short of the 67-vote supermajority needed to override a veto. The companion legislation in the House, H.R. 45, has been awaiting floor action pending the fate of the Senate bill. Thus the failure in the Senate to achieve a veto-proof majority may signal the end of reform efforts in this Congress. More at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/yucca106.html. **US Geological Survey Seeks User Input on Future Activities On March 22 and 23, 2000, the USGS is sponsoring two days of listening sessions to help share its plans for fiscal year 2002 and beyond. The USGS is sponsoring these sessions at its National Center (12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192) as an opportunity for users of earth and life science data and research to share their views on future science directions of the USGS. The sessions will be organized around broad science topics, and customers who have registered in advance will have an opportunity to give a brief presentation of their science needs and issues. Registration information can be obtained by sending an email message to conversation@usgs.gov. You may also call the USGS Office of External Affairs, 703-648-4599. For anyone who wishes to provide input, but who cannot attend, please submit ideas to the same email address: conversation@usgs.gov. Registration deadline is March 13, 2000. For more information contact Gail Wendt, USGS Office of External Affairs, 703-648-5604 or 703-648-4599 (gwendt@usgs.gov). **President's Budget Features Big Boost for Science Programs President Clinton released his proposed budget request for fiscal year FY2001 -the last full budget cycle of this Administration-on February 7th. As expected from the President's earlier remarks at Caltech and his State of the Union Address, federal funding for science agencies and programs received a generous increase in the president's request. For the geosciences, the big winners were the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)-up 17 percent and 10 percent, respectively-both requesting their largest dollar increases ever. Most of the science agencies are up in this budget request. NOAA is requesting a 20 percent increase, and EPA's request is up nearly 10 percent. With the theme "Strength Through Science," the Department of Energy has requested an 8 percent increase for its research and development (R&D) budget. R&D at the Department of Agriculture would increase 3.1 percent. Within this rosy picture, however, there are a few down notes including a proposed 3 percent decrease for earth science at NASA and a proposed 8.2 percent decrease in upstream petroleum R&D within DOE with major shifts in funding to more downstream natural gas technology research. For more information on the President's request visit http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/approps_pres2001.html or for information on the appropriations process at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/appropsfy2001.html. **AGI Joins in Call to Support Math & Science Teacher Training One of the hot topics in Congress is the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which includes authorization of the Eisenhower Professional Development Programs for math and science educators. Currently, ESEA is working its way through the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. HELP Chairman James Jeffords (R-VT) released the latest version of ESEA, a modified S. 2, in late January. This version of the bill would not only remove the set aside for Eisenhower (currently at $250 million) but also would allow funds from the program to be converted into block grants that could be used for other purposes (i.e. no specific language for math and science educators). This year marks the fourth year in which professional development for science and math educators has been up for congressional elimination. In response to the latest threat to the Eisenhower program, AGI has again joined with other science, math, engineering, and technology organizations to urge Congress, especially the Senate HELP Committee, to maintain the federal priority for math and science education by sending a joint statement. A Senate HELP hearing on ESEA is expected the first week of March and floor action quickly thereafter. More information on ESEA reauthorization is available at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/ike106.html and a copy of the email alert is available at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/ike_alert2000.html. **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 15, 2000. For more information on application materials and the internship, visit http://www.agiweb.org/gapac/intern.html. **Not Too Late to Join In Congressional Visits Day Please consider joining us in Washington for the fifth annual Science- Engineering-Technology Congressional Visits Day (CVD) on April 4-5, 2000. Over 200 scientists and engineers from academia and industry will be voicing their support for increased federal investment in science and technology. We would 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. The preliminary schedule is up at http://www.agiweb.org/cvd. 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. ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 3) MEETINGS ^^^^^^^^^^^^ **Feminist Science Studies Conference. May 18-21,2000. Hosted by the University of Nevada's {Project for Multicultural & Interdisciplinary Study and Education (PROMISE). For details see: www.scsv.nevada.edu/~promise **History of Geologic Pioneers. August 3-5, 2000, Troy, NY. See www2.netcom.com/-gmfsf/ **SEPM/IAS Environmental Sedimentology Research Conference: Hydrogeology of Sedimentary Aquifers. September 24-27, 2000, Santa Fe, NM. Contact matt.davis@unh.edu **International Conference on Paleoceanography. September 17-21, 2001, Sapporo, Japan. For details see: www.iijnet.or.jp/JTB-CS/icp7/ If you would like to publish a meeting annoucement in E-Mail News, please send it to editor@awg,org ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 4) POSITION ANNOUNCEMENTS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ **Director, Institute for Environmental Science and Policy University of Illinois at Chicago The ideal candidate will be a leader who can create a dynamic synergy in interdisciplinary research across the several collaborating colleges. Applicant must have a doctoral degree or equivalent, a breadth of knowledge across several disciplines, a distinguished research program, and be tenurable. The Institute's strengths currently are in the areas of conservation and sustainable development, environmental restoration, biosphere response to global and environmental change, and the interaction of pollutants with the ecosystem. The ideal candidate will have extensive research relationships with federal agencies such as NIH, NSF, EPA, and NOAA and have the capacity to serve as a liaison to industry partners and the media. Send cover letter, complete vitae, and names and addresses of at least three references to: Mr. Anthony Halford, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (MC 672), University of Illinois at Chicago, 1737 West Polk Street, 304 AOB, Chicago, IL , 60612-7227. Deadline is May 1. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 5) STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ **Paleobiological Fund's Student Research Grant Program The Paleobiological Fund's Student Research Grant Program is an international program designed to provide financial support to students (undergraduate and graduate) who conduct projects in the broadly defined area of paleobiology. The Paleobiological Fund does not limit eligibility to any geographic location, geological time period, or taxonomic classification (e.g. plants, invertebrates, vertebrates). Grants range from $300-$2500 US. Application deadline is April 3, 2000. For application guidelines visit their website at www.paleofund.org.