^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ AWG E-MAIL NEWS 20001-6, 19 FEBRUARY 2001 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CONTENTS: 1) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM ACTION ALERT: 2-17-01 2) SUE EKDALE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP 3) CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF GEOSCIENCE ORGANIZATIONS EVENTS 4) POSITION OPENINGS ***University of Maine-Assistant/Associate Professor/Oceanographer ***Texas A&M University-Tenure Track Faculty Position, Siliciclastic Sedimentologist/Stratigrapher 5) SUBMISSION, ADVERTISING & MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 1) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM ACTION ALERT: 2-17-01 *** Bush Administration Threatens Major Cut to USGS Budget IN A NUTSHELL: The Wall Street Journal reports that the new administration is planning a 22- percent cut for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in its Fiscal Year 2002 budget request. The National Science Foundation (NSF) would receive a 1-percent increase. Both figures are in stark contrast to the bipartisan support shown for building these agencies in recent years. Not since the abolition threat of 1995 has the USGS faced such a large cut. There is still time to change the request, particularly if there is an outcry on behalf of the survey. Geoscientists are encouraged to contact the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Interior to express their concerns. ******************** The Feb. 16 Wall Street Journal (page A12) carried the story "Bush, Seeking to Make Room for Tax Cuts, Tightens Budgets for Science Agencies." According to staff reporter David Rogers, "In trying to make room for his tax cut, President Bush is having to chop another Republican priority: increased government spending for science. Funds for the National Science Foundation will rise just 1% in fiscal 2002, which begins in October, one of its tightest budgets in years. The U.S. Geological Survey, which performs water and biological studies for federal policy makers, is fighting to stave off a threatened 22% cut from its $885 million appropriations for this fiscal year." The broad outlines of the president's budget request will be released in the State of the Union address to Congress on February 27th, but the complete budget is not expected before the end of March. The White House plans to request a small overall increase in discretionary spending, those funds that Congress and the administration decide to spend each year through the appropriations process. Most of the increase will go to the Departments of Defense and Education and the National Institutes of Health, which the president has pledged to double in five years. Independent sources have confirmed that OMB is calling for a sizeable cut to the USGS, affecting all four divisions: Geologic, Water Resources, National Mapping, and Biological Resources. Such a substantial cut would erase the progress that the agency has made in the past several years to rebuild after 1995 when the survey survived the threat of elimination but suffered significant reductions. The 1-percent increase for NSF would be below the rate of inflation and represent a decrease in the agency's ability to fund research. It would almost certainly mean that new initiatives such as Earthscope would not be requested. According to the Wall Street Journal, new House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) has raised his concerns about the proposed science budget to OMB Director Mitch Daniels. Boehlert is quoted as saying, "Any downturn in our science investment is cutting into our competitive edge and against our long-term interests." Congress will certainly have a chance for input once the president's budget request is released and the appropriations process begins. But any subsequent changes made by Congress are done relative to the original request and are subject to final negotiations with the White House. Although the low numbers -- particularly for NSF -- can be expected to increase during the course of the summer and fall, expanding support for science will be far easier if the initial request is robust. The article points out that NSF "has powerful backers in the universities that receive its grants. But, the more than 10,000 employees at the U.S. Geological Survey don't have the same high profile, despite the agency's increased role in recent years in managing natural resources." The onus is clearly on the geoscience community to convince the new administration of the value of the survey's activities. Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH), former chair of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, put it best: "Good science is essential," going on to describe USGS as the "premier science agency for the management of public lands." Please write a brief letter to OMB chief Mitch Daniels and Interior Secretary Gale Norton explaining why the USGS should not be subjected to major cuts. Contact information and a sample letter are provided below as a template. Feel free to cite specific programs and to use examples of the value of investment in the geosciences. Fact sheets on USGS programs are available at http://www.usgs.gov. Letters to OMB may also discuss the value of geoscience research supported by NSF and encourage greater investment in that agency. Please fax or e-mail a copy of your letter to AGI at Government Affairs Program, 4220 King Street, Alexandria VA 22302-1502; fax 703-379- 7563; email govt@agiweb.org. For maximum impact, please send the letter by Wednesday, February 21st. Many thanks for taking the time to be an active citizen-scientist! *** Sample Letter to OMB and Interior on USGS Mitchell Daniels, Director Office of Management and Budget Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Room 252 17th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20503 or The Honorable Gale Norton, Secretary Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington, DC 20240 Dear Director Daniels: Dear Secretary Norton: I am writing to ask that you support a strong, balanced investment in science in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 budget request. Specifically, I urge you to support a robust budget request for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Nation's premier geoscience organization. The central mission of the USGS is to provide reliable, objective earth science data and analysis from a national perspective. The survey is widely recognized for providing unbiased data to better manage the nation's resources. In order to offset previous declines, the USGS received an increase in FY 2001, which began to address the need to improve the Nation's streamgaging network, modernize its seismic networks, and expand the data available from the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. Please support a strong budget request so that this agency can fulfill its important mission. Federal investment in the geosciences generates new knowledge about our home planet, helping us to responsibly develop our nation's resources, better protect the environment, and reduce our vulnerability to natural hazards. This investment also helps to train the next generation of scientists and to provide all citizens with a better understanding of their world. Thank you for your consideration of this letter. If you would like additional information on USGS programs and their value to our Nation, I would be happy to be of assistance. -Alert prepared by David Applegate, AGI Government Affairs Program 22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222 2) SUE EKDALE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP The Salt Lake Chapter invites you to the 12th Annual Susan Ekdale Memorial Scholarship Benefit Auction and Wine Tasting to be held March 3 from 7-10 pm at Nunemacher Place, Westminster College, 1840 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City, UT. If you cannot attend, the chapter is also accepting donations to the fund. For information, contact Jennifer Helm Guillory at 467-6209. 33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 3) CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF GEOSCIENCE ORGANIZATIONS EVENTS March 1 - 2nd Annual CCGO Sacramento Drive-In: A truly amazing opportunity to get up close and personal with the Board for Geologists and Geophysicists, California Division of Mines and Geology, as well as several leading legislators in Sacramento. The tour of that domed building alone is worth the price of admission to the CCGO annual event!!! April 4 - Annual Fundraising Meeting with Dr. Kenneth R. Lajoie, U.S.G.S. retired. Dinner meeting at Old Spaghetti Factory in Jack London Square, Oakland. Topic - The Origin of San Francisco Bay. During his 30-year career, Dr. Lajoie focused on the environmental geology of the San Francisco Bay Region, including coastal erosion, earthquake hazards and the mapping of earthquake ground ruptures. A great sounding event! 44444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4) POSITION OPENINGS ***University of Maine-Assistant/Associate Professor/Oceanographer The School of Marine Sciences (SMS) of the University of Maine seeks an interdisciplinary oceanographer at the Assistant or beginning Associate Professor level, tenurable, 9 mos position; available 1 September 2001 with strong background in geological processes, geochemistry or physics of particle motion. The broad target area is particle dynamics. The candidate must have a Ph.D. in related fields and should have research and teaching interests in common with some current faculty within SMS or help to create bridges between SMS and other natural sciences units on campus. Specific examples of research areas to which the candidate might bridge include coastal sedimentation, benthic ecology, marine policy, biogeochemical cycling, the biology- physics interface, and climate change. SMS was amalgamated into a School of about 40 faculty from several units on campus to foster collaboration among traditional subdisciplines of marine sciences and to include aquaculture, marine policy and marine biology as well as oceanography. The successful candidate will contribute to this vision in research as well as graduate and undergraduate teaching. Applications should comprise a full CV, a selection of (p)reprints and statement of research and teaching goals that demonstrate commitment to interdisciplinary interests and a list of three references from whom we may request further details. Please send them to Chair, Oceanographer Search Committee, School of Marine Sciences, 214 Libby Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5741. Review will begin on 15 March 2001. The University of Maine is an EO/AA employer and encourages women and minorities to apply. For further information visit http://www.ume.maine.edu/~marine/position.html ***Texas A&M University-Tenure Track Faculty Position, Siliciclastic Sedimentologist/Stratigrapher The Department of Geology and Geophysics at Texas A&M University invites applications for a tenure-track appointment at the Assistant Professor level in siliciclastic sedimentology/stratigraphy. Review of applicants will begin on 15 January 2001, with an anticipated starting date of August 2001. The successful candidate is expected to teach at both graduate and undergraduate levels and will develop and conduct an externally funded research program. A Ph.D. is required by the time employment begins. The specific research field of the successful candidate is open, although experience in petrographic and facies analyses, modern stratigraphic studies, and basin-scale studies is desirable. The ideal candidate should be interested in developing ties with the petroleum industry. Expertise with quantitative approaches to sedimentologic/stratigraphic analysis is also desirable. We seek an individual who will complement existing departmental programs in basin studies, environmental studies, global change and paleoclimate, petroleum geosciences, reservoir characterization, sedimentary geochemistry, seismic interpretation, sequence stratigraphy, and tectonics and sedimentation. Significant opportunities also exist for the successful candidate to interact with colleagues in the Departments of Petroleum Engineering, Geography, and Oceanography and geoscientists at the Ocean Drilling Program. For additional information about the Department of Geology & Geophysics at TAMU and research facilities, please check our website at http://geoweb.tamu.edu. Submit a curriculum vitae, selected reprints, a statement of research and teaching interests, and a list of at least three references with postal addresses, phone and fax numbers, and email addresses to: Dr. Steven L. Dorobek, Chair, Siliciclastic Search Committee, Department of Geology & Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3115. Women and members of minority groups are especially encouraged to apply. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY IS AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY 55555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555 5) SUBMISSION, ADVERTISING & MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION ***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 the Ad Editor at ads@awg.org. PLEASE SEND AD COPY OR OTHER SUBMISSIONS AS RTF FILES OR AS PART OF AN E- MAIL MESSAGE ***For membership information or to join AWG, visit our website at or contact our business office at