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AWG E-MAIL NEWS 2005-10
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CONTENTS
1) AWG MINORITY GEOSCIENCE SCHOLARSHIP
2) FROM MENTORNET NEWS¡K
3) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MONTHLY REVIEW - APRIL 2005
4) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS ACTION ALERT - 5 MAY 2005
5) POSITION OPENING
2005-043 Case Western Reserve University - Postdoctoral Position:
Antarctic Meteorite Recovery and Planetary Research
6) CONTACT INFORMATION
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Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue of E-mail News
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1) AWG MINORITY GEOSCIENCE SCHOLARSHIP
This scholarship program encourages young minority women to pursue an
education and later a career in the geosciences. The scholarship is
intended for use towards books, supplies, lab fees, fieldwork expenses,
senior field camp costs, etc. Each awardee will be paired with an AWG
member who has a career similar to that desired by the awardee. The
mentorship will help to further assist and encourage the student throughout
the duration of her education, as well as to assist the organization in
monitoring the student¡¦s progress. This exchange will enhance the
student¡¦s experience and provide a view of the world ahead.
General Information
Award Amount: One or more awards totaling $5,000 will be given each
summer for use during the next academic year (awards include AWG
membership)
Application Deadline: May 15 of each year
Application Criteria and Procedures
The applicant must be:
- woman who is African-American, Hispanic, or Native American
- full-time student who is pursuing an undergraduate degree in the
geosciences (geology, geophysics, geochemistry, hydrology, meteorology,
physical oceanography, planetary geology, or earth science education)
at an accredited college or university (high school students who will
enter one of these fields during their freshman year may also apply)
- contributor to the larger world community through her academic and
personal strengths
Application procedures
- Download an application at www.awg.org
- The application calls for a statement of academic and career goals,
two letters of recommendation, high school and college transcripts, and
SAT or ACT scores
Other information
- Winners may reapply for continuing support
- Questions? Please contact Kim Begay-Jackson
(awgscholarship@yahoo.com)
Applications should be sent to the following address:
Association for Women Geoscientists
Attn. Minority Scholarship
P.O. Box 30645
Lincoln, NE 68503-0645
Scholarships are funded by the AWG Foundation with generous support
from the ExxonMobil Foundation and individual donors.
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2) FROM MENTORNET NEWS¡K
A chance to advocate for the advancement of women in science and
engineering. Signatures will be collected beyond the May 5 date mentioned in
the following message from the May 2005 issue of MentorNet News.
On May 11, Dr. Carol Muller will represent MentorNet at a Capitol Hill
press conference to present a letter to Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and
George Allen (R-VA) seeking national support for advancing women in
science, technology, engineering and technology. More than 5,800
scientists, engineers, students, and educators have already signed the petition.
To add your name, go to http://www.mentornet.net/wyden-allen/. We would
like as many signatures as possible by May 5. Thank you for supporting
this vital issue.
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3) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MONTHLY REVIEW - APRIL 2005
* Good News for USGS and EPA on First Day of Appropriations
* House Passes National Energy Legislation, Senate Gets Ready
* Rep. Wolf Supports Tripling of Innovation Budget
* New Bill Designed to Attract College Science and Engineering Majors
* House Subcommittee Moves to Authorize an Ocean Observing System
* Congress Tackles Water Supply Issues
* Data Integrity Controversy Fuels Yucca Mountain Debate
* Farmers to Measure Carbon Dioxide Emissions
* NASA
New Administrator, Michael Griffin
Looking Up and Down for Dollars
Mars Rovers Keep Going and Going
* Can Kansas Be Saved in Six Days?
* Academic Bill of Rights
* New Guidelines and New Lawsuits for No Child Left Behind
* House Science Committee Honors Science Teacher Awardees
* May Day: NIH Public Access Policy Begins
* Open Access ¡§Growing¡¨ Pains in Europe
* Congress Acknowledges African-American Women in Science
* NSF Geosciences Advisory Committee
* NRC Decadal Study: Earth Science and Applications from Space
* USGS Geospatial Programs
* Staff Changes
* Key Federal Register Notices
*** Good News for USGS and EPA on First Day of Appropriations ***
The House Appropriations Committee officially began the fiscal year
(FY) 2006 appropriations process yesterday with an Interior subcommittee
markup of a draft bill to fund the Department of Interior, the USDA
Forest Service and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The bill,
which is scheduled to be considered by the full committee on May 10,
contains $1 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey, the amount NASULGC and
the USGS Coalition have been supporting for several years. The Water
Resources Research Institutes are funded at $7 million in the bill.
Two agencies that are slated to receive large cuts under the
subcommittee proposal are the Forest Service ($4.2 billion, $499 million less
than FY05) and the EPA ($7.7 billion, $318 million below FY05). However,
most of EPA¡¦s reduction would be confined to the Clean Water State
Revolving Fund. EPA Science and Technology would be increased by $21
million to $765 million and the Office of Environmental Education would be
restored to $9 million. The bill also contains small cuts for the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Fish and Wildlife Service. BLM
would receive $1.8 billion, a $62 million decrease from FY05, while FWS
would receive $1.3 billion, a $26 million decrease.
Special thanks to Luke Forrest from the National Association of State
Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) for providing this
summary of the appropriations hearing.
*** House Passes National Energy Legislation, Senate Gets Ready ***
On April 21, 2005 the U.S. House of Representatives passed
comprehensive energy legislation by a vote of 249-183. The Energy Policy Act of
2005, or H.R. 6, strays little from the conference report passed by the
House in the 108th congress, including several controversial provisions
that contributed to the bill's defeat in the Senate last year. Among
these, liability protections for producers of the fuel oxygenate methyl
tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) survived a narrow vote of 219 to 213 on the
House floor. Majority votes also defeated an amendment to strike a
heavily debated provision that gives the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) primary regulatory authority over new liquefied natural gas
(LNG) facilities.
To increase domestic energy supply, the bill includes several
incentives for oil and gas companies to explore shallow and deep-water
outer-continental shelf resources in the Gulf of Mexico, onshore natural gas
reserves, marginal wells and gas hydrate production. The bill also
establishes a permanent Royalty-in-Kind program at the Department of the
Interior, and reimburses companies for compliance with National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. The bill would also create new federal
funds to develop a nuclear hydrogen plant and hydrogen fuel cell
technology.
Also included in the bill is an $8 billion tax package intended to
improve electricity, nuclear, and oil and gas infrastructure.
Miscellaneous incentives (totaling $1.85 billion) include a 15-20% tax
credits for residential solar power and efficiency improvements,
business investments in fuel cells, and credits for lean-burn motor vehicle
technology. Although the Bush Administration had suggested a limit of
$6.7 billion in energy tax incentives, the FY 2006 budget resolution
sets aside $11 billion for the energy bill, a generous invitation for the
Senate, which is expected to vote on its version of the energy bill by
mid-summer.
During several highly-charged partisan debates that took place in
Committee mark-ups earlier in the month, Democrats unsuccessfully challenged
what they said was an overemphasis on supply-end solutions and energy
industry incentives. House Resources Ranking Member Nick Rahall (D-WV)
argued that the royalty and tax breaks would shift the financial burden
to consumers and taxpayers while doing little to encourage energy
conservation or the use of renewable sources of energy.
Along these lines, Democrats failed to pass amendments on key sticking
points such as raising corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards
for automobiles and raising the national renewable portfolio standard.
The majority also voted down a ¡§sense of Congress¡¨ resolution
acknowledging the effects of climate change. Finally, Democrats failed to
strip controversial changes to the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA)
that would restrict federal agencies from considering alternative plans
as they assess the impacts of renewable energy projects.
*** Rep. Wolf Supports Tripling of Innovation Budget ***
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), Chairman of the House
Science-State-Justice-Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee, sent a letter to President Bush on
May 3, 2005 asking for a ¡§tripling of the innovation budget ¡V federal
basic research and development ¡V over the next decade.¡¨ Rep. Wolf
has indicated that he will do anything he can to gain additional support
for the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Rep. Wolf and Rep. Boehlert, Chair of the House Science Committee urged
scientists to contact their congressional representatives and ask them
to support increased funding for research and development. Rep. Wolf
is also trying to organize a meeting in late May or early June to bring
together scientists, engineers, manufacturers and business leaders to
ask President Bush to support an increased investment in science to
ensure innovative competitiveness in the near future.
*** New Bill to Attract College Science and Engineering Majors ***
At a press conference on April 12, 2005, Representatives Frank Wolf
(R-VA), Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) announced the
introduction of H.R. 1457, the Math and Science Incentive Act of 2005.
In an attempt to restore the United States¡¦ global dominance in
science and innovation, the bill directs the Secretary of Education to pay
the interest on undergraduate loans for science, math and engineering
majors up to a maximum of $10,000. In order to be eligible, students must
agree to teach or work as a professional in their areas of study for at
least five years following graduation. Wolf based the bill on an idea
floated in Newt Gingrich¡¦s book, Winning the Future.
¡§In an era in which students are graduating college with record levels
of debt, I am hopeful that this incentive will be a significant
motivator in attracting or retaining math, science and engineering students,¡¨
Wolf said.
Senator John Warner (R-VA), who on the same day introduced an identical
bill (S. 765) with Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), stated, ¡§Without a
doubt, our ability to remain ahead of the curve in scientific and
technological advancements is a key component to ensuring America's national,
homeland and economic security in the post 9/11 world of global
terrorism.¡¨ In his statement before the Senate, Warner likened today¡¦s
shortage of ¡§homegrown, highly trained scientific minds¡¨ to the kind of
national, scientific complacency that existed before the launch of
Sputnik in 1957.
For more information, visit http://www.house.gov/wolf. Text of the
House bill can be found at
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.01547:
*** House Subcommittee Moves to Authorize an Ocean Observing System ***
Members from the House Resources Fisheries and Oceans Subcommittee
invited ocean research experts and federal agency officials to discuss H.R.
1489, The Coastal Ocean Observation System Integration and
Implementation Act of 2005. The bill, introduced by Subcommittee Chairman Wayne
Gilchrest (R-MD), is the latest legislation to respond to last year¡¦s
Oceans Commission Report, and it would authorize $138 million to the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) over four years to
establish a Coastal Ocean Observation System.
Panelists from the Administration commended the bill for naming NOAA
the lead agency for the observation system, and discussed how well other
agencies, such as the U.S. Geological Survey, the Minerals Management
Service, and the U.S. Navy are equipped to play a leading role. Ocean
research experts who testified were more critical of the new bill,
pressing hard for increased funding and better recognition of regional
oceanographic associations who are better connected to a larger constituency
of end-users than the federal government. Gilchrest expressed openness
to all aired concerns and recommendations.
A full hearing summary can be viewed at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis109/ocean_hearings.html
*** Congress Tackles Water Supply Issues ***
Natural Resources Committees in the House and the Senate took up the
daunting question of how to solve water supply shortages, particularly in
western states. First, on April 5, 2005, the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee invited 22 groups to offer their "bold and
innovative solutions" for water resource issues and for improving the federal
water bureaucracy.
Through four panels of expert testimony, Committee members probed the
witnesses on the costs of desalination and purification technologies and
the role the federal government should play in advancing these
projects.
Several panelists urged increased funding for federal agencies that
conduct water research and emphasized that monitoring programs must be
central to our water policy. "We don't need another national policy
commission, but there is a role for the federal government, and that is to
provide research and data," said Melinda Kassen with Trout Unlimited.
On April 13, 2005, the House Resources Committee hearing focused on the
best approaches to improve water storage capacity in Arizona,
California, and Wyoming. Water Resource managers who testified offered varied
suggestions, from urging the federal government to support large dam
projects to encouraging congress to consider policies that are based on
more short-term, innovative solutions.
Full hearing summaries can be viewed at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis109/water_hearings.html
*** Data Integrity Controversy Fuels Yucca Mountain Debate ***
Members of Nevada¡¦s Congressional delegation tried to increase their
bargaining power this month in opposition to the scientific and ethical
foundation of plans to build a massive nuclear waste repository under
Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Representative John
Porter (R-NV), who chairs a House Government Reform Subcommittee,
convened a hearing to question Energy Department and U.S. Geological Survey
officials regarding recent allegations that federal employees falsified
data for the project.
On March 16, 2005, the Energy Department admitted the existence of
several emails, dated between 1998 and 2000, that suggest U.S. Geological
Survey employees working on water infiltration and climate modeling
between 1998 and 2000 may have manipulated their records to meet strict
quality assurance requirements. In the emails, employees essentially
express being trapped between their scientific data and quality assurance
procedures established by the license application. According to an
internal DOE memo, "these e-mails may create a substantial vulnerability
for the program."
Indeed, Nevada¡¦s congressional delegation sent a letter to DOE
demanding a halt to the project. But DOE officials are waiting to consider the
outcome of two Inspector General Investigations now underway at DOE and
USGS. "It was and is our belief that the decision by Congress and the
president was and is based on sound science," said Energy Secretary
Samuel Bodman at an April 6 press conference.
The emails as well as all relevant documents are archived on Porter¡¦s
Subcommittee website:
http://reform.house.gov/FWAO/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=7946
For a full summary of the hearing, go to:
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis109/yucca_hearings.html
*** Farmers to Measure Carbon Dioxide Emissions ***
The USDA and Forest Service are providing new accounting rules and
guidelines for farmers and forest managers who want to control and report
greenhouse gas emissions. The new guidelines were included in the
Department of Energy¡¦s revised voluntary greenhouse gas reporting program
and summarized in the federal register on March 24, 2005
(http://www.agiweb.org/gap/email/review0305.html#fedreg).
Praising the new revisions, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said, ¡§with
the help of a wide range of stakeholders, we have improved upon our
earlier effort to provide a clear and transparent accounting system that
will encourage increased participation in voluntary efforts to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective way.¡¨ In the agricultural
sector, the guidelines show landowners how to quantify and maintain
records of actions such as using no-till agriculture, installing a waste
digester, improving nutrient management, and managing forestland. A new
online tool will also provide a simple method for estimating soil
carbon sequestration.
Go to the DOE website for further information:
http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/
*** NASA ***
New Administrator, Michael Griffin
Michael Griffin, a physicist-engineer with six advanced degrees was
confirmed by the Senate as the 11th NASA Administrator on April 13, 2005
after being nominated by President Bush on March 11. Griffin
relinquished his chairmanship of the Space Department at Johns Hopkins
University¡¦s Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) to head the space agency.
Before working at APL, he was a chief engineer and associate
administrator for exploration at NASA, an engineer and administrator in the
Department of Defense, a contractor at Orbital Sciences Corporation and the
chief operating officer of a nonprofit national security research firm
run by the CIA. He has a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the
University of Maryland and Master's degrees in aerospace science, electrical
engineering, applied physics, civil engineering, and business
administration.
Griffin firmly supports human space exploration and favors President
Bush¡¦s ¡§Vision for Space Exploration¡¨, which focuses on manned
missions to the Moon and Mars. He hopes to speed up the development of the
next generation space shuttle to avoid a 5 year gap during which the
United States would have no human space shuttling capabilities. A new
orbiter is scheduled for completion by 2014 and the current shuttle fleet
will be retired by 2010. During his senate confirmation hearing,
Griffin stated ¡§I do not believe that we wish to see a situation where the
United States is dependent on any partner. It seems unacceptable to me
that it should take from 2005 to 2014¡¨ to develop a new shuttle. At
the hearing, Griffin also indicated that he would reconsider a shuttle
mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
Looking Up and Down for Dollars
With a new NASA administrator, Michael Griffin, a $5.5 billion budget
for science, reconsideration of a Hubble repair mission and an
anticipated shuttle launch, you would think things would be looking up at NASA.
Unfortunately some undercurrents about cost overruns and deep cuts are
causing many to look down at the bottom line budget realities and the
lower priority projects being reviewed for elimination. NASA needs to
cut $400 million from the current 2005 science budget to cover earmarks
(totaling about $160 million) and shuttle cost overruns.
The total cost to get a shuttle ready and launched in 2005 continues to
rise (~$700 million), as NASA works to ensure that all 15 of the
recommendations by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board are implemented.
The launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery has been postponed 3 times
and on April 29, Griffin announced that the launch scheduled for May 22
would be postponed until July. Engineers are worried that chunks of ice
could form on the external fuel tank, break off during launch and
damage the shuttle. Columbia was damaged by a fragment of foam insulation
that broke off of the external tank during launch. Discovery will be
moved from the launch pad to the Vehicle Assembly Building, so that
engineers can add heaters to prevent ice build-up.
The Earth-Sun Exploration Division has been targeted for the deepest
cuts. President Bush¡¦s proposed fiscal year 2006 budget would cut the
funding for the division from $75 million to $53 million. Seven of 13
missions might be terminated, including Voyager 1 and 2, spacecrafts
that completed a grand tour of the solar system and are now exploring the
fringes of the solar system; the Ulysses spacecraft which is studying
the sun; Geotail, Wind and Polar, which trace solar events and their
interaction with Earth; FAST which studies Earth¡¦s aurora and TRACE which
studies the solar atmosphere and magnetosphere. In addition to
terminating long-running missions, most of the future missions will be
abandoned or indefinitely deferred, such as the Glory mission to study
aerosols and related climate change issues. An interim report
(http://www.house.gov/science/hearings/full05/apr28/index.htm) released
on April 27 from the NRC decadal survey entitled "Earth Observations
from Space¡¨ warned that the entire Earth observation program is at risk
and more funding is needed now to support many of the missions proposed
for termination or delay. An outside review of the 13 currently
operating solar physics missions, including the Voyagers will be completed in
the fall, perhaps delaying some hard budget choices for awhile.
Mars Rovers Keep Going and Going
On April 5, 2005, NASA extended the Mars Exploration Rovers mission for
another 18 months. The twin rovers, Spirit, which landed in Gusev
Crater on January 4, 2004 and Opportunity, which landed on Meridiani Planum
on January 25, 2004, completed their original 3 month primary missions
and the twins have already been extended for an additional 11 months.
Opportunity, which is currently ¡§speeding¡¨ over relatively flat
terrain toward some wind eroded, regolith called Etched Terrain, overtook
Spirit for the longest distance traveled by a robotic vehicle on Mars by
covering more than 5 kilometers (3 miles). Opportunity also set the
speed record by traveling 722 feet in one day. Spirit is busy climbing a
rocky slope to get to the top of Husband Hill and has regained much of
its power after a wind storm cleaned the martian dust off of its solar
panels on March 9, 2005.
*** Can Kansas Be Saved in Six Days? ***
The Kansas State Board of Education will hold 6 days of ¡§science
hearings¡¨ from May 5-7 and May 12-14. The hearings were set-up to address
a minority report of the state standards writing committee that
requested changes to the definition of science and other aspects of the
curricula standards (see the Political Scene Column ¡§Creationism: Back in
Kansas Again¡¨ in the April issue of Geotimes:
http://www.geotimes.org/apr05/scene.html for more details). The
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), other societies
and many in the scientific community are boycotting the hearings because
they believe the trial-style hearings will be biased, will confuse the
public and will not change the Board¡¦s final vote. The Kansas State
Board of Education, which now has a majority of members who are
proponents of ¡§teaching the controversy¡¨ are likely to approve the changes
requested by the minority report of the standards writing committee.
Proponents of the teaching of intelligent design (ID) in K-12
classrooms have repeatedly entangled evolution and indirectly all of science
with the decline of moral values, and with two specifically controversial
and divisive issues, gay marriages and abortion. Reverend Jerry
Johnson from the First Family Church in Overland Park Kansas, states in a
Science news story that ¡§Getting intelligent design into school curricula
is the worthiest cause of our time and the key to reversing the
country¡¦s moral decline. The evangelical and intelligent design community
must work together to make that happen.¡¨
Opponents of the teaching of ID, gathered scientists, parishioners and
business leaders at Plymouth Congregational Church on April 21 to
emphasize that evolution is a scientific theory that is not in conflict with
religious doctrine and to warn that introducing ID would undermine the
state¡¦s ability to produce highly-trained workers with analytical
skills. Without skilled workers, Kansas could lose some high-technology
industries.
The Kansas Coalition for Science which consists of the Kansas Academy
of Sciences (KAS), the Kansas Citizens for Science (KCFS), Kansas
Families United for Public Education (KFUPE), The MAINstream Coalition, the
Kansas Association of Biology Teachers (KABT) and the Kansas Association
of Teachers of Science (KATS) will hold their own briefing on May 4.
More information is available at http://www.kcfs.org
More information about the teaching of ID in Kansas and other states is
also available at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/evolution.html
*** Academic Bill of Rights ***
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) will hold a
meeting on May 11, 2005 in Washington DC to discuss political intrusions
into the responsibilities of academic disciplines. Legislation, often
given the title of an ¡§Academic Bill of Rights¡¨ that would require
institutions to adopt grievance procedures to enforce a specific list of
rights for students and faculty. Some of the ¡§rights¡¨ are
objectionable and might create significant problems for academic freedoms,
according to AAUP. Some of the objectionable language includes ¡§respect all
human knowledge¡¨ and ¡§provide students with dissenting sources and
viewpoints¡¨. Academic Bill of Rights legislation has been introduced in
14 state legislatures and in the House majority vehicle for the
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HR 609). The meeting is open to
the public and you can RSVP to Robert Burns, rburns@aaup.org. If you
cannot attend the meeting you can send comments or request more info
rmation from Robert. More information about this issue is available at
http://www.aaup.org/Issues/ABOR/aborintro2.htm
*** New Guidelines and New Lawsuits for No Child Left Behind ***
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced on April 7, 2005
that new guidelines will allow states with strong accountability systems
more flexibility in complying with the No Child Left Behind law.
According to Spellings, the new guidelines would make the law more
¡§workable¡¨ and ¡§sensible¡¨ on a school-by-school basis, as long as important
educational reforms have been implemented. For schools that have
raised overall achievement and accountability, closed achievement gaps, made
information more accessible to parents, and improved the quality of the
faculty, federal officials will now weigh various state and local
conditions when approving flexibility measures, such as modified assessments
for students with learning disabilities and limited English
proficiency. Spellings explained that implementing national education standards
must be an ¡§organic process¡¨ and ¡§a shared responsibility¡¨ between
the federal government and states.
Still, frustration among state education officials over whether the
federal government has contributed enough funding to help meet No Child
Left Behind standards has mounted over recent months. On April 20th, The
National Education Association and nine school districts in Michigan,
Texas, and Vermont sued the Education Department on the grounds that the
2001 law insufficiently funds its policy changes. According to CQ
Weekly (April 25, 2005), states that are required to balance their budgets
have been struggling to meet the law due to recession, higher Medicaid
costs, and increased homeland security spending. The Utah legislature
also recently passed a bill that ignores the provisions of No Child
Left Behind where it conflicts with Utah¡¦s own school accountability
system.
Meanwhile, other school districts around the country are taking a
¡§wait and see¡¨ approach to gauge how significantly Spelling¡¦s new
guidelines will impact their schools. One report from a rural New Mexico
newspaper is hopeful the new guidelines will make allow local schools to
better assess Spanish-speaking students and to adopt more flexible
teacher certification requirements, as science and math teacher certification
is scarce in small towns.
Education Department, official announcement:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/raising/new-path-long.html
Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/22/AR2005042201332.html
Alamogordo, New Mexico Daily News:
http://www.alamogordonews.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=510&num=7637
*** House Science Committee Honors Science Teacher Awardees ***
Five recipients of this year¡¦s Presidential Teacher Award offered
lawmakers their suggestions on how to improve science and math education at
a House Science Committee hearing on April 14, 2005. The annual award
program, administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF),
recognizes exceptional teaching in science and math with a $10,000 grant for
each recipient.
Before the hearing at an awards ceremony, Science Committee Chairman
Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), told the awardees, ¡§quite frankly, Members of
Congress don¡¦t spend enough time with teachers. We talk about
teachers and teaching a lot ¡K but we don¡¦t spend enough time truly listening
to you, the people on the front lines of our educational system.¡¨
Boehlert went on to discuss how the government is working to improve
science education as well as how it may be falling short. In particular,
Boehlert discussed the progress and fate of the National Science
Foundation¡¦s K-12 education programs, which were reduced in the President¡¦s
proposed fiscal year 2006 budget.
The teachers told the committee that highly qualified teachers were the
most important element of an effective educational system, and they
urged Congress to encourage better pre- and in-service training for K-12
teachers. One of the awardees, Cassandra Barnes, who teaches third
grade, told the Committee, ¡§I believe that the National Science
Foundation-funded, standards-based curricula are improving math education for
students across the country; however, I know that the difference for kids
lies in the hearts and minds of the teachers who implement the
curricula and standards. If the federal government wants to take steps to
improve math and science education for our children, they need to focus
energy and resources on providing high quality professional development
for our teachers.¡¨
Visit the Science Committee website for press releases, the awardees¡¦
written testimony, or to view an archived webcast of the hearing:
http://www.house.gov/science/hearings/full05/apr14/April142005.htm
*** May Day: NIH Public-Access Policy Begins ***
The NIH-funded Public Access Policy begins on May 2, 2005. The latest
version of the policy is listed below and contains two slight, but
important modifications compared to their initial announcement. NIH will
not post a paper until after it has been published and the publisher may
take a more active role in deciding what version of the paper may
appear on the NIH website. NIH estimates $2-$4 million per year in
incremental costs to create and then maintain a website for submitting authors¡¦
final manuscripts and for Extensible Markup Language (XML) tagging of
the manuscripts into PubMed Central¡¦s archival format.
NIH Policy:
As of May 2, 2005, NIH-funded investigators are asked to submit
voluntarily to PubMed Central (www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov) an electronic
version of the author's final manuscript when the article is accepted for
publication. This version is defined as "the final version accepted for
the journal publication, and includ[ing] all modifications from the
publishing peer review process." Included are publications resulting from
current projects that are funded in whole or in part by the NIH, as well
as reports on previous NIH-supported research that are accepted for
publication on or after May 2.
The policy applies to all research grants, career-development awards,
cooperative agreements, contracts, and national research service awards,
as well as NIH intramural research studies. It does not apply to book
chapters, editorials, review articles, or conference proceedings.
Manuscripts are to be submitted in the usual word-processing or PDF
formats through a secure Web-based system. There are procedures to ensure
that submissions are consistent with copyright assignments and
agreements and that the journals have been notified of the submission.
At the time of submission, the responsible author will specify when the
manuscript is to become publicly accessible through PubMed Central; no
article will become accessible until after it is published.
The National Library of Medicine will use a standard digital archival
format to store manuscripts. After manuscripts have been converted to
this format, the responsible author will be sent an electronic copy. No
manuscript will be released until the author has verified its accuracy.
If the publisher provides its final version of the article, this
version will supersede the author's final version. When publishers transmit
manuscripts, the National Library of Medicine will ask the responsible
author to sign off on the transfer and verify key information, such as
the accuracy of the paper and the release date. The author's final
manuscript will still be available at PubMed Central, through a link from
the publisher's final version. If the publisher agrees, public access
to the publisher's final version can occur before the time originally
specified by the author.
As the NIH gains experience with the new process, the policy will be
refined. An advisory committee, the NIH Public Access Working Group of
the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine, is being
established.
*** Open Access ¡§Growing¡¨ Pains in Europe ***
While NIH begins their Public Access Policy on May 2, the United
Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands are developing their own open
access plans. In the U.K., London¡¦s Wellcome Trust, the largest
supporter of biomedical research in the U.K., will require Trust-funded
authors to deposit a copy of their accepted manuscript within 6 months of
publication. The Trust is currently seeking a host to sponsor the archive
and get it designed and established by the beginning of 2006. In
France, the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) plans to expand
its physics and math papers archive to other fields of research and
perhaps even compel researchers to submit by allowing only archived papers
to count in their job evaluations. In Germany, the national science
funding agency, DFG, has offered to cover researchers¡¦ expenses if they
submit to an open-access journal with a publication fee. The Max
Planck Society launched a pilot archive called eDoc for Max Planck rese
archers to voluntarily deposit their papers. Participation among the
diverse group of Society authors, including historians, lawyers,
biologists and physicists has been highly variable and Society officials
attribute this to researcher inertia. In the Netherlands, the Netherlands
Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), the Royal Netherlands Academy
of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Library and 13 universities will
develop a network of databases called Digital Academic Repositories (DARE).
Submission is voluntary, but the group plans to highlight recent work
to active as an incentive for participation.
*** Congress Acknowledges African-American Women in Science ***
Introduced by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) on March 15, 2005, a
joint resolution is making its way through Congress that ¡§acknowledges
and recognizes the significant achievements and contributions of African
American women scientists, mathematicians, and inventors.¡¨ According
to the resolution, whereas women comprise roughly 25% of the science
and engineering professionals who hold a doctoral degree in the United
States, African American women comprise less than 1% of that workforce.
The resolution intends to encourage future involvement of African
American women in the sciences and to establish ¡§a special day on which
these great minds may be honored and esteemed.¡¨ Full text:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.con.res.00096:
*** NSF Geosciences Advisory Committee ***
The Geosciences Advisory Committee of NSF is seeking input about
current and future geoscience funding plans in advance of their May 11-12,
2005.
To offer input or follow the committee¡¦s progress visit
http://www.nsf.gov/geo/advisory.jsp . The next meeting of the
committee will be October 5-7, 2005.
*** NRC Decadal Study: Earth Science and Applications from Space ***
The U.S. Space Studies Board has begun a 2-year study to generate
prioritized recommendations from the Earth and environmental sciences for
space-based observations and ancillary analyses conducted by NASA and
NOAA. Concepts for programs linked to societal needs and benefits are
encouraged. The study is divided into the following themes: Earth science
applications and societal needs; land-use change, ecosystem dynamics
and biodiversity; weather (including space weather); climate variability
and change; water resources and the global hydrologic cycle; human
health and security; and solid-Earth hazards, resources and dynamics. Ideas
should be submitted by May 16, 2005. More information is available at
http://qp.nas.edu/decadalsurvey
*** USGS Geospatial Programs ***
The USGS has created a National Geospatial Programs Office which brings
together The National Map, Geospatial One-Stop, and the Federal
Geographic Data Committee. The USGS is seeking comments and feedback on the
strategic priorities and associated actions in the NGPO Plan for Action
from May 2-16, 2005. The Plan for Action will be finalized based on
input received and will be distributed at the end of May 2005. An
implementation strategy will be developed by June 30, 2005, and additional
comments on that approach will be sought then. Please visit
http://www.usgs.gov/ngpo/ for more information about the programs and
the call for comments.
*** Staff Changes ***
Emily Lehr Wallace has departed from the Government Affairs Program for
a challenging new position in a consulting firm. Emily did an
extraordinary job with GAP and we will miss her. The Government Affairs
Program is actively seeking a new Policy Associate with experience on the
Hill and an interest in the geosciences. The following ad will appear in
Geotimes, Roll Call and other places. Please feel free to distribute
this ad to potential candidates in the geoscience community.
Policy Associate ¡V A non-profit federation of 42 geoscience societies,
seeks a government affairs staff member. Major duties and
responsibilities include: monitoring and analyzing appropriations bills,
legislation and policy developments on geoscience-related issues, updating
information on the website, handling logistics for fly-ins as well as
internship and fellowship programs, and fostering information flow between the
geoscience community and policy makers. The preferred candidate will
have a successful background on Capitol Hill; outstanding writing,
verbal, and organizational skills; experience in public policy; a science
education and familiarity with web publishing. Candidates should submit
a resume, names of three references and salary requirements, with a
cover letter to jobs@agiweb.org or Government Affairs Search, American
Geological Institute, 4220 King St, Alexandria VA 22302. More information
about the program at www.agiweb.org/gap.
Position to remain open until filled. EOE
*** Key Federal Register Notices ***
Below is a summary of Federal Register announcements regarding federal
regulations, agency meetings, and other notices of interest to the
geoscience community. Entries are listed in chronological order and show
the federal agency involved, the title, and the citation. The Federal
Register is available online at
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont05.html. Information on
submitting comments and reading announcements are also available online
at http://www.regulation.gov.
EPA: The Environmental Protection Agency is requesting comment on
issues raised in a petition for reconsideration of EPA's rule to implement
the 8-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard. In particular,
the EPA requests comment on whether it should interpret the Act to
require areas to retain major NSR requirements that apply to certain 1-hour
ozone nonattainment areas in implementing the 8-hour standard. See the
full notice for details. [Federal Register: April 4, 2005 (Volume 70,
Number 63)]
NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will hold a
meeting of the NASA Earth Science and Applications from Space Strategic
Roadmap Committee on May 11-12 from 8:30-5:00, in The Latham Hotel in
Washington, DC. The meeting will be open to the public up to the seating
capacity of the meeting room. For the agenda or other further
information view the full federal register notice or contact Mr. Gordon
Johnston, at 202-358-4685. [Federal Register: April 18, 2005 (Volume 70,
Number 73)]
NSF: The National Science Foundation will hold an Advisory Committee
Meeting for its Geoscience Program on May 11th and 12th, from 8:30 to
5:30 at NSF headquarters. The purpose of meeting is to provide advice,
recommendations, and oversight concerning support for research,
education, and human resources development in the geosciences. The meeting is
open to the public. Contact Dr. Thomas Spence, Directorate for
Geosciences, at 703-292-8500. [Federal Register: April 19, 2005 (Volume 70,
Number 74)]
NSF: The National Science Foundation will hold an Advisory Committee
for Polar Programs on May 9-10, 8:00 to 5:00, at NSF headquarters. The
purpose of the meeting is to advise NSF on the impact of its policies,
programs, and activities of the polar research community; to provide
advice to the Director of OPP on issues related to long range planning,
and to form ad hoc subcommittees to carry out needed studies and tasks.
The meeting will be open to the public. Contact Altie Metcalf, Office
of Polar Programs at (703) 292-8030. [Federal Register: April 19, 2005
(Volume 70, Number 74)]
*** New Updates to Website ***
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (4-29-05) Energy Policy Hearings
(4-26-05) Action Alert: Oppose Limitations on NOAA (4-25-05) Clean Air
Issues: (4-25-05) Energy Policy Overview (4-25-05) Oceans Policy (4-22-05)
Tsunami Response (4-22-05) Oceans Policy Hearings (4-21-05) Water
Resources Legislation (4-19-05) Hearings on Water Resources (4-19-05) Mining
Policy (4-18-05) Action Alert: Support Increased Funding for DOE's
Office of Science
(4-14-05)
Action Alert: Support Increased Funding for NSF (4-12-05) Fiscal Year
2006 Appropriations Hearings (4-11-05) High-Level Nuclear Waste
Legislation (4-11-05) Brownfields (4-7-05) Political Challenges to the Teaching
of Evolution (4-7-05)
Monthly Review prepared by Linda Rowan, Director of Government Affairs,
and Katie Ackerly, Government Affairs Staff.
Sources: Hearing testimony, House Government Reform Committee
documentation, House Science Committee documentation, Department of Energy
documentation, Environment and Energy Daily, Greenwire, National Journal,
Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin, Washington Post, New York Times,
Alamogordo Daily News, Science Magazine, NIH PubMed Central.
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4) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS ACTION ALERT - 5 MAY 2005
*** Support Increased Funding for Fossil Energy in DOE ***
In A Nutshell: Each year during the appropriations process, members of
Congress may circulate "Dear Colleague" letters, obtain signatures and
submit these letters to an appropriations subcommittee in support of a
specific program or project. These letters allow members of Congress
to demonstrate their support for a program. A large number of
signatures indicate strong support for the program discussed in the letter.
Currently, Representative Ralph Hall (R-TX) and Senator Craig Thomas
(R-WY) are collecting signatures for a Dear Colleague letter circulating in
the House and the Senate respectively that request increased funding
for Fossil Energy Research and Development within DOE. The letters will
be sent to the respective Energy and Water Development Appropriations
subcommittees.
Rep. Hall¡¦s and Senator Thomas¡¦ Dear Colleague letters request that
Congress provide $78 million for Oil and Gas Technology within DOE in
fiscal year 2006. The President's requested that this program be
terminated and given $10 million to shut down the program in FY06.
Please contact your Representative and Senators and ask them to sign
the Dear Colleague letter and to support increased funding for Fossil
Energy in DOE. The deadline for signing Rep. Hall¡¦s letter is May 9,
2005 and the deadline for signing Senator Thomas¡¦ letter is May 10, 2005,
so the most efficient way to reach your representative is by phone, fax
or email. Copies of the letters are copied below and are addressed to
the co-chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees.
Instructions for contacting your Representative are given below. You
can use the same instructions for contacting your Senators, but refer to
Senator Thomas¡¦ letter, not Rep. Hall¡¦s.
To determine who your Representative is, go to www.house.gov and enter
your zip code. The link will also provide the contact information for
your Representative, so you can call, fax or email them.
1. Call your Representative's Washington, DC office.
You may obtain the phone number from their official website (via
www.house.gov) or you may call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202-224-3121)
and ask to be connected to Representative [name] office. NOTE: You must
know the name of your Representative prior to calling the switchboard;
they will not be able to tell you who your member of Congress is.
Ask to speak to the legislative assistant responsible for DOE. When
connected: Encourage the staffer to have Representative [name] sign
Rep. Hall¡¦s Fossil Energy DOE Dear Colleague letter. Be prepared to
mention how important DOE funding is to your research, academic
department/institution, industry and/or your community. Legislative staff are
busy, so you may be asked if you would like to leave a voice mail -you do.
Simply convey the same information you would have if you spoke to the
staffer in person, but be sure to leave your contact information.
2. E-Mail or Fax your Representative
Your Representative¡¦s e-mail addresses and fax numbers are available
on their website at www.house.gov.
Tips for an effective e-mail or fax message:
-Be sure that the subject line in your e-mail is clear: Please sign
Rep. Hall¡¦s Fossil Energy DOE Dear Colleague, or Request Rep. [name]
support increased funding for Fossil Energy in DOE.
-Be sure that you include your contact information at the top of the
e-mail/letter; this must include your name, mailing address, phone number
and e-mail address. NOTE: many offices will discard correspondence
that does not include contact information, or that comes from outside of
their district.
-In the opening paragraph of your message, clearly state that you are
writing to ask that your Representative sign Rep. Hall¡¦s Fossil Energy
DOE Dear Colleague letter. Tell them that the letter requests that
Congress provide the Oil and Gas Technology program with $78 million in FY
2006 funding.
-Briefly explain why DOE funding for basic research is important to you
and/or your institution/company.
You can also find more information on the NSF budget at the Government
Affairs website
(http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis109/appropsfy2006_doe.html).
DEADLINE:
The deadline for signing the letter in the House is May 9 and the
deadline for signing the letter in the Senate is May 10, so please contact
your Representative as soon as possible.
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.
Many thanks for taking the time to be an active citizen-scientist!
***********************************************************
Copy of Letter Being Circulated by Representative Hall
The Honorable David Hobson The Honorable Peter Visclosky
Chairman Ranking Minority Member
Subcommittee on Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy &
Water Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Hobson and Ranking Member Visclosky:
As the Subcommittee begins to formulate and mark-up its Energy and
Water Appropriations bill in the next few weeks, we strongly urge the
Subcommittee to fund the Department of Energy¡¦s oil and gas technologies
programs at last year¡¦s funding level of $78 million. As you know, the
Administration included in its Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Request for the
DOE a proposal to eliminate those programs and provide $10 million to
close out the oil technology program and $10 million to close out the
natural gas technology program. Both of these technology programs
develop vital research to enhance and sustain domestic oil and natural gas
production. This research is particularly significant to the independent
operating companies that produce most domestic oil and gas and to the
universities that educate the petroleum engineers and petroleum
geologists that are essential to meet the workforce needs of this industry.
The elimination of DOE funding for oil and gas research will severely
impact the ability of our nation¡¦s universities to educate engineers to
advance new technologies and supply the workforce needed to develop our
domestic oil and gas resources. The DOE oil and natural gas
technologies programs provide vital support to petroleum engineering departments
across the country. According to an April 4, 2005 letter from
petroleum engineering department heads from leading universities across the
country, ¡§Our ability to retain the best faculty who are needed to train
Petroleum Engineers for the coming decades depends entirely on our
being able to provide research funding to the faculty.¡¨
If this funding source falls through, there will not be many viable
petroleum engineering programs left in the U.S., and our leadership in
the worldwide energy industry will decline.
Federally funded R&D is also essential for smaller companies to
continue to acquire better production technologies. Funds for the oil and gas
technologies programs are used to create new technologies that help
American independent producers increase recovery from existing fields and
pinpoint promising new oil and natural gas reserves with the utmost
environmental protection. Information concerning these new technologies
is made available to small producers in the field through organizations
such as the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC), the Stripper
Well Consortium (SWC), and university research centers such as the
Center for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of Texas.
Since independent companies drill 90% of the nation¡¦s oil wells and
produce 85% of its natural gas, these vital DOE programs help secure
domestic oil and natural gas jobs, generate tax and royalty revenues to
state and federal treasuries, and ultimately translate into less re
liance on foreign energy sources.
America¡¦s energy independence rests on the effectiveness and viability
of these DOE programs, and we believe that funding at last year¡¦s
level will continue to move America forward. Thank you for your
consideration of our request.
Copy of Letter Being Circulated in the Senate
The Honorable Pete V. Domenici The Honorable Harry M. Reid
Chairman Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Energy Subcommittee on Energy
and Water Appropriations and Water Appropriations
Washington DC 20510 Washington DC 20510
Dear Chairman Domenici and Senator Reid:
As you move forward within the next few weeks to formulate the Energy
and Water Appropriations bill for FY06, we strongly urge you to fund the
oil and gas technologies programs, housed within Fossil Energy, the
U.S.
Department of Energy. Specifically, we urge you to fund these
important programs at last year¡¦s level of $78 million.
Full utilization of these oil and gas technologies programs at DOE is
essential if, as a nation, we are to achieve national energy
independence. In the past, these programs have provided a variety of functions,
primarily focusing on domestic exploration and production research and
development activities, resulting in sustaining and in most instances
increasing domestic oil and gas production.
Research and development activities conducted by the Department of
Energy laboratories, universities and the private sector have culminated in
the development of E&P techniques resulting in increased production,
with fewer wells, but in a more environmentally sensitive manner. 85% of
the programs¡¦ focus is associated with activities of the independent
producer. Smaller companies drill 90% of the nation¡¦s oil wells and
produce 85% of its natural gas and 50% of U.S. oil. Typically, these
companies do not have access to the in-house technology capabilities of
the larger, integrated, multi-national oil companies. Federally funded
R&D is essential if for smaller companies to continue to produce.
Federal research funds for the oil and gas technologies programs are
used to create new technologies that help American independent producers
increase recovery from existing fields and pinpoint promising, new oil
and natural gas reserves with the utmost environmental protection.
Information concerning these new technologies is made available to the
producer in the field, through conduits such as the Petroleum
Technology Transfer Council (PTTC), an organization that since the mid-1990¡¦s
has made new techniques information available to the producer through
regional workshops. The Stripper Well Consortium (SWC) conducts both
workshops and R&D activities, making available the latest in technology
applications for oil and gas drilling to the smallest of producers.
Production of more domestic oil and natural gas means more jobs, more
tax and royalty revenues to state and federal treasuries, ultimately
translating into less reliance on foreign energy sources.
Similarly important is the role that DOE¡¦s funding plays in the
training and development of qualified people for the oil and gas sector, the
lack of which continues to grow at an alarming rate. The DOE oil and
natural gas programs provide vital support to petroleum engineering
departments across the country. According to a letter dated April 4, 2005
from the University of Texas¡¦s Department of Petroleum and Geosystems
Engineering to the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Appropriations,
¡§our ability to retain the best faculty who are needed to train Petroleum
Engineers for the coming decades depends entirely on our being able to
provide research funding to the faculty.¡¨ The letter goes on to say,
¡§Lacking this opportunity, there will not be many viable petroleum
engineering programs left in the U.S.¡¨
We again thank you for your interest in this matter and urge your
consideration of these most necessary and worthy of programs. America¡¦s
energy independence rests on the effectiveness and viability of these
programs, and we believe that funding at last year¡¦s level will continue
to move America, certainly from an energy independence perspective, in
the right direction.
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5)`POSITION OPENING
2005-043
Case Western Reserve University
Postdoctoral Position: Antarctic Meteorite Recovery and Planetary
Research
The Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) program, hosted by the
Department of Geological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, is
seeking applications for a multi-year postdoctoral research position
(title will vary with experience). Duties will include leadership during
Antarctic meteorite fieldwork and active involvement in ongoing
planetary materials research. Successful candidates must have a Ph.D. in
geology, planetary science, or a related field. Candidates must also have
a valid passport or be able to obtain one, and be capable of passing
the stringent physical and dental examinations required for Antarctic
deployment. Candidates with previous Antarctic experience and/or prior
research in meteorite or martian studies are preferred. For more details
visit http://geology.cwru.edu/~ansmet.
To apply, send a letter of application with a summary of your research
interests and experience, curriculum vitae, and contact information for
three professional references to Dr Ralph Harvey (rph@case.edu) via
electronic mail. Review of applications will begin immediately and
continue until the position is filled.
Case Western Reserve University is an EEO/AA institution.
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6) CONTACT INFORMATION
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