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The Science Policy Office team
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28 October 2009
In This Issue:
Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities
~ National Spatial Data Infrastructure Cooperative Agreements~ Interregional Research Project #4 Minor Crop Pest Management Program (IR-4)
~ FY 2010 Training Workshop for the Section 303(d) and Water Quality Monitoring
~ Applied Science Cooperative Agreements Related to Coal Mining and Reclamation
~ Chesapeake Bay Program Office Communications, Outreach and Education
~ Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau
Conferences, Meetings and Reports
~ Effects of Global Climate Change on Invasive Species~ Pew reports majority of Americans don’t get cap-and-trade
~ Renewable fuel standard a boost for farm income
~ Britain hold 10% of world's seeds
Congressional/Administration News
~ ASA-CSSA-SSSA Present to President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology~ Science community urges Senate to focus on climate science
~ FY 2010 Agriculture spending bill signed by President Obama
~ Boxer releases 923-page climate change bill
~ Appropriations on slow mo, dimming chances for passage
~ UW-Madison Dean, Molly Jahn, named USDA REE Deputy Under Secretary
~ Marcia McNutt confirmed US Geological Survey Director
Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities
(TOP) ~ National Spatial Data Infrastructure Cooperative Agreements
The purpose of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure Cooperative Agreements Program (NSDI CAP) is to fund innovative projects in the geospatial data community to build the infrastructure necessary to effectively discover, access, share, manage, and use digital geospatial data. The NSDI consists of the technologies, policies, organizations, and people necessary to promote cost-effective production, ready availability, and greater utilization of geospatial data among a variety of sectors, disciplines, and communities. Specific NSDI CAP areas of emphasis include: documenting, implementing, and providing outreach for FGDC geospatial standards including metadata; expanding geographic information coordination across and between organizational levels; promoting geospatial best practices; advancing geospatial related Web services; framework development; and clearinghouse establishment. The results of the awarded projects benefit multiple federal agencies as well as the overall geospatial community. Since 1994, the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Geospatial Program (NGP), has awarded projects that advance the NSDI in partnership with the geospatial community. Deadline 7 Jan. http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=49889
(TOP) ~ Interregional Research Project #4 Minor Crop Pest Management Program (IR-4)
(TOP) ~ FY 2010 Training Workshop for the Section 303(d) and Water Quality Monitoring
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting proposals from eligible applicants to conduct the following two training workshop support activities: (I) plan, prepare, and provide technical support for five annual Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303(d) National Listing and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Training Workshops; and (II) plan, prepare, and provide technical support for six to nine State and Tribal Aquatic Resource Monitoring Technical Training Workshops on aquatic resource specific (i.e., rivers/streams, lakes, coastal waters, and wetlands) issues, and two national State and Tribal Aquatic Resource Monitoring Technical Training Workshops covering all aquatic resource types on a biennial basis (i.e., one workshop in FY 2010 and one workshop in FY 2012). Funds awarded under this announcement for either of the two training workshop support activities may be used to promote participation and to support travel expenses of non-federal personnel to attend workshops. Deadline 7 Dec. http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=49908
(TOP) ~ Applied Science Cooperative Agreements Related to Coal Mining and Reclamation
The Applied Science Program is intended to support two efforts, (1) develop and demonstrate improved technologies to address public safety and environmental issues related to the mining of coal and reclamation of the lands affected after mining, and (2) encourage efforts to collect, preserve and convert into digital format, maps of underground mines that provide valuable information regarding protection of public and miner safety, mine pool evaluation, and mine subsidence investigation for previously mined areas. Projects must focus on issues related to mining in the United States of America and its territories. Funding will be limited to projects that can be completed without additional funding from the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) beyond those funds awarded in the current fiscal year. Applicants may request funding not to exceed an amount established each year prior to the solicitation for applications. OSM encourages cost sharing through an advantaged score in the rating process, but cost-share is not required for the applicant to supply a proposal. Deadline 5 Feb. http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=49957
(TOP) ~ Chesapeake Bay Program Office Communications, Outreach and Education
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chesapeake Bay Program Office, is announcing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for recipients to provide the Chesapeake Bay Program partners with support related to: 1) communications, outreach and media for the Chesapeake Bay Program; 2) the Bay Journal; and 3) the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC). This RFP sets forth the process that will be used for competitively selecting recipients that will provide communications, outreach, and media support functions and meet the specified environmental results in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Deadline 8 Dec. http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=49988
(TOP) ~ Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau
The funding opportunity is to support the effort in the risk and probability (statistical analysis) of methodologies used for carbon sequestration. Local and regional policies and laws that have been implemented to reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere can have unanticipated outcomes, and should be evaluated to determine whether they will actually cause carbon to be emitted or sequestered. This effort will benefit the public by giving an eco-region look at how these policies can affect their regions and possibly the nation. The objectives are to develop methods to estimate frequency distribution (or probability density function) of potential increased capacity for carbon sequestration for a given ecosystem and scenario, articulate ecosystem carbon sequestration risk from natural and anthropogenic threats to carbon sequestration permanence for a policy scenario, and expose sources of uncertainty in the carbon sequestration assessment methodology. Deadline 4 Nov.http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=50006
Conferences, Meetings and Reports
(TOP) ~ Effects of Global Climate Change on Invasive Species
The Invasive Species Advisory Committee, a unit of the US Department of Interior, has scheduled a public meeting for 1-2 Dec in Washington, DC. Committee members will discuss implementation of performance elements in the 2008-2012 National Invasive Species Management Plan, and will focus upon the interactions between climate change and invasive species. The purpose of the Advisory Committee is to provide advice to the National Invasive Species Council on a broad array of issues related to preventing the introduction of invasive species and providing for their control and minimizing the economic, ecological, and human health impacts that invasive species cause. Federal Register Notice: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-25825.htm. Information about the Invasive Species Advisory Committee: http://www.invasivespecies.gov/global/ISAC/ISAC_index.html
(TOP) ~ Pew reports majority of Americans don’t get cap-and-trade
According to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, almost 80 percent of Americans don't know that cap and trade is associated with the environment. Instead a large majority believe the concept refers to unemployment, banking reform or health care. Americans fared better at naming the latest Supreme Court Justice or identifying conservative talk host Glenn Beck than at citing the name of the plan to control greenhouse gas emissions that is favored by President Obama. View poll results and take quiz at: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1378/political-news-iq-quiz
(TOP) ~ Renewable fuel standard a boost for farm income
A new report released by the University of Tennessee's Bio-Based Energy Analysis Group Ben Geman, concluded that a federal renewable electricity mandate would boost individual farm incomes by as much as tens of thousands of dollars annually in agricultural states across the United States. Funded by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that includes energy and farming analysis projects, the study models renewable electricity standards of 20 percent and 25 percent. An RES requires utilities to provide escalating amounts of power from sources like wind, solar and biomass energy. According to the study, increases in farm income can be achieved by providing new markets for biomass energy crop production, manure that can be used for energy production and leasing of farmland for wind turbines. The analysis looked at the economic effects of a federal RES in Florida, Kansas, Colorado and North Carolina. It projects that a 25 percent RES in 2025 would increase gross receipts by an estimated $9,419 per farm in Florida, $42,229 in Kansas, $16,028 in North Carolina and $11,283 in Colorado.
(TOP) ~ Britain hold 10% of world's seeds
A 17-year project finally bears fruit. A seed bank in Britain has collected and stored 24,200, roughly 10 percent, of the world's plant species. Hosted by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the seed bank idea was hatched after the Rio Earth summit in 1992 and opened in 2000. The bank's goal is to ensure the survival of 200,000 plant species threatened by human development and climate change. Learn more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/15/kew-millennium-seed-bank-hits-target
Congressional/Administration News
(TOP) ~ ASA-CSSA-SSSA Present to President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
On 23 Oct, the ASA-CSSA-SSSA Science Policy Office commented before the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) about the absence of the agronomic, crop and soil sciences in the recently released “A New Biology for the 21st Century Ensuring the United States Leads the Coming Biology Revolution” report (view at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12764&utm_source=dels&utm_medium=gateway&utm_campaign=delsref. Director of Science Policy Karl Glasener made two main points: 1) why wasn’t USDA included, along with NIH, NSF and DOE, when initiating this project? Along with the other biological sciences, the agricultural sciences, especially the agronomic and crop sciences, have an important role to play finding solutions to the major societal problems or challenges of food security, environment protection, sustainable renewable energy production and health identified by the Committee on a New Biology for the 21st Century; and 2) we agreed with the Committee that the New Biology Initiative offers the potential to address questions over long temporal and broad spatial scales and with a focus that cannot be undertaken by any single scientific community, agency or sector. We added that this will certainly be the case as agronomists, crop scientists, ecologists and soil scientists, among others, continue work to gain an in-depth understanding of complex natural and managed ecosystems. Agroecosystems in particular, which make up more than 900 million acres or about 41% of the US land area, would benefit from such large-scale, multiagency, multidisciplinary efforts. Obtaining such an in-depth understanding, especially of the 400 million acres of intensively managed croplands in the Corn Belt, Great Plains and other regions, which undoubtedly impact natural ecosystems, is critical for land managers to achieve sustainable yields of food and energy crops while minimizing environmental impacts. This understanding will be especially important as the climate changes. View ASA-CSSA-SSSA comments: https://www.soils.org/files/science-policy/pcast-public-comment.pdf
(TOP) ~ Science community urges Senate to focus on climate science
On 21 Oct, the Societies joined 15 other scientific societies in sending a letter to Senators undecided about climate change, the so called fence sitters, stressing that observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver. The letter asserted that these conclusions are based on multiple independent lines of evidence, and contrary assertions are inconsistent with an objective assessment of the vast body of peer-reviewed science. Moreover, there is strong evidence that ongoing climate change will have broad impacts on society, including the global economy and on the environment. The letter also pointed out that adaptation will be necessary to address those impacts that are already unavoidable. Adaptation efforts include improved infrastructure design, more sustainable management of water and other natural resources, modified agricultural practices, and improved emergency responses to storms, floods, fires and heat waves. Read letter: https://www.soils.org/files/science-policy/senate-climate-letter.pdf
(TOP) ~ FY 2010 Agriculture spending bill signed by President Obama
On 21 Oct, three weeks into FY 2010, President Obama signed into law the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill, H.R. 2997 (view bill at http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app10.html, click on H.R. 2997 below Agriculture). For FY 2010, the USDA Agricultural Research Service was funded at $1.283 billion, a 6.3% ($76 million) increase over FY 2009. Hatch formula was funded at $215 million, a 3.8% ($8 million) increase over 09 and Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program at $262 million, a 30.3% ($61 million) increase! Contributing to this large funding increase for AFRI was the AFRI Coalition co-chaired by ASA-CSSA-SSSA. Integrated programs saw a 3.6% ($2 million) increase over FY 09, bringing total funding to $67 million. View more details at Cornerstone Government Affairs website: http://www.land-grant.org/reports/2009/10-07.htm
(TOP) ~ Boxer releases 923-page climate change bill
This week, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released a 923-page version of global warming legislation, “The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S.1733)”, that contains new details on how to distribute emission allocations that largely follows the lead of the House-passed climate bill. Boxer also unveiled an initial U.S. EPA analysis that finds the bill she wrote with Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) would cost the average U.S. household just over $100 per year, mirroring the House legislation. A more-detailed analysis of research and verification provisions, plus possible opportunities for agriculture in the areas of offsets, will be revealed in a future Science Policy Report. During the month of October and into November, the Senate Committees with oversight responsibility for S. 1733, including Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources, and others, will hold hearings on the portions of the bill under their purview. View bill: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s1733is.txt.pdf
(TOP) ~ Appropriations on slow mo, dimming chances for passage
In the Senate, tempers are flaring and comity is gone as the upper chamber tries to pass the remaining FY 2010 appropriations bills nearly one month into FY 2010. In recent history, Congress has been able to pass only a handful of the 12 appropriations bills by the annual deadline of 30 Sep which has resulted in the lumping together of the remaining spending bills into what is known as an omnibus. Abandoning the appropriations process last year due to disagreements with the Bush Administration over spending levels, Democrats, with one of their own in the White House, started 2009 with the hopes of get the appropriations process back on course. As has become the norm lately, both parties point at the other as the culprit. Said Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Illinois), “I mean, the Republicans have told us how impatient they are to get these bills done, and then we have to wait two days, three days — make it five, maybe a week — for three of their fire-breathers to come up with a list of killer amendments.” Meanwhile, Republicans shot back that they’ve been attempting to reach an agreement on which amendments could be offered and that Democrats had rushed ahead without an agreement. Republicans added that this is because they (Democrats) wanted to avoid votes on contentious topics, such as funding for the Census Bureau. Said fiscally conservative Republican, Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), known as “Dr. No,” “With these kind of spending increases, and us not getting the actual bills until late, I don’t think we’re taking too much time at all.” To date, including the agriculture spending bill, only four of the 12 spending bills, Energy and Water (funds DOE), Homeland Security and Legislative Branch have been signed into law.
(TOP) ~ UW-Madison Dean, Molly Jahn, named USDA REE Deputy Under Secretary
Molly Jahn, dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and 22-year Crop Science member, has accepted a senior position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture as Deputy Undersecretary of the Research, Education and Economics mission area. Dr. Jahn will step into her new duties on 9 November. Said Jahn in a prepared statement, "I am humbled and deeply honored to be asked to serve in this capacity, which I consider a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a part of the conversation about our national priorities relating to agriculture, food, nutrition, energy and the environment." Dr. Jahn’s role will involve leading three units within USDA that provide research and service on issues related to food and agriculture. She will work closely with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Undersecretary Rajiv Shah, to help guide the agency's efforts of ensuring a safe, healthy, abundant and affordable food supply for the nation and the world.
(TOP) ~ Marcia McNutt confirmed US Geological Survey Director
On 22 Oct, Dr. Marcia McNutt was confirmed as Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Science Advisor to the Secretary of Interior. The President nominated her for the positions in July. Dr. McNutt most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California (MBARI), a nonprofit organization whose work focuses on developing technology to address key research questions in the ocean sciences. She has held that position since 1997. During her tenure at MBARI, Dr. McNutt oversaw the institute's staff of more than 200 employees as well as the institute's budget. During that time, the institute's flagship research vessel, Western Flyer, carried out ground-breaking research expeditions from Canada to Baja California, and as far afield as the Hawaiian islands. Under her leadership, MBARI also constructed the first deep-sea cabled observatory in the continental United States—the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS). Before joining MBARI, Dr. McNutt was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), joining the faculty there in 1982, becoming the Griswold Professor of Geophysics and serving as Director of the Joint Program in Oceanography & Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, offered by MIT & the Woods Hole Oceanography Institution. Dr. McNutt has participated in 15 major oceanographic expeditions and served as chief scientist on more than half of those voyages. She has published 90 peer-reviewed scientific articles. Her research has ranged from studies of ocean island volcanism in French Polynesia to continental break-up in the Western United States to uplift of the Tibet Plateau. Dr. McNutt studied geophysics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California and earned her PhD there in Earth Sciences in 1978. She then spent three years with the USGS in Menlo Park, Calif., working on earthquake prediction.
Sources: Congressional Quarterly; E&E Publishing; Food Industry Environmental Network, LLC
Vision: The Societies Washington, DC Science Policy Office (SPO) will advocate the importance and value of the agronomic, crop and soil sciences in developing national science policy and ensuring the necessary public-sector investment in the continued health of the environment for the well being of humanity. The SPO will assimilate, interpret, and disseminate in a timely manner to Society members information about relevant agricultural, natural resources and environmental legislation, rules and regulations under consideration by Congress and the Administration.
This page of the ASA-CSSA-SSSA web site will highlight current news items relevant to Science Policy. It is not an endorsement of any position.