<html>
<body>
<br>
<i>Web address:<br>
</i><b>
<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/" eudora="autourl">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/</a><br>
080703140725.htm</b> <br><br>
<h1><b>Proposal To Merge NOAA And US Geological Survey To Form An Earth
Systems Science Agency</b></h1>ScienceDaily (July 7, 2008) In an article
published in the journal Science, a group of former senior federal
officials call for the establishment of an independent Earth Systems
Science Agency (ESSA) to meet the unprecedented environmental and
economic challenges facing the nation. They propose forming the new
agency by merging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).<br><br>
Charles Kennel, former Associate Administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration and Director of Mission to Planet
Earth, says, "Earth system science focuses on understanding current
processes and predicting changes that will take place over the next
hundred years. It merges earth, atmospheric, and ocean science into a
panorama of the earth system as it is today and as it will be tomorrow.
We need it to predict climate change and its impacts, and to help us
mitigate and adapt to other changes that have the potential to affect our
quality of life and economic well-being."<br><br>
The article points to the many scientific advantages of linking the
atmospheric and marine programs of NOAA with the terrestrial, freshwater,
and biological programs of USGS. Former NOAA administrator D. James Baker
and former USGS director Charles Groat, among the seven coauthors of the
paper, see important synergies in linking the two agencies.<br><br>
According to Baker, "Population pressure, development impact, and
resource extraction affect land and sea alike. Just as the science of the
Earth is seamless, so should the government responsibility be merged for
these separate Earth agencies."<br><br>
Groat points to the breadth of capabilities the agency would possess.
"The USGS, in bringing not only its geologic, biologic, hydrologic
and geospatial expertise to the understanding of natural systems, but
also its research capabilities in energy, mineral, water, and biologic
resources, gives the new organization a comprehensive perspective on both
environmental and resource systems. If we effectively link these
capabilities with those of NOAA, we will have a powerful research
institution," he says.<br><br>
The authors express concern that federal environmental research,
development, and monitoring programs are not presently structured to
address such major environmental problems as global climate change,
declines in freshwater availability and quality, and loss of
biodiversity.<br><br>
According to Donald Kennedy, former commissioner of the Food and Drug
Administration and past president of Stanford University, "It isn't
often that we are offered a real opportunity to make government work
better. But the modest, sensible reorganization proposed here brings a
new science-rich focus on some of our biggest contemporary
challenges."<br><br>
Kennedy also stresses the importance of linking ESSA's activities with
the tremendous talent in the nation's universities.<br><br>
The authors recommend that no less than 25 percent of the new agency's
budget be devoted to grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements with
academic and nonprofit institutions.<br><br>
ESSA's success will also hinge on the collaborative arrangements the
agency makes with other federal departments and agencies. According to
former presidential science adviser John H. Gibbons, "ESSA's
effectiveness will depend upon the bridges it builds to other federal
agencies, from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and
National Science Foundation, to the Department of Energy and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency."<br><br>
David Rejeski, who worked in both the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy and the Council on Environmental Quality, emphasizes
the importance of setting aside some of ESSA's budget to fund research
and development with breakthrough potential. "The Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency has demonstrated the value of funding high-risk,
high-reward research and development. ESSA should foster similar ventures
in the environmental arena," Rejeski says.<br><br>
The paper points to the direct link between research and development and
economic growth. The work of NOAA and USGS already fuels a large,
multi-billion dollar private sector enterprise.<br><br>
Mark Schaefer, a former official at the Department of the Interior and
the White House science office, adds that "the quality of life of
future generations will be defined by the quality of the environment we
hand down to them. Our nation's research and development enterprise must
be better structured and directed if we are to have any chance of solving
the tremendous environmental challenges of our time."<br>
<hr>
<b>Journal reference</b>:
<ol>
<li>. <b>An Earth Systems Science Agency</b>. <i>Science</i>, July 4,
2008
</ol><i>Adapted from materials provided by
<a href="http://www.nanotechproject.org">Project on Emerging
Nanotechnologies</a>, via
<a href="http://www.eurekalert.org">EurekAlert!</a>, a service of
AAAS</i>.<br>
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the
following formats: <br>
APA<br><br>
MLA <br>
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (2008, July 7). Proposal To Merge
NOAA And US Geological Survey To Form An Earth Systems Science Agency.
<i>ScienceDaily</i>. Retrieved August 4, 2008, from
<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.sciencedaily.com</a>
/releases/2008/07/080703140725.htm<br>
</body>
</html>