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March 9, 2023
AGU’s 2023 Policy Priorities
In 2019, AGU began developing annual policy priorities to help focus our advocacy work and speed up the advancement of important science policy and legislation. Our policy priorities reflect not only AGU’s broader strategic goals and current policy landscape, but also the needs and priorities of our members. To represent the diversity of AGU’s community, all within the Earth and space science community were encouraged to participate in a survey …
May 18, 2018
Safeguard Our Infrastructure by Improving Space Weather Forecasts
Today’s post is written by Tai-Yin Huang, Professor of Physics, Penn State University Space weather has become increasingly important due to our heavy dependence on technological infrastructure. Space weather can cause disruptions to telecommunications and GPS navigation, failure or mis-operation of satellites, loss of electricity due to damage to power grids, and damage to pipelines, all of which compromise our personal and national security. Luckily, monitoring space weather conditions and …
March 26, 2018
Briefing Recap: Space Discovery through Cutting-Edge Technology
On Tuesday, 27 February 2018 the House Earth and Space Science Caucus hosted a briefing on “Space Discovery through Cutting-Edge Technology.” Representative Polis (CO-02), co-chair of the caucus, kicked off the briefing with a speech highlighting the awe-inspiring nature of space discovery and the key role technology plays in science. Representative Costello (PA-06), the other caucus co-chair co-sponsoring the briefing, was unable to attend. The panel was moderated by Randy …
May 31, 2017
NASA Fares Okay in President’s FY18 Budget Request
Relative to other federal science agencies, NASA fares fairly well in the president’s budget request, receiving an overall 3% cut in funding from FY17 funding levels. The President’s budget breaks with Obama era policy by officially terminating the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). ARM was very unpopular with Congress, but continues many of the key technologies in development for the mission, such as solar electric propulsion. SMD Recieves .94% Cut The …
March 15, 2017
You Spoke, We Listened: Science Legislation Update Part 2
After our previous post on science legislation being considered in the new Congress, we heard from you that having these types of posts is useful. Today, we will give you an overview of some new science-related legislation that is up for consideration. NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 (S.442)—Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): An updated version of last Congress’s House and Senate bills of the same name, the bill was negotiated …
March 2, 2017
Amidst Cabinet Nominations, Congress Considers Science Legislation
The 115th Congress is now in full swing. With the flurry of cabinet nominations being considered, it’s easy to miss the legislation that has been or is being considered in Congress. In this blog post, we will give you an overview of some of the science-related legislation that is up for consideration or has recently been passed. Department of Energy Research & Innovation Act (H.R. 589)—Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX): The …
October 31, 2016
As GOES-R launches into space, will its data make it back to Earth?
The first in a new series of United States government weather satellites is scheduled to launch on 16 November. This satellite series is a substantial upgrade and will provide operational meteorologists a notable improvement in monitoring weather hazards as they evolve. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series (GOES-R) is a set of four satellites that will provide coverage over the Western Hemisphere for the next two decades. Compared to legacy …
August 18, 2016
Science Policy and the “Third Parties”
By George Marino, AGU Science Policy Intern I recently received a response to an article I shared on our Twitter account about the science policy positions of the Presidential candidates from the two major U.S. political parties. The person asked where a candidate from one of the other parties stood on the issues. So after some research, I can present the facts that I could find on what “third party” …
June 10, 2016
Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act Introduced to Senate
This blog post was written by Delores Knipp, Editor in Chief of AGU’s Space Weather and Space Weather Quarterly. To learn more about space weather, read Dr. Knipp’s previous post on the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan. Space weather effects on technology-enabled societies were first reported in telegraph systems in the late 1840’s, with the Carrington storm of 1859 being a prime example. Furthermore, technologies developed within the last …
May 25, 2016
Funding Season is Open: Part 3
Thanks for staying with us as we continue to break down federal science funding for fiscal year 2017 (FY2017). To completely understand how the FY2017 landscape is evolving, I encourage you to check out the first and second parts of our funding Bridge posts. As you’ll recall, we previously laid out the good and bad of the Senate’s appropriations bill covering NASA, DOE’s Office of Science, NOAA, and the National …
