December 5, 2019
Science Policy Events at Fall Meeting 2019
AGU’s annual Fall Meeting is fast approaching! We are thrilled to be returning to San Francisco and celebrating AGU’s 100th year. Whether you’re curious about how to engage in science policy and want to learn the basics, or want to learn more about the fellowship opportunities AGU offers throughout the year, we have plenty of programs to help engage our members in science policy. Check out our schedule below. Most …
December 4, 2019
Why Climate Action Bills Matter
Early December marks the beginning of the COP25 Climate Summit in Madrid, where Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made a public statement that the US will abide by the Paris Climate Accord targets: “The United States is still in,” she said, despite the Trump Administration’s recent withdrawal. Even though the US is caught in mixed messaging at the international level, Americans do overwhelmingly seem to be in support of climate action, especially democrats, according to a recent Pew Research study. Congressional Democrats are making their position known by introducing several bills that acknowledge the need for urgent climate …
December 3, 2019
Legal Education for Scientists Events at Fall Meeting
The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) and AGU want to help scientists understand their legal rights and responsibilities—we believe this knowledge is an essential part of every researcher’s professional development. So we’ve partnered on the “Legal Education for Scientists Program” for eight years, and are offering a range of events at the 2019 AGU Fall Meeting. Among this year’s events are two workshops featuring experts from CSLDF, the …
November 27, 2019
Funding an Energy Transition
As appropriators are still trying to finalize the 2020 budget, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development sat down last week for a hearing about the DOE’s role in addressing climate change. The main thematic questions of the hearing were: What technologies will help move us into the future sustainably, and how can DOE facilitate the energy transition? This lively and lengthy hearing made a strong case for not …
November 20, 2019
Science Funding Remains Frozen
Nearly two months into fiscal year (FY) 2020, the appropriations process to fund the federal government continues. On Tuesday, 19 November, the House passed another continuing resolution (CR), keeping the government funded at FY2019 levels, ahead of the 21 November deadline granted by a recent CR signed into law in September. The Senate is expected to approve the legislation on Thursday, 21 November. The new CR will keep the government funded for another four weeks …
November 19, 2019
The Changing Face of Air and Space
Even with a façade that is currently under renovation (and will continue to be for the next seven years), the inside of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is as inspiring as ever. Many young people are moved to pursue science thanks to a visit to the museum, but walking past rockets, moon landers, and photos from the final frontier can be just as exhilarating for adults. The museum served …
November 4, 2019
Deep Carbon, Deep Insights into Research Funding
These days, most researchers know very well that in order to get funding, it’s helpful to already have funding. The solemn reality of the grant cycle is that solid preliminary results and immediate applications are what beget federally funded projects. Rarely can you get money for just a neat idea or mysterious question. Seed funding from the government in the form of high-risk grants from agencies like the Department …
October 10, 2019
National Science Board highlights Skilled Technical Workforce shortage in new report
On 12 September, the National Science Board (NSB) released its latest report during a well-attended briefing on Capitol Hill. As the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) governing body, the NSB plays a critical role in looking broadly at trends in the science and technology (S&T) enterprise and provides recommendations to NSF on how to invest its portfolio. The NSB’s latest set of recommendations are presented in The Skilled Technical Workforce: Crafting …
October 8, 2019
AGU welcomes new Congressional Science Fellow, Dr. Kate Voss
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is pleased to announce its newest Congressional Science Fellow, Dr. Katalyn Voss. Now in its 42nd year, AGU’s Congressional Science Fellow program places highly qualified and accomplished scientists, engineers, and other professionals in the office of an individual member of Congress or on a committee for a one-year assignment. Dr. Voss, who started her fellowship in September, has been placed within the office of Sen. …
October 3, 2019
Senate Rejects Proposed Cuts, Expands Science Funding – Part 2
Just before the 2019 fiscal year ended on 30 September, the Senate Committee on Appropriations marked up and advanced ten of its twelve fiscal 2020 bills. We did a deep dive into one of the major science funding bills in Part 1 of our Senate appropriations breakdown. In this post, we’ll take a closer look into the spending bills that fund the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Environmental Protection …
