[env-trinity] NOAA + USGS = Earth Systems Science Agency?

[Sari Sommarstrom]

  Web address:
      http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/
      080703140725.htm


Proposal To Merge NOAA And US Geological Survey To Form An Earth Systems 
Science Agency

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).

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."

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.

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."

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.

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.

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."

Kennedy also stresses the importance of linking ESSA's activities with the 
tremendous talent in the nation's universities.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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."

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Journal reference:
    * . An Earth Systems Science Agency. Science, July 4, 2008
Adapted from materials provided by <http://www.nanotechproject.org>Project 
on Emerging Nanotechnologies, via <http://www.eurekalert.org>EurekAlert!, a 
service of AAAS.
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Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (2008, July 7). Proposal To Merge NOAA 
And US Geological Survey To Form An Earth Systems Science Agency. 
ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 4, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ 
/releases/2008/07/080703140725.htm
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