The Monthly Review is part of a continuing effort to improve communications about the role of geoscience in policy.
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Budget

• House and Senate Appropriations Committees pass respective Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriations bills
• House Appropriations Committee releases Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill

Energy

• Draft Advanced Fossil Energy Solicitation
• DOE 2013 Annual Plan for Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources Research and Development
• New study indicates “peak oil” driven by demand, not supply
• Energy efficiency bill revised and reintroduced as vote looms

Environment

• CRS report on changes in the Arctic

Federal Agencies & Administration

• DOI and USDA announce partnership to protect watersheds from wildfire impacts
• McCarthy nomination clears Senate

Natural Hazards

• House subcommittee holds markup of the Weather Forecasting and Improvement Act of 2013
• House committee holds hearing on wildfires
• USGS trains volcano scientists from around the world
• DOE report on U.S. Energy Sector Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Extreme Weather
• Distant Quakes Trigger Tremors at U.S. Waste-Injection Sites
• EIA interactive map showing energy structure potentially impacted by storms
• New USGS reports on coastal change help community and emergency planners

Natural Resources

• House Natural Resources Committee examines U.S. helium production
• House scheduled to consider critical minerals legislation
• USGS report highlights important areas for mineral investment in Afghanistan

Space

• House committee holds markup of the NASA Authorization Act of 2013
• NASA seeks collaborative private sector partnerships

Water & Oceans

• USGS develops improved technique for coral reef monitoring
• NAS report on Ocean Acidification Strategic Plan
• Streamer – A new online tool to visualize and understand water flow across America

Federal Register

Monthly Review prepared by: Maeve Boland, Geoscience Policy Director; Abby Seadler, Geoscience Policy Associate; and Brittany Huhmann, Clinton Koch, and John Kemper 2013 AGI/AIPG Summer Interns.

Sources: The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, Bureau of Land Management, the Congressional Research Service, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, Environment and Energy Daily, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Register, Fire Adapted Communities, Government Accountability Office, the House of Representatives, National Academies Press, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Atlas, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, Politico, Science Magazine, Stanford University, Thomas, University of Hawaii at Hilo Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. General Services Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Government Printing Office, U.S. Senate, the White House

This monthly review goes out to members of the AGI Geoscience Policy Committee, the leadership of AGI's member societies, and others as part of a continuing effort to improve communications about the role of geoscience in policy. 

Compiled August 6, 2013