Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
march 2014
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federal agencies & administration
Cordova confirmed as new Director of NSF
On March 12, the U.S. Senate confirmed France A. Córdova as next Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). According to Nature, Dr. Córdova has a reputation for budgetary acuity. She aims to partner with industry, foundations, and private donors to alleviate stagnant funding levels for NSF. In order to increase congressional confidence in NSF funding, Córdova stresses a more substantial explanation of agency purpose when awarding grants.
Before her ascension to the Directorship, Dr. Córdova served as a member on the National Science Board. She previously held positions as President of Purdue University, Chancellor at the University of California Riverside, Chief Scientist at NASA, and most recently Chair of the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents. She received her PhD in physics from California Institute of Technology in 1979. Her career research specializes in astrophysics, specifically multi-spectral research on x-ray and gamma ray sources and space-borne instrumentation.
Sources: National Science Foundation; Nature; U.S. Senate website
U.S. joins extractive industries transparency program
On March 19, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) accepted the U.S. as a Candidate country to their global transparency standard for improving governance of natural resources. President Obama submitted the application in 2011 in conjunction with the Open Government Partnership.
EITI standards require oil, gas and mining companies to disclose taxes and other payments to federal governments in order to promote the benefits of natural resource extraction to all citizens of a country. Governments then in turn submit an annual report to EITI. EITI’s governing body, the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG), consists of sovereign governments, energy and mining companies, investors, and civil society and partner organizations.
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) will oversee U.S. implementation of the standards as stated in the approved United States EITI (USEITI) application. DOI will include data on oil, gas, coal, non-fuel minerals (aggregate), geothermal, solar, and wind commodities in their report. As a Candidate country, the U.S. must publish its first EITI report in 18 months and validate it in two-and-a-half years.
Sources: Department of the Interior; Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative; E&E News; Open Government Partnership; The White House Press Office
OSTP issues public access directive
On March 20, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director John Holdren issued a memorandum requiring that federal scientific agencies create a draft scientific-collections management and public access policy. Scientific collections include rocks, fossils, tissue samples, etc.
The memorandum is a result of the 2011 passage of Section 103 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, which requires the Administration to establish a working group under the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) for the purposes of dissemination and stewardship of federally sponsored unclassified data and peer-reviewed publications.
Agencies can publish digital reproductions of their collections to satisfy the goals of the memorandum. Agencies must report their draft policy to the OSTP within six months.
Sources: National Science Foundation; The White House Blog
President Obama talks energy exports with EU
On March 26, President Obama met with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso at the EU-U.S. Summit in Brussels to discuss the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) and Europe’s economic security with regard to recent events in Ukraine. As the legislative body of the European Union (EU), the Commission proposes action to EU decision makers in the Council.
Europe relies heavily on Russian gas for its energy needs, and if established, the T-TIP free-trade agreement between the U.S. and EU countries could reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia. In his speech, President Obama noted that the U.S. can export liquefied natural gas (LNG) only to countries with which the U.S. shares a free-trade agreement. Signing the T-TIP would open European markets for U.S. LNG.
According to President Van Rompuy, the EU does not recognize Russia’s recent annexation of the Crimean peninsula, an important corridor for Russian gas delivery to Europe. In seizing this region, Russia has the potential to control more of the oil and gas transport infrastructure. According to the EU, this puts European countries’ economic security in jeopardy. For this reason, the U.S. and EU aim to provide Europe with energy diversity and greater security. The Presidents’ joint statement included a commitment by the U.S. and EU to continue progress in forming T-TIP.
President Obama’s attempt to fast track T-TIP, an action which bars the amendment process, could be stymied by Congress.
Sources: US News; The White House Press Office