2018

Bryce Koester

As an AGI Policy Program Intern, Bryce reported on federal geoscience policy for AGI’s Monthly Review, managed the program's social media content, and attended geoscience coalition meetings as a representative of AGI. Bryce also created and updated AGI website products, including the 2018 State Geoscience Information factsheets and Geoscience Policy Program Advisory Committee membership list. Bryce’s internship was supported by the Paleontological Society. After her time at AGI, Bryce will be interning at American Geophysical Union in the Talent Pool Program.

Bryce graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Earth and Environmental Sciences and minors in Spanish and Environmental and Sustainability Studies. Bryce's research interests include investigating potential paleoecological indicators of anthropogenic influence, which she explored in her thesis on foraminifera mutations and heavy metal concentrations in the Bahamas. Outside of academia, Bryce also interned at Urban Green Lab, a nonprofit dedicated to educating the public on science and sustainable living.

Chris Micucci

Chris actively worked with federal agencies and Congress to represent the geoscience community and promote sound public policy in Washington, D.C. He also managed the Geoscience Policy program’s social media presence, contributed to information products such as news briefs and the Monthly Review, and updated AGI’s web content. In addition, wrote an article about the ocean acidification, which will be published in EARTH magazine later this year.

Chris earned a B.S. in geology and environmental science at Allegheny College. For his senior thesis he studied how a flood control dam in Crawford County, Pennsylvania is impacting the fluvial geomorphology and the floodplain ecosystem of a local creek. His research interests involve the investigation of past climates through practices of sedimentology and geochemistry, and he plans on pursuing a master’s in the next few years.

Veronica Tuazon

Veronica focused on communicating relevant geoscience information to state and local-level decision makers. As the Critical Issues intern, she helped maintain and update the AGI website and publish web-based information products. Her article for EARTH Magazine, which will be published in November 2018, explores the concept of mineral criticality in response to the Department of the Interior Critical Minerals List.

Veronica is entering her senior year at Stony Brook University, where she is pursuing a BS in Geology. She will be participating in study abroad programs in Madagascar and Kenya for the entire academic year. So far, her undergraduate career at Stony Brook has focused on research in mineralogy and mineral physics. She conducted research with a faculty member affiliated with Brookhaven National Laboratory, and she was a member of the Summer 2017 cohort of the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates at the American Museum of Natural History. She recently was a Stony Brook University nominee for the nationally competitive Goldwater Scholarship for excellence in undergraduate STEM research.

Florida Representative Carlos Curbelo introduces controversial carbon tax bill

Drilling rig

Representative Carlos Curbelo (R-FL-26) introduced the first Republican carbon pricing bill in nearly a decade on July 23. The proposal, called the MARKET CHOICE Act (H.R. 6463), seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by imposing a federal tax on carbon, and to use the revenue to fund infrastructure modernization. It would also impose a rolling, performance-based moratorium on federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from sources covered by the carbon tax, and eliminate the excise taxes on gasoline and diesel fuels.

EPA Administrator resigns while other natural resources and energy nominations progress

U.S. Capitol with flag

Following numerous ethics investigations, President Donald Trump announced the resignation of Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 5, with Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler now as acting administrator. On July 18, President Trump nominated Lane Genatowski for Director of Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) in the Department of Energy (DOE), and Dr. Scott for Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics in the Department of Agriculture.

President Trump establishes workforce council and signs career and technical education bill into law

Geoscientist working in a wetland.

On July 19, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order (E.O. 13845) establishing the President’s National Council for the American Worker. The council will develop recommendations for a national strategy to empower American workers. In late July, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2353). The act amends and reauthorizes the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 until fiscal year 2023.

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