ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is pleased to announce that the theme of Earth Science Week 2020 will be "Earth Materials in Our Lives." The coming year's event, to be held October 11-17, 2020, will focus on the ways that Earth materials impact humans — and the ways human activity impacts these materials — in the 21st century.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is pleased to share its annual report, "Unifying the Geosciences," which recounts the accomplishments of AGI and the geoscience community from October 2018 to September 2019.
"We are pleased to provide this report to our partners and stakeholders, whose support has made our shared success possible," says AGI Interim Executive Director Sharon Tahirkheli. "AGI is proud to continue serving our many stakeholders in the geoscience community."
Julia is a 2018 graduate from University of Florida with a dual degree in Environmental Geosciences and Sustainability Studies, as well as certificates in Geospatial Information Analysis and Meteorology and Climatology. Throughout her undergraduate career, Julia conducted research pertaining to flooding, climate change and natural disaster management in Hopkins, Belize as part of an NSF funded Research Experience for Undergraduates, and studied the effects of plantation forestry on soil nutrient cycling at Stanford University as part of Stanford’s Summer Undergraduate Research in Geoscience and Engineering Program. She also served as General Manager for Conservation Initiative for the Asian Elephant, a nonprofit whose mission is to ensure the sustainability of the Asian elephant and the peoples sharing its habitat.
During her time at AGI, Julia wrote geoscience policy updates for AGI’s Monthly Review, maintained AGI’s social media presence, attended Congressional hearings and briefings pertinent to the geosciences, wrote an article on the The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) Interim Hazards report, and attended geoscience coalition meetings on behalf of AGI. After her internship at AGI, Julia moved on to a Talent Pool internship at the American Geophysical Union.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved acting Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt’s nomination for the permanent secretary position by a 14-6 vote on April 4. Despite receiving strong bipartisan support from the committee, Bernhardt’s confirmation remains encircled in a series of ethics allegations regarding his involvement with lobbying for Westland Water District after filing a legal notice that stated he was no longer a lobbyist. Bernhardt was confirmed as interior secretary by the full Senate on April 11 by a vote of 56-41.
The Subcommittee on Environment of the House Science Committee met on April 9 to discuss four bills to address ocean acidification: The National Estuaries and Acidification Research (NEAR) Act of 2019 (H.R.988), COAST Research Act of 2019 (H.R.1237), Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2019 (H.R.1716), and Ocean Acidification Innovation Act (H.R.1921). Committee members have two days to submit additional comments on the bills before they move on to the full committee for a vote.
Several disaster aid bills, including the Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act (H.R. 1307), Disclosing Aid Spent to Ensure Relief (DISASTER) Act (H.R. 1984), Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act (H.R. 1306), and H.R. 1311, were introduced in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee beginning on February 15. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has also approved the National Public Infrastructure Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation fund, which will provide between $400 million and $600 million per year in grants for infrastructure investments in states that are most threatened by hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters.
Beginning on March 26, subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee held a series of fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget hearings for agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Energy (DOE), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Administrators from each agency gave justifications for their budgets, which are derived from the White House’s FY 2020 budget plan, and laid out their agency’s priorities to be addressed in FY 2020.
A summary of notices posted to the Federal Register by geoscience-related federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, and more.
On March 13, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). NFIP was last reauthorized by Congress on December 21, 2018, authorizing the program through May 31, 2019. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), NFIP reauthorization gives Congress the chance to simplify this program and strengthen it financially so that it can effectively help individuals and communities to secure flood insurance.
On March 7, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee met to discuss the complex web of connections between the energy and water sectors, as well as the implications of this nexus for society and the economy. The committee heard from experts in academia, industry, and the non-profit sector.
