The Department of the Interior (DOI) approved Royal Dutch Shell PLC to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska on August 17.
The Senate confirmed Monica Regalbuto as Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management and Jonathan Elkind as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the Department of Energy (DOE) on August 5.
The Monthly Review is part of a continuing effort to improve communications about the role of geoscience in policy.
Current and archived monthly reviews are available online.
The Monthly Review is part of a continuing effort to improve communications about the role of geoscience in policy.
Current and archived monthly reviews are available online.
Before the August recess, a bipartisan coalition of members from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology released the Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2014 (H.R. 5309), a bill which would reauthorize the Tsunami Warning and Education Act of 2006. The bill is intended to enhance coordination among coastal states to improve tsunami research and mitigation.
On August 7, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy announced the names of several new acting officials to fill vacancies in the agency’s administration. President Obama has nominated six officials, but the positions remain open while these individuals await hearings in the slow confirmation process.
Senator John Walsh (D-MT) introduced legislation on August 1 that calls for funding of CCS units across the country and follows recent regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that mandate a reduction in carbon emissions.