Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman for the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, subpoenaed records from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) early this August. Rep. Smith hopes the records will show how the agency decided to instate newer and stricter air quality regulations in the United States. By subpoenaing the records, the committee wishes to independently verify the EPA’s decisions regarding the controversial regulations.

With Congress in recess for majority of August, little has changed within the budget since July.

The U.S. Geological Survey released a fact sheet summarizing a new national Water Science Strategy. The new strategy takes a comprehensive look at the country’s water needs for the next 5 to 10 years, and includes plans to build new infrastructure and capabilities to meet domestic water needs.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was established in 1987 to reduce the production and use of certain compounds that erode sections of the Earth’s stratosphere, making us more vulnerable to radiation. Now, a new study published in the Journal of Climate concludes that the Montreal Protocol did more than just protect us from radiation; it also helped lessen the effects of climate change.

At the request of the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Academies released a report this August examining the role of federal education and training programs in fostering the next generation of Earth scientists. The report focused on underrepresented groups in the geosciences, such as women and minorities, in fields associated with energy, mineral, and water resources, the environment, and geologic hazards such as earthquakes and volcanoes; but excluded ocean, atmospheric and space sciences.

New trade routes and untapped mineral deposits are just a couple things being revealed by the ever-thinning ice in an increasingly warm Arctic. This year alone nearly 400 ships passed through Russia’s exposed Northern Sea Route, an Arctic waterway along the country’s northern coast, and that number is expected to grow substantially in the coming years.

A new methodology could lead to improved monitoring of geologic carbon sequestration. Although not yet commercially viable, underground sequestration of carbon dioxide is being explored as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels that contribute to global warming.

After months of indignation and stand-offs between Senate Democrats and Republicans, Gina McCarthy has been confirmed as the new Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a 59 to 40 vote this July. Senate Republicans boycotted McCarthy’s Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing back in May over transparency concerns aimed at the EPA. Gina McCarthy succeeds Lisa Jackson as head of the EPA. 

Multiple sources reveal the White House is expected to nominate Janice Schneider as the Department of Interior’s assistant secretary for land and minerals management. Schneider is currently a partner at the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP in Washington, D.C. and was a senior aide to former Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes. Schneider’s experience and specialization is in the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, and tribal and cultural resource issues. The appointment awaits nomination and approval.

This August the National Research Council (NRC) released a report, sponsored by the Department of Energy, that examines the relationship between induced seismicity and energy technologies.