--On Tuesday, March 13, 2007 4:12 PM -0500 NCSE <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > NCSE/CEDD to testify on EPA Research Budget > March 13, 2007, Washington, DC > > Bruce Coull, President of the Council of Environmental Deans and > Directors (CEDD), a program of the National Council for Science and the > Environment (NCSE) will testify before the Subcommittee on Energy and > Environment, Committee on Science and Technology of the U.S. House of > Representatives about the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) FY 2008 > Science and Technology Budget Proposal. The hearing will take place > Wednesday, March 14 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 2318 Rayburn House Office > Building. The public is welcome to attend. > > Under the Administration's budget request, EPA's Office of Research and > Development (ORD), which is the primary research arm of the agency would > decline to $540 million in FY 2008, after declining to $595 million in FY > 2006 from $621 million in FY 2005 and a high water mark of $647 million > in FY 2004. Funding for most EPA research areas would decline. EPA's > R&D funding would fall to its lowest level in almost two decades in real > terms. > > The brunt of the cuts will fall on the extramural Science to Achieve > Results (STAR) grants and fellowship program, which has been cut > repeatedly over the past several years. Funding for STAR programs > (including fellowships) is $61.9 million, which is approximately 45 > percent below the FY 2002 level of $110 million. If the proposal is > enacted, STAR will have been cut by more than $21 million or 25 percent > since FY 2004. > > Dr. Coull will state, "The EPA research budget situation is chronically > bad and getting worse. In order to fulfill its mission, EPA needs > increased investments in both its intramural and extramural science > programs as well as associated services such as environmental education > and libraries. The proposed cuts in research areas are devastating > exactly the areas EPA ought to be investing in âsocioeconomic, > sustainability, ecological, and exploratory research as well as > partnerships with academia and state and local government. These areas > are essential to move environmental protection from a command-and-control > regulatory system to a more rational, compliance-based approach. > > The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) urges > Congress to appropriate a minimum of $700 million for EPA's Office of > Research and Development (bringing it back to FY 2004 levels), including > at least $150 million for EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) > research grants program and $20 million for EPA's STAR graduate > fellowship program. We recommend a total of $900 million for EPA's > Science and Technology account. NCSE also urges Congress to restore full > funding for the Office of Environmental Education at a level of at least > $10 million. Finally, we urge Congress to stop the ill-conceived and > poorly-executed closure of EPA's libraries." > > Dr. Coull will note that, "In the case of EPA, there is a strong > relationship between input to environmental research and education and > output in terms of environmental protection. If the nation wants more > effective and efficient environmental protection, we need to make the > upfront investment in science. It really is the ounce of prevention that > is worth many pounds of the cure." > A copy of Dr. Coull's testimony can be found at: > http://www.ncseonline.org/SciencePolicy/Testimony/House%20Science%20Commi > ttee%20Testimony%20on%20EPA-3.14.07.pdf > > Other expected witnesses are: > Dr. George Gray, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and > Development and Science Advisor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. > Dr. M. Granger Morgan, Chair, EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB); Lord > Chair Professor in Engineering and Professor and Department Head, > Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University. > Dr. Jennifer Sass, Senior Scientist, Health and Environment, Natural > Resources Defense Council > > Dr. Coull is the 2006-2008 President of the U.S. Council of Environmental > Deans and Directors (CEDD), a program of the National Council for Science > and the Environment (http://www.ncseonline.org/CEDD). He leads this > professional organization of deans, institute directors and environmental > program administrators at more than 130 colleges and universities across > the U.S. CEDD is carrying out projects to improve environmental > curriculum, better prepare alumni for environmental careers, increase > diversity in the field and to advance interdisciplinary education. CEDD > works with partner organizations in Canada and the UK. > > Dr. Coull recently became emeritus at the University of South Carolina, > where as a Carolina Distinguished Professor and Dean of USC's School of > the Environment, Coull led USC to approach environmental issues through > multidisciplinary research, education and community outreach. He headed > the South Carolina Sustainable Universities Initiative > (http://www.sc.edu/sustainableu), a multi-university project educating > about frugal use of Earth's resources and was the architect of the > greening of the University of South Carolina. He also led USC's > environmental efforts in the Ukraine related to the Chernobyl nuclear > accident of 1986. In his emeritus status he directs the South Carolina > Lowcountry Initiative of the Chicago and New York based Center for Humans > and Nature (http://www.humansandnature.org). This initiative aims to > effect sensible use of resources in the South Carolina coastal region. > Local decisions makers are the target of this project. > > For more information, contact: > David E. Blockstein, Ph.D. > Executive Secretary, > Council of Environmental Deans and Directors > Senior Scientist > National Council for Science and the Environment > 1707 H St. NW #200 > Washington DC 20006 > 202-207-0004 direct > 202-530-5810 general > 202-628-4311 fax > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Stephen M. Reilly Professor Department of Biological Sciences Ohio University Athens, OH 45701 (740) 593-0424 (Fax -0300) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.biosci.ohiou.edu/faculty/reilly/ _______________________________________________ NCSE mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://list.ncseonline.org/mailman/listinfo/ncse
