biological sciences

ESA Policy News May 4: Senate committee moves NSF, DOE funding bills, ESA grad students visit Capitol Hill

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. APPROPRIATIONS: SENATE COMMERCE, JUSTICE AND SCIENCE BILL CLEARS SUBCOMMITTEE On April 19, the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee approved its Fiscal Year 2017 spending bill. The bill includes $56.3 billion, $563 above the FY 2016 enacted level…

ESA Policy News Feb. 17: President’s final budget prioritizes climate, energy research, Court vacancy could impact climate plan, House passes ‘National interest’ bill

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. WHITE HOUSE: PRESIDENT’S FINAL BUDGET PRIORITIZES CLIMATE, ENERGY RESEARCH On Feb. 9, President Obama released the eighth and final budget of his administration. The president’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 budget request includes significant increases for federal agencies that conduct scientific…

ESA Policy News Dec. 16: World leaders reach climate accord, Congress finalizes FY 2016 spending deal, NEON to undergo management restructuring

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: WORLD LEADERS REACH FIRST EVER CLIMATE ACCORD On Dec. 12, over 190 countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed to the first-ever international climate change agreement in Paris. The 31-page agreement sets a goal…

ESA Policy News November 25: Scientific Societies defend NOAA, Apply for 2016 ESA Graduate Student Policy Award

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. HOUSE: ESA JOINS OTHER SOCIETIES IN DEFENDING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ESA and six other leading science societies sent a letter to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) concerning his ongoing inquiries into the climate-change research…

ESA Policy News September 30: Pope preaches to Congress on climate, Speaker Boehner to resign, Science committee examines NEON

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. CONGRESS: POPE CALLS ON LAWMAKERS TO AVERT ‘ENVIRONMENTAL DETERIORATION’ On Sept. 24, Pope Francis spoke before a joint session of the United States Congress, advocating for compassion and equal opportunity for the underprivileged. He also urged Congress to take action to…

ESA Policy News September 2: Obama talks climate in Alaska, Research groups praise Senators for science conference support

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. ARCTIC: OBAMA CALLS FOR CLIMATE ACTION AT ALASKA CONFERENCE On August 29, President Obama spoke before the conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience (GLACIER) in Alaska where he discussed how climate change is impacting…

ESA Policy News June 3: America COMPETES narrowly passes, Clean Water Rule finalized, Sage grouse protection plan released

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. RESEARCH: AMERICA COMPETES REAUTHORIZATION NARROWLY PASSES HOUSE On May 20, the US House of Representatives passed H.R. 1806, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, by a vote of 217-205. No Democrats supported the bill and 23 Republicans broke with party leaders…

ESA Policy News May 20: America COMPETES reauthorization set for House floor vote, ESA GSPA winners visit Capitol Hill, NSF report analyzes STEM workforce

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. SCIENCE: AMERICA COMPETES REAUTHORIZATION BILL HITS HOUSE FLOOR This week, the US House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 1806, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015. The bill reauthorizes funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes…

ESA Policy News April 29: Scientific societies weigh in on America COMPETES reauthorization, relay support for federal participation at conferences, oppose ‘climate riders’

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. HOUSE: SCIENCE COMMITTEE APPROVES AMERICA COMPETES REAUTHORIZATION On April 22, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee passed Chairman Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) bill to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act. The bill passed by a party-line vote of 19-16. H.R. 1806,…

ESA Policy News April 15: California orders new water restrictions, EPA moves to protect pollinators, NOAA initiates algal bloom ‘early warning system’

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. DROUGHT: CALIFORNIA ORDERS MANDATORY CUTS IN WATER USAGE On April 1, California Gov. Jerry Brown issued a landmark executive order requiring state residents to cut their water usage by 25 percent through February 28, 2016. The first-ever water restrictions…

ESA Policy News April 21: climate future, Forest Legacy, ESA visits the Hill

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. CLIMATE CHANGE: IPCC REAFFIRMS NEED FOR MITIGATION, ADAPTATION MEASURES The Nobel Prize-winning United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released two new reports in late March and early April that reaffirm climate change is currently affecting natural ecosystems and…

ESA Policy News, March 14, 2014: in budget proposals EPA loses, NSF falls short, DOI wins

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. BUDGET: SCIENCE INVESTMENT MIXED BAG IN PRESIDENT’S FY 2015 PROPOSAL On March 4, the president released his annual proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2015. The budget proposal functions as a wish list of what the administration will seek to prioritize…

Welcome to Sweden

No, not Greg Poehler’s short-lived international sitcom by the same name, but very literally what the hotel clerk said when I checked in. He smiled; since I’d been practicing on Duolingo for a few weeks and had hoped to proudly correctly pronounce Tack så mycket and instead replied (translated) “you’re welcome,” I did not. Blame the jet lag. Nonetheless, greetings from…

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Call for Nominations: ESA Regional Policy Award

ESA seeks nominations for its Regional Policy Award to recognize a policymaker who has integrated environmental science and policy in initiatives that foster more sustainable communities.

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Ecology Doesn’t Stop at the Coast: ESA at the Ocean Sciences Meeting

By Adrienne Sponberg ESA recently joined more than 6,000 ocean scientists from around the world at the bi-annual Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM) in New Orleans. OSM is a joint meeting between the American Geophysical Union, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography and the Oceanography Society. Executive Director Catherine O’Riordan and Director of Society Programs Adrienne Sponberg staffed the ESA…

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Give and Help Us Take Our Next Great Stride Forward

By ESA President Shahid Naeem It’s now February and, as ESA’s President, I realize that my term is almost half over. It is a good time to reflect on our accomplishments from the past few months, while realizing that these have been possible because of the hard work of ESA members over many years. I’ve been with ESA since 1984,…

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The Ecological Society of America is a community of 9,000 scientists, researchers, decision makers, policy managers, and educators who are dedicated to understanding life on earth. We are an advocate for ecology and a voice for ecologists. ESA strengthens connections within and outside our community to support your work and promotes ecological science. As our discipline expands its boundaries with new ideas, new experimental tools, and the recruitment of young scientists, we hope you will join us!