Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by Science Policy Analyst Terence Houston. Read the full Policy News here. APPROPRIATIONS: HOUSE, SENATE DEADLOCKED OVER TEMPORARY SPENDING BILL The specter of a federal government shutdown looms again as the House passed a bill to fund the government beyond the end of the current fiscal year only to see…
This post contributed by Terence Houston, ESA Science Policy Analyst The debate over the economic consequences of federal regulations intended to curb the prevalence of invasive species continues on Capitol Hill. During a Sept. 14 hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Republican committee leaders released a report entitled “Broken Government: How the Administrative State has Broken President…
Studying the 9/11 WTC dust: Coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) recently published a blog highlighting the agency’s study of the environmental and potential health risks of the massive dust cloud that swept across New York City as a result of the collapse of the World Trade Center….
Southern Rockies picas unaffected by climate change: A new study from the University of Colorado at Boulder has found that American pikas, despite being temperature-sensitive animals, have not been adversely impacted by climate change. The researchers who conducted the study assessed 69 historical sites known to host pikas within the southern Rockies ranging from southern Wyoming through Colorado and into…
This post contributed by Terence Houston, ESA Science Policy Analyst When a hurricane strikes, United States federal agency scientists and engineers are among the first on the scene. Such was the case recently, when Hurricane Irene made its way through the East Coast of the United States. For most residents of the Washington, DC region, the impact was little different…
This month, the Lake Erie watersnake (Nerodia sipedon insularum) was finally removed from the list of organisms protected under the Endangered Species Act. The achievement is a win for both the species and the ecosystem in which it plays a vital role. With one of the smallest geographic ranges of any vertebrate in the world, this subspecies of snake is…
Although it’s not quite evidence of a mastery of long division, zoologists have recently reported that a juvenile Asian elephant has demonstrated rudimentary problem-solving techniques. According to Preston Foerder, the lead author of the new study, elephants had previously failed at problem-solving exercises because they were tested as if they were primates, being asked to use their trunks to hold…
Here are some highlights from the latest Policy News by Science Policy Analyst Terence Houston. NATIONAL DEBT: OBAMA SIGNS MEASURE RAISING DEBT CEILING THROUGH 2012 The week of August 2, Congress passed and the president signed a bill to increase the national debt by as much as $2.4 trillion. After weeks in which a deal between leaders of both parties…
As demonstrated by a recent vote in Congress, it appears that support remains among policymakers to preserve endangered species. H.R. 2584, the Department of Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2012, as introduced, included language to prevent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from adding any additional plant or animal species for protection under the Endangered…
Here are some highlights from the latest Policy News by Science Policy Analyst Terence Houston. NATIONAL DEBT-CEILING DEBATE: CONSENSUS IN SIGHT, SPECIFIC PLAN REMAINS ELUSIVE House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and President Obama are unanimous in agreeing the federal deficit has to be raised before the projected August 2 deadline to avoid U.S. default on…
The practice of mountaintop removal mining has spurred a great deal of research and policy debate since January of this year, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) vetoed a federal permit for the 2,278 acre Spruce No. 1 mine in Logan County, West Virginia. The veto of the permit was EPA’s 13th use of its veto authority, granted under the…
Here are some highlights from the latest Policy News by Science Policy Analyst Terence Houston. APPROPRIATIONS: SUBCOMMITTEES APPROVE SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENTAL SPENDING BILLS The week of July 6, two House appropriations subcommittees that fund federal agencies with jurisdiction over ecological issues released and marked-up their draft funding bills for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. The House Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill…