AAAS Policy
Alert -- December 9, 2009
Climate Change Developments
Copenhagen Negotiations
Underway. Two weeks of negotiations to develop the framework for
international efforts to combat climate change began in Copenhagen on
December 7. Just before the negotiations began, China and India, two
major developing countries with rising greenhouse gas emissions,
announced plans to reduce their energy intensity (a ratio of the amount
of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of economic output) by 45% and 25%,
respectively, below 2005 levels by 2020. Also prior to the
negotiations, the White House announced
that consensus is building for
the Copenhagen talks to include a commitment from developed countries
to provide $10 billion annually by 2012 to help developing nations
combat climate change, and that the United States would pay its "fair
share" of that investment. Nine Senate Democrats, including several
seen as swing votes in the climate debate, sent a December 3 letter
to
the President containing ten principles that "should be embodied in new
international agreements and in domestic legislation." The list
includes reducing emissions in developing nations; protecting U.S.
trade; helping poor nations adapt to climate change; and coupling
technology cooperation with "strong protections for intellectual
property rights."
Fallout from Hacked Climate
E-mails Continues. Two congressional hearings last week strayed
from their stated purposes to examine the e-mails hacked from the
University of East Anglia. At a December 2 hearing of the House Energy
Independence and Global Warming Committee, OSTP Director John Holdren
used his testimony to explain that the e-mails did not change the
overall scientific understanding of climate change. Later that day,
most of a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the
Toxics Substance Control Act was spent discussing the e-mails.
A group of Ranking Minority Members on relevant committees in both the
House and Senate sent a letter
to EPA urging the agency to investigate
the e-mails and to suspend regulatory efforts related to climate
change. In addition, House Science and Technology Committee Ranking
Member Ralph Hall (R-TX) and several of his subcommittee ranking
members sent a letter
to Committee Chair Bart Gordon (D-TN), requesting
an "investigation into the climate change research and scientific
integrity issues" raised by the e-mails.
Several investigations have been announced. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said the United
Nations will conduct an investigation into the emails. The University
of East Anglia has announced an independent review into how the emails
ended up on the Internet and whether there is evidence of suppression
or manipulation of data. Phil Jones announced he would step aside as
director of the university's Climate Research Unit during this
investigation.
The scientific community has begun to issue responses to the e-mail
controversy. The AAAS Board of Directors released a statement
on
December 4. AAAS CEO Alan Leshner stated, "AAAS takes issues of
scientific integrity very seriously. It is fair and appropriate to
pursue answers to any allegations of impropriety. It's important to
remember, though, that the reality of climate change is based on a
century of robust and well-validated science." Twenty-five climate
scientists sent an open
letter to Congress stating, "The body of
evidence that human activity is the dominant cause of global warming is
overwhelming. The content of the stolen e-mails has no impact
whatsoever on our overall understanding that human activity is driving
dangerous levels of global warming."
EPA Releases Endangerment
Finding. On December 7 EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced
the agency's finding that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions endanger
the public's health and welfare, which allows the
agency to proceed with rulemaking to address climate change. EPA's
final findings respond to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that
GHGs fit within the Clean Air Act definition of air pollutants. EPA
issued proposed findings in April 2009 and held a 60-day public comment
period, during which the agency receive more than 380,000 comments.
Budget News
There is no FY 2010 appropriations action to report this week. The first session of the 111th Congress is nearing a close, and both chambers still must finalize their game plans for completing appropriations action for the remaining federal agencies that have yet to receive FY 2010 funding. According to Congress Daily, House Appropriations Committee staff are considering developing two separate omnibus packages. One would combine an extension of the PATRIOT Act, legislation for creating jobs, and six of the seven remaining appropriations bills, including Commerce/Justice/ Science and Labor/HHS/Education (both containing major R&D components). The second omnibus vehicle would include the Defense bill and language to raise the debt limit for the federal government.
Other
Congressional News
House Subcommittee's Follow-up to Augustine Report. Following the October 22 release of the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee Final Report, known as the Augustine Report, the House Science and Technology Committee's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics has conducted several hearings examining technology development programs at NASA; global space capabilities; safety and human space flight; and an independent audit of NASA. Additional hearings are forthcoming, including a December 10 hearing on "Decisions on the Future Direction and Funding for NASA: What Will They Mean for the U.S. Aerospace Workforce and Industrial Base?" Discussions have emphasized an imperative for U.S. leadership and international cooperation in space, calls for improved safety and contained costs, and the impacts of NASA technology on innovation and the economy.
Executive
Branch
First New Stem Cell Lines
Approved for Federal Funding. The government has approved
the
first 13 new human embryonic stem cell lines for federally funded
research under the policy that took effect in July. On December 4 an
advisory committee further recommended the approval of an additional 27
lines with the provision
that funding be limited to projects that
adhere to the research description in the donor consent forms. Dozens
more stem cell lines are currently awaiting government vetting, and
hundreds may ultimately land on the NIH stem cell registry.
NIH Updates Policy for
Instruction on Responsible Conduct of Research. The National
Institutes of Health has issued a notice updating its policy on
training in the responsible
conduct of research, required for many
grant programs. The notice lays out principles for the responsible
conduct of research, clarifies who should participate in the
instruction and what form it should take, and provides links to
training materials.
HHS Issues Guidelines for
Screening Purchases of Genetic Material. The Department of
Health and Humans Services (HHS) issued draft guidelines for producers
of synthetic genomic material to screen orders to minimize the risk
that individuals would use the genetic material to develop biological
weapons. Voluntary standards for reviewing the purchase of synthetic
products have been adopted by the synthetic biology industry in the
past. The HHS draft regarding the screening of orders seeks to bring
the private sector into compliance with current U.S. regulations of
select agents and pathogens and to encourage best practices in
addressing potential biosecurity threats. The draft Screening
Framework
Guidance for Synthetic Double-Stranded DNA Providers was published
in
the Federal Register on
November 27, and public comments are due January 26, 2010.
Aerospace Industry on Export
Controls. The Aerospace
Industries Association (AIA) issued a
letter to President Obama outlining its recommendations for reforming
the existing export control regime. The White House has initiated an
interagency review of U.S. export controls and is expected to make
recommendations to reform the system. At the same time the House
Foreign Affairs Committee is working to revamp the Export
Administration Act. The AIA
letter, signed by over 100 aerospace
industry Presidents and CEOs, calls for greater transparency and
establishment of specific criteria for what constitutes "militarily
critical" and "sensitive defense and space technologies" that should be
subject to strict export control. AIA also calls for updating the
treatment of next-generation technologies (e.g., unmanned aircraft
systems).
People in the News. The
nomination of David
Michaels to be Assistant Secretary of Labor
directing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was
unanimously approved by the Senate on December 3.
Elsewhere
University Officials Cancel
Animal Research Project. Oklahoma State University
administrators have cancelled
a research project using baboons as an
animal model to study anthrax, causing some consternation among
university researchers. The animals were to be euthanized following the
procedure. The NIH-funded project had been approved by the school's
animal research committee and was set to be conducted in the
university's biosafety level 3 facility. Through a spokesperson,
President Burns Hargis said that the research was "not in the best
interest of the university" because it was "controversial" and outside
the university's current research programs. An OSU research official
denied the decision was influenced by university donors but
acknowledged
not wanting to attract violence from animal rights
extremists.
Michigan Legislative Proposals
Would Impede Implementation of Stem Cell Law. In 2008 a Michigan
referendum changed the state constitution to permit stem cell research
derived from human embryos destined for destruction. However, some
members of the state legislature have introduced
proposals that would
impede the implementation of the new provision by imposing criminal
penalties and fines on researchers for trying to "create a human embryo
for non-therapeutic research purposes." While there is nothing in the
revised constitution that would allow such research, the effort seems
aimed more at intimidating researchers than furthering the goals of the
referendum vote.
Math Results for Urban Students
Released on December 8. On December 8 a National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) press conference presented results of math
performance by 4th- and 8th-grade students in 18 of the largest U.S.
school districts that voluntarily participated in the NAEP Trial Urban
District Assessment. The event is webcast, and copies of The Nation's Report Card: Trial Urban
District Assessment Mathematics 2009 are available online.
Publisher: Alan I. Leshner
Editor: Steve Nelson
Contributors: Joanne Carney, Patrick Clemins,
Mark Frankel, Erin Heath, Earl Lane, Shirley Malcom, Deborah Runkle,
Gretchen Seiler, Al Teich, Jamie Wheeler, Kasey White, Brad Wible
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