Super Earth Science Agency
By Tom Shoop | Tuesday, July 08, 2008 | 03:38 PM
By Tom Shoop | Tuesday, July 08, 2008 | 03:38 PM
Is it time to create an Earth Systems Science Agency? Several former senior federal officials think so. In an article in the journal Science, the group makes the case for merging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey. The idea would be to combine NOAA's atmospheric and marine programs with the terrestrial, freshwater, and biological programs of USGS to form one super-agency with a comprehensive perspective on the planet.
The group backing the idea includes former NOAA administrator D. James Baker, former USGS director Charles Groat, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Donald Kennedy and former presidential science adviser John H. Gibbons.
"Population pressure, development impact, and resource extraction affect land and sea alike," Baker says. "Just as the science of the Earth is seamless, so should the government responsibility be merged for these separate Earth agencies."
Comments
This proposal makes a lot of sense, provided that the new agency is able to forge a charter obligating it to present factual information. We do not need another politicized agency like NASA and EPA. Thanks to James Hansen and his counterparts at EPA, you can't trust anything these agencies say or do any more. Their "science-based policy" claims are laughable.
Ben | Wednesday, July 09, 2008 | 08:28 AMAs they say, two heads are better than one. Bringing the highly talented people at NOAA and USGS together is a great idea. Nice to see the idea has support at the top!
C. Anemone | Wednesday, July 09, 2008 | 05:41 AMABOUT THIS BLOG
Government Executive Editor Tom Shoop takes a look at news and events affecting the federal bureaucracy, from the perspective of a longtime observer of government.
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