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Earth Science !—Satellites



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Earth Science !—Satellites


Declines in the earth science budget come from satellites
AP 7 (6/4/7, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19030744/ns/us_news-environment/t/us-scales-back-climate-science-satellites/) JPG

In early May, the American Association for the Advancement of Science issued a statement complaining that federal government funds for climate science via satellites had declined in recent years. "The network of satellites upon which the United States and the world have relied for indispensable observations of Earth from space is in jeopardy," the board said. "Declines will result in major gaps in the continuity and quality of the data gathered about the Earth from space." The National Research Council came to the same conclusion in an earlier analysis, which found U.S. global observations of the environment are "at great risk," and that the next generation of Earth-observing satellites will be "generally less capable" than the current ones. NASA and NOAA agreed in April to restore sensors that will enable the satellites to map ozone. NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher said that would give scientists a better idea of the content and distribution of atmospheric gases.


Satellites performing climate studies are under earth science jurisdiction in NASA
NASA No Date (http://climate.nasa.gov/NasaRole/)

In 2004, NASA's spending on climate science exceeded all other Federal agencies, combined. NASA spent $1.3 billion on climate science that year, out of a $1.9 billion total. The agency provides information on solar activity, sea level rise, the temperature of the atmosphere and the oceans, the state of the ozone layer, air pollution, and changes in sea ice and land ice. NASA scientists regularly appear in the mainstream press as climate experts. So how did the space agency end up taking such a big role in climate science? When NASA was first created by the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, it was given the role of developing technology for “space observations,” but it wasn’t given a role in Earth science. The agency’s leaders embedded the technology effort in an Earth Observations program centered at the new Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in the U.S.. It was an “Applications” program, in NASA-speak. Other agencies of the federal government were responsible for carrying out Earth science research: the Weather Bureau (now the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Applications program signed cooperative agreements with these other agencies that obligated NASA to develop observational technology while NOAA and the USGS carried out the scientific research. The Nimbus series of experimental weather satellites and the Landsat series of land resources satellites were the result of the Applications program. This Applications model of cross-agency research failed during the 1970s, though, due to the bad economy and an extended period of high inflation. Congress responded by cutting the budgets of all three agencies, leaving NOAA and the USGS unable to fund their part of the arrangement and putting pressure on NASA, too. At the same time, congressional leaders wanted to see NASA doing more research towards “National needs.” These needs were things like energy efficiency, pollution, ozone depletion and climate change. In 1976, Congress revised the Space Act to give NASA authority to carry out stratospheric ozone research, formalizing the agency’s movement into the Earth sciences.
Earth science budget is going to satellites
Hamilton 10 (Jon, writer @ NPR, 4/5/10, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125507009) JPG

NASA, the agency known for exploring space, will be spending a lot more time studying Earth in the next few years. The Obama administration has proposed a budget for NASA that includes billions of dollars for satellites and other tools to help scientists investigate Earth-bound problems, especially climate change. That represents a major turnaround for NASA's Earth Science Division, which had been allowed to languish during much of the 2000s. Back then, the division had so little money it wasn't able to replace aging satellites that monitor things such as polar ice, coastal wetlands, ocean temperatures and chemicals in the atmosphere.

Earth Science ! – Science Diplomacy


Earth sciences are critical to international scientific collaboration
O’Brien 8 (Michael, Asst admin for external rels. NASA, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-110hhrg41470/html/CHRG-110hhrg41470.htm)

NASA's Earth science activities are inherently global as we strive to understand the Earth as a system, from a variety of U.S. and international platforms. In fact, some ground-based research programs involve dozens of countries, such as the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), an optical, ground-based aerosol-monitoring network and data archive system in which over 40 countries/regions participate. NASA is a major U.S. contributor to the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007- 2008. IPY will involve a wide range of research disciplines, but the emphasis will be interdisciplinary in its approach and truly international in participation. NASA is also a leader in international mechanisms such as the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), which coordinates the civil space-borne missions of nearly 50 space agencies and associated national and international organizations that observe and study the Earth. Global participation in these activities is a necessity.
Science collaboration is critical to science diplomacy which solves wars, the economy, and the environment
Dr. Federoff 8 (Nina, Sec of State, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-110hhrg41470/html/CHRG-110hhrg41470.htm)

Chairman Baird, Ranking Member Ehlers, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to discuss science diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. The U.S. is recognized globally for its leadership in science and technology. Our scientific strength is both a tool of ``soft power''--part of our strategic diplomatic arsenal--and a basis for creating partnerships with countries as they move beyond basic economic and social development. Science diplomacy is a central element of the Secretary's transformational diplomacy initiative, because science and technology are essential to achieving stability and strengthening failed and fragile states. S&T advances have immediate and enormous influence on national and global economies, and thus on the international relations between societies. Nation states, nongovernmental organizations, and multinational corporations are largely shaped by their expertise in and access to intellectual and physical capital in science, technology, and engineering. Even as S&T advances of our modern era provide opportunities for economic prosperity, some also challenge the relative position of countries in the world order, and influence our social institutions and principles. America must remain at the forefront of this new world by maintaining its technological edge, and leading the way internationally through science diplomacy and engagement. The Public Diplomacy Role of Science Science by its nature facilitates diplomacy because it strengthens political relationships, embodies powerful ideals, and creates opportunities for all. The global scientific community embraces principles Americans cherish: transparency, meritocracy, accountability, the objective evaluation of evidence, and broad and frequently democratic participation. Science is inherently democratic, respecting evidence and truth above all. Science is also a common global language, able to bridge deep political and religious divides. Scientists share a common language. Scientific interactions serve to keep open lines of communication and cultural understanding. As scientists everywhere have a common evidentiary external reference system, members of ideologically divergent societies can use the common language of science to cooperatively address both domestic and the increasingly trans-national and global problems confronting humanity in the 21st century. There is a growing recognition that science and technology will increasingly drive the successful economies of the 21st century. Science and technology provide an immeasurable benefit to the U.S. by bringing scientists and students here, especially from developing countries, where they see democracy in action, make friends in the international scientific community, become familiar with American technology, and contribute to the U.S. and global economy. For example, in 2005, over 50 percent of physical science and engineering graduate students and postdoctoral researchers trained in the U.S. have been foreign nationals. Moreover, many foreign-born scientists who were educated and have worked in the U.S. eventually progress in their careers to hold influential positions in ministries and institutions both in this country and in their home countries.




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