The Obama administration wants to change the rules applying to stormwater running off logging roads, blunting a landmark court ruling that found the muddy water running into salmon streams and reservoirs should be regulated like industrial pollution. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed notice in the Federal Register proposing to revise stormwater regulations to…
When three American astronomers won the Nobel Prize in Physics last year, for discovering that the expansion of the universe was speeding up in defiance of cosmic gravity, it reaffirmed dark energy, and it underscored the case, long urged by American astronomers, for a NASA mission to measure dark energy — to determine, for example,…
Less than six months after the world agreed to craft a new climate pact by 2015, negotiations stumbled at a crucial preparatory phase as rich and poor countries butted heads. The concluding session of an already troubled 11-day haggle in Bonn ran into delays as countries clashed over who will chair the long negotiations, which…
The leaders of about 50 national research agencies in both the developed and developing worlds have announced the establishment of a Global Research Council (GRC) intended to examine issues of importance to science-funding agencies worldwide. According to a report on Nature News Blog, the GRC has already agreed to observe six principles for using peer…
Two U.S. senators have introduced legislation that would make it easier for international students studying science, technology, engineering, or mathematics to stay in the United States after graduation and earn permanent residency. The SMART Jobs Act would create a new student-visa category for graduate students pursuing degrees in the so-called STEM disciplines. Students would be…
A new Center for Biological Diversity analysis of 110 endangered species finds that 90% are on track to meet recovery goals set by federal scientists. The review examined population trends of plants and animals protected by the Endangered Species Act in all 50 states, including gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains, Florida panthers, Aleutian…
A 2013 spending bill that would fund NASA’s commercial crew program below the level President Barack Obama requested drew a veto threat as the U.S. House of Representatives was preparing to begin debate on the proposal. The $51 billion Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Act for 2013 (H.R. 5326) that the Republican-led House began debating on…
Coaxing U.S. federal agencies to work together is no small feat. But an emerging National Ocean Policy (NOP) is attempting to do just that. The Obama Administration’s proposed NOP will help federal agencies better organize marine research efforts and inject data into policy decisions—and potentially prevent conflicts between ocean users and save money, U.S. officials…
The editor of the world-leading scientific journal Nature says current procedures to assess and censor medical research potentially of use to terrorists need to be improved. Dr. Philip Campbell made his remarks to BBC News following the publication of controversial research into the bird flu virus H5N1. Two research papers have raised the concern of anti-terrorist…
To slow climate change the world will either have to put the brakes on economic growth or change the way the world’s economies work, scientists say. A study by University of Michigan researchers assessed the effects of several factors on year-to-year changes in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. Researchers looked at two natural phenomena believed…