Healthy skepticism has long formed the foundation of the scientific peer review process. Will anything substantively new be gleaned from a red team/blue team exercise?
science policy
Are Studies That Evaluate Ecosystem Services Useful?
Ecologists find flaws in the approach to research that focuses on services ecosystems provide to humans. These flaws limit certain studies’ utility.
Trump Administration Moving Closer to Picking Science Director
The White House is considering separating the usually merged roles of director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and assistant to the president for science and technology.
USGS Library Cuts Would Harm Research, Education, Say Scientists
Possible budget drop would halt access by researchers, educators, and the public to nondigitized collections and services of U.S. Geological Survey librarians, according to the agency.
Build Four New U.S. Polar Icebreakers, Report Urges
All of the ships should be “science ready,” whereas one should be “fully science capable,” according to new recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Healthy Soils for Healthy Societies
Soil: The Foundation of Life; Washington, D. C., 5 December 2016
Trump Administration Scrutinizing Protected Ocean Areas
A recently initiated review of some marine sanctuaries and monuments has conservationists worried that ecological, cultural, and other benefits from those protected areas may not be considered.
Science Societies Update Joint Stance on Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
In a revised statement, the American Geophysical Union and Seismological Society of America reaffirm their view that the capability to monitor the treaty should be expanded, completed, and sustained.
State and Local Officials Push for Continued Climate Action
Governors, mayors, citizen groups, and others are moving ahead with regional and smaller-scale efforts to counteract climate change in the wake of the U.S. decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement.
International Science Group Decries Trump Climate Pact Exit
The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics also criticizes the U.S. withdrawal from the Green Climate Fund as perhaps more damaging than the nation’s exit from the Paris climate agreement.
