Act 4 Chemistry

What's a COP 17?

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:24:00 -0400

Have you heard of COP 17? Did you know it is the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference? And that it is going on right now (admittedly- ending soon) in Durban, South Africa?

The conference provides the opportunity for countries to come together to discuss and secure a global climate agreement for the future. These discussions are even more important since the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.

To learn more, or if you’ve been following it in the news and want a different perspective – check out this blog. ACS helped sponsor several students – giving them the opportunity to travel to Durban to witness the climate negotiations first hand. The blog shows what they’ve seen and learned along the way. Check it out: http://acsstudents.weebly.com/index.html

Innovative Ideas that Work

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:26:00 -0400

In the derailed train wreck that has come to represent our economy of the past couple of years, a logical first step to getting our economical “train” back on track to growth would seem to be that of damage control not innovation and invention. However, this reasoning proves to be a bit off the mark as shown by a study conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland which found that “innovation, measured by patents per capita, was the most important factor in determining which state economies had grown the fastest” in the past 75 years.

On July 13, National Journal held its Innovation Works Conference featuring a discussion titled “Foreshadowing the Future” with special guests Robert Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Ceci Connolly, Senior Adviser, McKinsey Center for Health Reform, Ronald A. Klain, President, Case Holdings, Dr. Arun Majumdar, Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, United States Department of Energy, and Simon J. Tripp, Senior Director of Technology Partnership Practice, Battelle. The dialogue centered upon the top 5 innovation s that are expected to drive economic growth in the next 10 years.

The wireless 4G network, presented by Atkinson, looks to be implemented sooner rather than later, building on the current 3G network by creating a mass array of new applications and services that will spur new jobs and economic growth. The 4G network looks to dive into innovative ideas such as equipping bridges with sensors that would allow external monitoring of the structures by engineers. Using smartphones as a segway, Ceci Connolly introduced the concept of “Doc-in-a-Phone,” also known as mobile health care. This sort of technology has already begun to revolutionize the entire field by allowing increased communication between doctor and patient and even medical diagnosis.

Dr. Arun Majumdar and Ronald A. Klain took to the stage to bring forth intertwining ideas in which Majumdar shed light into the catalysis of energy innovation and specifically projects under ARPA-E. Klain expanded on this topic by discussing the innovations in the transportation sector, especially that of the electric car, which would not only create jobs and American growth but also take the U.S. out of the era of “Ricky Ricardo” dominated by internal combustion cars and buses. Finally, Simon J. Tripp discussed the expansion and advancement in the genomics field which would in turn find application in major markets such as agriculture and medicine.

While innovative ideas, such as the ones presented by the panel in National Journal’s Innovation Works Conference, have proven to be vast and varied they all point to one common goal, U.S. economic growth and job creation.

Removing Barriers to Innovation

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:58:00 -0400

On Wednesday, July 13, National Journal hosted the Innovation Works Conference in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. The conference consisted of a series of panels of innovators and policy makers who discussed the state of innovation in America today and how to foster its growth.

The second panel, entitled “What Best Drives Innovation?” was moderated by Matthew Cooper, Editor of the National Journal Daily, and consisted of U.S. House Representatives Donna Edwards (D-MD) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Mr. Reed E. Hundt, Principal of REH Advisors, Ms. Susan Lund, Principal and Director of Research of McKinsey Global Institute, and Mr. Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association.

The discussion revolved around the impacts of the new patent law change and of the current U.S. tax system on innovation. Rep. Rohrabacher and Rep. Edwards shared their displeasures with the new patent law reform that passed through the House on June 23. They think the new law will hurt small inventors, who are less likely to have the know-how or capital needed to get their inventions patented before corporations can get these patents (corporations usually have a team of lawyers and large budgets devoted solely to obtaining patents). Shapiro applauded President Obama for proactively protecting American intellectual property abroad, especially from ambitious countries like China.

Shapiro suggested that U.S. innovation is being “stifled” by how we tax and went on to say that the role of the federal government and of the tax code should be to create the right environment for business and innovation, not necessarily just to throw money at select endeavors or projects. Hundt expanded on this idea, saying that the tax code must be reformed to allow US companies with foreign branches to bring their money back into the U.S. without the sharp penalty of repatriation these dollars face now. The current situation is hurting innovative potential by keeping funds locked up abroad; we need to bring it home, he said. Rep. Edwards added that increasing the strength of the incentive provided by the U.S. Research and Development tax credit would greatly benefit our innovation and experimentation environment. Even though we were the first country in the world to have an R&D tax credit, as of 2009, our tax credit only ranked 24th among 38 industrialized countries with similar tax credits. Congress strengthened the credit by adding an alternative simplified credit (ASC) formula in 2007 that extends the credit to companies of more sizes. The ASC stands at 14 percent today, but in order to be competitive globally it would need to be increased to 20 percent.

The problem of keeping jobs and talent in America was also discussed. Rep. Rohrabacher critiqued our policy on China, citing that it needs to actively support Americans, and not multinational corporations that are only looking out for themselves. These multinationals are transferring huge amounts of money abroad (with many going to China) and drawing people that would otherwise have to come to the U.S. to work and boost the U.S. economy to follow these corporations to places like China. This is hurting us in all economic areas and especially in innovation, he said. People come to the U.S. to get educated then take that education away; we need to keep the talent here somehow. Shapiro agreed, adding his idea that maybe an accelerated path to citizenship could be an incentive to keep foreign nationals here in the U.S.; these people will be assets to companies that boost the U.S. economy and also will spend money in our economy, thereby creating jobs for Americans, he argued.

Hundt drew applause when he pointed out that despite all of our problems and divisions and the spreading concern that the current tone of American politics makes it sound like the U.S., as a nation, is in deep, deep decline, we remain the most successful multicultural nation in the world and retain the world’s largest economy. And he thinks that’s something worth noting.

Pushing Back the Ethanol Blend Wall: A House Subcommitte Examination

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:49:00 -0400

The House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a hearing yesterday, July 7, regarding the science of a gasoline and ethanol blend which contains up to 15% ethanol volume, otherwise knows as E15. E15 use was recently waived by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in MY2001 and newer light-duty motor vehicles in reaction to a request made by Growth Energy and 54 ethanol manufacturers under the Clean Air Act. This partial waiver was conducted based on results of a Department of Energy (DOE) study which looked into the potential effect of E15.

The hearing saw a panel of 7 witnesses including Ms. Margo Oge, Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, EPA, Mr. Bob Greco, Group Director, Downstream and Industry Operations, American Petroleum Institute, Ms. Heather White, Chief of Staff and General Counsel, Environmental Working Group, Mr. Jeff Wasil, Emissions Certification Engineer, Evinrude Outboard Motors, Mr. Mike Brown, President, National Chicken Council, Mr. W. Steven Burke, President and CEO, Biofuels Center of North Carolina, and Dr. Ron Sahu, Technical Consultant, Outdoor Power Equipment Institute.

The hearing was nearly a one-sided affair with most of the witnesses, save Ms. Oge, testifying that the waiver of E15 by the EPA was a poor, premature decision, and with most of the Subcommittee member’s questions and concerns being raised to Ms. Oge. Specifically, the concerns raised over the permissibility of E15 use involve the potential for damage to engines and fuel equipment incompatibility with the new fuel blend. In addition, the fact that car manufacturers would not cover under warranty damages to engines and the emission control system of light-duty motor vehicles found to have been fueled by E15, regardless if the fuel blend was the cause of the damages.

In terms of consumers the prevention of misfueling is a key issue that remained unresolved as Mr. Sahu and Mr. White mentioned in their testimonies that the final label design for the prevention was not only “weakened” but “will do little to educate consumers in using the wrong fuel.” While much of the hearing revolved around the science and consumer implications of the waivers for E15 use, instead of whether it was the “best fuel” on the market, an interesting stance on the E15 issue came from Mr. Brown in which he revealed disappointment in the EPA’s actions. He claimed that allowing the increase in ethanol volume produced adverse affects for the chicken production community who simply “cannot compete against the U.S. government” for corn, which is the main ingredient found in chicken feed.

The debate looks to be a continuing and complex issue in the near future involving several key governmental and industrial actors including legislation that would disallow the EPA from granting waivers to any ethanol/gasoline blend with greater than 10% ethanol volume.

ARPA-E drives investment in high-risk technology research

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:52:00 -0400

Yesterday, July 7, Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) hosted a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill entitled “APRA-E and the Energy Technology Revolution” where its director, Dr. Arun Majumdar, spoke on the successes of ARPA-E and its goals for the next decade. ASME and IEEE-USA graciously hosted the event.

ARPA-E is the Advanced Research Projects Agency- Energy and is part of the Department of Energy. It is the nation’s “only agency devoted to transformational energy research and development”. It was launched by President Obama on April 27, 2009 as part of the America COMPETES Act and received official budget funding in FY2011 in the amount of $180 million. Through a competitive bidding and reviewing process, ARPA-E awards grants to researchers of energy technology and tends to invest in high-risk technologies that are not guaranteed success.

Dr. Majumdar discussed some of the successful technologies ARPA-E has funded in the last two years. These ranged from more efficient ways to produce biofuels to transportation batteries that have twice the energy density of current batteries, from new manufacturing techniques for photovoltaic cells to more efficient drilling through the use of drill bits with lasers.

Dr. Majumdar briefly touched on the fact that ARPA-E is oversubscribed with grant applications. He believes that US “capacity to innovate is amazing.” He said that he had no idea just how creative Americans were until he started as ARPA-E’s first director and he regrets not being able to fund all of the great project ideas that cross his desk.

He also applauded the organizational structure of ARPA-E as written into its charter, which currently only allows its employees to work for 3-4 years before moving on. This means that efficiency and success are of the utmost importance and has allowed for so much progress in such a short time. All ARPA-E employees are outcome driven and thus very motivated. Currently, contracting time is only two months, which is an impressive time-frame for any organization. Majumdar said that ARPA-E has very successfully leveraged federal dollars because in two years because it has invested around $360 million in new technologies and was extremely proud to reveal that, to date, the private sector has almost matched that investment, even investing in very risky technology that may not work.

Dr. Majumdar finished his presentation by saying that he believes that the next 10-20 years are crucial for American growth and that the best way to get out of the financial hole that we are in today is to innovate. He said that the US can pull ahead of the pack and return to a stronger position of economic and technological prominence within the international community through investment in and export of energy technology. ARPA-E’s role in this is to continue to pick promising projects to invest in, and that is what he intends to do with his last year on the job.

The BP/Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Damage Continues

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:01:00 -0400

On June 28, 2011 the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife held its second hearing regarding the progress of Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Early Restoration efforts after the April 20, 2010 BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster just off the Gulf of Mexico.

While this disaster, which tragically took 11 lives and allowed oil to flow out for nearly 3 months, has all but disappeared from the mainstream news much of restoration of the marine ecosystems injured by the oil spill has yet to be initiated.

The Subcommittee hearing featured two panels, one federal and one non-federal, each providing their insights on the current process of damage assessment incurred in the Gulf Coast and each looking ahead to future plans and action.

The first panel consisted of Ms. Cynthia Dohner Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Southeast Region and the Department of Interior's (DOI) Authorized Official for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) process in the BP/Deep Water Horizon oil spill and Mr. Tony Penn Deputy Chief of the Assessment and Restoration Division, Office of Response and Restoration NOAA.

The second panel consisted of Dr. Donald F. Boesch, Ph. D. Member of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, Dr. Margaret Leinen, Ph.D. Vice-Chair of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Research Board, Dr. Erik Rifkin, Ph.D. Interim Executive Director, National Aquarium Conservation Center National Aquarium, Mr. Garret Graves Chair of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and Mr. R. Cooper Shattuck Chairman of the Executive Committee of the NRDA Trustee Council.

The panelists have confirmed that currently the NRDA has moved from the “pre-assesement” phase to the “restoration planning” phase of its assessment as noted under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA). In addition, one of the recent highlights has been an agreement between the Trustees for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and BP in the amount of $1 billion that would go towards early restoration projects which would essentially allow assessment of injuries under NRDA to run parallel to these projects.

While recent progress and the agreement between the Trustees and BP is a step in the right direction the entire assessment has been alarmingly slow with Mr. Penn giving a timeline of pre-implementation activities to be continued until the end of 2012. While it is important, as Senator Cardin claimed, that “accurate science” be used it remains a bit appalling that in this period ecosystems, especially ones that we heavily rely upon, will be allowed to sit in a damaged state.

Shortcomings of the NRDA process as noted by some of the panelists include the lack of independent scientific audits on trustee approved studies, the absence of “in place, in kind” measures as noted by the OPA, the ability for BP (the defense in the case filed by the Department of Justice) to have an active say on where studies are to be conducted and which ones they will fund, and the lack of adequate stock assessments to determine baseline conditions pre-spill.

This last shortcoming appears to be one of the greatest hindrances because even if BP, the responsible party, were to fund in full and even if the proposed restoration projects were agreed upon by all parties the lack of knowledge on pre-spill conditions and adequate assessments of fish stocks prior to this disaster means that many projects will be left to proceed blindly and will likely be a mere shot in the dark.

Although there is much litigation and imperfections to be corrected in this process the highlight of the BP agreement and the general cooperation between the federal agencies, BP, the Trustees and the states serves as a glimmer of hope that the Gulf Coast ecosystems and economies will not only recover but also thrive in unprecedented manners in the near future.

Department of Commerce services expand to aid West Virginian manufacturing exports

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:08:00 -0400

On June 27, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology held a hearing entitled “Making It In America: Innovate Locally, Export Globally” at the John C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Charleston, West Virginia. Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV held this hearing in his home state to focus on the importance of exports for West Virginia’s future economic growth.

The panel included: The Honorable Suresh Kumar, Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotion and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC); Judy McCauley, West Virginia District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration; Mark Julian, Deputy Executive Director and Director of Business and Industrial Development of the West Virginia Department of Commerce; Donald Gallion, Chairman of the West Virginia District Export Council and Senior Vice President for International Sales of FCX Systems, Inc.; and Randy Moore, Vice President, West Virginia AFL-CIO and International Representative of the United Steelworkers.

U.S. manufacturing capability dictates our level of economic success and has direct implications for national security. Most importantly— it creates jobs. Chairman Rockefeller discussed the economic success many West Virginian manufacturing companies have achieved by exporting their goods. However, not all companies have been able to effectively export their products. The federal government can help “connect the right companies with the right buyers.”

The main discussion was on West Virginian manufacturing and exportation. Kumar described programs available through the DOC. Notably, his U.S. Foreign and Commercial Service is a network of trade specialists throughout the U.S. and the world whose job is to connect manufacturing businesses to buyers in other countries; it is opening a new branch of this Commerce Connect service in Charleston.

Not all manufacturers have taken advantage of the DOC’s services. Gallion reminisced that the DOC has come a long way since he first started his aviation supply company, FCX Systems, Inc. In the 1970’s, he had no idea that the DOC could help small companies like his; it didn’t advertise its services effectively, and so he only knew it as a name, simply a part of Washington with which he thought he’d never interact. Over the past few decades, however, the DOC has worked to increase its visibility and better advertise its assistance programs (Commerce Connect expansion is a great example of this).

Julian also spoke on the need to get kids interested in manufacturing by introducing them to cool new technology early in life. This spurred Chairman Rockefeller to talk about his experience with the America Competes Act and, its importance to STEM education.

Chairman Rockefeller briefly talked about the troubling theft of American patents by international companies. Gallion said that many companies choose not to export goods because they do not wish to go through the process of getting an international patent and risk wider exposure of their technology.

Gallion also discussed the need for better free trade agreements that would help “level the playing field,” helping U.S. companies to be more competitive. U.S. companies that are exporting goods are doing much better in today’s troubled world marketplace than those that are not, he said. Chairman Rockefeller closed the discussion on an optimistic note, saying that he hopes no one ever gives up on West Virginia and its peoples’ innovative spirit.

Leaders in Chemical Industry support President Barack Obama's Advanced Manufacturing Partnership

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:44:00 -0400

President Barack Obama gave a speech today, June 24, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn., launching the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, a national initiative to boost manufacturing and the U.S. economy.

Obama discussed important breakthroughs in American industry over the past 50 years and described their roots in collaborative research and development efforts by individuals, small companies and universities. He emphasized the role manufacturing has played in American economic dominance over this time period.

In recent years, however, we have lost some of our edge, he said, particularly some of the competitive spirit and ambition that made American manufacturing and the U.S. economy the envy of the modern world. At the recommendation of his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Obama announced a new initiative, the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, or AMP. Comprised of some of the country’s most innovative leaders such as Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University, and the University of Michigan, the partnership will also include industrial leaders such as Dow Chemical, Johnson & Johnson and Honeywell.

This partnership’s goal is to “make sure tomorrow’s breakthroughs are American breakthroughs.” It will facilitate collaboration and “create the kind of innovation infrastructure necessary to get ideas from the drawing board to the manufacturing floor to the market more quickly.” Additionally, federal agencies will partner with private sector counterparts to increase manufacturing capabilities in areas that are important to our national security. All of these provisions will make American businesses more competitive internationally, will create new manufacturing jobs that will grow the economy and put the wind back into the sails of the American spirit of innovation.

The president’s proposals will dovetail with ACS jobs and innovation policy and offer new directions for ACS members.

To read the text of President Obama’s speech, click here.

To read the report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, click here.

Japanese nuclear crisis update

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:20:00 -0400

With so many other pressing issues in the news, and no we aren’t talking about the Royal Wedding, the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake may have slipped off your radar. This week’s C&EN News gives a concise update on the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Did you know that large amounts of radiation are still leaking from the facility? Were you aware that a plan to install a concrete cover over the three badly damaged reactors was in place? Read about it here

Game Over or Next Level

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:14:00 -0400

The American Chemical Society and the Senate Science and Technology Caucus held a compelling hearing on “Supercomputing for Science and Competiveness” today. In opening remarks, Senators Alexander and Udall highlighted a number of reasons it is crucial that the U.S. continues to lead the world in developing computer technologies. An esteemed panel outlined a number of challenges that can be met by advancing processing speeds and computation capability including better meteorological predictions, advancing personalized medicine, understand CO2 dynamics, and identifying alternate fuel sources.

Go here for more information and look for the recently released National Academies report on ‘The Future of Computer Performance’.

A conversation with Budget Chairman Paul Ryan

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 10:56:00 -0400

National Journal event this morning provided some good insight into where Chairman Ryan’s head is right now. Here are some highlights - only one of the four Charlie Sheen references that were made between himself and reporter Major Garrett are included.

Q: What are your thoughts on another CR?

A: Maybe another four week one after the current two week CR. We are very happy to have gotten below the 2010 baseline levels that Obama wanted to stay at

Q: What is your relationship with Jack Lew (Pres. Obama’s budget chief)?

A: He’s a good guy, we get along well

Q: Are you allergic to a gov’t shutdown?

A: Yes, but more allergic to high spending

Q: Do you believe the Senate has accepted sub-2010 spending levels?

A: Yes. I am excited that we are debating about how much to cut, not what to increase.

Q: How committed are the freshman tea party members?

A: In Wisconsin we have something called a dairy breakfast. It’s essentially ham, cheese, and eggs. The cows and chickens are involved, but the pigs are really committed. In this congress the new members are the pigs

Q: Will Medicare reform be in the budget eventually?

A: Maybe – I won’t say because I want to leave some surprises.

Q: So cutting entitlements is on the table?

A: Yes but we have to be careful. So many people have organized their lives around social security, Medicare, and Medicaid, that we can’t pull the rug out from under them too quickly.

Q: Have you seen Charlie Sheen this week?

A: No comment. Or rather, what keeps me up at night is the CBO, what keeps Charlie Sheen up at night is probably something very different.

Q: Does cutting spending kill jobs?

A: No, many estimates use the wrong multiplier. We are in an inflation and interest rate problem that must be met with lower taxes and predictable regulations.

Q: Is Scott Walker on the right track?

A: Scott and I have been friends a long time and he is very moderate. What he is doing In Wisconsin is not an assault on unions

Q: What republican Presidential candidate is most aggressive on entitlement reform?

A: All of them. Newt, Pawlenty, Haley Barber

Q: What about Mitt Romney?

A: Oh, yeah – him too. The structure of his health care plan in Massachusetts was flawed though.

Q: What programs are most targeted to be cut?

A: Those that saw the most growth over the last two years (including ARRA funds) such as the EPA

http://nationaljournal.com/events/event/48/

Close call for the EPA

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:17:00 -0400

Last night, Wednesday, February 16, a proposed amendment by Representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ) to eliminate the predominant extramural research funding program in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Research and Development was defeated in the House of Representatives. The proposal would have removed $64 million of this year’s funding for EPA’s Science and Technology account, the amount of money that is dedicated to extramural grants and fellowships under the Science to Achieve Results program. While 199 members of Congress were ready to eliminate extramural science funding at EPA, 230 of their peers rejected the proposal.

The President's 2012 Budget Request

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:15:00 -0400

For everyone who is not spending their day attending budget briefings and combing the internet for information and insights-here is a snapshot pulled directly from the White House budget release.

National Science Foundation

· Provides $7.8 billion for the National Science Foundation, an increase of 13 percent above the 2010 enacted level. Investments are made in areas that contribute to the President’s Plan for Science and Innovation. Savings are also created by reducing funding for low-performing and lower-priority education and research programs.

· Demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to research and development as a driver of economic growth, consistent with the President’s plan to double funding for key basic research agencies.

· Fosters the development of a clean energy economy by providing $998 million for a cross-agency sustainability research effort focused on renewable energy technologies and complex environmental- and climate-system processes.

· Supports job creation in advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies with significant increases for multidisciplinary research targeted at next-generation computer chips, wireless communications, and robotics technologies.

· Invests in the growth of America’s science and technology workforce with $20 million for recruiting and retaining undergraduate students from under-represented groups.

National Institute of Standards and Technology

· Provides $8.8 billion in discretionary spending, a decrease of $5.1 billion from the 2010 enacted level. This reflects increased funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and continued strong support for the promotion of U.S. exports. Reductions are made to lower priority and low-performing programs.

· Invests in American innovation by providing $764 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology laboratories, $75 million for the Technology Innovation Program, and $12 million for Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia, and by strengthening the fee structure at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and reforming the patent process.

· Enhances American manufacturers’ competitiveness by providing $143 million to the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which helps firms identify growth strategies and adopt more efficient manufacturing processes.

· Promotes American exports and export-related jobs by providing $526 million for the International Trade Administration as it continues to implement the National Export Initiative.

Department of Energy

· Provides $29.5 billion, a 12 percent increase over the 2010 enacted level. This reflects increases for priority areas such as clean energy, nuclear security, and research and development. Savings are achieved through cuts to inefficient fossil energy programs.

· Doubles the number of Energy Innovation Hubs, adding three areas of research to focus on critical materials including rare earth materials, battery and energy storage, and new grid technologies and systems to help Smart Grid and improve energy transmission efficiency.

· Positions the United States to lead in the clean energy economy by providing $5.4 billion for long-term research and development at the Office of Science and $550 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy.

· Makes a significant commitment to U.S. energy technology leadership, more than doubling energy efficiency research, development, and deployment and increasing renewable energy investments by over 70 percent.

· Initiates a public-private effort to reduce energy usage in our Nation’s commercial buildings by 20 percent by 2020. The Department of Energy’s programs include a “Race to Green” grant competition and a pilot program to provide retrofit loan guarantees that will focus on universities and hospitals. These programs complement an expanded and redesigned tax incentive for commercial building upgrades.

National Institutes of Health

· The Budget includes $32 billion for basic and applied biomedical research supported by NIH both on campus and at academic and independent research institutions across the country.

Congress Reacts to Spill Commission Report

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:50:00 -0400

This week’s C&EN highlighted Congress’s reaction to the 380-page report by the ‘Oil Spill Commission’ far more effectively than Christina Aguilera did remembering the words to the National Anthem last night.

Not surprisingly, lawmakers possess conflicting opinions about how legislation should best be crafted to ensure a spill of this magnitude does not happens again, and there was no shortage of passionate comments on the subject.

Brief summary article found here

Regulatory Reform

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:14:00 -0400

Yesterday, January 26^th, the House Energy & Commerce Committee held a hearing on “The Views of the Administration on Regulatory Reform.” Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, conducted the hearing. Witness testimony was given by Mr. Cass Sunstein (Administer, Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs).

The overall theme of the hearing was the need for a balance between regulatory cost and regulatory benefit, that the regulations burdens not outweigh its gains. While it sounds simple enough, both sides have vastly different opinions on where that balance should lie.

In the discussion, one member implied that regulations have been increasingly needed as the house and senate, being unable to agree, have failed to act and pass legislation that would otherwise cover issues under new regulations.

Ultimately, as Rep. DeGette (D-CO) stated, the regulations must be based on the best available science, taking cost and benefit into consideration.

Video of the hearing is available here.