Policy, Science, and Partnership Issues for the Complex Urban Environment

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Policy, Science, and Partnership Issues for the
Complex Urban Environment

• Dr. Kathie L. Olsen, Associate Director
• Office of Science and Technology Policy
• September 21, 2004

Photo credit Urban Heat Island Pilot Project
Sacramento, CA
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Challenges in Urban Meteorology

• The goal of life is living in agreement with
  nature.
• Zeno (335 BC - 264 BC)
• Many difficulties which nature throws in our
  way, may be smoothed away by the exercise of
  intelligence.
• Titus Livius (59 BC - 17 AD)

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Challenges in Urban Meteorology

• Dr. Ann Carlson
• NASA
• Dr. Gene Whitney
• Interior/USGS

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The United Nations has predicted by 2025, 60
percent of the world's population will live in
cities.

1. We need to understand the hazards
2. We need to be warned and know how to react
3. We need to be safe at home and at work
4. We need to recover quickly

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What are we doing in DC?
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Role of White House Office of Science
Technology Policy (OSTP)

• Advise the President Offices of the President
• Lead the interagency effort to develop ST
  policies and budgets for all areas of science
• Co-chair National Science Technology Council
  (NSTC)
• PCAST
• Build strong partnerships among federal, state
  and local governments, other countries, industry,
  academia scientific associations
• Develop clear, measurable goals and objectives
  for RD programs
• Assess Federal investments relative to purposes
  of government

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How Do We Set Americas ST Priorities?
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The Program Decision Process
Top down (Agency management, OSTP/OMB, Congress)

• Priorities
• Budget
• Strategic
• Planning
• DECISIONS

• Ideas
• Concepts
• Planning
• Capability
• development

Bottoms up (academia, industry, agency SE
personnel)
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Establishing Program Priorities
Science Priority Criteria
Science Return Benefit to Society Mandated
Program Appropriate for Federal
government Partnership Opportunity Technology
Readiness Program Balance Cost/Budget Context
Implementation Priority Criteria
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OSTP / OMB Guidance Memorandum for FY 06 RD
Priorities

• Environment
• Climate Change Science Technology
• Global Observations
• Water Availability and Quality
• Hydrogen Economy
• Biology of Complex Systems
• Physical Sciences
• RD for Homeland Security
• Networking Information Technology
• Nanotechnology
• Each Agency is required to request a budget
  that sustains the research important for its
  mission

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NSTC Coordination of Federal Policy and
Interagency RD

• A Cabinet-level council of advisers to the
  President on Science and Technology
• Principal means to coordinate science and
  technology matters within the Federal research
  and development enterprise
• Means to establish clear national goals for
  Federal science and technology investments

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Current NSTCStructureSeptember 2004
NSTC Director, OSTP
Committee on Environment Natural Resources
Committee on Science
Committee on Technology
Committee on Homeland and National Security
WH Olsen, NSF Bement, NIH Zerhouni
WH Russell DOC Bond
WH Olsen, EPA Gilman, DOC Lautenbacher
WH Dale DOD Wynne DHS McQueary
Research Business Models
Education Workforce Dev.
Technology Dev.
Large Scale Science
National Security RD
Global Change Research
Aquaculture
Networking Information Technology
Radiological/Nuclear Countermeasures
Air Quality Research
Human Subjects Research
IWG Physics of the Universe
Disaster Reduction
Nanoscale Science, Eng. Technology
International
IWG Plant Genome
Ecosystems
WMD Medical Countermeasures
IWG Dom. Animal Genomics
Manufacturing Research and Development
Toxics Risks
IWG Prion Research
Standards
IWG Trans-boarder Samples
Water Availability Quality
IWG Multinational Orgs
IWG Earth Observations
RD Investment Criteria Research Misconduct Policy
Infrastructure
Biotechnology
Aeronautics
IWG on Dioxin
Social, Behavioral Econ.
Oceans
Health and the Environment
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Purpose facilitate and promote natural and
technological disaster mitigation, preparedness,
response, and recovery through science
technology 2004 Emphases - Earth observation
for disaster prevention - Risk and disaster
warning/communication systems and methods
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Disaster Reduction

• Natural hazards and disasters
• Hurricanes
• Tornadoes
• Floods
• Earthquakes
• Volcanoes
• Wild fires
• Droughts

• Technological hazards and disasters
• Oil spills
• Chemical spills
• Large-scale industrial accidents or releases

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Interagency Working Group on Earth Observations

• Co-Chairs Ghassem Asrar, NASA
• Greg Withee, NOAA
• Cliff Gabriel, OSTP
• Purpose To develop the US 10-year plan in
  global observations and support the US
  participation in the intergovernmental global
  observations working group

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A Distributed Global Earth Observation System
of Systems"
GEOSS will be a distributed system of
systems, building step-by-step on current
cooperation efforts among existing observing and
processing systems within their mandates, while
encouraging and accommodating new components.
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Air Quality Research

• Co-Chairs
• Dan Albritton, NOAA
• Jeffrey Holmstead, EPA

Purpose enhance the effectiveness and
productivity of air quality research and to
improve the information interface between the
research and the policy on this issue.

• Particulate Matter Research
• Air Toxics

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SUBCOMMITTEE ON WATER AVAILABILITY AND
QUALITY Co-Chairs Robert Hirsch (USGS) Lee
Mulkey (EPA) Purpose Science issues and
policy related to needed improvements in
technology and research that will advance the
goal of ensuring a safe and sustainable supply of
water in the United States for human and
ecological needs.
Climate change Demographics Allocation Irrigation
Economics Sustainability Security
Fishing Swimming Drinking Habitat Recreation Inva
sive species Biological integrity
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WATER AVAILABILITY AND QUALITY
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Homeland and National Security

• Better communications between levels of
  government
• Federal/state/local
• Emergency preparedness and response
• First responder techniques and technologies
• Improved observational, modeling, and warning
  capabilities

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Examples of FederalAgency Coordination
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NASA/NOAA cooperation on hurricane research
NOAA hurricane research aircraft
NASA/NASDA/ESA Global Precipitation
Measurement (GPM) mission to launch in 2008

• TRMM measures towering rain structures in
  hurricane Bonnie

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• REAL-TIME STREAM CONDITIONS
• USGS-NOAA-National Weather Service collaboration
• Real-time discharge data and CHANGES in
  discharge
• Allows the monitoring of flow conditions and
  anticipation of floods

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Urban Heat Island and Human Health(heat and air
quality)
NASA GHCC
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Heat Island Reduction Initiative
(HIRI)EPA/DOE/NASA

• Long term interagency collaboration
• Studies by the Department of Energy's Lawrence
  Berkeley National Laboratories in California
  suggest mitigation strategies for urban heat
  island effects could save 5 billion to 10
  billion in energy costs annually in the United
  States.
• Reductions in ozone and smog could save another
  5 billion.

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There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We
are all crew. Marshall McLuhan
(1911 - 1980)
Success is sometimes measured by what doesnt
happen