Government Concentrates

Senate nears completion of national energy legislation

As last week drew to an end, the Senate was close to passing a national energy bill and moving the legislation to a conference committee to resolve differences between House- and Senate-passed bills. Much of the debate focused on amendments concerning global warming. On June 22, the Senate voted down (38-60) provisions to establish a cap-and-trade program that would bring carbon dioxide emissions to 2000 levels by 2010. An attempt to broaden support by including nuclear power incentives appears to have backfired, costing the global warming measure votes when compared with a similar measure, without nuclear incentives, that lost by 43-55 in 2003. However, the Senate did clear (54-43) a nonbinding "sense of Senate" resolution acknowledging that greenhouse gases are resulting in significant environmental damage, that human activities are responsible, and that mandatory steps will be required to slow or stop greenhouse gas emissions. The resolution set no timetable. Other provisions in the Senate bill give final authority for siting liquefied natural gas facilities to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, rather than states; call for an inventory of restricted offshore gas and oil reserves; and offer $11 billion in incentives to energy providers. Congressional Republican leadership aims to move a bill through conference, pass a compromise bill in both bodies, and have the bill ready for the President's signature before the August congressional recess.

Computational science labeled key technology

Computational science is a key technology field of the 21st century because it allows researchers to study complex phenomena and processes that are experimentally difficult to characterize, according to a President's Information Technology Advisory Committee report. "Computational science--the use of advanced computing capabilities to understand and solve complex problems--is now critical to scientific leadership, economic competitiveness, and national security," said John H. Marburger III, director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, in announcing the report. The report urges federal R&D agencies and universities to work together to make changes to education and research structures that promote collaborative efforts in this area. Among the report's other recommendations are for the government to do a fast-track study to find ways to support advances in computational sciences in federal R&D, to develop a multidecade plan for computational science progress, and to support long-term repositories for computational science data and software.

Policies on utility emissions analyzed

The benefits of reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury from power plants "significantly outweigh" the costs of controlling this pollution, according to a new report by the nonpartisan think tank Resources for the Future (RFF). The report examines policy options for curbing these three pollutants. The study, funded by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, also scrutinizes two types of policies for steeply curbing utilities' mercury pollution--one based on control technology, the other on setting a nationwide cap and then allowing facilities to buy and sell emission allowances. RFF concludes that a technology-based policy for tightly controlling mercury would lead to greater net benefits than a cap-and-trade program, which would impose greater costs on electricity generators. Utilities would be more apt to switch from coal to natural gas if mercury emissions were steeply slashed through a cap-and-trade program and more likely to switch among the types of coal if a technology-based approach was used. Regardless of the type of policy selected, a deep cut in mercury emissions would incidentally lead to substantial reductions in SO₂ pollution, thus yielding additional benefits at no further cost, the report says. The report is available at www.rff.org/documents/RFF-DP-05-23.pdf.

ACLU blames Bush for curbing scientific freedoms

The Bush Administration is using the mantle of national security to influence science in the U.S. to fit its political agenda, charges a report released this month by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Based on data and anecdotes from a host of media outlets, the report concludes that the Administration's changes are too restrictive and are hurting the nation's scientific progress. In addition to the oft-noted barriers faced by international students and scholars trying to work or study in the U.S., ACLU says the Administration is overrestricting access to so-called dual-use agents for fundamental research and is unfairly attempting to ban publications from countries subject to trade embargoes. The report also cites an increase in labeling scientific data as "sensitive but unclassified," a designation ACLU calls "a recipe for runaway secrecy." The report offers six broad recommendations for reestablishing a free flow of information, including a revamped document classification system and reduced restrictions on universities and scientists doing basic research on biological agents. The 35-page report is the 14th in a series by ACLU examining changes to civil liberties since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Refiners make Clean Air Act settlements

EPA and the Department of Justice have reached settlements with two major petroleum refiners, Valero Energy Corp. and Sunoco, on meeting national Clean Air Act requirements. Valero (along with Tesoro Corp., which bought a Valero refinery in California) will pay $700 million to install emissions controls on its refineries. It will also pay a $5.5 million fine and spend more than $5.5 million on environmentally beneficial projects. Sunoco agreed to spend $285 million on new control technologies, pay $3 million in fines, and provide about $3.9 million for environmental projects. EPA reports that 15 major companies have reached settlements on reducing air emissions under its Petroleum Refinery Initiative, representing 65% of domestic refining capacity.