Monthly Archives: August 2011

National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council Report

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News from the National Academies

Date: Aug. 24, 2011

Climate Change and Extreme Hydrology

A “grand challenge” to understand the manifestation of change in floods and droughts faces climate and water science researchers, says a new report from the National Research Council based on proceedings from a workshop. A coherent picture of how these phenomena will shift due to changes in climate and land use has yet to emerge, but better understanding could be achieved through greater exchange of research findings among climate scientists, water scientists, and engineers.

EPA to incorporate sustainability guidelines in decision-making

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“Report Offers Framework To Guide EPA On Incorporating Sustainability In Its Decision Making

WASHINGTON – A new report from the National Research Council presents a framework for incorporating sustainability into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s principles and decision making. The framework, which was requested by EPA, is intended to help the agency better assess the social, environmental, and economic impacts of various options as it makes decisions.

The committee that developed the framework used the definition of sustainability based on a declaration of federal policy in the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act and included in a 2009 Executive Order: “to create and maintain conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations.”

Source: What’s New @ the National Academies, Aug. 8, 2011