Executive Summary 



Energy extraction and use potentially have major effects on 

 the global and local environment. As part of its mission, the 

 Department of Energy's Office of Energy Research must understand 

 the long-term effects of these activities. To accomplish this 

 mission, a scientific research program of the highest quality is 

 required which addresses the question of how energy activities 

 affect both global climate and major ecological processes. It also 

 is increasingly critical that the scientific program lead to an 

 unprecedented predictive and anticipatory capability. While the 

 assessment of damage and change is useful and important, 

 understanding key processes which provide a predictive capacity 

 will be much more useful in developing a responsible policy for 

 energy extraction and use in the 21st century. 



In concert with other Federal agencies, and through the 

 Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences (CEES) , DOE has 

 developed and fostered long-term research to understand how 

 specific ecosystems respond to and affect the global physical and 

 chemical environment. Recently, DOE participation in the 

 Biotechnology Research Subcommittee (BRS) of the Federal 

 Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology 

 (FCCSET) has initiated a similar commitment to long-term research 

 in molecular biology. An understanding of many critical processes 

 requires knowledge of key biological regulatory mechanisms and 

 responses at a molecular level. The large-scale processes of 

 ecosystems basically depend on the small-scale responses of their 

 constituents. Recent advances in molecular biology have provided 

 fundamental understanding of living organisms, as well as new 

 experimental tools which have not been fully exploited to advance 

 our understanding of ecosystems. Therefore, DOE proposes to 

 integrate the techniques of modern molecular biology into its 

 ecosystems research programs. The specific focus will be on 

 detecting and understanding the responses of ecosystems to 

 environmental changes. Such information is crucial to interpreting 

 and predicting the effects of energy-related activities on the 

 biosphere, and their feedback on future climate. 



The Molecular Approaches to Ecosystems Research (MAESR) report 

 was developed after a workshop held on 6-10 January 1991 at 

 Asilomar, California. The report identifies three major areas of 

 opportunity in which the application of molecular biological 



