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||8 ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND D^A^ELOPMENT 



suppofti era's mission; (he result is that "the base of academic research talent avail- 

 able to EPA is being seriously eroded rather than expanded and replenished."'''' 



These kinds of problems are not unknown to the leaders within EPA. In 

 the spring of 1992.. EPA Administrator William K. Reilly testified to Congress on 

 a repon he had requested from four academic expens regarding EPA's research pro- 

 gram." The repon candidly described the weaknesses of EPA's research programs, 

 leading Administrator Reilly to cite his own concerns about the quality and direc- 

 tion of science at EPA and to indicate his desire to make EPA a "premiere science 

 agency." The report called for more science advisors within the agency, a greater 

 reliance on peer review and quality assurance programs, better career opponunities 

 foi senior scientists, the recruitment of several research Kientists and engineers with 

 world-class reputations, and improved education and outreach programs. 



Despite its shortcomings, however, EPA's research program boasts some 

 notable accomplishments. The research program mirrors the agency's regulatory 

 program in its breadth, covering issues from the health effects of air pollution to 

 the ecological consequences of wetlands loss, and it has been successful in supporting 

 the crisis-oriented needs of the regulatory program. Pollution prevention activities 

 are receiving increasing attention within ORD, as are global climate change and 

 risk assessment. 



EPA is also expanding its statistical capabilities through programs such 

 as EMAP, the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program. Though subject 

 to some early criticism of its design, EMAP is intended to funher the development 

 of environmental indicators and monitoring information by assessing the current 

 extent and IcKation and major ecological resources as well as their rate of deteri- 

 oration."*' Recent efforts within EPA to improve the quality of science and to renew 

 the research mission, including a proposal to rename ORD the Office of Science 

 and Technology, also seem promising. 



NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDA'HON 



The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports basic scientific and engineering 

 research, education, and training in the environmental field through competitive 

 grant programs. Two major divisions, covering a wide range of disciplines, funded 

 research totaling more than S540 million in 1991, making NSF the largest source 

 of extramural grants in the environmental field. 



The Directorate for Biological Sciences funds research in biotic systems 

 and resources, molecular biosciences, and cellular biosciences. The thrust of this 

 program is to understand "the genetic and ecological basis for variation in the life 

 histories and physiologies of organisms that allow them to respond to changing 

 environments."'"' In addition, the new Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Eco- 

 nomic Sciences funds research that seeks to explore the anthropogenic causes and 

 effects of ecological change. Significant funding is devoted to study of the global 

 change phenomenon, particularly the economic effects of global change on inter- 



