![](media/image1.wmf){width="1.9805555555555556in"
height="0.7291666666666666in"}

**Feedback from Select USGS Employees on Framing Document**

March 31, 2006

Total number of questionnaires sent out: 110

Total number of responses: 69 (63%)

Total number of [SAG
members](http://internal.usgs.gov/director/science_strategy/sst_sag.asp):
77

Total number of SAG responses: 53 (69%)

Total number of [ST
members](http://internal.usgs.gov/director/science_strategy/senior_scientists.asp):
33

Total number of ST responses: 16 (48%)

\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~

**Question 3a.**

Of the eight major Societal Issues we've listed, which do you think are
of the most critical importance to all Americans?

  ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
  **Importance**    **All             **SAG**           **ST**
                    respondents**                       

  1                 Water             Water             Water

  2                 Health            Climate           Health

  3                 Climate           Health            Climate

  4                 Natural Hazards   Natural Hazards   Energy and
                                                        Minerals

  5                 Ecosystems        Ecosystems        Natural Hazards

  6                 Energy and        Energy and        Ecosystems
                    Minerals          Minerals          

  7                 Landscape Change  Landscape Change  Landscape Change

  8                 Biodiversity      Biodiversity      Biodiversity
  ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

**Question 3b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why do you think it is the
most critically important societal issue to all Americans?

Those who ranked Water as the most important Societal Issue did so
because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Water is probably the single most important finite resource whose
  availability and quality will determine what regions of the country can
  sustain or grow their population.

  Americans, like everyone, rely on access to clean and dependable
  supplies of water on a daily basis. Streams, lakes, estuaries, and bays
  are referenced when defining a sense of place for many Americans and
  therefore the health of such places is at the forefront of American's
  psyche.

  I imagine that Water, Energy, Health, and Hazards would be picked by
  most Americans. I'm not sure if any of them would be picked by ALL
  Americans.

  It is critical to all aspects of life and currently greatly at risk.

  "Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting" \-- Mark Twain.
  Water is crucial to life. Without it, the other societal issues are
  moot.

  Water of sufficient quantity and quality is essential to life

  It's a broad issue \--maybe too broad\-- that affects everyone
  individually, as well as industry, agriculture, and environment. It's
  critical for life and leisure, and there's often either too much of it
  or too little of it.

  Along with the sun's energy, water is the fundamental building block
  that sustains the Earth and mankind. The health, distribution and
  number of humans at any particular place on Earth have always been
  determined by water availability and quality. With a growing population
  worldwide, and a rapidly redistributing population in the U.S.,
  availability of a sustainable water supply will ultimately determine
  where people live and how they live.

  Water is the basis of life and is a common thread through all the other
  issues.

  Quite simply, water is essential to life. Water of some adequate
  quality and quantity is essential to minimal functioning of human
  lifeways.

  \'I believe water availability is going to be the biggest resource
  issue of the future. The climate may change, but the biggest
  consequence of this might be to change water availability - it's not
  the climate so much but the effect of the climate change that's
  critical to Americans.

  I believe water availability is going to be the biggest resource issue
  of the future. The climate may change, but the biggest consequence of
  this might be to change water availability - it's not the climate so
  much but the effect of the climate change that's critical to Americans.

  The availability of clean drinking water limits population
  sustainability and economic expansion.

  Water is essential for human survival. Everything else depends on
  water. The U.S. water treatment and supply infrastructure is
  deteriorating with insufficient funds to maintain it optimally.
  Numerous symptoms indicate water supply cannot meet demands and both
  ground waters and surface waters contain numerous actual or potential
  hazards to water quality.

  water is necessary for all life, and the resource is increasingly
  scarce, with many competing interests all vying for the same limited
  resource.

  Water supply and quality issues will become of increasingly of greater
  concern in the western USA, especially southern Nevada (e.g., Las
  Vegas) and Arizona (Scottsdale) experience continued, explosive
  population growth. These areas are extremely arid, and what water
  supplies that will be available to feed these cities will have to been
  increasingly drawn from the northern parts of these states.\
  \
  At the same time, poorly regulated hard rock mining in these states has
  sapped groundwaters, lowering groundwater tables, and polluting
  residual surface waters with toxic extraction residues (cyanides), and
  associated runoff toxic heavy metal (metalloids) like arsenic,
  selenium, mercury, etc. The chemical, physical and microbiological
  factors that influence the hydrological transport and
  mobilization/sequestration of these substances will be a critical area
  for the USGS to continue its scientific leadership. Included here would
  be experimental development of possible means of
  remediation/bioremediation/treatment of these waters to render them
  suitable for human use.

  I think of the human condition in the terms of what we need to survive,
  listed here in decreasing order of necessity: 1) having a ready supply
  of water and food (so I'd suggest perhaps not limiting the water
  category to just water, or add an additional issue of maintaining the
  healthy soils and waters foundation for our food supply); 2) a healthy
  living environment with minimal natural hazards (hence why I ranked
  these as equal); 3) an adequate supply of energy and mineral resources
  needed to support global societies and economies. The remaining
  categories in my view either directly influence these categories or are
  subordinate to these categories in terms of importance.

  Access to fresh water limits human population development, and is
  important economically. But it also is a critical resource for many
  ecosystems. The availability, allocation, and use of water ties
  together issues of biodiversity, ecosystem function, climate change,
  health, and energy (especially when we start to think about
  desalination).

  Because it is a basic requirement for my number 2, 3, and 5. If there
  is not safe clean water available in enough quantity you can not
  sustain life or the ecosystem. This issue resonates with every person
  everywhere across America and the globe.

  I believe water is the most critically important societal issue to all
  Americans because water issues in some way or another affect the lives
  of all Americans. In arid areas, such as the southwest, simply the
  availability of water is problematic. The agricultural mid-west has a
  widespread presence of pesticides and by-products in water supplies,
  and in some areas extensive mining of ground water. The populous
  eastern seaboard has numerous instances of industrial contamination of
  water. Even in areas where water may seem plentiful, such as the
  northwest, competing public, agricultural, and ecological needs are
  entangled in a legal framework that restricts the availability of water
  for further development.\
  \
  Mitigating water availability and quality problems results in, at a
  minimum, an indirect expense shared by virtually all Americans. In a
  broad sense, these expenses include increased water rates or taxes to
  clean up water supplies, pay for litigation costs, or build new
  infrastructure to ensure more and cleaner water. People more directly
  affected deal with a whole range of problems from the inconvenience of
  purchasing bottled water to very serious health issues, such as
  cancers.\
  \
  Water is also a central issue in each of the other seven issues.
  Climate and Landscape Change certainly have an impact on water.
  Conversely, water availability and quality can greatly affect
  Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Human Health. Floods are certainly one of
  nature's largest Natural Hazards, and collectively affect more lives
  and damage more property than any other. Even the availability and
  extraction of Energy and Minerals can be affected by the presence of
  water, or can affect water availability and quality.\
  \
  Finally, what we learn about water in our country will help understand
  water issues world-wide. Water availability issues will eventually
  affect our relations with many countries, especially in Asia, Africa,
  and the Middle East.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why do you think it is the
most critically important societal issue to all Americans?

Those who ranked Health as the most important Societal Issue did so
because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Health is such a basic concept that I felt compelled to rank it first.
  The way the issue is written, it encompasses several of the other
  issues\--one reason that I ranked it number one. One could argue that
  if people, animals, and plants are protected some of the other issues
  are covered. I guess if I was to make this the number one priority I
  would write it with a broader definition of "health"\--not just the
  absence of toxins or disease but to include factors promoting healthy
  people, animals, plants.

  Simply put, we must have clean water. I think our water supply will be
  one of the biggest crises that will grip the nation. It already does
  major parts of the world.

  Health issues are very personal, everyone can relate to them, and they
  directly affect everyone.

  People want to live! There is a growing concern on the part of the
  public (perhaps unduly heightened by media reports) that their health
  is at risk from a wide variety of emerging infectious diseases.

  Everyone is concerned with his or her health. But why rank these
  issues? If we rank health as #1, will Interior or OMB agree that the
  USGS should take on health as the most critically important societal
  issue for the Bureau? Is this exercise the USGS talking among ourselves
  or do we include other views of what our priorities should be? I trust
  these other considerations are accounted for elsewhere in the process.

  With respect to the interests and concerns of individual Americans,
  nothing supercedes the importance of health. In other words, in the
  absence of adequate health, other concerns become secondary.

  Without health, other issues are irrelevant. Just ask a sick person how
  much he or she cares about the climate or landscape change.

  Of all the factors, this is the one that individuals deal with daily in
  their personal lives. In addition, it is a tremendous economic
  challenge to meet the Nation's health care needs.

  Obvious

  Health is the only topic that refers directly to the state of people.

  I am surprised that I chose health as 1 as I originally did not include
  it in the top 5. On reflection, of the things that the USGS can address
  I think most Americans would choose health and wealth as most likely to
  bring them happiness. My generation that has most of the wealth would
  certainly list health as a primary concern. It seems to me that the
  USGS could do a better job of showing how its mission can provide
  information and knowledge that is germane to the health of humans,
  animals, and plants. Had I not chose Health as an issue I would have
  ranked Natural Hazards as 5

  Absent a U.S. population that is healthy, both in body and economy, we
  will be unable to take care of the other themes that I have identified
  as being important. A healthy economy and well educated population is
  essential to maintaining the ecological health of America its
  biodiversity and ecosystems. Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems
  provide the ecological infrastructure necessary for a healthy economy.

  It is the issue that ultimately affects everyone and one with which
  everyone must deal in their daily lives.

  Without good health, all other matters take on less importance.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why do you think it is the
most critically important societal issue to all Americans?

Those who ranked Climate as the most important Societal Issue did so
because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Climate change will potentially impact the economy and the lives of
  most tax payers. In addition, climate also is critical for a number the
  Societal issues noted above - biodiversity, ecosystems, landscape
  change, hazards and water.

  I picked climate and the way that it is integrated with the other seven
  Societal issues. The last few decades have seen impressive advances in
  our understanding of the Earth's climate system, comparable in scope to
  the revolution launched by the theory of continental drift and plate
  tectonics. Despite these considerable advances, practically every
  sector of American society is grossly underutilizing climatic
  information and understanding that is currently available. The lag in
  technology transfer and application of knowledge usually exceeds a
  decade or more due to the fact that scientists are timid or not
  interested in the application and the users are pathologically passive.
  A few personal examples: (1) It took more than 15 years for ENSO
  forecasts to be used in fire management in the western U.S. (2) Despite
  considerable evidence for climatic nonstationarity, stationary
  assumptions about streamflow series still hold sway in flood frequency
  analyses and floodplain management, and in water resource planning. (3)
  It has been long known that the intensity if not the frequency of
  Atlantic hurricanes is modulated by multidecadal variability in North
  Atlantic sea-surface-temperatures (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation),
  and that a cold North Atlantic and depressed hurricane activity had
  abetted the rapid development of the East/Gulf Coast since the 1960's.
  When the North Atlantic turned warm around 1995, and this development
  got in harms way, there was little or no alarm until it was too late.
  Although currently under debate, a similar comment could be made about
  North Atlantic SST's and wet-dry cycles in the Great Plains and western
  U.S. Again, there was little alarm when the North Atlantic turned warm
  in 1995.

  I think most Americans consider it the most important natural science
  question in America-for societal welfare, economic impact, energy, and
  preservation of the Earth as a natural system.

  Environmentally, climate-related concerns cut broadly across other
  identified Societal Issues, with important implications for
  biodiversity, ecosystem structure and function, human health, landscape
  composition and structure, natural hazards, and water. Climate change
  also has serious potential to disrupt economies and governments, and
  its effects are likely to be acute along coastal zones, where major
  population centers tend to be concentrated.

  I chose Climate as the top choice because of the apparent high speed of
  change and the potential for impact on large areas of the earth. The
  USGS Science Strategy you are developing is addressing some of the most
  critical issues for society during the next decade. All of the 8
  societal issues you have identified so far are very important. But, to
  me Climate rises to the top because of the urgency to understand both
  changes caused by human activity as well as those changes that may be a
  part of natural variation. To some degree it may already to be too late
  to take steps to mitigate global warming. If it is as directly related
  to the rise in atmospheric greenhouse gases as some think, we may not
  be able to respond quick enough to avoid major suffering because of the
  lag time that may be involved between a point when we apply a remedy
  and when we actually begin to see results. Perhaps it is already too
  late for the USGS to get into the climate game in a bigger way. But, a
  part of me thinks that we have not been involved enough and that we can
  still make significant contributions. The five Science Questions you
  have listed cover many of the important areas where the USGS may be
  able to contribute. But I am not sure what the last Science Question
  means. What are earth science approaches the can aid mitigation of
  human impact on the climate? Are you thinking of things like making
  landscape changes intentionally? Some other?\
  \
  I suggest that we look into what we have learned about the atmospheres
  of other bodies in the solar system. While we may not have learned a
  lot about climate on other solar system bodies, we have invested some
  effort toward modeling of planetary atmospheres and atmospheric
  evolution (including the earth through time). What can we use from the
  knowledge gained in these efforts to understand current and future
  climate change on our planet? Please see my comments on the
  nationalistic phrasing of this question under Item 10.

  The issue of Climate change is so long-term and the science evolves so
  much in a piecemeal fashion that the public has a hard time
  understanding the major questions. However, the local, regional, and
  national implications of this trend will probably have direct effects
  on people's lives.

  Climate change and climate variability is likely to impact everyone to
  some degree. The frequency and severity of many natural hazards will
  increase, water availability will change, and land managers will be
  facing management challenges resulting in shifting ecosystem
  characteristics. Understanding the dimensions of climate variability is
  essential to understanding the range and types of consequences. The
  driving forces of climate change, including increased albedo and shifts
  in atmospheric chemistry, are tied to land use change. Since land use
  change is part of the national economic engine, and since it is one of
  the key drivers of climate change, understanding cause, effect, and
  consequence of climate is central to the livelihood of all Americans.

  Our most intractable environmental problems are related to climate
  change.

  I believe the public sees this as the most important. They see it
  reported in the news whenever there are extremes in weather. They hear
  that the UN is concerned about this issue, but that our country has
  elected not to participate in treaties regarding reducing greenhouse
  gases. This relates to crop production, water supplies and uses,
  ecosystems and ecosystem change and potentially natural hazard such as
  hurricane and tornado severity and number, droughts and fires.

  Climatic changes of the magnitude expected over the next few decades
  will have profound effects on all of the remaining societal issues
  listed. Climatic change is likely to trump all other anthropogenic
  stressors in importance, and will interact with other stressors in
  complex and unexpected ways. We cannot hope to address the other issues
  except in the context of a rapidly changing climate.

  Although the geologic record indicates that climate variability and
  climate change are inevitable, the relatively benign (from the
  long-term perspective) climate of the 20th century has led to a vast
  underestimation of the importance of these phenomena.\
  \
  Although it is difficult to estimate the scope and pace of upcoming
  changes, the rapid growth of the human population has increased its
  vulnerability to climate-related hazards. As detailed in the examples
  below, climate phenomena influence many aspects of societal and
  environmental concern, and it is imperative that we be prepared to
  mitigate their consequences.\
  \
  Climate variability/change affects the amount and distribution of water
  availability, which in turn impacts power generation, aquatic and
  terrestrial ecosystems, and land use. Human activities (landscape
  changes) have reduced the distribution of natural ecosystems and their
  constituent species and frequently have restricted them to small
  portions of their prehistoric ranges. This may reduce the ability of
  these ecosystems and species to survive changes and fluctuations in
  climate and consequently also may lead to reductions in biodiversity.
  Sea level rise related to melting glaciers may affect coastal
  ecosystems and human settlements.\
  \
  The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina provides an example of the
  results of interaction among climate phenomena (natural hazards), human
  modification of the environment, and population growth. The recent
  drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin illustrates the impact of
  climatic variability on water resources and on ecosystems (the
  associated die-off of the pinyon-juniper woodland over a large portion
  of SW Colorado).\
  \
  Fluctuations in climate will cause changes in the need for energy
  resources, may permit the spread of tropical diseases poleward, and may
  threaten the infrastructure of human society. An example of the latter
  is the impact of melting permafrost on the roads, houses, and pipelines
  in Alaska.

  Climate change has had more press coverage, probably is high background
  (over the long term) in public\'s mind. Natural hazards \"come and
  go\", thought about periodically \-- as they occur.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why do you think it is the
most critically important societal issue to all Americans?

Those who ranked Natural Hazards as the most important Societal Issue
did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  With rapidly growing population in regions of the Nation that are
  particularly vulnerable to natural hazards, more Americans and more of
  our possessions and property are moving into harm's way. The past
  year's natural disasters are a stark reminder of the challenge that
  catastrophic hazards pose to the Nation and the world. Hurricane
  Katrina was not the "big one" dealing only a glancing blow to New
  Orleans yet leaving devastation in its wake. Even in the absence of a
  major disaster striking a U.S. urban area, natural hazards are taking
  an increasing toll on the Nation's economy, posing a threat to U.S.
  competitiveness. Yet this vulnerability can be turned into resilience
  if well-informed decisions are made and resources directed toward
  addressing the problem. We cannot reduce the hazard, but we can reduce
  the impact on society.

  I personally feel that it is very difficult to rank these eight issues
  by order of importance as all of them, in one way or another, are of
  great concern to all Americans. I have tentatively ranked Natural
  Hazards number one, mainly because of the impact of Katrina and
  potential impact of large earthquakes on the West coast or in the
  Central U.S., as well as the potential impact of volcanic eruptions in
  the Cascades and Aleutian chain on airline traffic between the U.S. and
  Asia.

  concern with natural hazards affects virtually the entire country and
  all socio-economic groups. Has significant life and safety implications
  and significant short and long-term economic implications.

  Natural hazards are increasing in frequency and are a significant drain
  on the economic health of the nation. Each of us will be affected by a
  natural hazard at some point in our life.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why do you think it is the
most critically important societal issue to all Americans?

Those who ranked Ecosystems as the most important Societal Issue did so
because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Without ecosystems functioning properly, there will be no human
  civilization for long

  Humanity and complex biological systems are critically dependent upon
  the services and functions provided by ecosystems. Relative to the
  other 7 high priority issues, the conditions of our nation's ecosystems
  receives the smallest research investment. Integrated, ecosystem
  science is a natural application of USGS research expertise.

  Ecosystems define where the most fundamental processes occur that
  impact all of the ecological services \--or attributes\--that sustain
  society. For example, biodiversity is an attribute of an ecosystem and
  it is maintained by ecological processes (e.g., hydrologic, geologic).
  Because processes for specific ecosystems are unique, they define how
  all other ecological services are expressed within specific ecosystems.
  Landscape change is the most fundamental human perturbation that can
  change natural ecological function and hence all ecological services
  derived from specific ecosystems. Climate interacts with hydrologic and
  geologic features to define the unique features of all ecosystems.

  This is a good list of Issues. There are plenty more that don't belong
  on a usgs list and I'm just not sure you can ask this question w/o
  defining the next question (e.g. a usgs relevant list).\
  \
  I struggled with commonality among issues (climate, biodiversity and
  ecosystems are so closely tied for example) and with political and
  public pressures that determine what will be /would be done with
  information (natural hazards: who actually uses our information for
  planning for example. Some I admit and we have to try) if that issue
  were selected as foremost in importance.\
  \
  For that reason my ranking isn't important. Ecosystems filter water and
  air, provide food and fiber; to what extent can we rely on them as
  innate resource before they are irreversibly degraded? Landscape change
  is a strategy to study most of these critical issues (water, hazards,
  climate, pervasiveness of many health hazards, biodiversity). I submit
  that "water" is a resource deserving study of both state and change, is
  a commodity that is traded and purchased, and is even a tool for
  measuring some changes in climate/biogeochemical states\... but is it
  an "issue" on the same level as climate (did you mean climate change?
  How can just climate be an issue) or biodiversity?

  I selected Landscape Change as the most critically important societal
  issue to all Americans SOLELY because of the Challenge "Balancing
  competing demands for use of the land." I do not really believe this is
  THE critical issue because, unfortunately, the underlying science
  questions reduce this issue to the same level as the remaining seven.\
  \
  I could have chosen any of the 8 issues as most critical. Instead I say
  none is critical. I conclude this because all 8 issues are heavily
  discipline-oriented and lack the integration necessary to elevate them
  to the level of a critical issue.\
  \
  Most Americans want a comfortable, safe place in which to live. They
  want to consume good food, drink and wash in clean water, purchase
  clothes and other consumer goods to enjoy, and recreate in a variety of
  natural or cultural settings. They want to comfortably commute to work
  on good roads or other transport systems. Most Americans know nothing
  about how these demands impact the natural system. But the real
  critical issue is "How can society meet its demands for these goods and
  services without destroying the natural systems that are impacted to
  fulfill the demands?" (See 5a.)\
  \
  \
  The 8 issues in the draft document divide societal demands into neat
  parcels that the USGS can study - thoroughly and SEPARATELY. When the
  sciences are isolated from one another in the APPLICATION of science,
  the results are seldom complete. Parceling the natural system into
  discreet fragments may be a necessary part of unraveling the
  sophisticated details of biology, geology, and hydrology, but it is
  creates a fracture that runs through the continuity of the natural
  system like a geologic fault.\
  \
  Consequently, by themselves these issues are not critical. These
  issues, if integrated with one another, can become the critical issue
  to all Americans.\
  \
  \[My ranking of the issues under 3a reflect my assessment as to how
  much integrated science is reflected in the science questions under
  each issue.\]

  Most of the societal issues in the list have a direct tie to ecosystem
  response. And everyone in America and the world will be affected if we
  as a society make bad choices that degrade ecosystem health at local
  scales right up to a global scale. Climate change will affect
  ecosystems in profound ways by changing the distribution of water and
  heat, which may be manifest in droughts, landscape changes, floods, sea
  level rise, loss of species, disease, loss and redistribution of food
  and fiber production, etc. How we use energy and extract minerals
  affects the landscape and atmospheric conditions. In my mind, keeping
  the ecosystem in balance as much as possible, and functioning naturally
  will minimize all the other issues on the list. So we need to know
  better how ecosystems function, how they have responded to stresses and
  human impacts, how they will respond to future stresses (e.g. climate
  change), and how to restore damaged ecosystems at the local and global
  level. This is critical science that USGS can play a large role in.

  If you don't have a healthy ecosystem, you don't have a good
  Biodiversity or water supply; e.g., clean and abundant), which leads to
  4 (health of the nations populace. In addition, healthy ecosystems can
  better respond, recover, and be more resilient to all other
  perturbations listed.

  What is NOT an ecosystem, or part of one? Everyone, everywhere, is
  affected in some way or other by the health and services of ecosystems.
  Ecosystems embrace issues of biodiversity; they are strongly affected
  by landscape change and climate. In some cases, healthy ecosystems
  soften the blows of natural disasters, such as droughts and hurricanes.
  Much food and water ultimately rest on well-functioning ecosystems.
  Healthy ecosystems provide meaningful sinks for CO2 emissions, while
  their decline exacerbates global warming.

  Ecosystems are the fundamental building blocks upon which we depend for
  the long term survival of all species. As we loose ecosystem diversity,
  health, and function, we lose our future and capacity for a life of
  quality. The earth is our habitat. We destroy it and we destroy
  ourselves. We exceed carrying capacity, we experience a decline.

  This like asking which of your children you will leave behind - all 8
  issues are important. Since healthy ecosystems encompass some of the
  other issues (biodiversity, water, climate, land use), I feel that this
  issue is most critical. There are societal cost associated with
  unhealthy ecosystems such as degraded forests, polluted water, and
  desertification.

  Ecosystems, in the larger sense, define the environment in which people
  live, along with the rest of nature. Without an acceptable environment,
  we are all doomed.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why do you think it is the
most critically important societal issue to all Americans?

Those who ranked Energy and Minerals as the most important Societal
Issue did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  The debate about the imminent death of 4 billion people on the planet
  due to perceived energy shortages place energy consumption as the
  number one concern for the U.S. The U.S. consumes 25% of world oil yet
  has only 2% of world reserves. This consumption is unsustainable,
  global competition for energy resources is greatly escalating, and the
  future of the U.S. economy is totally dependent upon access to these
  resources. Much of the energy potential coal, natural gas oil, oil
  shale, gas hydrates reside on Federal lands.

  I think most Americans can understand the importance of energy to their
  lives and to our economy, at least at some level. Energy costs affect
  the budgets of most families and most people tend to understand things
  that affect their wallets. I think the public also understand more
  about energy from source to consumption. They understand that petroleum
  comes from "oil fields," and that coal comes from mines. They also
  understand that pipelines, tankers, and railcars deliver the raw
  product to refineries and power plants. While I personally believe that
  water and health are no less important as issues, I believe that most
  Americans have less of an appreciation for the threats to our water
  supply sources. Americans may have even less of an appreciation for
  disease transmission and how we need to understand the roles of some
  wildlife species as vectors for disease.

  If given this list of societal issues, I think the average American
  would be most concerned with Energy issues, followed closely by Water
  issues. Every day, Americans are reminded of the implications of
  energy, either by how it hits their wallets in terms of gas cost and
  heating bills or by current events overseas in the Middle East. The
  presence and costs associated with Energy is a daily issue and impacts
  every person that drives a car and heats a home. The fluctuations of
  current resources, the costs of securing resources, and the
  geopolitical consequences of these resources dominate natural attention
  and media attention. The emerging role of non-finite resources (ex.
  wind, solar, geothermal) and its relation to land uses are areas of
  particular interest for the Nation. It also represents a huge element
  of the National economy and in local land use planning; therefore, the
  private sector is also interested in this discussion.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why do you think it is the
most critically important societal issue to all Americans?

Those who ranked Landscape Change as the most important Societal Issue
did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Landscape change affects all the other factors\...although it could
  easily be argued that this is true for other factors. It is a very
  difficult choice to make (i.e., tomorrow, I might re-order my choices)
  as they are all so important.

  Humans are now the dominant species over most of the world's surface,
  and we are transforming the little natural land that remains at an
  alarming rate. This transformation affects all of the other listed
  issues.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Water as the most important Societal Issue believe the
most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major contributor
to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Ensure adequate supply of water through monitoring and analysis of
  groundwater and surface water resources and through forecasting future
  water demands.

  Conduct national assessments of water quality and quantity and project
  water use under various future population growth, climate change, and
  landscape change scenarios.

  Implement monitoring schemes that tie the observations to the land
  surface (watershed) as well as the water features.

  We must put more funds and resources into water availability data
  collection and evaluation. This means getting a systematic water use
  data collection process in place that is not dependent on States
  collecting the data (often done poorly). We also must ensure that we
  have an adequate data network (GW, SW, QW). We must also have proper
  geologic data to characterize the vessel that holds the water. We must
  have good mapping/GIS resources to assist in interpreting this data.

  maintain scientific focus, relevance, and technical excellence combined

  provide more funding (and hiring) for hydrologic research and
  development activities.

  Maintain our monitoring and research programs that track water use,
  availability and quality. Long-term monitoring efforts are always
  difficult to sustain and justify to funding sources, but almost always
  provide some of the most critically important information for inferring
  assessing sustainability of natural resources. This is true for both
  water quality and quantity concerns. In addition, USGS researchers need
  to continue to be on the forefront of scientists who provide a
  continually improving understanding of the Earth's hydrologic cycle,
  man's influence on the hydrologic cycle, and anticipating the needs of
  man and the environment. To achieve this, USGS needs to maintain a
  critical mass of multidisciplinary researchers who work in a
  coordinated fashion to ensure the best possible understanding of the
  present and future water needs for man and nature, threats to water
  quality, and ways for optimizing water use.

  Continued research to understand the processes, and interrelations
  among the processes, that affect the quantity and quality of water in
  all climatic and physiographic regions of the world.

  USGS needs to insure that its science functions are knit (i.e.,
  integrated with) social and decision processes related to water. This
  kind of integration will of itself contribute to insuring that the
  right questions are asked in the right ways, hopefully resulting in
  stakeholders believing and efficiently using the information and
  insight that USGS helps create.

  \'You're asking the wrong question! I think the issue here should be
  what are the top societal issues that the USGS should play a major role
  in addressing and why us? But to answer the question: USGS must
  continue to promote a strong water availability and water resource
  program.

  You're asking the wrong question! I think the issue here should be what
  are the top societal issues that the USGS should play a major role in
  addressing and why us?\
  \
  But to answer the question: USGS must continue to promote a strong
  water availability and water resource program.

  The USGS should increase its monitoring efforts.

  Provide the best available information on the status (quality and
  quantity) of the country's waters to the public.

  ensure adequate monitoring so that we can know how much water is
  available, and of that amount, how much is of sufficient quality for
  human consumption and many other purposes

  Foster a sustained, interdisciplinary effort at understanding the
  hydrology of arid regions, and the basic science associated with
  mobilization/amelioration of toxicants dissolved within these water
  resources.

  Assuming that this issue includes food, I'd say that the USGS needs to
  continue to provide insightful monitoring, impartial assessments, and
  basic research that will help maintain a safe and plentiful supply of
  fresh water and food. I'd also say that we need to continue to provide
  the same items for all of the issues on the list, because they all play
  a role (direct or indirect) in

  We need to develop new, innovative means to monitor this resource in
  many locations for quantity and quality including new pollutants and
  combinations of pollutants that impact human, wildlife, and ecological
  health. We need cost effective continuous monitoring that reflects the
  full range of exposure not just snapshots.

  On the science front, USGS must continually work to develop an
  understanding of the processes that affect water availability and
  quality. As new knowledge is gained, prediction and simulation tools,
  typically models of some sort, must be developed to test various
  conditions and future scenarios. These tools must be readily
  transferable and supported by USGS to gain wide use and acceptance by
  the water scientific, management, policy, and legal community.\
  \
  Though this is not a technical issue, one cannot ignore the need for
  increased stability of funding for water studies. USGS conducts
  considerable excellent research on water, but much of it is funded
  through program reimbursed by other agencies.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Health as the most important Societal Issue believe the
most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major contributor
to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Work hard to "frame" the definition of health and explain how USGS
  science promotes health, broadly defined. In doing this, we need to
  make sure to distinguish the USGS from EPA, CDC, etc.

  We have to document the problem, forecast the future, and help to
  identify solutions.

  Expand our expertise in microbiology and the relations of
  microbiological functions in animals to human health concerns.

  USGS must commit to working with public health agencies to help
  understand the linkages between the natural environment and processes
  and the risk of human illness.

  The USGS cannot be viewed as a major contributor to health per se,
  rather we should stress well being and quality of life issues in most
  of the other work we do. Doesn't the USGS do that now?

  The USGS is not a health or welfare agency, so our contributions in
  this area are indirect. Major areas where we con contribute involve
  assessment of water quality and environmental toxins (both natural and
  manmade), and assessment of hazardous natural processes that can
  severely compromise public health (Hurricane Katrina, for example).

  USGS is not the key agency for that issue. Nonetheless, it can play a
  critical role. Think avian influenza, human-animal interactions, the
  importance of a well-functioning ecosystem to the health of humans, and
  similar issues. And an understanding of the importance of evolutionary
  processes in diseases is critical.

  Research on wildlife diseases infecting humans

  USGS can contribute in three distinct ways (sorry). Firstly, the study
  of disease has important spatial (epidemiological) aspects. USGS can
  work with other US health agencies to help map and analyze spatial
  spread and risk factors. Second, most emerging infectious disease has a
  wildlife reservoir. Having an understanding of wildlife infectious
  diseases will help prepare health agencies for new challenges. Finally,
  health is related to water quality. We do an admirable job in this
  regard and we must maintain our infrastructure and vigilance. There are
  continual examples of how water treatment systems can break down and
  permit infectious diseases to spread on large scales.

  Elucidate the environmental controls on space-time extent of organisms
  that endanger health.

  I am a strong proponent of integrated science that flows across
  institutional boundaries. Everything is connected in this world and one
  of things that we do as scientists is discover the nature of that
  connectedness. One of the things the USGS can do is show how processes
  of relating to rocks, water and life are connected and how this
  connectedness relates to health and wealth that most Americans deem
  essential to happy lives. In a pragmatic sense we need to find how to
  let the money flow across Disciplines in ways that truly foster
  interdisciplinary science and we need to do a better job in
  communicating to the American people how what we can do impacts the
  quality of their lives.

  We must address issues in a value free way so that we are considered as
  the go to group for value free answers to policy relevant questions. In
  order to provide answers we need to maintain a work force of scientists
  and support staff of the highest quality. Researchers that are leaders
  in their fields.

  Provide basic science on the environment that can be used for policy
  decisions affecting health and human behavior.

  Good health requires clean water and a healthy landscape. By healthy
  landscape I mean agricultural practices that care for the land by
  minimizing erosion and responsible use of agricultural chemicals. I
  also mean healthy natural areas that have thriving biodiversity and
  sustainability.\
  \
  The USGS can contribute to this issue by conducting research to develop
  an understanding of how the natural world functions, and how it
  responds to the activities of humans. For example, we need to
  understand the hydrologic system so we can determine the availability
  and sustainability of water resources. We also need to determine the
  response of ecosystems to variations in climate and to the engineering
  works of humans. All of this requires research and long-term
  monitoring, something we are well-known for and capable of doing.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Climate as the most important Societal Issue believe
the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major
contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  USGS needs to be at the table with NOAA and NASA as leaders in climate
  research. Our role as earth scientists is to focus on the
  geomorphological, hydrological and biogeochemical impacts on ecosystems
  and resources. Continued emphasis on remote sensing, coastal erosion
  and the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and water resources is
  critical. Increased attention on soil processes, especially with regard
  to the microbial activity that drives greenhouse gas emissions is
  warranted.

  Develop, maintain and improve wall-to-wall networks of critical and
  climate-related abiotic and biotic observations. This includes: (1)
  extend our streamgaging network in critical areas, for example in the
  snowsheds of our western mountains to measure the impact of increasing
  temperature on snowpack, snowmelt, and snowmelt discharge; (2)play lead
  role in organizing and implementing environmentally distributed
  ecological networks that can be used to understand environmental
  responses to climate variability and change, and to provide information
  for policy decisions.

  The USGS should continue to play a supporting role in the overall
  research program aimed at understanding global climate change. In my
  opinion, however, USGS is ill positioned to be among the major players
  in this arena.

  I think that the one most important thing that the USGS must do well to
  ensure that we are a major contributor to addressing the Climate
  Societal Issue is to provide a better understanding of how and why the
  earth's climate varies over a wide range of time and space scales and
  to provide a better understanding of how natural systems have adapted
  and may adapt in the future. This is covered in your first Science
  Question. I think the first Science Question in a way includes most
  aspects of the second and third Science Questions. The fourth Science
  Question is different in that it introduces a very important human
  endeavor to the mix - economics. Certainly this one will resonate with
  people more easily than the rest of the Science Questions. Therefore,
  it may get more votes or support from those who benefit from USGS
  science. But I think that to answer the fourth Science Question well,
  we need to do a good job with the first three.

  Help to explain the state of the science as well as the approach of
  science in a way that the general citizen can access the information.

  The USGS has the unique expertise to understand climate variability,
  historical and contemporary land use change, and the integrated
  interactions and connections between climate, weather events, land use,
  and the consequences of these on water, energy, ecosystems,
  biodiversity, etc.

  Supply useful research and information to decision makers, managers,
  and the public.

  We need must provide science in our disciplines that can be used to
  determine past and potential impacts of climate change to our water,
  soils, and biota. We must involve a temporal and spatial component that
  examines the past changes over time vs. current changes that are
  occurring. Can species cope with rapid changes if they are occurring
  and have rapid changes occurred in the past.

  Although I listed climate change as the most important issue, I think
  that the most important role of the USGS in this area is the potential
  ability of our organization to provide integrated understandings or
  assessments that explore the potential effects of climate change with
  changes in land cover and land use, water resources, ecosystems, and
  natural hazards. NOAA and NSF conduct piecemeal studies of the causes
  of climate change and variability, but no organization provides an
  organized attack on the interaction of the natural and human-caused
  phenomena that will shape the future. NOAA is the authoritative source
  on oceanic and atmospheric data ... why isn't the USGS the 'go to'
  agency for information on the current environment, past environmental
  changes, and assessments of the potential future vulnerability on
  land?\
  \
  The USGS encompasses several scientific disciplines that have long
  separate histories and that have key constituencies that they serve.
  One of our biggest challenges is how to continue to serve our current
  clients while devising new ways of overcoming internal boundaries that
  keep us from developing the integrated approaches that are increasingly
  required for the questions facing society. In regard to the USGS
  efforts in global change, I believe strongly that strong adherence to
  our traditional internal boundaries has limited our ability to develop
  a strong program that provides insights from the broad spectrum
  represented by USGS scientists.

  Let them know we can identify climatic \"stress indicators\",
  understand the Earth as a system, and the linkages between man and
  natural forces; I.e., the consequences of sea level rise on coastal
  areas, drought and desertification, etc. We measure, map, predict, and
  say what\'s at stake economically \-- in short how short- and long-term
  climate change can be modeled in terms of landscape, biodiversity,
  maybe human health, and even local to regional economies. We look at
  how the world will be in tens of years into the future.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Natural Hazards as the most important Societal Issue
believe the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major
contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  USGS has statutory responsibility for alerting the Nation to geologic
  hazards and provides critical support to NOAA and other entities with
  that responsibility for other hazards such as floods, tsunami, and
  hurricanes. USGS needs to invest in robust monitoring capabilities and
  the information products that are delivered by such networks. The
  meaningfulness of such products rests on a firm understanding of the
  hazards, which requires an equally robust targeted research agenda.

  U.S.G.S. has a demonstrated level of excellence and is viewed as a
  leading research institution in the world dealing with the monitoring
  and assessment of earthquake and volcano hazards. Not only is it
  natural for the U.S.G.S. to nurture and expand this capability, but it
  would be wasteful not to do so. I feel the U.S.G.S. ought to take
  advantage of the reserve of knowledge it has already accumulated in
  this area and develop this capability to the fullest extent possible.

  I think we should continue to move toward increasing our forecasting
  abilities for various hazards (in terms of accuracy and timeliness of
  our forecasts), and to strive for actual prediction wherever possible.
  Our focus should be on providing the necessary science info before,
  during, and immediately after hazard events to help keep hazard events
  from becoming disasters.

  By conducting effective risk analysis and ranking- many hazards can be
  mitigated before they become disasters. USGS is unique in that we have
  expertise in all of the earth sciences and capabilities (modeling,
  remote sensing) to identify the risk, recommend mitigation measures,
  respond to incidents and provide support to recovery efforts
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Ecosystems as the most important Societal Issue believe
the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major
contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  We must understand how all aspects of various ecosystems work and how
  these aspects will respond to global change (altered climate, altered
  disturbance regimes, and pollutants)

  Conceive and support, over the long term, multidisciplinary teams of
  researchers to measure and understand the changing dynamics of
  ecosystems.

  I believe that USGS is well positioned to address ecosystems,
  especially their sustainability for future generations of Americans.
  Institutional support for developing an understanding of how specific
  ecosystems work (i.e., function) at the process level is a natural way
  for USGS to ensure ecological integrity given our broad expertise in
  the science disciplines represented in ecology. Developing an
  understanding of how land use change, coupled with an understanding of
  ecological function in undisturbed ecosystems will enable the
  development of models to forecast the environmental change associated
  with land use, climate, and other forms of change facing the nation now
  and in years to come.

  USGS must narrow the "issues" to recent societal EXAMPLES where our
  information proved to be helpful. However USGS should also point to
  examples of past issues so that people are reminded that issues change.
  It is our mission to be both broad and deep in our knowledge of earth
  system state and processes so that we are in a prepared state to
  address changing societal needs.\
  \
  Such examples have proven to be useful in past documents. Updating them
  for recent events where we "count" is important - HOWEVER far more
  important in this exercise is the articulation that our LONGTERM
  research staff and programmatic themes are what enabled a MEANINGFUL
  database and responsiveness to those examples.

  Create a STABLE environment that encourages, supports, and rewards true
  interdisciplinary research and the application of scientific results.
  (Easier said than done!)\
  \
  We do have projects where scientists with different disciplines work on
  the same project. I have been fortunate enough to work on some. In some
  cases this results in genuine interdisciplinary research. But all to
  frequently the scientists go back to their respective cloisters and
  conduct science as usual - resulting in very little or no actual
  interdisciplinary results.\
  \
  We give lip service to interdisciplinary studies - but the rewards
  still go elsewhere. RGEG (or whatever it is called now) commonly
  rewards "down-and-in" scientific research, not "up-and-out" application
  research.\
  \
  And we have tried this in the past. For example, during the late 1970s
  and early 1980s the USGS experimented with this approach through the
  Office of Land Information and Analysis (LIA), the Office of Earth
  Science Application (OESA), and Resource and Lands Inventories (RALI).
  Then Director Dallas Peck stated sat his confirmation hearing (Sept 14,
  1981) that "the application of existing earth science expertise to the
  solution of national problems \... has been a tradition of the
  Geological Survey since its founding" Five months later he disbanded
  OESA and related projects. Such schizophrenic management decisions do
  not lend themselves to rational studies of relevant earth science /
  societal issues.

  The study of ecosystem response requires multidisciplinary science and
  collaboration. I have long contended that the biggest and most
  important discoveries in the next 20 years will occur at the interface
  of disciplines, such as hydrology and biology and chemistry and
  geology. Universities do not do this well because of infighting and
  competition among departments and universities. But they are getting
  better. USGS does this fairly well, but we need to get much better at
  collaboration so that we can draw on the talent of 8,000 employees to
  tackle and solve these big science issues. This is critical for good
  science for the world and for our survival as an agency.\
  \
  How to do this is complicated. We currently have inflexible and
  counterproductive funding, planning, and reward models that keep us
  from forming highly productive, interdisciplinary work units. For
  example, the RGEG process does not reward people for dropping their "
  comfortable and traditional" areas of research to take on something new
  that may not produce a publication for many years. Some parts of USGS
  resist any attempts to redirect their efforts, and management accepts
  this. Some parts of USGS have so much reimbursable program that they
  cannot redirect top scientist without compromising funded agreements.
  Some of our appropriated dollars are programmed out so many years that
  it creates no flexibility to respond to emerging and changing issues.\
  \
  We need to find ways to break down these barriers so collaboration can
  develop in very creative and productive ways.

  A stable, educated, fully integrated, and funded work force that is
  guided by non-changing (but resiliant) long term goals that are met by
  short term objectives. One of the major inhibitors of the current
  structure (and over all mentality) is the idea of disciplines doing
  what disciplines have always done without much thought of what other
  disciplines are doing and how the two can work together.

  Provide incentives within existing Programs to encourage true
  interdisciplinary collaborations among different groups of expertise.
  (This means that Management should not dilute and damage existing
  Programs by bleeding them for special ventures, almost always under
  funded, too short-term, and commonly, therefore, too limited in scope
  and opportunity.) May also require more scientists in Water working
  outside arbitrary political boundaries.

  Develop a truly integrated approach to everything that we do as an
  organization. We start with the principle that everything is connected
  and work form there to achieve that system level of understanding.
  There is an effect to every action and that affect is permeated
  throughout all components of the earth system. " Systems oriented
  solutions to complex environmental issues".

  USGS must invest in long-term ecological research in degraded as well
  as relatively pristine ecosystems. Only by assessing the ecological
  health of natural systems in comparison with degraded ones can we
  inform the discussion on the value of maintaining substantial natural
  areas.

  USGS has the capability to evaluate most aspects of our environment and
  its ecosystems. We must start by understanding the geological and
  hydrological means by which these ecosystems developed so that we
  understand how they SHOULD function. We can then overlay biological
  systems on them and look at interactions, including natural stressors.
  At that point, we can begin to assess human perturbations and develop
  means of addressing them that might actually succeed ( because they
  would conform to the rules set by nature rather than conflict with
  them).
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Energy and Minerals as the most important Societal
Issue believe the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Energy resources are located heavily on federal lands including the
  Arctic (North Slope), offshore (both state waters and OCS), and on
  Federal lands particularly in the west. How much conventional and
  unconventional resource do we have, what are the environmental
  consequences of their use, why should foreign nations develop their
  resources to support our extravagant overuse when we have resources
  undeveloped? The USGS provides the critical information for this as
  demonstrated by the Congressional required responses to the quantities
  of energy resources under the EPCA 2000 act (Energy Policy and
  Conservation Act). Assessments of energy and mineral resources are
  critical both for current economic evaluations but additionally for
  replacement resources that will require new energy and mineral
  commodities. The USGS is basically the sole provider of such critical
  and societally relevant information.

  I think we need to educate the public about our sources of energy,
  especially those within our borders. We need to publish more of our
  information and to interact more with other agencies and groups dealing
  with energy.

  To be a major contributor to addressing Energy, the USGS needs to
  better integrate resource management into all of its studies, or at
  least as one of the end questions for studies. The USGS needs to not
  only assess current resources, but also determine the societal and
  environmental costs and benefits of energy resources, how hazards
  threaten these assets and how ecosystem services suffer from
  fluctuations in resources. Providing information to manage water,
  biological, energy and mineral resources is one of the USGS missions.
  This mission statement needs to be supported by all research that the
  USGS does. The support to do research simply to address the first USGS
  mission (i.e., describe and understand the Earth) is waning in our
  Nation. Taxpayers now expect research to directly support the second
  two missions -- namely, manage resources and minimize losses from
  disasters. So, overall, to be a major contributor to Energy/Mineral
  Issues (which could be expanded to include water resources), the USGS
  needs to put emphasis on resource management as an end goal in many of
  its studies.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 3c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Landscape Change as the most important Societal Issue
believe the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major
contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Increasing our funding for research and stop taking out so much
  overhead. Scientists are aware of the problem, we just do not have the
  support needed to properly address it.

  I would like to see us become more involved with land managers, helping
  with active decisions. Some USGS scientists are experts in
  decision-process approaches to active management. These approaches are
  needed, as few people in position as "decision-makers" know anything
  about informed decision-making.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4a.**

Of the eight major Societal Issues we've listed, which do you think USGS
can have the most potential impact?

+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| **Impact**      | **All           | **SAG**         | **ST**          |
|                 | respondents**   |                 |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 1               | Water           | Water and       | Water           |
|                 |                 |                 |                 |
|                 |                 | Natural Hazards |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 2               | Natural Hazards |                 | Natural Hazards |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 3               | Ecosystems      | Ecosystems      | Energy and      |
|                 |                 |                 | Minerals        |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 4               | Energy and      | Landscape       | Ecosystems      |
|                 | Minerals        | Change          |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 5               | Landscape       | Energy and      | Climate and     |
|                 | Change          | Minerals        |                 |
|                 |                 |                 | Landscape       |
|                 |                 |                 | Change          |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 6               | Climate         | Climate         |                 |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 7               | Biodiversity    | Biodiversity    | Biodiversity    |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| 8               | Health          | Health          | Health          |
+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+

**Question 4b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why did you select it as
the one in which USGS could have the most impact?

Those who ranked Water as the Societal Issue in which USGS could have
the most impact did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Demands on water resources will continue to increase both nationally
  and internationally, especially with the changes in precipitation
  amounts and timing projected by many climate models. In addition, water
  is key to erosion, materials transport and ecosystem health.
  Increasingly, resource managers rely on USGS analyses to assist in
  designing programs and strategies designed to meet a number of societal
  needs in critical ecosystems, such as Florida Everglades Restoration
  and CALFED Bay-Delta programs. In addition to a reasonably sound
  assessment of the nation's water supplies and an extensive hydrologic
  monitoring network, USGS has the expertise across disciplines to
  provide the hydrologic, geomorphological, biogeochemical, biological
  and mapping capabilities to provide the models and data needed
  nationally and internationally in the 21st century.

  I am not sure, but I have impression that USGS has the lead role in
  assessing water supply nationally. Is that true? If so, this should be
  a key reason for this topic to be high on our priority list (note, I am
  not in WRD).

  Clear mission relevance, depth of expertise, ability to tie to
  geography.

  We have the starting materials (resources, knowledge, and personnel) to
  do this effectively. More so than anyone else at the Federal level.

  the USGS is clearly the principle governmental (or any other) source of
  water data and research for the nation.

  We have breadth and depth in technical expertise, extensive data
  collection networks, a well-respected research program, a long
  historical presence, and strong organizational links to water managers
  and administrators.

  USGS has the infrastructure and research elements in place to be the
  leader in this area. Again, water is the common thread through the
  other issues.

  Water is an important problem, and USGS has a great number of
  scientists who could work on this issue. Similarly, it also has a huge
  number of people who could work on Energy and Minerals. When doing such
  a ranking, it is important to consider the personnel we already have at
  our disposal.

  No other Federal agency or other institution has the capability to
  monitor, evaluate, research, and communicate effectively the quantity
  and quality of water for the entire country.

  USGS is the primary water science agency of the Federal government, and
  virtually all agencies with water management or regulatory
  responsibilities rely on USGS data and analyses. Therefore, USGS
  products inform a vast array of decisions in the public and private
  sector relating to water conservation and water use. Because of this,
  USGS is positioned to have great impact. But to have that impact, USGS
  must continue to raise its visibility with the public and with other
  Federal and non-Federal agencies.

  We can't live for very long without water. If supplies sustaining large
  populations in the western USA would collapse or be seriously
  compromised (not potable), it would be a major catastrophe. We can get
  along for a time without gasoline for our cars, or "minerals" for
  manufacturing. Biodiversity loss and unfavorable climate change can be
  adverse, but they occur over relatively long time periods (years).
  Similarly for environmental health. However, if you turn on your tap
  one morning and nothing comes out, or will ever come out for the
  foreseeable future, it will be time for mass migration of population.

  I would rank water closely tied to climate as 1 because it is an issue
  that we can address and which affects every human being and because
  changes in water quality and quantity have the potential to lead to
  enormous political and social pressures. At some level all of the
  issues listed are connected and I would emphasize the connectedness
  involving water in all of them in clear and compelling language.

  Through our Water Discipline, the USGS has a presence in every State.
  We also have an extremely large array of customers and partners in the
  water and environmental communities at the National, State, and local
  levels. Many environmental consultants, businesses, and nonprofit
  organizations use and actually depend on our data. Our data are also
  quoted or used in legal proceedings, bank loan applications, and
  infrastructure designs. We have the most robust hydrologic monitoring
  networks of any organization in the Nation and the information systems
  that can be used to detect and report spatial and temporal trends in
  water conditions. We also have online resources that can be used by
  other scientists, resource managers, and the general public. Our water
  programs essentially have the capacity to reach every American and
  every jurisdiction in the Nation. Collection and analysis of water data
  are crucial for addressing problems related to urban growth, sea-level
  rise, and the viability of our coastal margins, climate change, and
  many issues related to human and ecosystem sustainability. Water
  availability is predicted to be a huge issue throughout the world in
  the coming years and we need to maintain a strong program not only to
  address National water issues but also to address international water
  issues and problems. However, our water programs need to be marketed
  more effectively. Except for major floods and droughts, important water
  issues tend to be less spectacular than earthquakes, volcanoes, and
  major disease outbreaks. However, the economic impacts of insufficient
  or contaminated water supplies can be greater in total than other
  natural hazards.

  The USGS has been a leader in hydrologic research, water-resource
  assessments, and monitoring for more than 100 years. We continue to
  have a strong presence in these activities, and are generally highly
  regarded in them. As a result, when the USGS talks about water issues
  it already carries a great deal of impact.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why did you select it as
the one in which USGS could have the most impact?

Those who ranked Hazards as the Societal Issue in which USGS could have
the most impact did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  USGS has unprecedented visibility on the topic of natural hazards and
  has a recognized leading role, not just because of statutory authority
  but because of the tremendous media exposure that USGS achieves in this
  world of 24/7 news cycles. If USGS can innovate in the information it
  delivers to emergency managers, land-use planners, other decision
  makers, the media and the public, it can leverage that visibility to
  help society make better decisions about hazard issues and improve the
  Nation's resilience. USGS has strong partnerships in the hazard arena
  both with government entities at all levels and also with the private
  sector.

  The USGS is already a recognized leader in the evaluation of rapid
  onset natural hazards, including earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis,
  landslides, etc., and I expect it to continue to remain at the
  forefront of such investigations. No other federal or other agency has
  our mandate to study natural hazards, and no one else has the expertise
  and proven track record.

  USGS has incredible capabilities in natural hazards research,
  monitoring, etc. Natural hazards are a highly visible and relevant
  issue to many, here and abroad, and USGS science has a great impact on
  our understanding of and response to hazards. Hazards has the potential
  to integrate research from many disciplines, and the USGS is pretty
  well-equipped to pursue interdisciplinary hazards research.

  U.S.G.S. is uniquely positioned to successfully handle the
  multi-faceted and wide ranging aspects of research dealing with
  earthquake and volcanic sources and assess their potential impacts on
  society. As the premier institution in the world dealing with
  earthquake and volcano hazards, it seems natural for the U.S.G.S. to
  keep on carrying this work, as well as expanding it to improve its
  capability to address other natural hazards issues. (See also 3.c.
  above).

  Real strengths, and traditions of excellence, lie in the domains of
  natural hazards and hydrology. These two should be co-ranked #1.

  just because I think that hazards is an area where USGS is already
  positioned and seen as a national/international scientific leader.
  There is no other scientific organization that has the ability to
  address such a broad range of key hazards, combined with our geospatial
  expertise.\
  \
  \
  \
  Note that I think Water is a very close #2 here \--for the same
  reasons\--i.e., we are a recognized national/international scientific
  leader.

  I think there are two areas where the USGS can have the most impact:
  natural hazards and water. Compared to other federal or state agencies
  and academia, the USGS is uniquely qualified to address questions
  related to natural hazards and water quality and quantity. Several of
  the other issues the USGS can and should be contributors, such as
  energy and climate, but we may not be the lead. USGS should also play a
  major role in understanding and predicting landscape change, but this
  issue may not resonate with the public yet.

  USGS has expertise in almost all aspects of natural hazards.

  USGS is well known in this arena; has a cadre of scientists who deal
  with the topic; has a politically viable message; shows societal
  relevance

  Because the USGS effort in earthquake and volcanoes is arguably the
  most clearly defined earth science issue that provides a role for the
  USGS. These activities differentiate the USGS from all other agencies,
  universities, and private sector organizations (consulting companies).

  USGS is unique in that we have expertise in all of the earth sciences
  and capabilities (modeling, remote sensing) to identify the risk,
  recommend mitigation measures, respond to incidents and provide support
  to recovery efforts.

  I selected natural hazards because this is an area where (A) the USGS
  has a wealth of expertise and experience, and (B) impacts of improved
  hazard assessment can be immediate and direct. USGS also has great
  potential impact in water issues, but the impact is likely to be less
  direct because other agencies (e.g., EPA) play key regulatory roles.

  I chose Natural Hazards as the Societal Issue as the top one where the
  USGS could have the most impact primarily because we have already
  invested a great deal of effort to understand a number of natural
  hazards over many decades. We have established ourselves as one of the
  world's leading experts in a number of areas such as earthquakes,
  volcanoes, landslides, wild fire, impacts of severe storms on coastal
  areas, floods, droughts, invasive species, and so on. We are already
  viewed as the authoritative source for a number of phenomena related to
  the impact of natural hazards. Improving our abilities in these many
  areas where we are already leaders, has the potential to provide even
  better understanding and assist in minimizing the human, economic, and
  environmental losses from natural hazards. USGS activity in the natural
  hazards arena clearly has a great deal of support from our masters
  outside the agency. We already get a phenomenal amount of press
  coverage for our activities under Natural Hazards. We do natural
  hazards well and we can do more under this well. We can also have
  tremendous impact on the other 4 Societal Issues. The way I saw the 8
  Societal Issues you identified, aspects of Biodiversity, Health, and
  Landscape Change can be at least partly covered under the Societal
  Issue Ecosystems.

  My perception (perhaps naive, since I am not in this field) is that of
  all the topics listed, natural hazards is the area where USGS plays a
  disproportionately large science role.

  My ranking here optimized relative to overall issue primacy, USGS
  legacy, and USGS resources. Natural hazards are of great concern,
  nationally; USGS is well known and acknowledged for its hazards-related
  work; and USGS is well positioned in terms of resources and expertise
  to deal with this issue.

  USGS is unique in its hazards programs, with a key niche (e.g.,
  leadership role) in hazard monitoring, reporting, and mitigation that
  we just don't have for the others (except possibly water). Barriers to
  entry for other groups is huge (e.g., developing on-the-ground
  monitoring networks or building the knowledge base contained within the
  current USGS workforce). The potential for furthering our impact
  through expanded hazard research and applied assessment and mitigation
  tools is great. USGS already is a recognized leader, has close
  relationships with stakeholders and partners. Well positioned to
  advance.

  Natural Hazards seem to require a National approach. The USGS is
  already heavily involved in this arena and is a leader in the field.

  This unites our geospatial, hydrologic, and geologic strengths.

  The USGS is a world leader in natural hazards assessments and research,

  All of the disciplines seem to be able to contribute to information on
  predicting, preventing, and rectifying the effects from natural
  hazards. Earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricane impacts, fire
  potential and effects.

  I think USGS has unique capability in assessment of natural hazards
  that isn't duplicated anywhere else.

  For the short term I selected Natural Hazards because they are what get
  the news media involved and money tends to follow this and I think that
  impact is often tied to how much money goes into an effort. We are
  already seen as a "go to" organization for information on earthquakes,
  floods, landslides. We are already known for our work in this area by
  the public and state and federal agencies, this makes natural hazards
  the low hanging fruit for impact. Over the long haul we could position
  ourselves to have a huge impact in any of these we select by focusing
  our energies on that issue. Especially if there are not a lot of other
  kids in the sandbox on that issue or if there is enough sand (money) to
  go around. Of course my bias for this comes from living in earthquake
  and volcano country. When I meet people across the US, and say I work
  for USGS they generally assume I either do earthquakes or volcanoes.

  USGS has within each of its disciplines the ability to make major
  contributions to society for making temporal and spatial predictions of
  earthquakes, landslides and mud flows, hazardous fuels, beach erosion,
  and wildlife disease pandemics.

  Natural disasters are the most expensive to recover from \-- need to be
  avoided or mitigated.

  I think the USGS could have significant impact on all eight issues that
  you have identified. My ranking is based on whether I think the USGS is
  able to be the primary lead for our Nation. If there are many other
  groups working on a specific issue, my gut reaction is that the USGS
  may not be able to maximize its impact. So, my ranking is not based on
  the relative quality of the individual researchers or research programs
  but more a reflection of how crowded the current science landscape is.
  Having said that, I think the USGS can have the most impact in the
  Hazards arena. Biodiversity issues are also being addressed by
  non-profit groups and other NGOs. Climate change issues include
  significant work by NASA and NOAA. Although I listed it as the most
  important societal issue, Energy/minerals issues include work by DOE
  and other DOI agencies (OSM, MMS, BoR). This is a crowded scientific
  landscape with many agencies, and the private sector, jockeying for
  dominance. Health threats from environmental hazards includes EPA,
  USF&#038;W and the CDC. Water issues include work by the EPA and CDC.
  Landscape change includes significant work by NASA.\
  \
  Hazards, however, are primarily the domain of the USGS. The USGS is in
  position to be the lead on improving the Nation's understanding of
  hazards, vulnerability, and risk with a natural partner in FEMA to
  actually train responders and implement risk-reduction strategies. NASA
  has some involvement but the national perception is still primarily for
  the USGS to help us understand hazards, risks, and disasters and for
  FEMA to help us deal with the events. So, Hazards is the one research
  area where there is not a great deal of "turf wars" to deal with. Also,
  the wide breadth of research expertise (geologic, biologic, geography
  and hydrologic) allows the USGS to provide the Nation with an
  integrated scientific agenda in hazards and disasters. No other federal
  agency can claim that and the USGS should capitalize on that fact.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why did you select it as
the one in which USGS could have the most impact?

Those who ranked Ecosystems as the Societal Issue in which USGS could
have the most impact did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Because we have strong cadre of people who can address this issue. For
  this work, we need geologists, hydrologists, biologists, soil
  scientists, aquatic ecologists, etc. USGS is the only institution
  around with such a rich diversity and abundance of scientists in a wide
  range of needed disciplines.

  USGS Divisions have the collective and appropriate scientific expertise
  to define the function of ecosystems that are most important to society
  and to relate landscape to the loss or provision of specific ecological
  services valued by our society.

  Again, a very difficult choice. I chose ecosystems as we already have a
  vested interest(I know we do in other areas as well) and much of what
  could be done will involve the vast federal landholdings in AK and the
  west. Thus, we can accomplish more when we do not have to deal with
  private landowners/cities.

  For the reasons stated above. We have 8000 employees with tremendous
  knowledge about many, many earth processes. Having this diverse talent
  under one organization positions us to do great work in the realm of
  ecosystems. EPA does not have the breath we do in physical hydrology,
  geology, and biology. All other federal agencies I can think of (ACOE,
  NRCS, NOAA, USFS, USFWS, BOR, BLM, etc.) are missing some critical
  talent/capability that USGS has.

  Ecosystems embody all of the different types of work that USGS
  conducts, above ground, at the surface, and below ground, both in the
  biotic and abiotic realms.

  USDI is still custodian of large acreages of public land. As advisors
  to those making decisions on these lands, USGS scientists and
  decision-process experts have the potential to influence management of
  these lands, affecting ecosystems, biodiversity, landscape change and
  water.

  Advances in understanding and protecting ecosystems require integration
  of expertise that USGS has and (or) can build: water issues; geology,
  substrates, and surficial processes; ecology and biology; effects of
  humans and climate on landscapes, water.

  We are the most complete Federal organization in terms of the range of
  science that we do and can do. We need to step up to the vision of
  holistically based understandings of earth systems and processes.

  This is difficult to prioritize. I selected Ecosystems because I
  believe it is the issue that USGS can best use its multidisciplinary
  resources to gain a holistic understanding of the problems and impact
  how ecosystems are understood and eventually managed. Most USGS
  disciplines and sub-disciplines have a potential place in understanding
  the wide variety of the earth's ecosystems.

  Research on ecosystems involves, or should involve, joint efforts in
  geology, hydrology, and biology. USGS is the only agency with strengths
  in all these areas.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why did you select it as
the one in which USGS could have the most impact?

Those who ranked Energy and Minerals as the Societal Issue in which USGS
could have the most impact did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  The sustainability of our economy is of paramount concern. USGS
  assessments of energy and mineral commodities both domestic and foreign
  providing critical documents for financial planners, development and
  environmental impact scenarios, and scenario planning. USGS efforts to
  determine the quantity, quality, availability and cost (both
  environmental and economic viability) are considerable factors in
  energy, mineral, and environmental scenarios as we look for a way
  forward without perceived economic collapse as many are predicting due
  to shortages of energy and mineral commodities.

  No particular meaning to the rank order \-- these are the areas in
  which USGS can have impact based on its disciplinary focus areas.

  Because agency\'s mission is most closely aligned with this issue.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why did you select it as
the one in which USGS could have the most impact?

Those who ranked Landscape Change as the Societal Issue in which USGS
could have the most impact did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  USGS is our Nation's leader in land cover mapping and analysis. We have
  a good balance of expertise on our staff. Other agencies like EPA,
  NOAA, and the USFS are also interested in landscape change but none are
  better situated in terms of expertise, infrastructure, and charge to
  tackle the issue compared with the USGS.

  Estimates of where USGS can have the most impact should consider both
  the importance of the issue and the Bureau's ability to contribute. In
  the case of landscape change, the issue's importance is clear and cuts
  across other societal issues like biodiversity, ecosystem integrity,
  and water. Moreover, the USGS already is well positioned to be a major
  contributor. This is important because redirection of this agency will
  not happen quickly and, to be successful, must draw upon existing
  strengths. USGS strengths lie primarily in mapping and remote sensing,
  population and community ecology, water monitoring, and geology. These
  areas of expertise are key to assessing the extent and impact of
  landscape change; thus, a productive program targeting landscape change
  issues could be built upon existing human resources. Finally, USGS can
  succeed in redirecting its efforts only if it also continues to address
  the tactical research needs of our traditional DOI clients. Because
  many of our clients' needs fit neatly under the umbrella of landscape
  change and its associated impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems,
  emphasis on landscape change would allow us to continue to serve client
  needs while also pursuing an agenda that has broader relevance to
  society as a whole.

  Landscape change affects all other societal issues. Land change
  decisions are local, typically driven by economic choices, but with
  long-term, multi-sector, global implications. It is the most pervasive
  and visible of all environmental changes - and the cumulative impacts
  every one of the societal issues. Without understanding land change,
  understanding each issue would be incomplete.

  Landscape change influences water quality, biodiversity, ecosystems and
  climate at the local level landscape change while the product of an
  increasing population and increasing GDP which in turn influence
  societies ecological footprint it too influences the viability of our
  agricultural industry e.g. farming, ranching , fisheries commercial and
  recreational freshwater and saltwater.

  USGS is the bastion of expertise in this area and possesses the human
  and data resources to make a major impact.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why did you select it as
the one in which USGS could have the most impact?

Those who ranked Climate as the Societal Issue in which USGS could have
the most impact did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  I think USGS is in a better position than most major players in
  climatic change research (e.g. NOAA, NASA) to provide the finer-scale,
  on-the-ground information needed to parameterize models and interpret
  broad-scale observations. Models (e.g. models relating to ecosystem
  change, biogenic feedbacks to climatic change, and the hydrologic
  cycle) are only as good as the assumptions that drive them, and many of
  the assumptions driving existing models are either flawed or have never
  been tested. One of USGS's strengths is in getting the long-term,
  real-world data needed to detect trends, test assumptions, parameterize
  models, and interpret broader-scale observations of change.

  There is an unfilled niche is the integrated assessment of the effects
  of climate change/variability coupled with the (often interacting)
  changes in land cover, land use, water availability, ecosystems, and
  hazards.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why did you select it as
the one in which USGS could have the most impact?

Those who ranked Biodiversity as the Societal Issue in which USGS could
have the most impact did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Other Federal agencies have greater roles than USGS in most of the
  other Societal Issues.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why did you select it as
the one in which USGS could have the most impact?

Those who ranked Health as the Societal Issue in which USGS could have
the most impact did so because:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  No other agency, or group of scientists, has the breadth, geographical
  distribution and experiences as the USGS. Because of our unrivaled
  compliment of scientists, we are poised to address almost any health
  threat to humans, wildlife and plants.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4b.**

For the Societal Issue you ranked number one, why did you select it as
the one in which USGS could have the most impact?

Several respondents ranked the Societal Issues equally or did not rank
them at all. Here are the comments from those respondents:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I cheated on my answers to 4a. In general, USGS scientists are        |
| dedicated and committed to their jobs. I am confident that wee can    |
| succeed at our attempts to address any or all of these issues.        |
| Whether or not the studies of these issues have the desired impact    |
| depends on the USGS management's ability to accomplish 3c. (above).   |
|                                                                       |
| Furthermore, all 8 issues are not only strongly discipline-oriented,  |
| they all appear to be mostly Business-As-Usual (BAU). They all might  |
| be headed towards a slightly different course than in the past, but   |
| none has any MAJOR direction change. The Scientific Questions are     |
| generally the same questions we have been asking for decades. For     |
| examples of BAU, look at the leading question under each issue.       |
| Hoorah - some questions do appear to head in a new direction, but     |
| most are overwhelmed with the BAU. Some apparent new directions I     |
| identified include: Biodiversity Q #9; Climate Q #3,4,5; Ecosystems Q |
| #4; Energy and Minerals Q #2; Health Q #3,5,6; Landscape Change Most  |
| questions - although the answer to the last question is elusive and   |
| out of the charter of the USGS; Hazards Q #3,6; Water Q #3,7.\        |
| \                                                                     |
| While these are intriguing questions requiring interesting scientific |
| research, most of them lack the integration necessary to provide the  |
| data needed by society to really address the overlying issues. For    |
| example Biodiversity Q #9; Do the various conservation approaches     |
| consider the possibility that the ecoregion or hotspot happens to     |
| contain a world-class carbonatite (or whatever) that could meet the   |
| country's 20-year demand for Titanium, or REEs, or whatever?          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Regarding the Challenges: The challenges don't sound like a USGS      |
| challenge. We aren't going to "ensure the natural diversity of plant  |
| and animal life." We might provide the information and the science    |
| that will help ensure the natural diversity. That doesn't sound as    |
| cool, maybe, but it is more believable by our own scientists and our  |
| partners (who might view their job as "ensuring the natural           |
| diversity"). The same can be said for all of the challenges.\         |
| \                                                                     |
| But, given the comments above, I would prefer to see the challenges   |
| built into the broader themes. So, again, following the measure,      |
| report, forecast theme as an example which I'm sure can be improved   |
| upon: (1) Identify (measure) the species important to the maintenance |
| of biodiversity across the range of ecosystems and the habitat        |
| requirements of each of these species. (2) Describe (report) relation |
| between biodiversity and a well functioning ecosystem. (3) Predict    |
| (forecast) the effects of landscape and climate change on species     |
| composition and ecosystem functioning.                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| USGS should seize opportunities for which it is best suited, for      |
| example the current initiative to organize a National Phenology       |
| Network. The passing of the seasons, recorded in the phenology        |
| (timing of life cycle events in organisms) of organisms, is the most  |
| pervasive source of biological variability on Earth, and constitutes  |
| a critical component of the climate system at all scales. The U.S.    |
| currently lacks continuous phenological observations at local to      |
| continental scales, so we barely understand the role of phenology in  |
| ecosystems processes at any scale. We have a poor understanding of    |
| how environmental factors affect the phenology of different           |
| organisms, how the importance of those factors vary over spatial and  |
| temporal scales, and how phenology affects the abundance and          |
| diversity of organisms, their function and interactions in the        |
| environment, and their effects on fluxes in water, energy and         |
| chemistry. The lack of phenological observations and understanding    |
| means that, though it has unlimited potential, phenology can't be     |
| effectively used as a predictor for other processes and variables     |
| monitored at the national scale. Just as the national network of      |
| weather stations and stream gauges is critical for providing national |
| weather, climate and water services, a National Phenology Network     |
| could be critical for safeguarding goods and services that Nature     |
| provides. This includes such essentials as the ability to accurately  |
| predict crop yields, calculate carbon budgets, forecast water         |
| supplies, predict wildfires and other ecological disturbances,        |
| anticipate allergy seasons, plan our vacations around fall colors or  |
| wildflower displays, inform integrated pest management, manage        |
| invasive species, anticipate the spread of infectious diseases, make  |
| the best of heavy public investment in satellite platforms and remote |
| sensing products focused on vegetation, and gage the impact of        |
| increasing temperatures on biota.                                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Again I find this ranking an exercise in frustration. what can I say, |
| I'm a rogue. The most impact on scientific advancement might be, even |
| should be, different from the most impact on societal advancement.    |
| USGS is not political for a reason; therefore we should be            |
| articulating this difference by highlighting the scientific process   |
| and its contribution to stable, dependable societal decisions.        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Question 4c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Water as the most important Societal Issue believe the
most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major contributor
to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  USGS must maintain a leadership role in understanding processes that
  are critical for effective management of water resources and we must
  have a strong, objective voice to provide unbiased information to
  decision makers in the 21st century. To accomplish this goal, we must
  focus more intensively on research in a number of areas involving our
  water resources, including those associated with the biogeochemistry of
  aquatic systems, particularly at the microbial/dissolved interface
  where many fundamental reactions take place, development of remote and
  real time sensors for water quality and discharge, improved
  understanding of watershed dynamics, including those associated with
  land use, and the development of tools to better implement storage
  strategies, such as aquifer storage and recovery.

  Implement monitoring schemes that tie the observations to the land
  surface (watershed) as well as the water features.

  Attract adequate funding to collect the needed data and to fund the
  scientists to interpret that data.

  try to ensure long-term stable funding, technical excellence, and high
  standards for water data and research.

  Hire some bright young water-resources scientists and engineers.

  We need to more adequately address the interdisciplinary aspects of the
  science issues related to water and the other impact areas. The USGS
  needs to improve its ability to facilitate interdisciplinary and
  multi-disciplinary science.

  In 4a? The most important thing is to provide scientists the money and
  staff that they need to do the research and the ability for scientists
  to make their information available to the public. First and foremost,
  the science must be solid, so the research needs to be done by actual
  Ph.D. level scientists who have the flexibility to formulate research
  questions and pursue studies in ways that are publishable in peer
  reviewed journals, and that will be accepted by the scientific
  community. Secondly, the information delivered to the public should be
  coming from scientists, and not filtered through secondary sources
  (e.g., information technologists, administrators).

  Keep Congress, governors, mayors, influential professional societies
  and the public continually aware of the contributions that the USGS has
  made and continues to make for the country and the public; explain that
  we are the only national institution that can do national studies;
  explain that we have the capability to measure and interpret long-term
  trends (whether it be climate change, loss or recovery of water
  supplies, degradation or improvement of water quality, etc.); explain
  that we have no vested interest in any industry or related corporate
  endeavors, hence we are objective and independent of normal biases that
  influence resource utilization, environmental regulation, and politics.
  We are an agency whose main bias is science; explain our mission
  statement "The USGS provides the Nation with reliable impartial
  information about the Earth to manage biological, water, mineral, and
  energy resources, to enhance and protect the quality of life, and to
  contribute to wise economic and physical development."

  ensure adequate monitoring so that we can know how much water is
  available, and of that amount, how much is of sufficient quality for
  human consumption and many other purposes \-- AND ensure that society
  KNOWS we're ensuring adequate monitoring

  Keep doing what we are doing, but at an increased level of effort. We
  should be the leaders here, pointing out to state and local officials
  the consequence of unrestrained growth and water usage in arid regions,
  their limited water supply and serious water quality/water usage issues
  of that supply.

  We need to commit to a plan of research to understand every aspect of
  the water cycle in the past and present so that we can predict how
  natural and man-induced changes in water quality and quantity will
  affect health and wealth. Clearly climate and water are connected and
  they impact natural hazards, health, ecosystems, biodiversity, and
  landscape changes. As water moved (s) through the crust it also affects
  energy and mineral resources and enormous quantities of water may be
  required in extraction of future alternate energy or mineral resources.
  Water is the one unifying societal issue that is listed in this
  questionnaire. The USGS is in a unique position to provide information
  on the lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere and to so how processes
  in these are connected in ways that affect all of us.

  We need to keep pressing the flesh with policy-makers and congressional
  staff and producing circulars, fact sheets, and other documents for the
  public in the hope that we will eventually be presented with a
  political climate, and public posture more inclined to accept that
  these national problems natural resources, natural hazards, and climate
  change need to be addressed. Our scientists need to be present and
  visible at conferences and meetings. We need to actively partner with
  other government agencies and universities to address these problems.

  The bottom line is money. We have the infrastructure and hiring
  potential to address almost any water issue, but we don't have the
  resources to do it. We need to continue to sell ourselves, and get our
  cooperators and collaborators to continue to lobby for us as they have
  so many times in the past. We also need to be highly visible in
  response to natural disasters so the public and politicians can see our
  worth. Probably the best examples are our response to flooding and
  landslides, and our ability to predict and map when and where they will
  occur.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Hazards as the most important Societal Issue believe
the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major
contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  With visibility comes responsibility. The USGS hazards activities are
  judged in an instant when disaster strikes and the Nation turns to USGS
  for answers and explanations. Our systems and our scientists must
  deliver rapid, reliable information. That requires investment in
  monitoring networks, hazard assessments, and the research that
  underpins them both. The impact of USGS science depends on the extent
  to which it is integrated into decision making, whether an emergency
  manager or a county planner. And that requires an active handoff from
  an understanding of hazard to a manifestation of risk: scenarios that
  play out the full impact of the hazard and make it real to decision
  makers who will then be motivated to act.

  Continue to conduct cutting edge science and to develop information
  products in formats useful to a wide range of users that can be quickly
  be accessed by emergency management and response personnel.

  Keep it a high funding priority; replace retiring scientists; promote
  multi-disciplinary or inter-disciplinary research.

  The U.S.G.S. must continue to support and nurture its program
  components dealing with natural hazards in order to keep its leadership
  in this field.

  The USGS is going extinct, through level funding and attrition. The
  single most important challenge is to find a funding solution that will
  ensure sustainability of the bureau. The future of the bureau is
  critically dependent upon means of recruiting, hiring and supporting
  the future leaders of USGS science.

  (see also 3c above) I think we need to focus on forecasting and
  prediction \--continually improving our capabilities in both those
  areas for all the hazards we focus on.

  In general, I think the USGS is not as connected with decision makers
  as we should be to actually minimize losses from natural hazards.
  Hurricane Katrina is an example of a hazard that was predictable, yet
  the information was not being used by decision makers, neither in the
  short term response nor in long-term planning. Maybe there should be an
  exchange of staff with other agencies to facilitate the information
  sharing.

  We already are a major contributor but it is critical that we build on
  the work and expertise already underway by assuring that USGS expertise
  continues to grow.

  Sustain what we have been doing; expand our base and scope of
  operations; nurture the workforce; establish firm ties with emergency
  response organizations

  Work more effectively through Interior, OMB and Congress.

  Be proactive in conducting and ranking the risk presented to the nation
  from natural hazards. USGS is viewed as a neutral, unbiased source of
  scientific information. We have nothing to gain by ranking the risk to
  society of one hazard over another, or ranking the risk in one
  geographic area over another. Use being "Switzerland" to our advantage.

  Absolutely the highest priority of USGS should be to hire talented
  young scientists to fill positions being vacated through retirements.
  The best way to accomplish this goal in a climate of diminishing
  resources is to minimize expenditures on needless bureaucratic
  positions and activities.

  It is hard to pick one for this one. Many of the natural hazards I
  mentioned are things for which we must be better prepared. They vary in
  the time periods over which they affect human beings. For the
  short-term (1-2 years), given the severe hurricane season in 2005, we
  need to invest significant effort before, during, and perhaps after the
  2006 hurricane season to provide a better understanding of the impact
  of these storms on the coastal zone. We need to do a better job of
  identifying the vulnerabilities and communicating them as far in
  advance as possible. While we can be major contributors to addressing
  the scientific aspects of the Natural Hazards Societal Issue, we should
  probably consider investing more in understanding and forecasting the
  economic impact of such storms on the economies of various interests in
  the coastal zone. Because we do not have a sufficient amount of
  appropriate expertise in house to this well, we need to strengthen
  partnerships with external groups speedily in order to be able to
  forecast better. In the long-run we need to continue to maintain our
  high-level reputation in the natural hazards arena by making sure that
  we have an adequate supply of critical scientific expertise through the
  development and implementation of well-developed workforce strategies.
  Proper succession planning is going to be an important element. We
  should strengthen our scientific expertise in areas where we are thin
  (e.g. tsunami science).

  Clearly, our science needs to be creative and forward thinking. It must
  also have some relevance for risk reduction.

  Not to be redundant, BUT, USGS needs to insure that its science
  functions are knit into (i.e., integrated with) social and decision
  processes related to natural hazards. This kind of integration will of
  itself contribute to insuring that the right questions are asked in the
  right ways, hopefully resulting in stakeholders believing and
  efficiently using the information and insight that USGS helps create.

  The USGS must continue (and expand) it's efforts to develop products
  that are useful and understood in hazard response/mitigation. This
  means expanding into new areas or niches that are unfilled, such as:
  engaging more in risk analysis and loss modeling, having a stronger
  education and outreach program, and increasing expertise in engineering
  to allow for engagement of the engineering community on mitigation
  measures.

  The USGS should increase and extend its monitoring and modeling
  efforts.

  Not overreach/be realistic/allow time for good work.

  Ask the Hazards experts what they think we should be doing.

  I believe we need to retain the flexibility in establishing
  collaborations with the best scientists both within and outside of the
  USGS to address these issues. I believe it is a big mistake to force
  collaborations through assigning scientists to work on new science
  thrusts. Allow the scientist's to find the collaborators both within
  and outside the agency. Allow a search for those within the agency who
  are interested in working on the topic. They must meet criteria that
  will insure they have the qualifications to collaborate rather than
  conduct their own separate project. If they do not meet the criteria,
  then we should have the flexibility to seek collaborators outside of
  the agency to meet the science needs.

  Maintain and grow the existing programs that deal with natural hazards.

  I think we need to become more visible across America. We need to be as
  well known as NASA for Space Exploration and EPA for the Environmental
  Health for what we want to do.

  USGS must make Congress, the administration, and the public aware of
  its current and potential contributions. We need to be a player.

  We look at complex events and societal interactions (flood/debris flows
  AFTER fires, not just one single activity (event or episode) - but the
  aftermath of triggering events like torrential rains leading to slides,
  earthquakes triggering distant aftershocks, etc.

  With regards to Hazard Issues, the USGS needs to conduct research and
  applications that support all elements of the disaster cycle, ex.
  mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. It needs to provide
  information from the perspective of the practitioner, such as land use
  managers, emergency managers, business owners, and private citizens.
  For 125 years, the USGS has primarily focused on developing hazard
  assessment products and a greater understanding of hazard processes.
  Products were primarily maps and reports that focused on understanding
  natural aspects of a hazard. It was assumed that FEMA handled
  everything else, such as understanding community vulnerability, the
  influence of land use on creating hazards and societal vulnerability,
  risk reduction strategies and implications and recovery implications.
  However, current events like Hurricane Katrina have demonstrated the
  reality and inadequacies of the current hazard, risk, and disaster
  science landscape. It is now apparent that FEMA is a response agency.
  It trains responders and coordinates response efforts. It is perceived
  as an agency of last resort, if local resources are overwhelmed.
  Although hazard assessments are critical, there is no federal agency to
  help the Nation also understand who is vulnerable, what the
  consequences of land use change are, and what the implications for
  alternative recovery plans are as communities rebuild. Therefore, the
  Nation will never become disaster resilient and the USGS will never
  successfully accomplish its mission of providing information to
  minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters. The USGS
  could, and should, be the primary source for understanding risk. To do
  this, it must develop a truly integrated risk and disaster program that
  looks all aspects of a potential disaster and how communities can
  become more resilient. If the USGS does this, it will have tremendous
  impact on the Nation.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Ecosystems as the most important Societal Issue believe
the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major
contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  We must adopt an interdisciplinary approach to all the work we do. So
  far, USGS only talks about this, and there are many many internal
  roadblocks to assuring this actually happens

  We need to develop a more effective means of bringing the divisions
  together on issues with common themes such as ecosystems. Opportunities
  for more grassroots developed scientific partnerships among scientists
  from various divisions, including funding opportunities would help
  foster effective interdivisional science teams. Placing focus on
  ecosystems would help because expertise from all current USGS divisions
  would be essential.

  Not to be repetitive but\....increase our funding for research and stop
  taking out so much overhead. Scientists are aware of the problems; we
  just do not have the support needed to properly address it.

  As mentioned above. We need to adjust our funding, business, and reward
  models to enhance collaboration, and we need to learn how to manage
  people effectively and to take risks.\
  \
  The USGS is the most risk-adverse group I have ever seen. It is a
  natural outcome when we put scientists in charge. I include myself in
  this group. We often think too long about decisions, we insist on
  having more data than can be reasonably collected before moving, we
  only know how to make slow careful steps, and we try to fine tune
  things when bold (and sometimes unpopular) initiative is needed.\
  \
  With all that stated, I am not advocating dumping our lead scientists
  for Harvard MBAs. But we need to recalibrate ourselves when we are
  thrust into these leadership roles. Our careful and analytical science
  techniques don't always work well managing people and managing change.
  It should not be our only tool in the tool shed. Risk taking,
  creativity, thinking outside normal bounds should be approaches that
  are rewarded. Not careless risk taking. But we need the ability to
  move, reorganize, respond, and redirect efforts much faster than we
  currently do.

  Same as before, provide to the nation a stable, educated, fully
  integrated, and funded work force that is guided by non-changing (but
  resilient) long term goals that are met by short term objectives. One
  of the major inhibitors of the current structure (and over all
  mentality) is the idea of disciplines doing what disciplines have
  always done without much thought of what other disciplines are doing
  and how the two can work together.

  Interact with USDI land managers in the decision-making process on USDI
  lands and on species for which USDI is responsible.

  Please see my comments under 3c. Encourage scientists and Program
  Managers to develop meaningful integration of expertise that can be
  well-funded, long-term, and stable, within Goals of the
  Congressionally-mandated, funded Programs. Move the current Ecosystems
  Program work into the funded science Programs (if scientifically
  justified) and then eliminate the Ecosystems Program as it is now run.

  Become the lead agency for the Global Earth Observing System program.

  USGS has made considerable progress in working in an interdisciplinary
  fashion, but we must continue to improve. Differences in science and
  business practices among USGS disciplines remain the greatest barrier
  to conducting true interdisciplinary science.

  Find a better way to get geologists, hydrologists, and biologists
  within USGS to interact. Most of us are currently squirreled away in
  our own cubbyholes interacting with others of our own kind. We will not
  overcome this problem and begin to undertake truly meaningful
  multidisciplinary work until we have co-location of disciplines, which
  would allow EVERY DAY interactions that would stimulate much more
  meaningful thoughts in all of our brains.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Energy and Minerals as the most important Societal
Issue believe the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  The USGS must remain relevant, up to date, and translate this
  information in a meaningful way to the public. Hiding efforts in
  seemingly prestigious but esoteric journals is not particularly helpful
  although individuals are rewarded for the latter approach not the
  former.

  Research on energy sources other than fossil fuel
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Landscape Change as the most important Societal Issue
believe the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major
contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Monitor land cover and land use change consistently and at multiple
  resolutions over time (e.g., 30m land cover every decade and 1m high
  resolution imagery archive every 3 years).

  Provide and empower leadership. USGS already has significant resources
  that are or could be focused on landscape change issues, but the
  leadership required to marshal those resources in pursuit of common
  objectives will not arise from the kinds of RFP processes that we have
  come to rely on. Vision, coordination of effort, and innovation will be
  required. My first intuition would be to identify a very few key
  scientists and charge them with forming a skunk works, but other
  approaches might work as well or better.

  Understand the consequences of land change on climate, water, and
  ecosystems.

  Increase the number of four factor research scientists in geography
  Increased funding for land cover mapping. Support of landsat. We need
  to be more aggressive about building interdisciplinary teams to work
  with the folks mapping landcover/landuse change. Provide more
  opportunities to conduct interdisciplinary studies with the policy and
  social scientist e.g. lawyers, economists etc

  Make the investments to retain the personnel with this expertise and
  make sure that intelligent access to the data and other resources are
  available to all USGS scientists and the public.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Climate as the most important Societal Issue believe
the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major
contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Because this one issue cuts across all of our disciplines and provides
  USGS with an extraordinary opportunity to do interdisciplinary,
  long-term, high-profile studies.

  Build (or at worst maintain) our strength in long-term, goal-driven
  observations of ecosystems and water, and aggressively apply those
  observations to two parallel tracks: (1) change detection, and (2)
  improving our ability to understand and predict changes, and develop
  mitigation strategies. If we don't do it, who will? Probably not
  universities thought some of the land-management agencies will want to.
  One of our jobs is to work with the land-management agencies to make it
  happen.

  We must overcome internal institutional boundaries.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Biodiversity as the most important Societal Issue
believe the most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major
contributor to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Focus on the science behind the issue. Be responsive to managers who
  have authority for actually influencing biodiversity. However, be
  proactive, thinking about problems before they become major problems.
  Reduce the bureaucracy and impediments to collaboration.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Those who ranked Health as the most important Societal Issue believe the
most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a major contributor
to this issue is:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Improve the way we implement and coordinate science plans across the
  bureau. The combined knowledge and capability of USGS scientists is
  considerable, and likely the best group to serve as vigilant protectors
  of environmental health in the US. Other agencies, for example USEPA,
  might be larger in size and budget, but they do not have the sustained
  attack and approach on environmental issues that allows USGS to develop
  the expertise noted to monitor and assess environmental health

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 4c.**

What is the one most important thing USGS must do to ensure we are a
major contributor to addressing the Societal Issue you ranked number
one?

Several respondents ranked the Societal Issues equally or did not rank
them at all. Here are the comments from those respondents:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Regarding the Science Questions: Many of these are really not science
  questions. "Can we better anticipate the effects of climate variability
  on water supplies and demand . . .?" "Can we improve our knowledge of
  water use to gain a better understanding . . . ?" The answer to both
  questions is yes, so we can move on.\
  \
  Many of the science questions sound more like a challenge statement
  than a science question.\
  \
  Some of the science questions seem as if they can be addressed by
  technology, rather than scientific studies. For example, "How can we
  make use of water not thought to be a source of fresh water . . .?"\
  \
  If the question approach is to be used, and I'm not sure it is
  appropriate, then the questions need to posed as real questions that
  can be addressed through science.\
  \
  There are too many questions. The questions need to be posed in some
  logical order, moving perhaps from the easier to the more difficult, or
  maybe from measuring to reporting to predicting (or within some other
  broad them).\
  \
  I think some of the questions address things the USGS cannot do,
  although we could partner with others and make some contributions. For
  example, we don't do human health, but there is a lot of human health
  in the document. In several places, supply and demand is mentioned; I'm
  not sure we are very good at demand, although perhaps we should be.
  Some of the questions could be read as though we are doing management,
  conservation, and/or restoration. We should be clear about our role in
  those activities.\
  \
  I like the emphasis on quantifying the societal value or benefit to
  society. We do that poorly, but it needs to be done . . . maybe not by
  us, but by someone.

  In 4b, I mentioned the USA-National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) as an
  example of how we might contribute to Climate as a Major Societal
  Issue. We have all of the necessary ingredients to contribute in a
  significant way without breaking the bank. With a nominal investment
  (e.g., \$200K), USGS could become indispensable to the climate change
  community and to the many potential users of phenological information.
  For example, we hope that the MODIS Direct Broadcast System (DBS) can
  serve as the backbone of USA-NPN remote sensing. The DBS collects and
  processes alternative data sets to the standard, off-the-shelf MODIS
  data that NASA produces and then distributes through EROS. USGS is home
  to the National Biological Infrastructure Institute (NBII), which could
  organize and implement data archiving and management. I could point to
  other examples, but USGS leadership in such a critical national network
  could make USGS indispensable to climate researchers and to the users
  of climate-related ecological information.

  -Hire young people who have been trained with the new and cutting edge
  technologies and communication skills.\
  \
  -Make increasingly available data, map, and interpretive products that
  span our long history of information. Dig into archival information to
  do this.\
  \
  -Collaborate with scientific and general user groups of our data: make
  this affordable, rewardable, and a major mission for our workforce
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Questions 5a and 5b.**

Is there an additional major Societal Issue not listed that USGS should
be able to address and if so, why do you think this issue is important
enough to be added as a major **Societal Issue**?

+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Responsible Resource    | Challenge: Help society meet its demands   |
| Management              | for goods and services without adversely   |
|                         | harming the natural systems that are       |
|                         | impacted to fulfill those demands.\        |
|                         | \                                          |
|                         | Science Question: How can we help society  |
|                         | obtain the resource (biological, energy,   |
|                         | mineral, water) necessary to meet the      |
|                         | needs of the present without endanger the  |
|                         | natural systems that support life on       |
|                         | earth, thereby helping to ensure the       |
|                         | ability of future generations to meet      |
|                         | their own needs?                           |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | Society must take responsibility for the   |
|                         | environmental and social impacts of its    |
|                         | consumption and behavioral choices.        |
|                         | Responsible resource management means      |
|                         | accepting resource development and         |
|                         | limiting environmental impacts. It does    |
|                         | not mean denying local resource            |
|                         | development, forcing it to other places    |
|                         | where the local government may not have    |
|                         | the wherewithal to control its impacts     |
|                         | (i.e. importing resources from undeveloped |
|                         | countries with inadequate environment      |
|                         | controls and regulations). To accomplish   |
|                         | this we need to understand how the natural |
|                         | system behaves in response to various      |
|                         | stressors.\                                |
|                         | \                                          |
|                         | The USGS has the scientific personnel that |
|                         | can be brought together to address the     |
|                         | EXTREMELY complicated issue of how the     |
|                         | Natural System behaves. We ABSOLUTRELY     |
|                         | need to continue our research into the     |
|                         | intricacies of how subcomponents of the    |
|                         | system behave.\                            |
|                         | \                                          |
|                         | But when it comes to applying the results  |
|                         | of our studies, we cannot apply them to    |
|                         | SUBCOMPONENTS of the system. That is why,  |
|                         | today, society is the pickle it's in. For  |
|                         | generations people have been looking at    |
|                         | only at one piece of the puzzle. Society   |
|                         | asked, for example, "How will this mine    |
|                         | affect the economics in the area? (Can I   |
|                         | get a job there?)" Over time society has   |
|                         | demanded that we consider more pieces of   |
|                         | the puzzle. For example, "How will this    |
|                         | mine (or oil well, or water well, or       |
|                         | subdivision, etc) impact my health and     |
|                         | safety?" But society is pushing the limits |
|                         | to scientific understanding. Society now   |
|                         | knows enough to ask "What impact will this |
|                         | mine have on the environment?" But does    |
|                         | society know enough to ask "How can the    |
|                         | benefits of the mine can be realized       |
|                         | without adversely harming the natural      |
|                         | environment." (Oops -- that was a slight   |
|                         | restatement of my suggested most important |
|                         | issue!) And do we know enough about the    |
|                         | natural system to give a definitive answer |
|                         | to those questions?\                       |
|                         | \                                          |
|                         | I reiterate, the USGS should be able to    |
|                         | assemble a team to determine the           |
|                         | methodologies to answer such questions.    |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Sustainability of       | Sustainability is critical and             |
| natural and human       | crosscutting with other issues. USGS could |
| systems.                | play a key role there                      |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Science-policy          | This is a big issue for our Nation and     |
| interface.              | public scientists have a high calling to   |
|                         | help citizens and policy-makers find the   |
|                         | nexus between science and policy. It       |
|                         | directly affects our ability to receive    |
|                         | appropriated funds.                        |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Changes in land use and | Include the concept of changes in land use |
| land cover              | and land cover in Landscape Changes. .     |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Soils                   | More explicitly include soils in           |
|                         | Ecosystems, or they will get left out,     |
|                         | despite them being the foundation of all   |
|                         | terrestrial life.                          |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Hydrology               | I would have listed hydrologic function    |
|                         | instead of water; I think hydrology would  |
|                         | be better because it would broaden that    |
|                         | societal issue and provide a better        |
|                         | linkage with ecosystem function and        |
|                         | services.                                  |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Population Growth       | Admittedly, the effects of population      |
|                         | growth are inherent in all of the other    |
|                         | issues. However, it may be useful to think |
|                         | of population growth as a separate issue   |
|                         | because of its overarching impacts. This   |
|                         | might be appropriate for USGS to address   |
|                         | because it appears to me that USGS relies  |
|                         | on outside research for much of its        |
|                         | population information (I could be wrong   |
|                         | about this). That research is conducted    |
|                         | from various perspectives, such as         |
|                         | economic development, use of natural       |
|                         | resources, human health, education, and,   |
|                         | in some cases, the environment. But it     |
|                         | could be useful for USGS to conduct our    |
|                         | own research on population statistics,     |
|                         | such as growth characteristics and         |
|                         | patterns, in light of ecosystem impacts,   |
|                         | water supplies, mineral and energy         |
|                         | resources, natural hazards, and other      |
|                         | issues we are so good at.                  |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Human sustainability    | Water resources are the next major player  |
|                         | in human sustainability. It is argued that |
|                         | the next wars will be over water in        |
|                         | addition to competition for                |
|                         | energy/minerals. Humans can not survive    |
|                         | without water. Where is the water, what is |
|                         | its potability, and in what quantities are |
|                         | nearly as important as the economic        |
|                         | survival of the nation and world.          |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Human ecology and the   | Human ecology and the societal impact of   |
| societal impact of land | land use, natural system, and physical     |
| use, natural system,    | Earth change. (Replacement for "Landscape  |
| and physical Earth      | Change".) I think it is central to being   |
| change.                 | the US agency dedicated to the study of    |
|                         | the physical Earth and the natural systems |
|                         | of the land and how these relate to the    |
|                         | ecology and welfare of human society.      |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Nuclear waste storage   | Its importance transcends the general      |
|                         | subject \"Energy and Minerals\"            |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Sustainability and      | Like "health," sustainability is a large,  |
| sustainability science  | cross-cutting issue that could include     |
|                         | several of the existing categories. My     |
|                         | concern is that "sustainability" is a      |
|                         | relative term (sustainability of what, for |
|                         | what?). The team may have already          |
|                         | considered this issue, but if it is not a  |
|                         | major issue it should be addressed as a    |
|                         | component of the selected major issues.    |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Scientific integrity    | Every scientist should take responsibility |
| and responsibility.     | for myriad social issues, including        |
|                         | threats to scientific integrity through    |
|                         | political efforts to restrict              |
|                         | communication of scientific results,       |
|                         | campaigns of misinformation about the      |
|                         | 'theory' of evolution, and finding         |
|                         | solutions to implement action plans (e.g.  |
|                         | hurricane or earthquake preparedness or    |
|                         | water supply threats) based on sound       |
|                         | science. Political threats and public      |
|                         | misinformation about scientific issues     |
|                         | have never been greater in my career than  |
|                         | today.                                     |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Exploration of the      | I'm not sure if it should be added to the  |
| oceans and other        | list, but we also need to think long-term  |
| planets.                | and not just for the next 10 years.        |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Homeland Security       | Homeland security operations should be     |
|                         | demanding all of our geospatial            |
|                         | information; and be demanding that it be   |
|                         | enhanced, kept current, be integrated; and |
|                         | be accessible 24/7 to serve first          |
|                         | responder applications. The fact that DHS  |
|                         | is not doing this and/or expecting NGA to  |
|                         | do it for them is a major failure of       |
|                         | leadership on our part.                    |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Defense and security    | As written, the issues are very broad and, |
|                         | depending on interpretation, cover most    |
|                         | other societal issues. Defense and         |
|                         | security come to mind, but they seem to    |
|                         | have been delegated to other institutions. |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Disposal of Toxic Waste | I propose Disposal of Toxic Waste a        |
|                         | separate major Societal Issue that the     |
|                         | USGS should consider for the Science       |
|                         | Strategy. This includes all forms of       |
|                         | radioactive and non-radioactive toxic (or  |
|                         | potentially toxic) waste. For decades we   |
|                         | have been involved in helping the Nation   |
|                         | and the world figure out how best to       |
|                         | dispose of nuclear waste through a         |
|                         | geological repository solution. This       |
|                         | effort is still ongoing. As the demand for |
|                         | energy increases globally, some anticipate |
|                         | that the reliance globally on nuclear      |
|                         | power will increase substantially. The     |
|                         | current technology used for generating     |
|                         | electricity through nuclear means          |
|                         | generates dangerous radioactive waste      |
|                         | which must be isolated. The capacity of    |
|                         | identified geologic repositories for       |
|                         | nuclear waste may be fully utilized in the |
|                         | not too distant future. Additional         |
|                         | geologic repositories or other means to    |
|                         | store waste will need to be considered.    |
|                         | The USGS has an important role in helping  |
|                         | to characterize future potential sites for |
|                         | nuclear waste disposal. Beyond             |
|                         | characterization, the potential for the    |
|                         | compromising of whatever waste disposal    |
|                         | site is something that the USGS can be     |
|                         | involved with (must be involved with?) And |
|                         | the scientific monitoring of the           |
|                         | performance of a waste disposal is also an |
|                         | activity that the USSG can contribute to.  |
|                         | In addition to nuclear waste, there are    |
|                         | many other types of waste which need to be |
|                         | considered. The USGS already has a top     |
|                         | notch reputation in the science of toxic   |
|                         | substances. We have a lot of the needed    |
|                         | scientific expertise in house. What we     |
|                         | don't have, we can obtain through          |
|                         | collaboration. While dealing with some     |
|                         | controversial topics, we are able to       |
|                         | maintain our impartial, non-advocacy       |
|                         | approach. Not having a regulatory role may |
|                         | be to our advantage. Separate from nuclear |
|                         | waste, other types of toxic waste streams  |
|                         | are expected to grow in the US as well as  |
|                         | elsewhere. As one of the most              |
|                         | technologically and economic countries in  |
|                         | the world, I believe that we have some     |
|                         | obligation to share the know-how developed |
|                         | in the broad area of toxic waste disposal  |
|                         | with others who may be more focused on     |
|                         | economic development at this time.         |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Integrate science with  | The role of science in society has become  |
| policy and societal     | increasingly politicized and polarizing,   |
| decision-making.        | especially relative to our specialty of    |
|                         | natural resources. As an agency and as a   |
|                         | society we need to find better ways of     |
|                         | integrating science with decision-making,  |
|                         | using science to foster common ground      |
|                         | among otherwise conflicted stakeholders.   |
|                         | The traditional paradigm of science in     |
|                         | splendid isolation DOES NOT WORK,          |
|                         | especially for an agency that prides       |
|                         | itself on relevance. I contend that USGS   |
|                         | is in a unique position to prototype and   |
|                         | pioneer methods for integrating our        |
|                         | scientific practice with other societal    |
|                         | functions.                                 |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Science education in    | We can't advance the use of our science    |
| the U.S.                | products if the public/stakeholders don't  |
|                         | have enough knowledge to use them. The     |
|                         | level of science and technology training   |
|                         | in the U.S. is frightening and is a        |
|                         | barrier to addressing any and all of the   |
|                         | other science issues.                      |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Food supply             | No explanation needed                      |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Integration of science  | By this, I mean to include formal          |
| and management.         | processes like decision analysis, risk     |
|                         | analysis, and adaptive management. Natural |
|                         | resource decision making depends on good   |
|                         | science, but often the information needed  |
|                         | by the decision-makers doesn't match well  |
|                         | with the interests of academic scientists. |
|                         | There are two issues: management agencies  |
|                         | aren't always adept at incorporating       |
|                         | science into their decisions; and research |
|                         | agencies aren't always adept at producing  |
|                         | the science that is relevant for the       |
|                         | decision-making.\                          |
|                         | \                                          |
|                         | USGS has a unique position, in being a     |
|                         | research agency embedded with a            |
|                         | management-oriented Department with        |
|                         | responsibility for large amounts of        |
|                         | Federal land as well as significant        |
|                         | regulatory responsibility. We should       |
|                         | expand our capability to develop the       |
|                         | decision analysis and adaptive management  |
|                         | tools and processes that can allow         |
|                         | decision-makers to efficiently use         |
|                         | science.                                   |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Air quality             | Air quality impacts biodiversity,          |
|                         | ecosystems, health, and water. It could    |
|                         | either be rolled into these or be          |
|                         | addressed as its own issue.                |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Population growth.      | Population growth is the overarching,      |
|                         | unspoken issue that encompasses all of the |
|                         | Societal Issues listed by the Team. Until  |
|                         | we consider it explicitly, we are          |
|                         | addressing the symptoms and not the        |
|                         | causes.                                    |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Land Change             | The implications of land change cross-cut  |
|                         | all societal issues. The USGS is the       |
|                         | agency specializing in the study of the    |
|                         | changing earth, and has the unique ability |
|                         | to address the complex cause-and-effect    |
|                         | relationships. The NRC has identified land |
|                         | change as one of the grand challenges for  |
|                         | environmental research in the 21st         |
|                         | century.                                   |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Cause vs. effect        | Perhaps we should give more consideration  |
|                         | to identifying proximate and ultimate      |
|                         | forces affecting each of the societal      |
|                         | issues I identified We are very good at    |
|                         | studying consequences but I believe fall   |
|                         | short when studying causes. Simply put     |
|                         | without a full understating of causes we   |
|                         | will struggle in providing answers to      |
|                         | policy relevant questions as we interact   |
|                         | at the science policy interface.           |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Urban expansion         | It is a subpart of Landscape change, but   |
|                         | more focused and is an area where USGS can |
|                         | provide data, information, and knowledge.  |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Homeland Security       | When the crop duster full of arsenic dumps |
|                         | its load, people are going to want to know |
|                         | how and where it will enter the food       |
|                         | supply, water supply, etc.                 |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| River restoration       | River restoration is really hot, but I     |
|                         | assume that fits into other categories     |
|                         | listed: ecosystems, biodiversity, etc. We  |
|                         | are at the point in the development of our |
|                         | Nation that we should now take a look at   |
|                         | repairing the damage that we have done and |
|                         | are doing to our river systems. As a       |
|                         | society we value healthy river systems and |
|                         | I think the public support is there to see |
|                         | that it happens. There is a large void in  |
|                         | the direction of River Restoration and     |
|                         | USGS could come in and give valuable       |
|                         | direction.                                 |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Waste disposal          | effects on water, geology and the          |
|                         | environment                                |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Waste disposal          | Waste disposal is a societal issue because |
|                         | it is the "dirty" task faced by every      |
|                         | city, municipality, agricultural           |
|                         | enterprise, industry, and energy producer. |
|                         | It has links with many (or all) of the     |
|                         | other issues listed. The problem will      |
|                         | never go away, but it can be managed       |
|                         | better and processes can be made more      |
|                         | efficient to reduce waste generation;      |
|                         | disposal methods can be designed to reduce |
|                         | environmental impacts; the USGS can assess |
|                         | what the impacts have been in the past and |
|                         | predict what it might be in the future.    |
|                         | For example, solving the radwaste disposal |
|                         | problem may help shift society away from   |
|                         | reliance on hydrocarbons and coal for      |
|                         | generating electricity.                    |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Population growth       | Population growth is the driving force for |
|                         | many of the other issues challenging       |
|                         | society\--in a sense, it's the highest     |
|                         | order societal problem. The scientific     |
|                         | questions center on defining trends and    |
|                         | predicting future impacts on landscape,    |
|                         | land use, and demands for water, building  |
|                         | materials (timber, aggregate, cement,      |
|                         | building stones, etc.), mineral resources, |
|                         | park lands, agricultural land, etc. Will   |
|                         | natural resources ever be a limit to       |
|                         | growth\--locally, regionally, or           |
|                         | globally)? The listed issue of "Landscape  |
|                         | Change" can really be rolled into this     |
|                         | broader and more important societal issue. |
|                         | Population growth certainly impacts        |
|                         | biodiversity and ecosystems, among other   |
|                         | issues.                                    |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Invasive species        | Invasive species cost taxpayers millions   |
|                         | of dollars every year.                     |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Energy                  | I think that energy and minerals is much   |
|                         | too large a topic to have as one. These    |
|                         | should be two topics. The two greatest     |
|                         | challenges to the future survival of       |
|                         | humankind are water and energy. Once       |
|                         | fossil fuels are burned, they are gone     |
|                         | forever. Without energy, we cannot mine    |
|                         | minerals or manage water.                  |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Minerals                | I think that energy and minerals is much   |
|                         | too large a topic to have as one. These    |
|                         | should be two topics. Minerals is not on   |
|                         | the same level because with some foresight |
|                         | and clever ingenuity, we can recycle many  |
|                         | metals that originate as minerals but we   |
|                         | cannot recycle energy.                     |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Land Management or Land | Landscape Change sounds unusual. Most      |
| Use                     | academic courses and discussions use the   |
|                         | phrase Land Management or Land Use.        |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Interdisciplinary       | Again, regardless of the specific issues   |
| research                | that are selected it is important to point |
|                         | out that at some level they are all        |
|                         | connected and that the USGS is in a unique |
|                         | position to address these issues because   |
|                         | it is a leader in facilitating             |
|                         | interdisciplinary research across          |
|                         | institutional boundaries.                  |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Population and          | As a society and as individuals, we are    |
| unsustainable economic  | hypnotized by current market forces and    |
| growth                  | generally ignore the welfare of future     |
|                         | generations. For example, I am constantly  |
|                         | surprised by the lack of models that       |
|                         | project sustainability in the face of a    |
|                         | varying and changing climate. There are    |
|                         | few probability risk analyses, for         |
|                         | example, that integrate projections of     |
|                         | population growth and development with     |
|                         | knowledge about low-frequency climate      |
|                         | variability and change.                    |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | There is tendency for population and       |
|                         | economic growth to be taken off the table  |
|                         | in science and policy discussions. This    |
|                         | has a chilling effect on the science so    |
|                         | nothing actually happens until there is    |
|                         | some sort of catastrophe and it is too     |
|                         | late.                                      |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+

**Question 6.**

The team has drafted a Challenge statement to describe each of the major
Societal Issues. Do the challenge statements capture the challenge
correctly?

Comments on the Biodiversity Challenge Statement:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  across its full range of variation.

  Assess the natural diversity of plant and animal life on
  Earth.\-\--remember we are not a resource management agency. We are a
  Science Agency. \'Question: Since we are not a resource management
  agency, should all the challenge statements reflect that? For instance,
  should this statement be: Assess the natural diversity of plant and
  animal life on Earth.

  Revise to map, describe, understand; is it our mission to ensure?
  Sounds like land managers for that responsibility.

  can be combined with Ecosystems

  Change \"ensure\" to \"preserve\" or \"maintain\"

  Ensure that ecological processes responsible for the natural diversity
  of plant and animal life on earth remain functional over time and
  changing land use. This comment reflects my view of the world but seems
  better because if we work to protect the process responsible, we don't
  have to target a specific species because all species within specific
  ecosystems would be covered.

  Ensure the species and functional diversity of life on Earth (don\'t
  leave out microbes)

  Evaluate and recommend natural diversity of plant and animal life on
  Earth: (Comment\--the USGS can not ensure these lofty goals).

  I think the entire biodiversity issue needs to be included in
  ecosystems. The reason why we want biodiversity is not clear when it is
  separated from ecosystem health.

  I would shorten the list of questions to be more in balance with the
  other issues. For example, question 2 could be integrated into the
  ecosystem issue, question 2 and 6 could be combined, as could 7 and 8.

  In order to maintain our quality of life, ensure the natural diversity
  of plant and animal life on earth.

  Isn\'t biodiversity is a component of ecosystem health - I\'d combine
  the two

  Promote the natural diversity of plant and animal life

  Promote the natural diversity of plant and animal life on Earth. (We
  can\'t ensure it)

  Provide information to support management of biodiversity

  Provide unbiased scientific data that can be used to help ensure the
  natural diversity of plant and animal life on Earth in healthy
  functioning ecosystems

  Reduce the rate of loss of natural diversity of plant and animal life
  on Earth.

  Sustain the natural dynamics of biological organisms on the Earth.

  The statement sounds political. I would submit that our mission is to
  understand the state and processes that define natural diversity

  The USGS cannot ensure anything. I suggest this, and all Challenge
  statements be revised. This one should state "Help society to ensure
  the natural diversity of plant and animal life on Earth."

  Too many questions because several of them overlap. Q1 and Q2 directly
  overlap. Q3, 4, and 5 overlap. Rethink and reduce the number of
  questions. This challenge has 10 questions, more than any other. Why?
  It is not more important than the others.

  Understand and preserve the natural order of the Earth.

  Understand ecosystems so that the natural diversity of plants and
  animals can be understood and ensured

  Understand the role of natural diversity of plant and animal life.

  Understanding the importance of and processes affecting the natural
  diversity of plant and animal life on earth. This following general
  comment applies to all the Challenge statements. The statements use
  words like " ensure" and "mitigate" that imply USGS can manage the
  impacts of these issues. That's outside our mission - we can only
  provide information to help resource managers, planners, etc. Without
  knowing how these statements were developed, I'd revise all of them
  similarly.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 6.**

The team has drafted a Challenge statement to describe each of the major
Societal Issues. Do the challenge statements capture the challenge
correctly?

Comments on the Climate Challenge Statement:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \"Climate change\" not just climate

  Advise implementation of actions that will reduce the rate of climate
  change.

  also need to identify ways to reduce force of drivers

  Anticipate and mitigate the effects of climatic change \.... By itself,
  \"mitigate\" can be taken to imply after-the-fact damage control. A big
  part of what USGS can contribute is anticipation of issues before they
  arise, which might actually allow us to avoid or reduce some needs to
  mitigate.

  Assess and provide science recommendations to mitigate the effects of
  climate change.

  Better understand the man-related and natural factors that control
  climate change, and provide broad understanding of the probable impacts
  and possible mitigating strategies to minimize impacts.

  Climate. Produce a strategy to mitigate the effects of natural and
  anthropogenically influenced (long-term?) Climate change.

  Determine and communicate the effects of future climate change on
  natural and human systems.

  Evaluate the effects of climate change: (Comment\--the USGS has been in
  my opinion particularly ineffective on the climate change topic, and I
  see no way that the USGS can mitigate these effects).

  Mitigate climate change and its adverse effects

  Mitigate climate change and its adverse global effects. \'Mitigate
  climate change and its adverse effects. I think one of our science
  challenges is to reverse or stabilize climate change and a second
  challenge is to mitigate its effects. The way it is worded presumes it
  will keep getting worse and our job is to come up with mitigation
  efforts (technology fixes) to keep things functioning. Not a good
  message.

  Mitigate the effects of anthropogenic\...\...\...\...\...\....

  Mitigate the effects of climate change and variability on the National
  economy

  Mitigate the effects of climate change on societies, economics and
  ecosystems

  Monitor, analyze, and mitigate the effects of climate change on the
  Nation\'s natural resources.

  Posing the statement in this way implies that we already have some
  solid ideas about how to mitigate climate change problems.

  Predict and mitigate the effects of climate change

  Provide unbiased scientific data that can be used to help mitigate the
  effects of climate change

  The questions suggest a focus more on understanding rather than
  mitigating climate change.

  This seems akin to false advertising. The USGS is not going to do this.
  It would be enough if we were to understand and predict aspects of
  global warming/climate change to try to help society prepare. Mitigate
  implies we would either find a way to scrub out CO2/CH4 from the
  troposphere, or to tell people in vulnerable regions to move because we
  are going to get bigger, nastier hurricanes, regional fires, tsunamis,
  etc.

  To play devil\'s advocate, do we know for sure that all climate change
  effects will need to be mitigated? Isn\'t the challenge to provide
  science that will help society anticipate and help mitigate adverse
  impacts of climate change?

  Understand and mitigate the effects of climate change

  Understand and mitigate the effects of climate change.

  Understand and mitigate the effects\...\...

  Understand and seek to respond to the effects of climate change.

  Understand and\...

  Understand climate change so that we can respond to and mitigate
  negative effects

  Understand how climate change occurs and its effects on societies,
  economies, and ecosystems. Same comments as for Biodiversity. Also note
  statement in questionnaire is incomplete compared to statement in
  document. Finally, do not use the word "mitigate" - it implies all of
  the effects of climate change are bad, which they may not be.

  Understand the causes and effects of climate change.

  Understand the effects of climate change and assess strategies to
  mitigate them.

  Understand the effects of climate change and help society mitigate
  those effects.

  Understand, forecast, and mitigate (where possible) the effects of
  climate change\...

  Understand and provide science to mitigate the effects of climate
  change.

  What about the \"societies, economies, and ecosystems\" part as it says
  in the Societal Issues, Challenges and Science Questions document of
  3-20-06?
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 6.**

The team has drafted a Challenge statement to describe each of the major
Societal Issues. Do the challenge statements capture the challenge
correctly?

Comments on the Ecosystems Challenge Statement:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  combine with Biodiversity

  Conserve and restore critical ecosystems

  Conserve and restore ecosystems

  Conserve and restore ecosystems (i.e., I don\'t see that this challenge
  should be limited to so-called \"vulnerable\" ecosystems)

  \'Conserve and restore ecosystems. Drop the \"vulnerable\". Could also
  be \"Conserve and restore critical ecosystems\". Focusing only on
  ecosystems we think are vulnerable is short sighted and presumes we
  know which ones are truly vulnerable.

  Conserve and restore the diversity of ecosystems.

  Conserve and restore vulnerable ecosystems and their services. Though
  some people might judge ecosystem services to be implicit in the
  original wording, I think it might be helpful (and politically astute)
  to make services explicit.

  Define ecosystem function requirements to conserve and restore
  vulnerable ecosystems.

  Devil\'s advocate again - I suspect we can\'t technologically or
  economically restore all vulnerable ecosystems - how do we understand
  which ecosystems are the most crucial to the overall global good?

  Produce a strategy to help managers . . .

  Ensure the sustainability of essential ecosystem goods and services.

  I do not believe that it is feasible to \"restore\" ecosystems to a
  past state. The climate is changing, invasive species have arrived,
  etc. The real question is a difficult one \"what should we be
  attempting to foster or maximize in a degraded ecosystem? Is it habitat
  for threatened or endangered species? Is it something of benefit
  largely to humans (such as recreational habitat)? Who gets to choose
  (and based on what criteria)?

  Identify and characterize vulnerable ecosystems and help society to
  conserve and restore those ecosystems.

  Identify vulnerable ecosystems and describe the processes affecting
  conservation and restoration.

  Identify, conserve and restore vulnerable ecosystems

  In order to maintain our quality of life, conserve and restore
  ecosystem health

  In question 2, I would add altered fire regimes to the list of human
  stressors.

  Many of the science questions are about evaluation, so this might go in
  the statement

  Might be combined with Landscapes.

  Not sure what \"vulnerable\" means, or if it is needed.

  Provide scientific basis for ecosystem management

  Provide unbiased scientific data that can be used to help \...

  Rehabilitate damaged ecosystems and conserve those that sustain natural
  communities and functions

  There is so much overlap of the biodiversity challenge with this
  challenge that I question the need for 2 separate challenges. Is
  biodiversity not an indication of ecosystem health? Half the questions
  on biodiversity use the word ecosystem and yet ecosystems are a
  separate challenge. It is too obvious that someone is stacking the deck
  here.

  Understand all ecosystems and conserve and restore vulnerable
  ecosystems

  Understand and preserve all forms of life upon the Earth.

  Understand ecosystem vulnerability and promote conservation and
  rehabilitation of critical ecosystems.

  Understand ecosystems (i.e., learn how everything is connected in them)
  so that we can best utilize (i.e., live in harmony with), conserve, and
  when possible restore them.

  Understand functions and processes in vulnerable ecosystems that will
  allow them to be conserved and restored.

  Understand the role of ecosystems in maintaining healthful
  environments.

  Understand, conserve, and restore the functioning of dominant,
  essential, and vulnerable ecosystems.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 6.**

The team has drafted a Challenge statement to describe each of the major
Societal Issues. Do the challenge statements capture the challenge
correctly?

Comments on the Energy and Minerals Challenge Statement:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Accurately assess energy and mineral resources for current and future
  needs.

  Add \"with minimal effect on the environment.\"

  Change \"ensure\" to \"sustain\" or \"maintain\"

  Combine with water and biology to read "Help society ensure sufficient
  biological, energy, mineral, and water resources."

  Conserve remaining energy and mineral resources.

  Define sufficient energy and mineral resources

  Determine available sources and alternatives to ensure sufficient
  energy and mineral resources

  Document the availability of energy and mineral resources globally.

  Energy should be separate from minerals and there should be 5 or 6
  questions under each heading. We have plenty of people who can make
  these changes\--I don't have time right now.

  Contribute accurate and timely information to develop a national
  strategy to ensure sufficient energy \...

  Ensure sufficient and sustainable usage of energy and mineral resources

  Ensure sufficient energy and mineral resources and their responsible
  uses

  Ensure sufficient energy and mineral resources for what??? \--
  Sufficient for whom and for what purpose?

  Ensure sufficient energy and mineral resources in an ecologically
  sensitive manner

  Ensure sufficient energy and mineral resources while sustaining other
  ecosystem benefits.

  Ensure sufficient energy and mineral resources without compromising the
  environment.

  Ensure sufficient supplies of energy and mineral resources that are
  most economically viable and that can be acquired with the least cost
  to the environment

  Ensure the availability of sufficient energy and mineral resources

  I would separate past and present sources and use from alternatives
  into a third question.

  Identify and describe existing and potential new energy and mineral
  resources..

  Promote the efficient use of the Earth\'s natural resources.

  Provide complete assessments of energy and mineral resources (how can
  we hope to ensure sufficient resources if these are being consumed)

  Provide unbiased scientific data that can be used to help \...

  Quantify energy and mineral resources

  sufficient for what a healthy economy healthy population

  Understand energy and minerals forming processes so that we can ensure
  sufficient resources.

  while keeping in mind the other challenges to conservation of our
  environment
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 6.**

The team has drafted a Challenge statement to describe each of the major
Societal Issues. Do the challenge statements capture the challenge
correctly?

Comments on the Health Challenge Statement:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Identify naturally-occurring and human-caused threats to the health of
  people, animals, and plants.

  Am not sure how to revise, but as it\'s worded now, this challenge
  implies that we\'re to protect everything from everything else.

  The challenge seems too broadly posed and beyond expertise of USGS

  Describe and understand the effects of naturally-occurring and
  human-caused health threats to humans and the environment. And I don't
  think we necessarily want to protect animals and plants from all health
  threats. Wolves and bears are a pretty serious health threat to those
  animals lower in the food chain, but we've learned there are unintended
  consequences when we try to protect their prey.

  Does the effect of climate change on disease transmission belong under
  climate or health? Does the effect of land use on pests, etc. belong
  under health or landscape change?

  Health. Contribute to a national strategy to protect . . . (don\'t
  hyphenate \'ly words)

  Identify environmental controls on health-threatening organisms

  More completely understand naturally-occurring and human-caused health
  threats to help protect people, animals, and plants.

  Protect humans and ecosystems from naturally

  Protect people, and domestic species from naturally occurring and human
  caused health threats. Note: diseases are a part of nature, and we
  don't want to recommend getting rid of all of them

  Provide unbiased scientific data that can be used to help \...

  The distinction between \"naturally occurring\" and \"human-caused\" is
  not as clear as it might sound. They usually are interwoven.

  Understand how the natural environment impacts health at all levels.

  Understand naturally occurring and human-caused health threats and
  their effects on people, animals, and plants.

  Understand the cause of human health threats and protect people,
  animals and plants from those occurring due to humans
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 6.**

The team has drafted a Challenge statement to describe each of the major
Societal Issues. Do the challenge statements capture the challenge
correctly?

Comments on the Landscape Change Challenge Statement:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Add:  \"while preserving as much natural land as possible.\"

  Anticipate landscape change and plan for balanced land use

  As scientists we don\'t balance we provide the information to policy
  makers to make decisions that will hopefully balance competing demands

  Balance competing demands for use of land and water resources

  Comment: \"Balancing competing demands \...\" doesn\'t seem like a
  science issue or a scientific challenge.

  Define impact of landscape change on ecosystem function and integrity.

  Describe the competing demands for land use.

  Help land managers achieve balance for competing land-use demands.

  I don\'t know what this means. \"Balance\" is getting overused. It all
  depends on who is doing the balancing. Our job is to explain the
  consequences of land use changes so society can respond accordingly. I
  don\'t think this item fits into our list very well, or it is already
  covered in ecosystems.

  I would delete this one entirely \--the science questions here can all
  be addressed under Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Water and/or Climate
  Change.

  Identify effects of land-use practices on the environment

  Devise strategies and describe challenges in balancing competing
  demands

  Minimize negative impacts of past, present, and future landscape change

  Minimize the negative consequences of land change

  Provide tools and knowledge so that society can balance competing
  demands for use of the land.

  Provide unbiased scientific data that can be used to help \...

  Quantify the landscape and its features. (I feel this is a tool not a
  societal issue.)

  Recommend appropriate land usage to meet competing demands

  Seek to understand the impact and relationship between human society
  and the preservation of Earth\'s natural order.

  This sounds regulatory. Need a statement that focuses on understanding
  of landscape change processes.

  Understand the effects of competing demands for use of the land.

  Understand the impacts of changes in land use and land cover on natural
  ecosystem processes, and find ways to balance competing demands for use
  of the land.

  What are the geologic, hydrologic, biologic, and economic consequences
  of the massive transformation of farmland to industrial and residential
  development?

  with an underlying commitment to conservation of natural resources
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 6.**

The team has drafted a Challenge statement to describe each of the major
Societal Issues. Do the challenge statements capture the challenge
correctly?

Comments on the Natural Hazards Challenge Statement:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Describe and understand the processes leading to human, economic, and
  environmental losses from natural hazards.

  Drop the word \"environmental\"

  Forecast natural hazards so as to minimize human, economic, and
  environmental losses.

  Describe strategy to . . .

  I would mention the natural hazards that USGS is uniquely qualified to
  assess.

  Provide comprehensive understanding of the effects of natural hazards
  and promote methods to minimize human, economic, and environmental
  losses.

  Provide tools and knowledge so that society\...\....

  Provide unbiased scientific data that can be used to help \...

  Quantify risks from natural hazards

  Understand and seek to\...

  Understand causes of hazards so that we can predict and mitigate their
  impact
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 6.**

The team has drafted a Challenge statement to describe each of the major
Societal Issues. Do the challenge statements capture the challenge
correctly?

Comments on the Water Challenge Statement:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Change \"ensure\" to \"maintain\"

  Combine with energy and minerals

  Determine the quantity and quality of water available for human,
  economic, and environmental needs.

  Document and forecast the quantity and quality of water available for
  consumption by humans, animals, and plants.

  Ensure a sufficient quantity and quality of water to meet societal
  needs and sustain crucial ecosystems

  Ensure sufficient quality and quantity of water for all people and the
  environment. As written, it begs the question: "For whom?\"

  Ensure sufficient quality and quantity of water for balancing human
  usage and sustainable ecosystems.

  Ensure sufficient quality and quantity of water for human and non-human
  use.

  Ensure sufficient quality and quantity of water for natural ecosystem
  function.

  Ensure sufficient quality and quantity of water within the natural
  constraints of the climatological and hydrological system.

  Ensure sufficient quality and quantity of water without destroying
  ecosystems in the process.

  For long-term persistence of natural ecosystems as well as the U.S.
  population.

  Improve forecasts of water availability for future economic and
  environmental uses.

  Provide information for optimal water management

  Provide unbiased scientific data that can be used to help \...

  Understand the water cycle to ensure sufficient quality and quantity of
  water in the midst of climate and environmental changes

  Describe strategy to . . .
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 7a and b**

Many of the major Societal Issues overlap one another or are
interconnected. Are there any issues you think could be effectively
combined and why?

  -------------- ------------ ------------ -----------------------------------------
  Biodiversity   Ecosystems   Health       Health and well being of one is dependent
                                           on the other

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems   Health       Ecosystems and biodiversity are clearly
                                           related concepts: it could be argued that
                                           health is directly related to functioning
                                           ecosystems and to biodiversity.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems   Health       I don\'t think well on the web but at any
                                           rate, these 3 elements cannot be
                                           understood out of context with each
                                           other. Also the state of each requires an
                                           understanding of processes that define
                                           the state, and this is both a good
                                           platform for communicating and for
                                           studying.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems   Landscape    Logical!
                              Change       

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems   Landscape    They are logically interrelated and,
                              Change       together, address the impact of humans on
                                           the biological structure and function of
                                           this planet.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems   Landscape    
                              Change       

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems   Landscape    
                              Change       

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems   Landscape    Mine is a yes, but a provisional yes. I
                              Change       see that a number of the questions under
                                           Biodiversity and Landscape Change can be
                                           useful for answering the questions under
                                           Ecosystems. It is late and I have to
                                           think about how to convince someone a bit
                                           longer. I will try to provide my thoughts
                                           on this later, if that is possible.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems   Landscape    Ecosystem is the overarching theme.
                              Change       Changing the landscape affects the
                                           ecosystem and biodiversity. One cannot
                                           balance the impacts of landscape change
                                           without an understanding of the potential
                                           ecosystem response.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Biodiversity can be viewed as a subset of
                                           ecosystem diversity. The main difference
                                           is one of scale.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Biodiversity seems imbedded in
                                           ecosystems. I can see that the concepts
                                           are distinct and can anticipate the
                                           argument against combining the two, but I
                                           think fewer big issue categories are
                                           likely to be better received. At this
                                           point people need to see the big picture
                                           and see the connections rather than see
                                           how many pieces we can cut this into.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Separating Biodiversity and Ecosystems is
                                           an artificial and unnecessary division.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                A diverse biota is part of an ecosystem

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                to the lay person, the two items are
                                           almost identical

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                These two topics seem very closely
                                           related to me.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Most people see this as a closely related
                                           issue, and separating it into two
                                           separate issues makes it look like
                                           you\'re stacking the deck. Biodiversity
                                           seems more like a subset of a broader
                                           ecosystems issue.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                There are a number of overlapping
                                           questions in these two issues. It would
                                           appear that knowledge of ecosystem
                                           dynamics is required to the understanding
                                           of biodiversity. I may be showing some of
                                           my ecological ignorance but these two
                                           areas appear to be the most closely
                                           related and could be combined.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Biodiversity issues cannot be divorced
                                           from ecosystem function and conservation
                                           issues.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Landscape change seems to include
                                           elements of so many other issues, as did
                                           climate and biodiversity. That affected
                                           what I picked as the top 5 issues.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Fully 60% of the Biodiversity questions
                                           specifically reference ecosystems. There
                                           are as many ecosystems related questions
                                           in the Biodiversity section as the
                                           Ecosystems section.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                overlap

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Biodiversity is one of several issues
                                           that fall under Ecosystems.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Aren\'t the two inextricably linked?

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Biodiversity is an element within an
                                           ecosystem. We need to understand the role
                                           of biodiversity in the resistance and
                                           resilience of an ecosystem. I can't see
                                           how you can study biodiversity now,
                                           without studying ecosystem processes to
                                           which they relate. Merely, studying the
                                           abundances and composition of species on
                                           landscapes of various sizes without
                                           looking at the ecosystem processes is
                                           archaic.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                The word ecosystems is used in most of
                                           the science questions on biodiversity. It
                                           appears to me that biodiversity as an
                                           issue should be part of ecosystems. I
                                           think that the USGS should lead the world
                                           in understanding ecosystems and how
                                           issues of rocks, water, and life are
                                           connected.

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Vulnerable ecosystems are a component of
                                           biodiversity

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                

  Biodiversity   Ecosystems                Ecosystems is kind of a waste-basket
                                           term: i.e., it includes everything from
                                           the geology, water, geochemistry, and all
                                           organisms in an area. However, I think it
                                           is especially includes biodiversity.

  Climate        Ecosystems   Landscape    Please see text above related to the
                              Change       interactions among climatic change and
                                           variability with changes in ecosystems
                                           and the landscape.

  Climate        Ecosystems   Natural      Climate is the controlling factor in all
                              Hazards      of the societal issues presented with the
                                           possible exception of energy and minerals

  Climate        Ecosystems   Water        These issues are intertwined

  Energy and     Water        Ecosystems   See 5b.
  Minerals                                 

  Energy and     Water                     A grand challenge is to sustain supplies
  Minerals                                 of natural resources: land, water,
                                           energy, minerals

  Energy and     Water                     In your societal issues and subsequent
  Minerals                                 scientific questions, you mention many of
                                           the same things under energy/mineral and
                                           water. In the end, you are talking about
                                           resource management -- how much of
                                           something is present, what influences its
                                           amount/distribution and what can be done
                                           to ensure future needs. The third element
                                           of the USGS mission is to manage water,
                                           biological, energy, and mineral
                                           resources. Following that lead, I would
                                           suggest combing the energy/mineral and
                                           water resource societal issues. Again,
                                           the scientific questions you have under
                                           the Water Issue all apply to minerals and
                                           other energy sources. Plus, water, itself
                                           is an energy source so it would need to
                                           covered under the Energy Issues section
                                           also. Back to something I said earlier,
                                           the USGS needs to galvanize its research
                                           and applications around two things --
                                           helping the Nation manage resources and
                                           helping the Nation minimize losses from
                                           threats either catastrophic or chronic

  Landscape      Ecosystems   Climate      too closely interrelated
  Change                                   

  Landscape      Ecosystems   Natural      the first two are tools and are most
  Change                      Hazards      relevant to natural hazards

  Landscape      Ecosystems                Terrestrial and coastal ecosystems are
  Change                                   inextricably linked to factors of
                                           physical attributes of the land (e.g.,
                                           substrates). (The definition of
                                           "ecosystem" includes all components of
                                           the abiotic environment within its
                                           boundaries.) Landscape change, it seems,
                                           commonly (always?) affects the structure
                                           and function of the ecosystem. Many
                                           methods of study of landscape change are
                                           essential tools to understand and monitor
                                           ecosystem health and change.

  Landscape      Ecosystems                Land change has a direct impact on
  Change                                   ecosystem goods and services

  Natural        Health                    This is just a thought, but both Health
  Hazards                                  and Natural Hazards deal with the
                                           negative impacts of certain environmental
                                           processes or conditions. But they seem to
                                           be broken out so that biological
                                           conditions are considered a "threat",
                                           whereas the physical conditions are
                                           considered a "hazard". I understand the
                                           processes in each are radically
                                           different, but conceptually they could be
                                           considered similar issues.

  Natural        Landscape                 The two are interconnected. Changing a
  Hazards        Change                    landscape can greatly increase or
                                           decrease natural hazards. For example,
                                           desertification or flooding concerns
                                           reflect both topics.

  Natural        Water                     Natural phenomena such as earthquakes and
  Hazards                                  volcanoes have an intimate relationship
                                           with water. there are plenty of examples
                                           of magmatic-hydrothermal interactions at
                                           Yellowstone Caldera.

  Water          Ecosystems   Climate      In general, I think we need to take a
                                           more holistic approach to our science
                                           programs. I think that most of these
                                           societal issues can be combined in a
                                           particular geographic area. In fact, I
                                           think we need to coordinate and to some
                                           extent redesign our programs to address
                                           many of these societal issues for
                                           multi-state regions. We can't do this in
                                           every square inch of the Nation, but we
                                           could bring our scientific resources to
                                           bear in selected areas to create Earth
                                           Science Field Laboratories somewhat
                                           similar to the LTER study areas funded by
                                           NSF. We should make long-term commitments
                                           to investigating all sorts of earth and
                                           life science topics so that we can build
                                           the data and conduct the necessary
                                           synthesis studies to understand how
                                           climate, rocks, water, and life affect
                                           each other and how their
                                           interdependencies affect the
                                           sustainability of human, animal, and
                                           plant life. Natural and human induced
                                           changes in the landscape can alter these
                                           interdependencies and limit the resources
                                           needed to sustain life. A recent issue of
                                           EOS March 14, 2006 vol 87, no. 11,
                                           describes a program called Inkaba
                                           yeAfrica, a holistic approach to
                                           investigating everything from the Earth's
                                           core to space. The article's authors
                                           describe it as a "holistic and
                                           interdisciplinary view of the
                                           interactions between the solid earth and
                                           its fluid envelope." While we may not
                                           need to start at the core and end up in
                                           space, the USGS needs to find some
                                           mechanism of bringing its resources to
                                           bear to studying these interactions. It
                                           is the only way we can ultimately justify
                                           our relevance to society. For instance,
                                           we need to be able to explain the
                                           hydrologic and ecological impacts of
                                           sea-level rise. We must understand the
                                           geology and geomorphology of the impacted
                                           areas in order to make these assessments.
                                           We simply cannot afford to operate our
                                           scientific programs independent of each
                                           other for much longer.

  Water          Health       Climate      Think of the impact of drinking
                                           deleterious substances on a daily basis.
                                           Arsenic is a good example, and millions
                                           of people worldwide drink water that
                                           contains too much arsenic. The outcome is
                                           widespread cases of arsenicosis. This is
                                           but one example. Unforeseen changes in
                                           water supply associated with climate
                                           change is another. By the way, we used to
                                           call climate change by its true moniker,
                                           namely global warming. Climate change is
                                           the end effect of global warming.

  Water          Health       Ecosystems   They all address the preservation of life
                                           upon the Earth

  Water          Health       Ecosystems   Health and ecosystems are entirely
                                           dependent on water.
  -------------- ------------ ------------ -----------------------------------------

**Question 7c**

What would the new Challenge Statement for this combined Societal Issue
be?

+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   | Health | Conserve and restore ecosystems needed  |
| ersity | ystems |        | to maintain biodiversity and the health |
|        |        |        | of humans, animals, and plants          |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   | Health | Provide unbiased scientific data that   |
| ersity | ystems |        | can be used to help restore, recover,   |
|        |        |        | and maintain the continued health of    |
|        |        |        | the world in which we live in.          |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   | Lan    | Balance land-use demands to conserve    |
| ersity | ystems | dscape | biotic diversity and ecosystem          |
|        |        | Change | integrity.                              |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   | Lan    | Come up with a title which conveys      |
| ersity | ystems | dscape | benefit to society.                     |
|        |        | Change |                                         |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   | Lan    | \'Conserve and restore critical         |
| ersity | ystems | dscape | terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.     |
|        |        | Change |                                         |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | Biodiversity is a subset of ecosystems, |
| ersity | ystems |        | so keep the ecosystems challenge and    |
|        |        |        | incorporate the biodiversity into it,   |
|        |        |        | keeping the number of questions on par  |
|        |        |        | with the others i.e., 4-6 questions     |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Conserve and restore ecosystems in    |
| ersity | ystems |        | order to support society and maintain   |
|        |        |        | natural diversity.                      |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Conserve and restore ecosystems to    |
| ersity | ystems |        | ensure the natural diversity of plant   |
|        |        |        | and animal life on Earth.               |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Conserve and restore ecosystems,      |
| ersity | ystems |        | including their biodiversity.           |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Ensure a natural diversity of         |
| ersity | ystems |        | ecosystems.                             |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Ensure natural biodiversity and       |
| ersity | ystems |        | conserve ecosystem function. Although   |
|        |        |        | I've got to tell you, I have real       |
|        |        |        | heartburn over the value-laden          |
|        |        |        | statement of challenges which really    |
|        |        |        | come across as value-informed goals     |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Understand the role of ecosystems and |
| ersity | ystems |        | natural diversity of plant and animal   |
|        |        |        | life in maintaining healthful           |
|        |        |        | environments.                           |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Understand, conserve and restore      |
| ersity | ystems |        | ecosystems including their biodiversity |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Restore and maintain the diversity of |
| ersity | ystems |        | natural ecosystems                      |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Provide scientific basis for          |
| ersity | ystems |        | ecosystem management. \[Biodiversity is |
|        |        |        | a characteristic of an ecosystem.\]     |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Preserve and protect critical         |
| ersity | ystems |        | ecosystems and species                  |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Maintain or restore the effective     |
| ersity | ystems |        | function of ecosystems crucial to       |
|        |        |        | global human survival and prosperity    |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | It would be the one for ecosystems.     |
| ersity | ystems |        | Biodiversity merely falls under this    |
|        |        |        | issue.                                  |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Ensure the natural diversity of plant |
| ersity | ystems |        | and animal life through the             |
|        |        |        | understanding of ecosystem function.    |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Ensure the natural diversity of plant |
| ersity | ystems |        | and animal life through conservation    |
|        |        |        | and restoration of ecosystems           |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Ensure the natural diversity of life  |
| ersity | ystems |        | on Earth through the conservation and   |
|        |        |        | restoration of vulnerable ecosystems.   |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Ensure the diversity of plant and     |
| ersity | ystems |        | animal life and the ecosystems on which |
|        |        |        | it depends.                             |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Biodiv | Ecos   |        | \'Ensure the natural biodiversity of    |
| ersity | ystems |        | plant and animal life on Earth.         |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| C      | Ecos   | Lan    | \'What are the potential future         |
| limate | ystems | dscape | consequences of the interactions among  |
|        |        | Change | changes in climate, land cover, land    |
|        |        |        | use, and ecosystem processes? How will  |
|        |        |        | human activities amplify or dampen      |
|        |        |        | these consequences?                     |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| C      | Ecos   | N      | By understanding the impact of climate  |
| limate | ystems | atural | change on the environment the USGS is   |
|        |        | H      | able to model and recommend cost        |
|        |        | azards | effective mitigation measures in a      |
|        |        |        | timely manner.                          |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| C      | Ecos   | Water  | \'Ensure the sustainability of human,   |
| limate | ystems |        | plant, and animal life by understanding |
|        |        |        | interrelationships among climate,       |
|        |        |        | water, rocks, and ecosystems.           |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| C      | Ecos   | Water  | \'How will changes in climate influence |
| limate | ystems |        | regional ecosystem structure and        |
|        |        |        | function, and how will these ecosystem  |
|        |        |        | changes feedback to climate, hydrology, |
|        |        |        | and biogeochemical cycles?              |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| C      | Health |        | How does climate change influence the   |
| limate |        |        | potential for disease transmission from |
|        |        |        | animals to humans?                      |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Energy | Health |        | How do processes associated with        |
| and    |        |        | mineral extraction and consumption      |
| Mi     |        |        | effect the health of the U.S. public?   |
| nerals |        |        |                                         |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Energy | Water  | Ecos   | \'Help society ensure sufficient        |
| and    |        | ystems | biological, energy, mineral, and water  |
| Mi     |        |        | resources.                              |
| nerals |        |        |                                         |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Energy | Water  |        | \'Ensure sufficient water, energy, and  |
| and    |        |        | mineral resources                       |
| Mi     |        |        |                                         |
| nerals |        |        |                                         |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Energy | Water  |        | \'Sustain supplies of natural           |
| and    |        |        | resources: land, water, energy,         |
| Mi     |        |        | minerals.                               |
| nerals |        |        |                                         |
|        |        |        | How does water interact with minerals   |
|        |        |        | to affect the health of the U.S.        |
|        |        |        | population?                             |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Lan    | Ecos   | C      | combine the existing statements         |
| dscape | ystems | limate |                                         |
| Change |        |        |                                         |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Lan    | N      |        | \'Predict threats from natural hazards  |
| dscape | atural |        | and minimize impacts from landscape     |
| Change | H      |        | change.                                 |
|        | azards |        |                                         |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Lan    | Ecos   |        | Conserve and restore vulnerable         |
| dscape | ystems |        | ecosystems and their associated         |
| Change |        |        | landscapes                              |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Lan    | Ecos   |        | \'Ensure ecosystem sustainability in    |
| dscape | ystems |        | the face of land change.                |
| Change |        |        |                                         |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| N      | Health |        | \'Describe and understand the processes |
| atural |        |        | leading to human, economic, and         |
| H      |        |        | environmental threats from physical and |
| azards |        |        | biological hazards.                     |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| N      | Lan    |        | We need to understand what the world    |
| atural | dscape |        | (on some scale) will look like after    |
| H      | Change |        | some short-term event or long-term      |
| azards |        |        | trend occurs.                           |
|        |        |        |                                         |
|        |        |        | Spirit Lake after MSH went off, a       |
|        |        |        | valley after a major slide, a change in |
|        |        |        | sea level of 1 meter, the pasture or    |
|        |        |        | town below forest fires the season      |
|        |        |        | before.  We can\'t stop many of these   |
|        |        |        | changes from occurring - even though    |
|        |        |        | Superman once plugged up the San        |
|        |        |        | Andreas, there were still all those     |
|        |        |        | surface effects to deal with! Our role  |
|        |        |        | can be top describe what the changes    |
|        |        |        | will be and how to recover (or not) and |
|        |        |        | live in these changed worlds.           |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| N      | Lan    | Ecos   | retain the natural hazards one          |
| atural | dscape | ystems |                                         |
| H      | Change |        |                                         |
| azards |        |        |                                         |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| N      | Water  |        | \'What is the best approach to          |
| atural |        |        | monitoring an active hydrothermal       |
| H      |        |        | system and quantifying the              |
| azards |        |        | magmatic-hydrothermal interactions that |
|        |        |        | may lead to phreatic explosions?        |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Water  | Health | Ecos   | \'Provide the scientific understanding  |
|        |        | ystems | a leadership to ensure that the water   |
|        |        |        | needs of mankind and ecosystems can be  |
|        |        |        | maintained in a healthy symbiotic       |
|        |        |        | relationship.                           |
+--------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+

**Question 8**

For each Societal Issue, we've included a number of Science Questions.
Have we captured all the major Science Questions?

Additional Science Questions for Biodiversity

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Again, combine with ecosystems. And then the redundant questions can be
  removed.

  It\'s not clear who the \"we\" is in several of the science questions.
  Is it the USGS or society in general? Be clear and specific in the
  writing. The list of Science Questions includes too many and is too
  detailed relative to those for other issues. I don\'t think a broad
  segment of society is strongly invested in biodiversity as a societal
  issue.

  How do we provide information that helps in the conservation of all
  species to maintain a rich and bountiful biodiversity on the planet?

  How do we quantify or determine critical thresholds of diversity needed
  to maintain healthy ecosystems? How do we use these metrics to
  re-establish an adequate level of biotic diversity in affected systems?

  I would combine scientific questions 2 through 5\
  I would combine scientific questions 7 and 8 (and #8 is the most
  question for this issue)

  This comment is for most issues - I think that in general there are too
  many questions to be effective (even though I suggest additional
  questions for most issues!)

  Way too detailed on one hand and very general and academic on the
  other, I would consolidate into two or three questions.

  We need to study and understand why specific species, not just
  endangered ones decline in their ecosystems.

  What are the conditions of harmony in the natural order and how and
  when are those conditions threatened?

  What is the tie between biodiversity and human health?

  How do we protect enough land from human encroachment to maximize
  preservation of biodiversity?

  In the face of rapid global changes, what is the role of genetic
  diversity in maintaining adaptive potential for populations, species,
  communities, and ecosystems?\"

  How do human activities affect changes in diversity?\
  What are the optimum and acceptable levels of diversity and rates of
  change in diversity?

  How do societal demands for goods and services impact biodiversity?\
  How do concerns for biodiversity impact society\'s ability to provide
  the goods and services it demands?

  I would change the emphasis on species to ecological processes
  responsible for species of interest. Listing species of concern is
  natural and traditional but shifting emphasis to processes responsible
  for species should reduce the number of new species of concern in
  future years because a process-based approach would benefit species
  other than just those of concern; hence, it should reduce the
  likelihood that species common today do not become threatened at a
  later date.

  It is not clear to me why wide-ranging and migratory species are listed
  as a special category. This challenge stands out in its specificity and
  really would belong as a subheading under how to protect and restore
  species in general. I would delete it.

  What are the impacts of invasive species on biodiversity and ecosystem
  function?
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 8**

For each Societal Issue, we've included a number of Science Questions.
Have we captured all the major Science Questions?

Additional Science Questions for Climate

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| It seems to me that there should be some statement about the impact   |
| of global warming on climate regardless of its cause.                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What is the role of the biosphere in both positive and negative       |
| feedbacks to climatic change?                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Advance our understanding of the key agents of global warming, the    |
| biogeochemistry of greenhouse gases.                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Can sea level rise be predicted more accurately and how will          |
| sea-level rise affect coastal and estuarine dynamics and flooding of  |
| coastal communities?                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Delete question two, it is redundant.                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How and why does the earth\'s climate vary over a wide range of time  |
| and space scales, and how this has resulted in specific natural       |
| systems? Here. I\'m just making the point that it doesn\'t seem       |
| correct to say that the systems have adapted; I believe it is more    |
| correct that specific natural systems are the result of those climate |
| factors.                                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How can we best apply what we have learned from the study of the      |
| atmospheres of other bodies in the solar system and models of the     |
| evolution of past earth atmospheres?                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How can we identify and anticipate climate change that will have the  |
| greatest adverse effects on human and ecosystem prosperity?           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do human activities affect climate and rates of climate change?   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How has the earth's climate varied over a wide range of time and      |
| space scales, and how have natural systems responded?                 |
|                                                                       |
| What are the implications of climate variability and change on        |
| hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles, surficial geologic processes,   |
| biotic diversity, and the overall sustainability of ecosystems?       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I would drop \"earth\" from scientific question #5 so that it says    |
| \"What science approaches\..."                                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The last one is too specific to earth science, in my view.            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are societal perceptions and levels of understanding regarding   |
| climate change?                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| How does changing climate influence the potential for disease         |
| transmission (this is a shortened version of a question under         |
| \"health.\")                                                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the causes of climate change?                                |
|                                                                       |
| How does life upon the Earth respond to climate change?               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the effects of climate change on natural hazards (e.g.,      |
| severe storms, floods, and landslides)?                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the time scales and impacts expected from climate change to  |
| different ecoregions.                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the time-space domains of ecological variance, and how are   |
| they influenced by the spatial and temporal scales at which climate   |
| varies and changes?                                                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What can we learn from past climatic events that can help us          |
| understand changes occurring now or in the future?                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What climate changes have a direct impact on the risk of natural      |
| hazards                                                               |
|                                                                       |
| What is the potential impact of a prolonged drought on water          |
| availability and quality?                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What critical information concerning land use and water resources     |
| needs to be provided for adequate long term risk assessment and       |
| planning?                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What is the interplay and feedback among climate, landscape change,   |
| and human social systems?                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What will be the climate-change element that will most critically     |
| affect human health and safety?                                       |
|                                                                       |
| What will be the climate change element that will soonest affect      |
| human health and safety?                                              |
|                                                                       |
| How can society best prepare for these changes?                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Question 8**

For each Societal Issue, we've included a number of Science Questions.
Have we captured all the major Science Questions?

Additional Science Questions for Ecosystems

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Can we actively increase ecosystem resistance and resilience to       |
| stressors?                                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Combine with Landscape Change?                                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Avoid jargon, such as \"stressor\", a term that\'s not in my          |
| dictionary.                                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do ecosystems (e.g., coastal wetlands, forested mountains) reduce |
| the impacts of natural hazards?                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do healthy ecosystems function that would allow them to resist,   |
| recover, or be resilient to natural and anthropogenic effectors.      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do we identify ecosystems (or ecosystem components) that are most |
| crucial to human survival and prosperity?                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How does ecosystem function affect the demography and persistence of  |
| component communities, species, and populations?                      |
|                                                                       |
| Second question should read: \"How are ecosystems affected by natural |
| and human stressors, including climate variability, alternation of    |
| natural chemical balances, invasive species, and direct               |
| harvest?\...\"                                                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How well do various ecosystem indicators work over a wide range of    |
| ecosystems?                                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How were vulnerable ecosystems formed and how did they function       |
| naturally?                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| Will future actions involving vulnerable ecosystems conflict with the |
| underlying forces of nature that dictate how they function?           |
|                                                                       |
| Will actions involving vulnerable ecosystems include adaptive         |
| management that allows new knowledge regarding ecosystem function to  |
| be incorporated?                                                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I would combine scientific questions 1 and 5                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Methods to effectively monitor ecosystem health                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Science question 2 should include mention of resource (water,         |
| mineral, energy) development as a human stressor.                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| This is a proposed change to the first Science Question: how about    |
| adding \"and health\" at the end. Do we want to simply describe       |
| ecosystem condition or do we also want to develop ecosystem health    |
| indicators?                                                           |
|                                                                       |
| This is a proposed change to the third Science Question: I suggest    |
| adding something like \"To what previous state is it best to restore  |
| an ecosystem to? What are the best ways to measure how well the       |
| restoration has progressed?\"                                         |
|                                                                       |
| Another suggested addition: Something like this \-\-- \"What are the  |
| best ways to transfer knowledge gained about the vulnerabilities of   |
| an ecosystem and best restoration approaches for that ecosystem to    |
| other ecosystems facing similar problems? The idea is how do you best |
| transfer knowledge.                                                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the important processes of ecosystem sustainability?         |
|                                                                       |
| How do we restore processes in degraded ecosystems?                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the risks to life upon Earth and how can they be quantified  |
| and understood?                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| What changes are needed to preserve life and life\'s diversity upon   |
| the Earth?                                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What ecosystems can we study as natural laboratories to increase our  |
| understanding of interconnected processes that affect sustainability? |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What processes are necessary for healthy ecosystem function and how   |
| do we quantify critical thresholds?                                   |
|                                                                       |
| What ecosystem models (hydrological, biogeochemical, reactive         |
| constituent\...) are necessary to provide resource managers with      |
| guidance in the 21st century? What critical processes are presently   |
| poorly understood and require additional research to improve          |
| ecosystem models?                                                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do we minimize human effects on ecosystems?                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Question 8**

For each Societal Issue, we've included a number of Science Questions.
Have we captured all the major Science Questions?

Additional Science Questions for Energy and Minerals

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Are there ways and particular places to store hazardous energy waste  |
| products on earth?                                                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Comment: Are you trying to help kill this program??? You can only     |
| come up with 2 science questions related to energy and mineral        |
| resources??? Either beef it up or drop it as an issue. I\'ll give two |
| suggestions below, but there are many more (such as in area of        |
| geothermal resources).                                                |
|                                                                       |
| Science question: Can new or improved geophysical surveying methods   |
| be developed to locate deep hydrocarbon resources?                    |
|                                                                       |
| Science question: Can subsea methane deposits be mapped and           |
| economically extracted?                                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How are energy, minerals related to other issues such as ecosystems   |
| and health? Anything can be mined given enough energy and willingness |
| to pay for (or suffer) environmental consequences?                    |
|                                                                       |
| How long will the \"hydrocarbon energy age\" last and what are viable |
| alternatives?                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How can the society obtain energy and minerals while minimizing and   |
| mitigating environmental damage?                                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do economic deposits form and evolve over time?                   |
|                                                                       |
| What do we need to understand in order to predict the occurrence of   |
| economic deposits in various geologic settings?                       |
|                                                                       |
| This entire section needs a great deal of help. Suggest you contact   |
| David Johns or someone else in the Energy & Minerals Program.         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How to continue to conduct national and international studies and     |
| assessments under a regionalized USGS structure?                      |
|                                                                       |
| How to support other agencies in understanding energy and mineral     |
| resources on federal and native American lands?                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How will energy and/or mineral resource needs, supplies, and          |
| availability change in response to changing technology and global     |
| sociopolitics?                                                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I would separate the second question into several questions\--at      |
| least two\--it covers too much as it is written.                      |
|                                                                       |
| Also would break the first question into two\--supply is one          |
| question, demand is another.                                          |
|                                                                       |
| How much energy demand can be fulfilled by alternative energy sources |
| (projected over some period of time)?                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Modify rather than add: Define the scope of alternative energy        |
| sources that we would be engaged in. Solar? Wind? Or just things like |
| gas hydrates?                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Science question 2 is HUGE. I would try to find a way to split it     |
| into smaller questions. And as said before, I would combine it with   |
| water and biological resources.                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Something should be added about resource sustainability, and reuse    |
| alternatives for resources.                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| This is more a comment/question for you: does the word \"use\" alone  |
| cover the whole flow of materials including recycling? Might it be    |
| better to consider a separate question to cover the impact of this on |
| availability?                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| Suggest a question on availability separately or as a part of Q1:     |
| What is the availability of energy and mineral resources?             |
|                                                                       |
| Another one to consider: What is the effect of extracting material on |
| the moon? (Perhaps this is beyond the decade time span scope for the  |
| Science Strategy.)                                                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What alternatives to traditional energy resources are feasible within |
| the Nation?                                                           |
|                                                                       |
| Are parts of the country more amenable to specific energy             |
| alternatives than other parts of the country? Can the country be      |
| mapped in terms of the feasibility of alternative energy resources?   |
|                                                                       |
| Where are most of our wastes from mineral resources utilization? What |
| potential is there for reuse of waste material or recycling of used   |
| metals and other mineral products?                                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are alternative energy and mineral resources that can be         |
| sustainably exploited?                                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the environmental concerns of past mineral and energy        |
| exploitation and what are the costs of rehabilitation?                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the hazards and risks of extracting and transporting other   |
| energy sources such as tar sands and gas hydrates                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What is the feasibility of alternative and sustainable (renewable)    |
| sources of energy?                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| Are there technologies and methods to minimize the effects of fossil  |
| fuel combustion, such as carbon sequestration?                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What is the state of the Earth\'s resources?                          |
|                                                                       |
| How can sustainable development of Earth\'s societies be maintained?  |
|                                                                       |
| How can the development and use of renewable resources best be        |
| achieved?                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What will be the alternatives when supplies are depleted              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How can we most quickly and efficiently develop alternate sources of  |
| energy and substitutes for minerals?                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Question 8**

For each Societal Issue, we've included a number of Science Questions.
Have we captured all the major Science Questions?

Additional Science Questions for Health

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| #2 \-- how are you defining \"acceptable\"? This sounds like you are  |
| entering EPA territory.                                               |
|                                                                       |
| I would combine scientific questions 5 and 6                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Change the last statement to: How does changing patterns of land use  |
| and human activity, influence the distribution and impact of pests,   |
| invasive species and pathogens and change the function of ecosystems? |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Combine questions two and three, and questions five and six.          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| General comment: writing style in this issue needs more sharpness and |
| clarity. \"How do we understand \...\" is fuzzy. We do research to    |
| increase understanding. You say \"environmental concentrations\"      |
| without indicating clearly to what the concentration is a measure of  |
| (which probably isn\'t clear either).                                 |
|                                                                       |
| Science question: How do natural spatial variations in rock, mineral, |
| and water composition affect the health of humans, animals, and       |
| vegetation?                                                           |
|                                                                       |
| Science question: How can the relative risks of various environmental |
| health threats be assessed, compared, and communicated? (Related      |
| issue: when can expensive environmental clean-ups be shut down?)      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How can we effectively and quickly relate the presence of air, water, |
| and food contaminants to the occurrence of various human diseases?    |
| (For example, can certain cancers be related to air or water          |
| contamination?)                                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How will increased energy and minerals resource needs impact health   |
| issues?                                                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I would broaden the fifth question to: \"How does changing climate    |
| influence the potential for disease transmission to humans, and to    |
| plants and animals in native and agricultural ecosystems?\"           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Include a question about how we can improve our ability to forecast   |
| or predict likelihood of specific health threats from certain agents  |
| and/or in certain geographic areas.                                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Need more on chemical pollutants - carcinogens, toxics, etc.          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Question 2: I am not sure what this question means. Who is            |
| establishing the environmental concentrations? If I understood the    |
| intent, I would offer alternate wording.                              |
|                                                                       |
| Question 3: What does availability mean here? Do you mean             |
| bioavailability or more?                                              |
|                                                                       |
| Question 6: Should it be \"How do \...\" ?                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the long-term (secondary?) health impacts of natural         |
| hazards?                                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What mechanisms or processes are involved in transmission of          |
| toxicants to animals plants & people                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What risks do natural hazards pose to human health, and how can we    |
| mitigate these risks?                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Question 8**

For each Societal Issue, we've included a number of Science Questions.
Have we captured all the major Science Questions?

Additional Science Questions for Landscape Change

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| #6 is very value-laden and potentially troubling. It is saying that   |
| the USGS is looking at how to optimize land use. Land use decisions   |
| and allocations are cultural, political and economic decisions.       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Combine with Ecosystems?                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Combine questions one and three.                                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Comment: This whole issue seems a little amorphous and ambiguous.     |
| Might be better to merge with issue of population growth, which       |
| concerns more people and drives landscape change.                     |
|                                                                       |
| Comment: Some listed science questions, such as last one, are not     |
| science questions, but value judgments linked to economics. Science   |
| cannot decide what is \"the most appropriate land use.\" This whole   |
| document needs editing to weed out such points.                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How are trends in human population growth, resource consumption       |
| rates, and land-use behavior likely to affect future rates and        |
| impacts of landscape change?                                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How can dramatic landscape changes be reversed                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do changes in land use and land surface disturbances influence    |
| aquatic resources, particularly marine systems in coastal             |
| environments?                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do the pattern and process of landscape change affect the flow    |
| and transport of water and materials through watersheds?              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How does landscape change modify human exposure to natural hazards?   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How will future population increases be distributed across the        |
| landscape?                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| How do land-use changes affect coastal and marine ecosystems?         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How would more detailed information on the subsurface improve         |
| landscape assessment?                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Question 5: Should \"characteristic\" be \"characteristics\" ?        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Questions don\'t appear to address the challenge.                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The last one sounds like the centralized planning of old communism.   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| This is an area where USGS can lead the world Lets do it!             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the best approaches for restoring lands and wetlands?        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the causes and etiology of human-induced changes to the      |
| Earth?                                                                |
|                                                                       |
| What is the condition of equilibrium between human society and the    |
| natural order and how can it be defined and measured?                 |
|                                                                       |
| How are economic prosperity and societal development related and how  |
| can the growth of human society best be accommodated on the global    |
| Earth?                                                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the geologic, hydrologic, and biologic consequences of major |
| shifts of land use (as in farmland to industrial/residential)?        |
|                                                                       |
| What are the economic consequences of major shifts in land use?       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the types, rates, causes, and consequences of changes in     |
| land use/cover at national, regional, and local scales?               |
|                                                                       |
| What are suitable land uses for a given area which maximize benefits  |
| to society and environment?                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What changes in ecological processes result from various land use     |
| changes?                                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How can we best minimize the effects of humans on landscape change?   |
|                                                                       |
| How can we best preserve as much existing natural land as possible?   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Question 8**

For each Societal Issue, we've included a number of Science Questions.
Have we captured all the major Science Questions?

Additional Science Questions for Natural Hazards

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Can we predict the physical processes and conditions that lead to     |
| natural disasters so that adequate warnings can be issued?            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Comment: The science questions can be beefed up with more specifics   |
| (I offer two examples below, but there are more). Wording can be      |
| improved. Is a \"predication\" the same as a \"prediction\" and is a  |
| prediction different from a forecast? Don\'t we also want to provide  |
| warnings BEFORE hazardous events occur, as well as \"when they        |
| occur\"?                                                              |
|                                                                       |
| Can earthquakes be predicted or prevented (or reduced in magnitude)?  |
|                                                                       |
| Can imminent volcanic eruptions be directed or engineered towards     |
| directions that offer minimization of damages and human casualties?   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How are natural disasters best mitigated and responded to?            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do anthropogenic changes cause increased risk from natural        |
| disasters?                                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Question 3: \"business and community leaders\" \-- does \"society\"   |
| convey this better? \"society\" includes a broader range of groups    |
| who may be involved in the decisions.                                 |
|                                                                       |
| Question 4: Are we going to use \"prediction\" with respect to our    |
| natural hazards studies? Doesn\'t forecast cover it better?           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What information can we provide that would improve community          |
| planning?                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are natural hazards associated with resource development and how |
| can we reduce or mitigate those hazards? (For example - dams and      |
| surface water supply / mines and tailing ponds / timbering and        |
| flooding, etc.)                                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Which hazardous natural phenomena can we successfully control, and    |
| how do we implement such control?                                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Who and what are vulnerable to these hazards?                         |
|                                                                       |
| How are these hazards and their consequences attenuated or amplified  |
| by different land use and land cover conditions?                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| With all of the hurricanes, tsunamis and natural hazards of late, I   |
| was tempted to rate this societal issue very highly. Climate change   |
| will affect everyone, all the time, and the majority of the natural   |
| hazards are likely related to climate change (e.g., increased         |
| flooding, drought, hurricanes, and tornados).                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Question 8**

For each Societal Issue, we've included a number of Science Questions.
Have we captured all the major Science Questions?

Additional Science Questions for Water

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Add a question about how we can continue to improve our ability to    |
| forecast and predict.                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Are current means of providing water detrimental to ecosystems?       |
|                                                                       |
| Can conflicts between human and environmental needs for water be      |
| resolved without damage to the environment?                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Can we monitor, protect, or warn against contamination before it gets |
| into the drinking water system - National Security.                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Combine with minerals as described above.                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| General Comment: The issue may be too broad. Some of the questions    |
| seem poorly posed and unscientific. For example, how much water do we |
| have & how much is available cannot be answered without reference to  |
| economics, politics, and other legal/management issues. In a sense,   |
| the answers to such questions are already known. Of course there are  |
| ways to get more water\--just mix hydrogen with oxygen, or lay a      |
| pipeline to Lake Superior.                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How can we predict the effects of potential climate change on         |
| droughts, floods, the seasonal timing of runoff, and its overall      |
| spatial and temporal supply for humans and the environment?           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do natural hazards impact water quality and quantity?             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do we characterize fluxes of fresh water and solutes to major     |
| estuaries and the oceans                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How do we effectively determine water availability                    |
|                                                                       |
| How do we characterize our uncertainty of water availability?         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How does changing land use/land cover influence hydrologic system     |
| dynamics and water quality?                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How much water, both in quantity and quality, and over time and       |
| space, do ecosystems need to remain healthy?                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Replace the sixth question with \"How do the changing land surface    |
| characteristics impact hydrologic system dynamics?                    |
|                                                                       |
| How can we use measurable land surface parameters to predict flow     |
| characteristics better?                                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are impacts of increased energy and minerals resources needs on  |
| water?                                                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the key hydrologic, biogeochemical and microbial factors     |
| associated with subsurface processes that influence the efficiencies  |
| of ground water recharge, soil aquifer treatment of water supplies    |
| and aquifer storage and recovery systems?                             |
|                                                                       |
| Can we develop improved tools for in-situ, real-time water quality    |
| data for use by resource managers and drinking water suppliers? Can   |
| we improve remote sensing capabilities to provide both hydrologic and |
| water quality data for major aquatic systems, such as reservoirs,     |
| rivers, wetlands and coastal marine systems?                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the overall effects and implications of to much water use on |
| the land surface?                                                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What are the principal natural controls on water physics and          |
| chemistry?                                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| How can we best get humans to minimize water use and pollution?       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Question 9**

A number of cross-cutting topics such as technology, monitoring, and
workforce planning, will affect USGS' ability to address these Societal
Issues. What other cross-cutting topics must USGS consider over the next
10 years?

The cross-cutting topics suggested by the respondents fall into the
following broad categories:

Communication (internal and external)

Competition

Funding

Hiring

Integrating the disciplines

IT needs

Leadership, management, and business practices

New scientific methods and directions

Partnerships and cooperation

Reward System

Role in policymaking

Sociopolitical issues/drivers

The specific topics are:

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Better ways to inform public and clients

  communications, internally and to the public

  Education and outreach; science training

  Garnering congressional support for USGS programs

  Marketing- communicating the value of USGS science

  Media exposure

  outreach\--communication with lots of stakeholders

  Public education / public awareness

  Competition with the private sector.

  losing our mission elements to other agencies

  Other fed agencies are undertaking same issues.

  University consortia undertaking same issues.

  Education - continued education

  Training

  Adequate facilities and money for outside analyses

  budget

  Computer resources and support

  ensure balance between appropriated and reimbursable \$

  facilitation of the flow of funds among the USGS Disciplines

  Funding

  Funding

  Funding

  funding

  Funding

  health of the research enterprise

  Increased competition for flat/declining funding

  keeping facilities up to date or state-of-the-art

  Project Timeframes-Need for longer-term projects

  Stable funding for ongoing programs.

  workforce training \-- will there be the skilled workforce (employee or
  contractor) to help us meet these challenges, answer these questions?

  Ability to hire new scientists and tech support.

  Loss of geoscientists nationwide

  The aging and retiring USGS workforce

  The aging workforce and hiring of young scientists

  Workforce flexibility

  Better integration of workforce across disciplines

  getting crosscutting disciplines to work together

  increased degree of integration of scientific research

  integration across internal boundaries

  Multi-disciplinary nature of 21st century problems

  Science integration

  Data archival, database maintenance

  Data integration

  Improve its computational capability

  Integrated Information Management

  Supercomputing in a digital earth

  Common science and business practices.

  Minimizing bureaucratic constraints

  Administration and Management

  administrative and managerial environment

  leadership commitment

  moral, revitalizing the workforce, pride

  Regionalization and reorganization.

  scientific death by short-term product orientation

  threats to the integrity of science

  USGS culture

  USGS; top-heavy bureaucracy

  Willingness for Administrators to take risks

  Advancing mathematical and computational methods

  Develop improved geophysical sensing methods

  How do natural systems utilize information

  Integrated Forecasting and Modeling Systems

  modeling sophistication and techniques

  modeling/scenario development

  observational strategies

  science data resources and capabilities

  scientific modeling

  We need to remain the data-collection agency

  What constitutes information in natural systems

  collaborative and other types of decision making

  Conduct studies

  Developing Infrastructure in a Flat Earth

  Cooperation with other agencies

  Interagency coordination within and outside DOI

  Interagency planning to address societal issues

  Relation to academic groups and private sector

  Evolving role of science in policy making

  Providing science that affects decision making

  Role as objective science agency vs. decision maker

  Science impact

  The role of the federal government

  Training all managers and leaders to take risks

  apathy by politicians and the American public

  Philosophy and sociology of science

  public understanding of science

  An archaic reward system

  Motivating and rewarding staff to refocus research

  Human population increase, including longevity increase and immigration

  Global sociopolitical stresses/changes

  National economic trends and forecasts

  Politics of changing government administration.

  Public opinion and priorities

  Sustainability of human and natural systems.

  We need to address science needs of the public
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Question 10**

Beyond what you have already provided, do you have any additional
thoughts you would like to share with the team?

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| \"Science for a changing world\" sets an odd tone for the USGS from   |
| my perspective. In a subtle way it says \"the USGS\' role is to help  |
| mitigate the negative impacts of inevitable human-induced change.\"   |
| In other words, it is our job to make sure \"progress\" or economic   |
| development occurs with acceptable consequences. It puts us in a      |
| passive, reactionary role rather than in a leadership role. The ideal |
| role of our science should be guiding the change, not just in         |
| response to the change. Our science should be the political/societal  |
| catalyst to stop certain changes that will be harmful to people and   |
| the environment.\                                                     |
| \                                                                     |
| I would vote to drop this slogan from our USGS banner.\               |
| \                                                                     |
| Thanks for the opportunity to comment. Good luck. I think you are on  |
| a good track.                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I have sent along ideas many, many times to USGS management and alas, |
| they fall on deaf ears. Know that is not the same as your group.      |
|                                                                       |
| One thought re: hazards. We are a set of fiefdoms here at the         |
| USGS\--if one wanted to know about USGS research and products on      |
| hazards you would have to be a wizard and have the patience of Job to |
| muddle through it all using websites. There should be one portal,     |
| USGS Geohazards\--forget the biologists, do not dilute things. I      |
| should be able to go there and find out projected river stages,       |
| current earthquakes (whether in a volcanic zone or just plain         |
| earthquakes), current landslide hazard nationwide (maybe \"watch\"    |
| areas), current \"strain\" status (unify all volcano and earthquake   |
| efforts). We can still have the individual programs but unify our     |
| front so world knows we are the \"site/spot\".                        |
|                                                                       |
| PRESENT ALL HAZARD INFO IN GOOGLE EARTH FORMAT as one option.\        |
| So, these are not research issues (although if we unified our         |
| presentation we would find many areas of overlap, e.g. characterizing |
| and monitoring the vulnerability of near-surface deposits. Make       |
| InSAR/SAR happen for multiple applications (biomass mapping, point    |
| scatters for landslide seasonal movement as well as earthquakes and   |
| volcanoes).                                                           |
|                                                                       |
| We are so short staffed that much of what we do is 20th century, we   |
| do not have \$ to do cutting edge research in many cases-e.g. tripod  |
| lidar, cool digital analysis of fault offset from SPOT images\--we    |
| can\'t afford to buy SPOT images.                                     |
|                                                                       |
| so some thoughts, but my concern is that whenever we try to do        |
| something big (like unifying hazard, we put IT or Mapping folks in    |
| charge, not scientists).                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Continuous communication with State and Federal agencies is needed.   |
|                                                                       |
| Infrastructure pathways that allow the different disciplines within   |
| the USGS to work together more easily on multidisciplinary projects   |
| is needed.                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| Ultimately, all of this is an exercise in trivia without more         |
| funding.                                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| It may be implicit in the science issues outlined above, however, I   |
| saw no mention of the need to better understand the influence of the  |
| microbial world on geochemistry of the lithosphere. Our agency needs  |
| an infusion of scientists, such as soil biochemists, to make adequate |
| progress in understanding the underlying processes driving a number   |
| of issues including biodiversity, climate, ecosystems and water. In   |
| my opinion, the future of geochemistry and environmental chemistry    |
| will reside at the solid-dissolved-microbial interface. Issues as     |
| diverse as designing mercury ecosystem cycling models and predicting  |
| fate of organic matter in permafrost impacted systems are dependent   |
| on strong understanding of microbial processes which is not presently |
| one of our strengths.\                                                |
| \                                                                     |
| Increasing multi-disciplinary nature of problems to be addressed will |
| require a greater degree of interdisciplinary research within the     |
| USGS and between USGS and other agencies and research                 |
| institutions. We should foster, to a greater degree, partnerships     |
| with appropriate institutions to maximize the benefits of research    |
| efforts by all involved.                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| An old paleontological maxim states that form follows function. In my |
| corner of the USGS, the form of the USGS is changing without regard   |
| to the function. Five years ago, two \"Integrated Science Centers\"   |
| were established in Alaska and Florida. This was accomplished by      |
| administratively housing all disciplines under one management         |
| structure. My understating is that the Alaska experiment has been     |
| discontinued, but the Florida experiment has been made permanent. If  |
| this structure is viewed as the future of the USGS, then the SST      |
| should look at it carefully. In my opinion, this structure and        |
| subsequent policy changes have seriously impacted our ability to      |
| address societal issues effectively.                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| As our workforce of researchers shrinks each year, the demand for     |
| high quality Earth science products grows. We must become more        |
| efficient, and our current efficiency is limited by our incomplete    |
| access to the scientific literature online. Perhaps the single        |
| biggest return on investment for improving efficiency is to give USGS |
| scientists a modern library that provides comprehensive access to     |
| journals.                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| As you can no doubt surmise from my suggested revisions to the        |
| \"Challenge Statements,\" I think USGS should be guided by statements |
| of what we can actually achieve, not by statements of goals that      |
| require acts of Congress, actions by land-management agencies, or     |
| revision of the consumptive American lifestyle. How, for example, can |
| USGS \"mitigate the effects of climate change?\" We can attempt to    |
| understand and forecast climate change, but we cannot mitigate it \-- |
| except perhaps by cutting back on heating and air conditioning and on |
| needless bureaucratic travel!                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Bring back motivators for working together such as the Director\'s    |
| Sweepstakes and the Geography research prospectus. Specify \"meeting  |
| future challenges\" as the evaluation criteria.                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Comments of the Climate Issue.\                                       |
| 1. The question \"Why does climate vary?\" is not for USGS to         |
| address. That requires climatologists working in atmospheric          |
| sciences. Yes, we need more climatologists in our Climate Change      |
| programs to help interpret paleoclimate records and to monitor        |
| interactions of climate with land surface (including ice and          |
| permafrost). But the job of understanding WHY climate changes is      |
| mainly for NOAA and other institutions.\                              |
| \                                                                     |
| Need to capture the importance of the effects of climate on surficial |
| geologic processes, including wind and water erosion and deposition,  |
| and movement of matter across earth surface, etc.\                    |
| \                                                                     |
| Challenge of: "Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change" seems to jump  |
| ahead too much of the primary needs to determine the effects and      |
| communicate them to the public, etc. I realize that you try to        |
| capture the main societal issue. But mitigation and adaptation are    |
| far from USGS role on this issue.\                                    |
| \                                                                     |
| Regionalization and reorganization. Moves to Regionalize along        |
| arbitrary political boundaries impede and impair our ability to       |
| address many critical issues.\                                        |
| \                                                                     |
| Better ways to inform public and clients. Develop a more              |
| sophisticated, effective, and efficient (less costly) way to inform   |
| the public and "clients". Perhaps develop a small cadre of real       |
| science writers, with good technical skills, along the lines of       |
| post-docs and interns as a way to begin careers or advance young      |
| careers in the arena of earth-science policy and communications.      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| For now, just one. Later, more. The Science Questions address         |
| national as well as larger needs (global, international). However,    |
| the questions in this survey refer to American needs or importance to |
| Americans. Many of the issues discussed transcend national borders as |
| does a lot of our science. My suggestion is to refer to Nation or     |
| national needs as well as global needs. \                             |
| \                                                                     |
| Thanks for the opportunity to participate,                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| For the landscape change issue, I am on the fence on whether that     |
| specific issue is needed. Understanding the rates, causes, and        |
| consequences of changes in land use/cover is basic to all studies of  |
| the USGS. To understand the potential for hazards or vulnerable       |
| systems or to manage resources, people need to understand changes in  |
| the landscape. Therefore, landscape change is at the core of USGS     |
| activities. However, understanding landscape change by itself is not  |
| really a societal issue. Few Americans would see the utility of       |
| landscape change until it is put in the context of water resources,   |
| biodiversity, climate change, hazards and societal risk, invasive     |
| species, etc. A part of me thinks that the questions under the        |
| Landscape Change issue can be moved under the various other societal  |
| issues. For example, question #2 is under Ecoystems, #3 is under      |
| Climate Change, #4 is under Water, and #5 is under Ecosystems.        |
| Question #1 simply states what all of the societal issues and         |
| challenge statements are concerned with. Again, our catch phrase is   |
| \"science for a changing world.\" Understanding this changing world   |
| is important but it is the thread that runs through all research and  |
| maybe not needed as a separate Societal Issue.                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Good job!                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Good job!                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Good luck!                                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I apologize for not having the time to work through this in more      |
| detail.\                                                              |
| \                                                                     |
| I\'d suggest dropping the societal issues and replace them with the   |
| challenges, renamed as Societal Challenges. As written, it is unclear |
| whether the challenge is to the USGS or to society, and many of the   |
| challenges are not ones that the USGS is able to address on its own.  |
| So, make it clearer by renaming them societal challenges.\            |
| \                                                                     |
| Perhaps you might provide an overarching framework for the societal   |
| challenges: isn\'t the overall challenge something like \"for human   |
| societies and crucial ecosystems to prosper globally\"? Probably      |
| won't sell at Interior, though.\                                      |
| \                                                                     |
| As stated earlier, I\'d include food supply with water. The USGS      |
| should play a key role in helping to ensure the healthy soils needed  |
| to maintain an adequate food supply and healthy ecosystems.\          |
| \                                                                     |
| I had a very hard time ranking the issues. Some should be combined,   |
| but all are important, and the USGS can play an important role in all |
| of them.\                                                             |
| \                                                                     |
| It is unclear if in item 9, you mean internal crosscutting issues or  |
| external issues. If external, there are many crosscutting issues such |
| as global politics, etc.                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I believe that we need to do a better job of conducting research that |
| is consistent with the scale of the problems we are addressing and do |
| so at multiple spatial and temporal scales as well as multiple scales |
| of ecological organization.                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I believe that we should organize our projects to additionally        |
| address more fundamental questions than we tend to do now. The        |
| answers to those fundamental questions in the context of our societal |
| issues would more fully differentiate USGS from its competitors and   |
| develop additional stature in the funding community. It is understood |
| that basic research will always be a small part of the over-all USGS  |
| effort, but I think that we have placed too far into the background.\ |
| \                                                                     |
| We need to provide more follow-through when a project promises a data |
| service or other product. They need to work and be fully supported.   |
| The \"best effort\" philosophy we currently use is bad for our        |
| reputation and ability to work with others.                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I believe USGS can contribute significantly to all of these           |
| issues. In some, such Ecosystems, Water, and Energy and Minerals, we  |
| can make leading contributions. In others, such as Climate and        |
| Health, I think other agencies have many more resources and will tend |
| to lead, but we can make our important contributions in sub-fields of |
| the issue. Thus it will be important to recognize our roles and       |
| potential contributions for each issue.                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I hope your panel will consider how all the various parts of the USGS |
| can join forces to address the important issues that you have         |
| identified. One concern that I have about the list of questions that  |
| you have developed is that they don\'t seem as well integrated as     |
| they might be. Perhaps this is just a matter of the                   |
| presentation? There is a great deal of cross talk between these       |
| questions, e.g., earthquake induced landscape changes can effect an   |
| ecosystem and health, that isn\'t strongly apparent in the divisions  |
| of questions presented here. Perhaps some even broader thinking would |
| be helpful.                                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I know what you mean, but these aren't Societal Issues. This is a     |
| list of categories or topics for which society in the larger sense    |
| has some marginal interest, and earth scientists have broader         |
| interest.\                                                            |
| \                                                                     |
| A societal issue, to me, has to be stated in terms of some impact on  |
| society. For example, The rate of climate change and potential        |
| impacts on society and ecosystems, or; Natural hazard monitoring and  |
| mitigation, or, Water resources for humans and ecosystems, and so on. |
| As it is, this list looks like the Future Science Directions all over |
| again. There is nothing wrong with the list, but I think it's a       |
| stretch to say that this is a list of societal issues. It's a list of |
| topics that we think ought to be important to society and a list of   |
| broad categories for which we do science.\                            |
| \                                                                     |
| Second, there is lots of opportunity for interdisciplinary work       |
| within each of these topics. Nevertheless, I think we could easily    |
| fall back into our uni-disciplinary approach on many of these topics  |
| just because of the way the topic is stated as an individual issue,   |
| unless there is a broader over-arching theme under which these topics |
| can be placed.\                                                       |
| \                                                                     |
| Moreover, as you are finding, there is a library full of documents    |
| that put forward science issues/challenges/questions, etc. Your       |
| challenge, I think, is to bring these issues/challenges/questions     |
| together as a coherent theme for all of the USGS. As it is, it just   |
| looks like you borrowed from the best of the documents. \'I think the |
| 2000 NRC report was close when they said the USGS should measure and  |
| monitor, report, and forecast. So, a broader theme could be to        |
| Measuring, Reporting, and Forecasting Human-Induced and Natural       |
| Changes in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems . . . you can probably  |
| think of something better. I think all of the 8 topics could fit      |
| under this broader theme and each of the topics above could then be   |
| woven together nicely, instead of appearing to stand alone as         |
| individual topics we are trying to make 'societally' relevant. \'I    |
| felt constrained by the questionnaire, so forgive my divergence from  |
| the form. But, I think strongly that these societal issues, as you    |
| call them, are just disciplinary topics unless you can weave them     |
| into some broader them that will bring focus to the science strategy. |
| I\'m not sure this current approach of identifying a bunch of         |
| interesting questions is going to get you to a science strategy. I    |
| think you should be a establishing a theme, identifying goals and     |
| first order objectives in order to get to the strategy. I hope these  |
| comments are helpful.                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I may not fully understand what is meant to be conveyed by            |
| \"challenge\", but I think terms like \"determine\", \"delineate\",   |
| \"assess\" or \"evaluate\" would be more appropriate to maintain USGS |
| objectivity, rather than activistic verbs like \"ensure\" that        |
| \"challenge\" credibility.                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I realize my suggestions will be extremely difficult to implement for |
| the following reasons:\                                               |
| \                                                                     |
| 1) There is a high risk of failure. This may place some research      |
| scientists and managers well out of their comfort zone.\              |
| \                                                                     |
| 2) It would require easy flow of money and personnel among the        |
| various disciplines. This would require creative financing and        |
| personnel management.\                                                |
| \                                                                     |
| 3) Results / products would not be typical of the USGS. It will be    |
| difficult to monitor progress and document impacts of results.\       |
| \                                                                     |
| 4) It would require shared leadership and direction by consensus.\    |
| \                                                                     |
| 5) It would require compromise by participants, expecting them to     |
| follow approaches or paths with which they are not familiar or        |
| comfortable.\                                                         |
| \                                                                     |
| 6) Participants would have to abandon their research on most of the   |
| Science Questions listed in the draft document, and focus on applied  |
| research that may take them along very unfamiliar paths.              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I suggest that so-called science questions be edited to remove value  |
| judgment issues and other non-scientific aspects. Perhaps avoid       |
| suggestions that the USGS will \"ensure\" things or provide           |
| protection or management services to society or decide what is in the |
| best interests of society. More balance is needed in the types and    |
| strengths of verbal support given to the 8 issues.                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I think the group has done a good job in creating this set of issues, |
| challenges and science questions. I have been moving my office        |
| recently and came across the results of a similar exercise two        |
| decades ago. The results (see below) are strikingly similar. What     |
| this says to me is that as an organization we are very good at        |
| creating a plan; but need to become much better at executing it. \    |
| \                                                                     |
| SST Document 1985 USGS Mission Document\                              |
| \                                                                     |
| Societal Issue National Need\                                         |
| \                                                                     |
| Biodiversity Energy\                                                  |
| \                                                                     |
| Climate Minerals\                                                     |
| \                                                                     |
| Ecosystems Water\                                                     |
| \                                                                     |
| Energy and Minerals Land\                                             |
| \                                                                     |
| Health Food and Fiber\                                                |
| \                                                                     |
| Landscape Change Housing and Transportation\                          |
| \                                                                     |
| Natural Hazards Health and Safety\                                    |
| \                                                                     |
| Water National Security                                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I was concerned by the lack of relevancy in these questions. While    |
| there are many curiosity driven science questions, what is the        |
| relevance to our society of addressing these questions? Having worked |
| in Reston and with both the Senate and the House, the USGS has long   |
| been viewed as \"bright, slow and irrelevant\" to quote an OMB        |
| examiner. The USGS nearly went away ten years ago because we were     |
| inadequately addressing the relevancy issue. My concern is that this  |
| effort addresses 48 science questions and zero relevancy questions.   |
| When this document ultimately goes forward, and some of the group is  |
| explaining our goals to staffers, OMB examiners, Senators, Congress   |
| people, DOI hierarchy, and other agencies, I believe the primary      |
| concern will be relevancy of USGS efforts. I believe relevancy and    |
| the archaic reward system to reward relevancy efforts are primary     |
| concerns with this questionnaire.                                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I would propose the \"challenges\" or agenda to be:\                  |
| \                                                                     |
| Preserve the Natural Order\                                           |
| \                                                                     |
| Preserve Life on Earth\                                               |
| \                                                                     |
| Understand and Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change\                |
| \                                                                     |
| Efficiently Manage Earth\'s Resources\                                |
| \                                                                     |
| Protect Human Life and Property                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I\'m marginally able to participate in this style of questionnaire. I |
| apologize. I would like more time to think about it but my travel     |
| schedule has been heavy. Perhaps the June meeting will be more        |
| fruitful and I will try to prepare better.                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| I\'m sorry I did not contribute to question #8\--I just could not     |
| find the science questions on this questionnaire.\                    |
| \                                                                     |
| I am a bit worried about how this information will be used in         |
| planning for the future of USGS. My rankings almost seemed arbitrary  |
| given the scope of the issues outlined.                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| It is not clear to me for whom, exactly, these \"challenges\" are a   |
| challenge. Is it \"society,\" in the abstract?\...or USGS? In either  |
| case I am very uncomfortable with the apparent fuzziness regarding    |
| interpenetration of our values with our construction of these issues  |
| and challenges. Many national stakeholders are not particularly keen  |
| on conserving biodiversity or vulnerable ecosystems, or mitigating    |
| the effects of climate change. If we ascribe to any values in this    |
| plan, I urge the adoption of values explicitly related to science     |
| truly in service of a democratic society, which, to articulate, would |
| be a treatise in itself.\                                             |
| \                                                                     |
| I also find myself at a disadvantage commenting for lack of clarity   |
| on what, exactly, this plan (i.e., vision and goals) is for. For us   |
| and future structuring and allocation of resources?\...to promote     |
| ourselves to the nation and the world? If the former, I perceive our  |
| greater challenges to be in implementing integration, not just among  |
| USGS disciplines, but more importantly with policy processes. We have |
| a loooong way to go in this regard, and I would argue that the        |
| survival and relevance of USGS is perhaps more contingent on meeting  |
| this \"challenge\" than on making a laundry list of topics.\          |
| \                                                                     |
| I am also a bit uncomfortable with the way identifying issues and     |
| challenges has seemingly been framed. I would urge that such things   |
| be framed in terms of a rigorous (rather than ad hoc) niche analysis  |
| regarding what we (USGS) are positioned to do better than academe and |
| private industry. My own sense is that we (especially BRD) are        |
| primely placed to undertake long-term multidisciplinary research      |
| framed in terms of adaptive management, and nit into stakeholder      |
| decision processes. If my perspective on this has any merit, how (for |
| example) will this planning process explicitly move us toward this    |
| end?                                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Need to do a SWOT analysis - Strengths and Weaknesses. Which of the   |
| societal problems is USGS uniquely qualified to address? Why USGS?    |
| Why now?                                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Other federal agencies are grappling with very similar issues-        |
| particularly NOAA, EPA, USDA, and the USFS. USGS should focus on the  |
| components of the above listed Societal Issues that we are uniquely   |
| positioned to address. Overlap between the USGS and federal agencies  |
| should be explicitly discussed in our science strategy so that we can |
| demonstrate our unique contribution and role in addressing the major  |
| societal issues.                                                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Part of the Science Strategy needs to be an emphasis on how are we    |
| going to truly address the need to address all these issues in an     |
| interdisciplinary way                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Perception is reality and in today\'s world the media creates         |
| perception for much of society. In what ever our science plan is we   |
| need to have a process in place to create the perception that we are  |
| the organization with the best minds to address the key issues        |
| identified in that plan. If we do that we will attract the brightest  |
| individuals who want to work in that field. We will create the        |
| reality we hope to achieve. Totally out of the box would be to        |
| position ourselves to do this work get some great things going then   |
| get some movies made about it. Movies like Dante\'s Peak and Volcano  |
| were great for GD\'s hazards exposure what can we do for our other    |
| societal issues? Crazy I know but when movies like Apollo 13 come out |
| applications to NASA jump, society is reminded of their history and   |
| our pride in the space program. We need for society to feel that way  |
| about the great work and service the USGS provides we need to look    |
| for opportunities to show them, to remind them, while continuing to   |
| do great things for our country and doing it better and before any    |
| one else.                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Protecting U.S. Cities from Natural Disasters\                        |
| \                                                                     |
| Hurricane Katrina has revealed the vulnerability of urban America to  |
| natural disasters, a vulnerability compounded by its aftermath: the   |
| difficulty of removing wreckage, rebuilding infrastructure, and       |
| re-attracting businesses when it is unclear if and when the           |
| population will return. The toll of human and financial losses, and   |
| the enormous cost of reconstruction, cannot be borne repeatedly. We   |
| must not let such a predictable disaster strike us unprepared again.\ |
| \                                                                     |
| The threat of natural disasters is in no way limited to hurricanes.   |
| The U.S. faces a comparable earthquake threat in Los Angeles and San  |
| Francisco, Salt Lake, Reno, and Anchorage, Charleston, Memphis and    |
| St. Louis; and a comparable volcano threat in Hilo, Fairbanks,        |
| Anchorage, and Portland and Seattle.\                                 |
| \                                                                     |
| We can dramatically diminish the impact of these sudden-onset natural |
| disasters by monitoring the forces that produce them, understanding   |
| their long-term and immediate likelihood; by predicting their         |
| consequences; by communicating the risks to the population and        |
| encouraging preparedness; by strengthening our infrastructure and     |
| buildings against them; and by improving emergency response through   |
| real-time damage assessment.\                                         |
| \                                                                     |
| The USGS is the world leader the monitoring, analysis, and            |
| communication of earthquake and volcano hazards, and could greatly    |
| augment its capability if called upon by the Nation.                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Regarding the science questions under \"Biodiversity,\" I would       |
| suggest replacing \"species\" with \"taxa,\" \"taxon,\" or            |
| \"taxonomic,\" as appropriate. Society often will be interested in    |
| preserving races, varieties, subspecies, and so on, not just          |
| species. Ultimately, society may also want to preserve as much        |
| genetic diversity as possible to maintain adaptive potential, but I   |
| can\'t think of a good way of interjecting that concept. So,          |
| biodiversity conservation should be considered at several levels.     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Several of the science questions imply that the USGS will be making   |
| value judgments rather than \'just\' doing science. This should be a  |
| conscious decision if we do it, but I do not think it is in our best  |
| interest.\                                                            |
| \                                                                     |
| Many of the science questions seem overreaching/unrealistic, while    |
| others are ambiguous or poorly stated.\                               |
| \                                                                     |
| I think the biodiversity questions in particular could use a bit of   |
| refinement.                                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Thanks for the opportunity to comment.                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The 8 societal issues are intimately connected. For example, water    |
| quality can be influence by landscape and climate change, and can in  |
| turn, affect ecosystem function and biodiversity. We need to be       |
| learning about the interactions between all these issues. Some of the |
| questions get at these interactions, but the overall structure of the |
| current document makes them seem a bit like separate issues. And we,  |
| as scientists, tend to study them as separate issues. A real          |
| challenge we face is how to start studying and reacting to the        |
| interaction between these issues.\                                    |
| \                                                                     |
| I\'d also like to emphasize again the point I made above (question 5) |
| that the application of the science in a management context is as     |
| important as the science itself (more so, in fact). USGS cannot       |
| overlook the pivotal role it can play in affecting management and     |
| policy, by expanding its capability to aid in decision analysis.      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The issues and questions are phrased tremendously well!               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The organization, without a grand compelling theme that pulls         |
| together everything into a more socially relevant package, will       |
| continue to decline in bits and pieces. We are like one of those      |
| threatened/declining ecosystems, we need to identify the diversity we |
| need to stabilize, and then organize ourselves into a highly          |
| functional and interdependent system. We need to eliminate redundant  |
| and unconnected capacities and become very efficient in addressing a  |
| well defined vision and mission.                                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The questionnaire covered the major societal issues and the questions |
| covered that basic broad science questions with regard to these       |
| issues. However, the missing component from the questionnaire is what |
| should the USGS focus be in these areas? As you note there are other  |
| cross cutting issues in terms of work force, budget, etc. I think     |
| interagency collaboration and defining the USGS role in all the       |
| science issues are key elements that need to be considered. This is   |
| not a trivial task and I wish the Committee the best of luck in       |
| accomplishing this.                                                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The USGS is woefully under funded to address the complex earth        |
| science and biological resources information needs of the nation.     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The way the \"challenges\" are posed caught my attention. These seem  |
| like desired future conditions, but they are also policy statements   |
| that may not be widely shared. This is part of the reason I didn\'t   |
| rate climate change more highly (or some of the other ones,           |
| either). The climate change challenge is to \"mitigate the effects of |
| climate change\.....\" but there are still arguments at high          |
| political levels about whether climate change is real or not. I hate  |
| to caution you to be overly timid about this, and I\'m sure you       |
| recognize the balance you need to strike, but realize that some of    |
| the challenges may not be widely understood or accepted.              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| There is a conceptual conflict in my mind between USGS supporting     |
| broad-brush \"societal issues\" problems, which implies the need for  |
| large interdisciplinary research teams, vs. the highly focused        |
| research conducted by small, independent teams. The former helps to   |
| sustain our national existence because it \"sells.\" The latter,      |
| however, usually comes up with the most significant scientific        |
| advances. How to we assure that both approaches to research will      |
| continue to be sustained?                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| There is a great need for on the ground research to address research  |
| questions, but I perceive a movement in USGS toward answering         |
| questions through the usage of secondary sources (e.g., data mining,  |
| modeling without data, mapping). I also see resources put toward      |
| supporting activities that do not supply science products to the      |
| public. There is shrinking support for real scientists to do          |
| multidisciplinary science while much is spent supporting personnel    |
| who do not directly produce resource products. \                      |
| \                                                                     |
| USGS is a little like a dairy farmer who buys himself great stuff for |
| his house, at the expense of his producers, the cows. Without         |
| sufficient resources, the cows can\'t produce any milk, and any other |
| money the farmer spends is wasted. After a while, the farmer won\'t   |
| be in business. As USGS plans for the future, it needs to keep its    |
| eye on the product, credible science for the public. Anything that    |
| doesn\'t directly support solid science products should be            |
| reevaluated.                                                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| USGS can play key roles in addressing the important issues that have  |
| been outlined, even if it does not have lead responsibility among     |
| federal agencies. It will need to integrate better with those         |
| agencies, pointing out the strengths we could bring to an issue.      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| USGS has the ability to look at the big picture, but many scientists  |
| in the agency are totally wrapped up in their own little              |
| issues. Until we find a way to get the visionary people in each       |
| discipline to talk to each other EVERY DAY, little will change.       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Will we be able to take advantage of emerging technologies,           |
| especially micro-monitoring: early-warning trips and alerts, embedded |
| sensors in moving phenoms (floods, flows, maybe even fires?)\         |
| \                                                                     |
| Nice job gang, keep it up                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+