8
Networking capabilities;
Transfer of data to permanent
archives; and
Exchange of data, commands,
algorithms, etc., with NOAA,
ESA, Japan, Canada, and
possibly others."
Database management and informa
tion systems are currently in the
early planning stages in the
European, Japanese, and Canadian
earth observing polar orbiting
platform programs. These systems
will be planned to interact with
NASA's EOSDIS system to enhance
international global change studies
and improved environmental
management.
U.S. GLOBAL CHANGE STUDIES
In order to respond to the call
for global change studies under the
growing U.S. and international
public interest and political pres
sures to support the "Mission to
Planet Earth" concept, the U.S.
government created the interagency
Committee on Earth Sciences (CES)
in March, 1987. The CES was
established as a committee of the
Federal Coordinating Council for
Science, Engineering, and
Technology (FCCSET), chaired by the
Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy (OSTP), who
also serves as the Science Advisor
to the President of the United
States (CES, 1989a, Appendix A;
CES, 1989b, Appendix C). The
FCCSET is part of the White House
budget process and as such can have
no industry participation.
The Interagency Committee on Earth
Sciences (CES)
The interagency Committee on
Earth Sciences (CES) was created
"to increase the overall
effectiveness and productivity of
Federal R&D efforts directed toward
an understanding of the Earth as a
global system. In fulfilling this
purpose, the Committee addresses
significant national policy matters
which cut across agency boundaries"
(CES, 1989b, Appendix C).
Specifically, the CES, for all
the agencies involved:
reviews Federal R&D programs
in Earth Sciences;
improves planning,
coordination and communication;
identifies R&D needs;
addresses programmatic and
operational issues;
provides reviews, analyses,
advice,and recommendations,
particularly assessing mankind's
impact on the global environment;
and
develops the Administration's
response to the call for a report
to Congress.
The Chairman of the CES is Dr.
Dallas Peck, Director of the U.S.
Geological Survey. He reports to
the Chairman of the FCCSET. The
interagency membership of the CES
consists of:
Department of Agriculture (DOA);
Department of Commerce (DOC);
Department of Energy (DOE);
Department of the Interior
(DOI);
Department of State (DOS);
Department of Transportation
(DOT);
National Science Foundation
(NSF);
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA);
National Aeronautics and Space
Agency (NASA);
Office of Science and Technology
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