Environmental Measures in Spending Bill Clear Congress

At the same time, the measure chips away at several leftover Bush administration policies. It clears the way for the Obama administration to reverse a rule issued late in the Bush administration that says greenhouse gases may not be restricted to protect polar bears from global warming. Another Bush administration rule that reduced the input of federal scientists in endangered species decisions can also be quickly overturned without a lengthy rulemaking process.

This according to the Washington Post. Some further details from AP:

_Endangered species: Allows the Interior and Commerce secretaries to withdraw Bush administration regulations that reduce the input of federal scientists in endangered species decisions, bar greenhouse gases from being restricted to protect polar bears from global warming, and allow oil and gas drilling to continue near the habitat of the bears.

AP also says:

Offshore oil drilling: Continues to lift the quarter-century congressional ban on oil and natural gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts; the Obama administration has said it will not immediately issue drilling leases.

Also, good stuff for climate science.

From the House Appropriation Committee’s website:

Global Climate Change Research:  Nearly $2 billion, $262 million above 2008, to study global climate
change, one of the greatest challenges facing our country.  This includes:
• NASA: $1.3 billion, including over $150 million to fund Earth science missions and to measure climate
change – such as measuring Earth’s radiation or changes in polar ice, as recommended by the National
Academy of Sciences.
• NOAA: $394 million to improve computer models, install climate sensors on satellites and improve the
accessibility of climate data.
• National Science Foundation: An estimated $230 million to research the impacts of human activities on
the climate and to study carbon cycles, land use, and impacts on ecosystems.
• Economic Development Administration: $14.7 million for the Global Climate Change Mitigation Fund, to
encourage businesses to use green practices.

Bush Administration, climate science funding, Endangered Species Act, environmental regulations, offshore oil, oil leasing, polar bears