John McCarty
A long-time interest of mine has been the use of Scientific information in formulating public policy. I've always been interested in issues related to the environment and natural resources and as I become more experienced as a scientist I was frequently puzzled by decisions made by policy-makers. It was often difficult to see the link between the science behind an issue and the decisions that were being made.
Starting in 1998, I had the opportunity to work at the interface between science and public policy in Washington D.C. as an AAAS Science Policy Fellow. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has organized a fellowship program for scientists to work with policy-makers since the 1970's, giving scientists an unique opportunity to participate in formulation of federal policy decisions and giving policy-makers access to scientific expertise. You can learn more about the AAAS Science Fellows by visiting the AAAS Directorate for Science and Policy Programs.
From 1998 through 2000 I was an AAAS Environmental Science Fellow working at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. I was sponsored by the USEPA National Center for Environmental Assessment and the EPA Global Change Research Program. The National Center for Environmental Assessment is EPA's lead organization for research on Environmental Risk Assessment. Learn more about NCEA by visiting their web page:
US EPA's Global Change Research Program is affiliated with NCEA and has a primary focused on Assessments of the implications of global change for the environment. These assessments are intended to help decision-makers and the public make informed choices about global change. I worked on evaluating the possible consequences of global change for ecosystems in the Mid-Atlantic Region. This assessment was a part of the US National Assessment Program coordinated by the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).
To learn more about US EPA and the EPA Global Change Research Program follow this link:
To learn more about US Research Efforts in Global Change, visit the USGCRP website:
For 2000-2001 AAAS awarded me the Roger Revelle Fellowship in Global Stewardship. During my tenure as the Revelle Fellow, I worked at the USDA Forest Service - Research and Development. While working with the Forest Service I participated in a number of interagency activities. I worked with two subcommittees of the White House Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources (CENR). CENR was established by President Clinton to foster a multi-agency, interdisciplinary approach to research on the environment and natural resources and to coordinate $5 billion in federal R&D spending. Learn more about CENR at their website or through the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy site.
Working with the Subcommittee on Ecological Systems I helped develop a position paper on Ecological Forecasting. This initiative is meant to be provide an organizing principle for Federally funded research in ecology. I also represented the USDA Forest Service in helping the subcommittee on Global Change Research write the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) 10-year research strategy for ecological research related to global change. Finally, in 2001 the US MAB Program (formerly the Man and Biosphere Program) moved to the Forest Service Research and Development Office. I worked with representatives of the US Environmental Protection Agency and National Park Service to draft a revised plan for this program.
Within the Forest Service, I worked on projects related to research on Invasive Species and on coordinating research on Fire Science, including setting priorities for $26 million in new research funding provided by the 2001 budget.
Most recently, I was selected as a fellow in the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program. During 2004 I took part in two weeks of training in designed to help academic scientists communicate more effectively with the media, decision-makers, and the public.
Science Policy Links
Agencies within the US Federal Government have great websites. A good starting place for finding information is the FirstGov site:
Global Change Links