National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1988. Our Changing Planet: A U.S. Strategy for Global Change Research : a Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18703.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1988. Our Changing Planet: A U.S. Strategy for Global Change Research : a Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18703.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1988. Our Changing Planet: A U.S. Strategy for Global Change Research : a Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18703.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1988. Our Changing Planet: A U.S. Strategy for Global Change Research : a Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18703.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1988. Our Changing Planet: A U.S. Strategy for Global Change Research : a Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18703.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1988. Our Changing Planet: A U.S. Strategy for Global Change Research : a Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18703.
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Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

This photograph of the Earth was taken from the Apollo 10 Space- craft. Much of the Earth is heavily cloud covered. A portion of the United States from the Great Lakes to Southern California, including the Rocky Mountain area, is visible. The North American coastline from Southern Mexico to Alaska

Our Changing Planet: A U. S. Strategy for Global Change Research A Report by the Committee on Earth Sciences To Accompany the U. S. President's Fiscal Year 1990 Budget

Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology Committee on Earth Sciences Chairman Dallas Peck, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey Vice-Chairman Richard G. Johnson, Office of Science and Technology Policy (Consultant) Executive Secretary Raymond Watts, Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey Members; A. Alan Hill, Council on Environmental Quality Frederick Bernthal, Department of State Joseph R. Wright, Jr., Office of Management and Budget Beverly Berger, Office of Science and Technology Policy Orville Bentley, United States Department of Agriculture Erich Bretthauer, Environmental Protection Agency Dale E. Myers, National Aeronautics and Space Administration George Millburn, Department of Defense Robert Hunter, Department of Energy William Evans, Department of Commerce S. Fred Singer, Department of Transportation Erich Bloch, National Science Foundation (See Appendix A for the CES Charter)

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY WASHINGTON, D. C. 20506 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS: I am pleased to forward with this letter the research strategy report of the Committee on Earth Sciences (CES) of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology. The report, "Our Changing Planet A U. S. Strategy for Global Change Research ," is the product of an intense interagency effort by experts in various earth sciences and other dis- ciplines. This report, which has benefited greatly from close interaction between CES and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Global Change, outlines the goals, implementation strategy, and research budget of the U. S. Global Change Research Program. The report accompanies the President's FY 1990 Budget. The strategy will be further expanded into a detailed, comprehensive research plan in 1989. Changes in the Earth system such as desertification, drought, volcanism, and global warming can have tremendous economic and societal impact. The relative roles of human activity and natural phenomena in global change are of great importance but are, at present, scientifically undefined. Improving our ability to understand and to predict global changes, whether natural or human-induced, is essential for providing our Nation with a sound basis for developing policies and response strategies. An effective and well-coordinated federal research program is crucial to this effort The program must be both national and international, since global change crosses political as well as physical boundaries. The Committee on Earth Sciences' report provides an excellent foundation for the comprehensive research plan being developed and provides a keystone for planning for many decades to come. Chairman Dallas Peck and his interagency committee members, associates, and staff have done an excellent job and should be commended. Sincerely, William R.Graham Director

List of Tables and Figures Tables 1. 1989-1990 U. S. Global Change Research Program Budget 24 2. 1989-1990 U. S. Global Change Research Program Budget by Federal Budget Function 23 Figures 1. U. S. Global Change Research Program by Science Element 17 2. U. S. Global Change Research Program by Agency 19 3. U. S. Global Change Research Program by Type of Activity 21 4. U. S. Global Change Research Program by Federal Budget Function 22

Table of Contents Committee on Earth Sciences Membership i Office of Science & Technology Policy Transmittal Letter ii List of Tables and Figures iii Prologue: Our Changing Planet 1 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 5 Purpose and Scope of This Report 5 What is Global Change? 5 What is Man's Role in Changing the Environment? 6 Why is Reliable Global Change Prediction Important? 7 The U. S. Global Change Research Program 8 Key Global Change Scientific Questions 8 Program Goal 9 Implementation Strategy 10 Three Major Scientific Objectives 10 Integration of Scientific Disciplines 10 Integration with National and International Global Change Research Activities 14 FY 1990 U.S. Global Change Research Program Budget 16 Budget by Science Element 17 Budget by Agency 19 Budget by Type of Activity 21 Budget by Federal Budget Function 22 Epilogue: The Fundamental Rationale 27 Appendices 29 A: Committee on Earth Sciences Charter 29 B: Definitions of the Science Elements and Type of Activity 35

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