I just watched the web clip of Obama addressing the National Academy of Sciences at their annual meeting. Not since Kennedy has a newly elected president stopped in to offer his thoughts on science and government to the assembled crowd. And that wasn’t the only history lesson made available during the president’s speech. He offered listeners a brief introduction to the founding of the academies (by Lincoln in the midst of war), of Einstein’s being bored by long-winded presidential speeches, and of the rocky relationship between the two institutions over the last several years. Obama came to teach, to reassure, and to inspire. But mostly his message could be boiled down into one word: money.

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On 28 April the National Academy of Sciences elected 72 new members. Kevan Shokat, a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences from the class of 1996, joins the many other Pew Scholars who are NAS members. Congratulations, Dr. Shokat!

Along with hundreds of other Pew Scholars, Shokat’s oral history resides in the CHF library. The Oral History Collection at CHF contains hundreds of bound interview transcripts with leading figures in the chemical, biological, and biomedical sciences, including NAS members, Nobel laureates, and more. The Center for Contemporarty History and Policy, which administers the Oral History Collection, invites you to explore this valuable resource.

The EPA’s announcement of a proposed finding that CO2 is dangerous to public health and the environment will finally set in motion the process that will result in its regulation. They will now be required to propose specific mechanisms. Of course, the attention now turns to exactly what those mechanisms will be. The two leading candidates are a cap-and-trade program or a carbon tax. Obama had advocated cap and trade as a candidate, and his aggressive administration is already pushing forward with plans. However, the debate is warming. You might be surprised how the various influence groups are lining up.

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Since the EPA announced last week that carbon dioxide is a definite pollutant detrimental to human health, environmentalists’ cheers have been met with protests against the ruling’s potential economic and political implications. The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted one Republican senator as proclaiming it will ”unleash a torrent of regulations that will destroy jobs, harm consumers, and extend the agency’s reach into every corner of American life.” The newspaper reports a similar accusation by a spokesperson for the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, who says, “A more potent anti-stimulus package would be difficult to imagine.”

Frightened? Don’t be. Taking the stance that chemical-regulation policies are more of a threat than an accomplishment is nothing new. One must only look back a couple of decades for a similar example.

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This Wednesday through Saturday, April 22-25, Villanova University will be hosting its International SustainAbility Conference, “From the Local to the Global.” Bringing together scholars, activists, government representatives, and corporate professionals from countries including Brazil, Israel, Japan, and Lesotho, the conference will explore the multiple dimensions of sustainability from diverse disciplinary viewpoints. It is the culmination of Villanova’s Year of Sustainability, a celebration of the university’s public commitment to caring for Earth for many generations to come.

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This Monday, on ”OnPoint,” E&ETV interviewed Cal Dooley, president of the American Chemistry Council. The topic: TSCA reform, of course.

The 33-year-old law has been under increasing pressure over the last year as the chemical community and related industries have suffered wave after wave of consumer no-confidence votes in the wake of concerns about lead paint, phthalates, and bisphenol A in children’s toys, cosmetics, and other common items. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson quickly moved reform of TSCA onto her list of top priorities when she took over in January. Indeed, just about everyone recognizes that the law needs some serious work. So what’s the holdup?

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