NCSE Federal Funding for Environmental Research and Development 2013 - Appendix A Definitions and Assumptions

1. FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2012
Federal Funding for
Environmental Research and
Development 2013
Peter Saundry and Rica Santos
January2014
An Exclusive service for Affiliates of the National Council For Science and the Environment

2. NationalCouncilforScienceandtheEnvironment
TheNationalCouncilforScienceandtheEnvironment(NCSE)isanot-for-profit organization that
improves the scientific basis for environmental decision-making.
NCSEspecializesinbringingtogether diverseinstitutionsandindividualstoadvance
environmental science, education, and their applications in five strategic areas:
• StrengtheningEducationandCareers;
• CommunicatingSciencetothePublicthroughtheonlineEncyclopediaofEarth;
• OrganizingtheNationalConferenceonScience,PolicyandtheEnvironment;
• DevelopingScienceSolutionstoSpecificEnvironmentalChallenges;and
• PromotingScience-DrivenPolicyfortheEnvironment.
UniversityAffiliateProgram and Community College Affiliate Program
NCSE’s University Affiliate Program works in collaboration with over180 member institutions to strengthen
academicenvironmentalprogramsacrosstheUnitedStates.Membershipbenefitsandservicesinclude:
• Conferencesand meetingstoaddress all issuesrelatedtoenvironmental programs, theirfacultyand students;
• Analysis andreportson environmental, sustainabilityand energyprogramsoncampusesnationwide;
• Annual report and conference funding forenvironmental research and education;
• ComplimentaryparticipationintheNationalConference onScience,PolicyandtheEnvironment;
• Free campus-wide environmental andenergynewsservices;
• Participation in multi-institutional collaborations to secure federal funding;
• Internship opportunities through NCSE’s online environmental internship clearinghouse;
• Sabbatical opportunities; and
• Peer communication and collaboration on allenvironmental issuesof interest to members.
Council of Environmental Deans and Directors
The Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (CEDD) brings together environmental leaders at
NCSE member institutions to improve the quality, stature and effectiveness of interdisciplinary
environmental programs. CEDD supports curriculum advancement, interdisciplinary scholarship,
leadership development, and improved program management through projects including:
• Agriculture & Environment
• Campus to Careers Study
• ClimateSolutionsCurricula
• CurriculumStudy
• Energy Education
• Environment & Human Health
• InterdisciplinaryTenure
• Public Policy
Cover photos: Center photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy; Other photos courtesy of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

3. FederalFundingfor
Environmental Research and Development
Fiscal Year 2013
Developed by the National Council for Science and the Environment
Peter Saundry and Rica Santos
January2014

4. FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2013
4
T
T
Acknowledgements
he National Council for Science and Environment (NCSE) is pleased to acknowledge and
express its deep appreciation to the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS). The AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program has provided the budget
analysis behind this report for the past thirteen years, first under Kei Koizumi and, in recent
years, under Patrick Clemins and Matthew Hourihan, with significant help from Kelly Anderson.
This report is made possible by members of the NCSE University Affiliate Program and the
Community College Affiliate Program listed in Appendix C and Appendix D
Statement Regarding Data Sources
(applies to all Tables and Charts)
All date is drawn from OMB R&D data, Budget of the United States Government, agency budget
justification, agency budget documents, and historical data. Yearly values are adjusted for inflation
using OMB's GDP deflators. Nominal values are unadjusted. FY 2013 are estimates adjusted for
the full-year continuing resolution and sequestration.
Foreword
his Handbook provides an overview of the entire federal environmental R&D portfolio fol-
lowed by chapters about individual federal agencies.
The budget analysis for this Handbook has been conducted in partnership with the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) over the course of thirteen years, in order to
maintain consistency with AAAS publications on R&D in the federal budget. Budget definitions
and assumptions relevant to the analysis of environmental R&D in the federal budget are discussed
in Appendix A.
This report defines environmental sciences as the systematic study directed toward fuller
scientific knowledge or understanding of the various biological and physical components of the
earth’s environment and the interactions between the earth’s environment and humanity. The
following areas are included in the definition of environmental R&D:
• Environmental physical sciences such as atmospheric sciences, geological sciences,
oceanography, and other non-biological terrestrial sciences.
• Environmental life sciences such as environmental biology, forestry, marine biology, and
related fields.
• Environmental engineering and other sciences, including R&D related to prevention, control,
regulation, and clean-up.

5. FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2013
5
• Energy conservation and alternative energy research.
• Environmental social sciences such as environmental economics and other fields that study
human social and cultural activities related to environmental conditions.
• Environmental data and information sciences related to the environment, such as collection,
storage, standardization, and management R&D.
• Studies that utilize any or all of the above to address pollution problems or activities that
impair the sustained functioning and productivity of the earth’s environment.
The following areas are not included in the definition of environmental research:
• Most human health R&D such as the much of the work carried out by the National Institute for
Environmental Health Sciences and some other federal agencies. However, human health R&D
focused on specific environmental problems such as the Superfund program are included.
• Extraterrestrial environmental sciences such as studies of other planets.
• Studies that focus primarily on resource extraction and utilizing environmental resources as
distinct from how those practices impact the environment (which are included). Thus mining
and fishing technology, studies of agricultural crops, livestock and their use are not generally
included except where the focus is on environmental impact (e.g., studies of turtle excluder
devices and the impact of agricultural practices on the environment are included.)
We have made no effort to analyze activities by specific “fields of science” or “scientific
disciplines” except when an agency organizes its activities along those lines.
To produce the narrative of this report, NCSE has drawn extensively from the budget
documents, web sites, and other resources of the agencies of the federal government. We have
attempted to represent the work of the agencies in a balanced and objective way.
The amount of text devoted to various agencies and programs reflects approximately the level
of expenditures invested in environmental research and development by those agencies and
programs. Given that a typical page in this report covers approximately $100 million of in
environmental research and development, the level of detail we are able to provide is limited. We
encourage readers to explore the web sites and documents of the respective agencies and
programs for additional details. Where possible Fiscal Year 2012 budget for continuing budgets is
provided, or proposed budgets for FY 2014 for new programs. Note these are the entire budgets
of the program of usually include more than just R&D.
Because terms such as “environmental science” and even “research” and “development” have
imprecise definitions, estimates of federal funding for environmental R&D must be considered
approximations. That is not to say the data and descriptions of particular programs are not
accurate, rather that definitions are important in deciding which programs and projects to include
in the analysis. A broader definition of “environmental science” that included topics related to
human health might add several billion dollars to the overall funding level. A narrower definition
that omitted areas related to energy might reduce overall funding by over a billion dollars. We
have attempted to maintain consistency over time in order to identify trends and changes in
funding for environmental R&D.
The budget of the federal government and the activities of its agencies are subject to change —
sometimes significant change at short notice. We again encourage readers to explore the web sites
and documents of the respective agencies and programs for the latest information.

6. FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2013
6
Table of Contents
Executive summary ............................................................................................7
1. Department of Energy......................................................................................9
2. National Aeronautics and Space Administration..................................................31
3. National Science Foundation...........................................................................46
4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ..............................................65
5. Department of Agriculture...............................................................................74
6. Department of the Interior...............................................................................82
7. Environmental Protection Agency.....................................................................89
8. Department of Defense..................................................................................96
9. National Institutes of Health...........................................................................102
10. Department ofTransportation ......................................................................106
11. Department of Homeland Security................................................................110
12. Smithsonian Institution and Army Corps of Engineers ......................................114
13. U.S. Global Change Research Program..................................................................118
Appendix A: Definitions and Assumptions...........................................................120
Appendix B: Acronyms ....................................................................................122
AppendixC:NCSE UniversityAffiliate ProgramMembers......................................123
Appendix D: NCSE Community College Affiliate Program Members......................XXX

7. FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2013
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FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2012
An Exclusive service for Affiliates of the National Council For Science and the Environment
AppendixA: DefinitionsandAssumptions
The terms used in this report are difficult to define in practice. Therefore, it is important to say a few
words about definitions and assumptions.
It is also important the state at the outset that, while every effort has been made to be comprehen-
sive and accurate, readers should consider numbers and descriptions contained in this report to be
approximate.
For the purposes of this report, we have striven to utilize the definitions of research and development
used by the National Science Foundation in its reports of federal research and development. Thus:
“Research is systematic study directed toward fuller scientific knowledge or un-
derstanding of the subject studied. Research is classified as either basic or applied
according to the objectives of the sponsoring agency.
In basic research the objective of the sponsoring agency is to gain more complete
knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of
observable facts, without specific applications toward processes or products in
mind.
In applied research the objective of the sponsoring agency is to gain knowl-
edge or understanding necessary for determining the means by which a recog-
nized need may be met. Development is systematic use of the knowledge or
understanding gained from research, directed toward the production of useful
materials, devices, systems, or methods, including design and development of
prototypes and processes. It excludes quality control, routine product testing,
and production.”
It should be noted that the distinction between research and development, and between basic and
applied research, can be very unclear and subject to different interpretations. The distinction between
basic and applied research often says as much about how an agency perceives its mission or wishes to
be perceived by others as it does about the nature of the research itself. For that reason, when referring
to the nature of the research supported by agencies, the words “basic” and “applied” are always written
within quotation marks.
This report defines environmental sciences as systematic study directed toward fuller scientific
knowledge or understanding of the various biological and physical components of the Earth’s envi-
ronment and the interactions between the Earth’s environment and mankind. The following areas fall
within the definition of environmental R&D:
• Physical environmental sciences such as atmospheric sciences, geological sciences, oceanogra-
phy, and other non-biological terrestrial sciences.
• Environmental life sciences such as environmental biology, forestry, marine biology, and re-
latedfields.
• Environmental engineering and other sciences related to the impacts of natural and anthropo-

8. FederalFundingforEnvironmentalResearchandDevelopment2013
8
genic activities on the environment, including prevention, control, regulation, and clean-up.
• Environmental social sciences such as environmental economics and other fields that study
human social and cultural activities which affect, and are affected by, environmental condi-
tions.
• Environmental data and information sciences related to the environment, such as collection,
storage, standardization, and management R&D.
• Studies that utilize any or all of the above to address pollution problems or activities that im-
pair the sustained functioning and productivity of the Earth’s environment.
Not included are:
• Most human health R&D, such as much of the work carried out by the National Institute
for Environmental Health Sciences and some other federal agencies. However, human health
R&D focused on specific environmental problems such as the Superfund program are in-
cluded.
• Extraterrestrial environmental sciences such as studies of the atmospheres and geologies of
other planets.
• Energy conservation and alternative energy research when not focused on a specific environ-
mental problem such as climate change or air pollution.
• Studies that focus primarily on resource extraction and utilizing environmental resources as
distinct from how those practices impact the environment (which are included). Thus mining
and fishing technology, studies of agricultural crops, livestock and their use are not generally
included except where the focus is on environmental impact (e.g., studies of turtle excluder
devices and of agricultural practices on the environment are included.)
This definition owes much to the definition used in the 1993 report Research to Protect, Restore and
Manage the Environment by the National Academy of Sciences.
There is much to this definition that might be considered arbitrary. A strong case could be made
for either a much broader or much narrower definition. It could reasonably be argued that all studies
on energy, transportation, and extraterrestrial environments ought to be included. We believe that the
current definition is reasonable and workable for this study, and will revisit the definition in future edi-
tions of this report.