Science in the Triangle

Graphic breakdown of the President's proposed 2012 fiscal budget. (via New York Times)

President Obama’s fiscal 2012 budget proposal aims to scale back spending in big-ticket areas like defense and homeland security. However, a lot of science and research-related sectors would see a boost in funding.

This stays in line with Obama’s January State of the Union promise for America’s “Sputnik moment” and his call for heightened investment in innovation. It also comes at a great time for North Carolina, which continues to place increasing focus on climate and alternative energy.

Still, not all research and development (R&D) programs would receive equal allotment. Some departments, like the Environmental Protection Agency, would see budget cuts if the president’s proposal passes through Congress.

Here’s a breakdown of how the budget proposal will affect two of the largest science and R&D-related fields: energy and the environment, both on a national and local level:

Energy

National: Clean energy and alternative fuel initiatives would reap a big boost from Obama’s budget pitch. The Department of Energy’s spending budget would climb a total of 12 percent. Discretionary spending would increase almost 40 percent from 2010 to $11.84 billion. That’s roughly $104.18 per household. Measures here would include investments in renewable sources of power like wind and solar—which would jump 70 percent from last year—and the push for all-electric vehicles.

Studies on hydrogen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels will incur significant cuts, losing $70 million. Federal energy assistance to low income homes would also be reduced.

Local: North Carolina will spend a total of $75.9 million on the state energy program, with $20.9 million for energy efficiency and conservation block grants. Within Orange County, grants include installing a new solar heat pump and a high-efficiency hand dryer at the Emergency Services building, improving lighting at Triangle Sportsplex, and adding a solar hot water heater at the Piedmont Food & Agriculture Center. Total project expenditures estimated at $451,350. A $1.4 million grant will go towards energy-efficient agricultural storage equipment.

So what is that money going towards, specifically?

“Right now, it’s solar and wind energy,” said Seth Effron, communications director for the North Carolina Energy Office. “You’re going to see very significant acceleration in the next year and a half.”

Effron said the federal government has just initiated a variety of steps to start leasing offshore sites for the development of wind energy. N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue has created a scientific panel on offshore energy for the eastern part of the state.

“People here are very interested in moving ahead,” said Effron. “Particularly with how it relates to an exploration of offshore petroleum.” He cited a June 2009 UNC study conducted by the General Assembly claiming North Carolina has the best offshore wind resources of any state on east coast.

Right now, almost all the State Energy Office’s budget comes from the Washington-led American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, but that expires in 2012.

Environment

National: As a whole, the president’s budget allocates $6.27 billion for Environmental and Other Defense Activities, down 4.6 percent from 2010. If the White House’s proposal passes, the EPA would lose 3.2 percent of its current research budget.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the agency will receive $8.97 billion, pending Congress’s approval, in a press conference Monday. More than $1.4 billion will be lost after an all-time high of $10.3 billion in federal funding last year.

Jackson said losses will include cuts to the Great Lakes Restoration Program and so-called “superfunds” which give the agency oversight of environmental repair on federal facilities.

These cuts would be offset in part by additional funding to the Science To Achieve Results (STAR) academic grants program.

Local: In tandem with Obama, Gov. Perdue included substantial reductions to environmental programs in her 2011-2013 budget proposition released Thursday. Among them comes the elimination of 224.5 Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) jobs. Meanwhile, her plan appropriates roughly $180 million over two years to pursue DENR’s outlined 2009-2013 goals: sustaining clean air and water for future, growing a green economy, conserving natural worklands, and responding to climate change.

The EPA has a satellite facility in the Research Triangle Park, but it’s still a limb of the national headquarters, said senior press officer Cathy Milbourn. Milbourn said the budget committee is only now beginning to assess the president’s proposal and how it will affect the agency. She also added that it needs to pass through the House and Senate before anything is set in stone.

Susan Massengale, spokeswoman for NCDENR’s Division of Water Quality, said all environmental agencies have had funding constraints over the last year, and hers is no exception.

“We have very local budget issues with both the governor and the state legislature in town,” said Massengale. “In any case, we’ll use the money we have in the most efficient way and protect the state water quality to the best of our ability.”

Massengale’s division is working to establish a statewide water quality policy and to combat pollution with new wastewater infrastructure.

[Author's note: Wind technology--and specifically its non-immediate drawbacks--will be discussed further in the next article.]