Super Earth Science Agency

Is it time to create an Earth Systems Science Agency? Several former senior federal officials think so. In an article in the journal Science, the group makes the case for merging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey. The idea would be to combine NOAA's atmospheric and marine programs with the terrestrial, freshwater, and biological programs of USGS to form one super-agency with a comprehensive perspective on the planet.

The group backing the idea includes former NOAA administrator D. James Baker, former USGS director Charles Groat, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Donald Kennedy and former presidential science adviser John H. Gibbons.

"Population pressure, development impact, and resource extraction affect land and sea alike," Baker says. "Just as the science of the Earth is seamless, so should the government responsibility be merged for these separate Earth agencies."