Joining forces in environmental research

On October 18, the European Union (EU) and the United States signed an environmental research agreement that will enable researchers and scientific organizations to participate in each other’s programs and to exchange information in a more systematic way. The National Science Foundation and European Commission Research Directorate’s Environment Research Programme representatives, who signed the cooperative agreement, say that it should lead the way to more coordinated research, more joint studies, conferences and workshops, and more communication between experts. Areas of special interest include climate change, marine science and technology, seismic risks and hazard reduction, arctic research, and environmental biology. —MARIA BURKE