Overview 

Over the next century the earth’s resilience and adaptive capabilities will be stressed by the demands of global climate change, environmental degradation, a population increase of two billion people, and the accompanying increased resource and energy demand.  These stresses will place an additional burden upon the earth’s natural systems and the processes and resources that drive these systems.  Future system scarcities and imbalances represent a security concern with the potential to destabilize and weaken existing political, social, and economic structures.   And as these natural systems are inherently highly interdependent, it is necessary for them to be analyzed and considered systemically.  

The Earth Systems Program seeks to address these issues by developing and promoting sustainable, scientifically sound, and inclusive solutions, policies, and technological developments.  To meet this goal the Earth Systems Program will work in the follow project areas:

1.  Communication.  Improve dialogue and deliberation over key environmental issues and challenges by building trust and communication between scientists, policy makers, and the public.

2.  Research.  Better scientific understanding of key socio-environmental and earth systems issues through undertaking and supporting systemic, multidisciplinary research.

3.  Tools.  Create tools to aid researchers, scientists, and policymakers in analyzing complex issues and systems.

4.  Policy.  Promote policy to further national and international environmental and energy sustainability and security and advocate for political processes that engage key stakeholders and scientists in deliberations.

5.  Partnerships.  Develop long term, multidisciplinary collaborations and partnerships between U.S and foreign scientists and engineers to solve key environmental and technical issues.