A Message From the Presidents
Pressing challenges face our nation: a slower-than-hoped-for economic recovery that has left many jobless and the government in debt, two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, continuing fear of terrorism at home and abroad, and widespread concern that America's place in a transformed global marketplace is faltering.
In 2005, the National Academies' landmark report Rising Above the Gathering Storm looked at the prospects for maintaining our nation's innovative and technological edge and, in particular, at our ability to compete for new jobs in a rapidly changing world economy. In 2010, members of the same study committee revisited the subject and found that "our nation's outlook has not improved but rather worsened" in the intervening five years. Despite that finding, we are encouraged that our work has helped focus attention on investments the nation must make now. The America COMPETES Act -- legislation that contains many of our "Gathering Storm" recommendations -- was reauthorized by Congress and signed into law by President Obama.
2010 also brought the tragic explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which killed 11 people and released the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Within weeks, the U.S. Department of the Interior called on the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council to investigate what happened and how to prevent a similar disaster from happening in the future. Our preliminary report, provided to a presidential commission studying the accident, cited not only technical and operational breakdowns but also the lack of a suitable overall approach to addressing the complex risks and uncertainties involved in deepwater drilling operations.
The National Research Council also began releasing a series of studies designed to update our knowledge of climate change science and help policymakers understand when and where we can expect the most severe impacts and what we can do to respond. Called America's Climate Choices, these congressionally mandated studies call on the U.S. to act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to develop a national strategy to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change.
This Report to Congress summarizes these and some of the other more than 230 studies completed by our Academies in 2010. They range widely, from examinations of the environmental health of Florida's Everglades and California's Bay-Delta water system to in-depth Institute of Medicine studies on the future of nursing and global challenges such as HIV/AIDS in Africa. In every study, our expert panels and peer reviewers -- who serve pro bono -- have done their best to provide unbiased, fact-based advice.
Ralph J. Cicerone
President
National Academy of Sciences
Chair
National Research Council
Charles M. Vest
President
National Academy of Engineering
Vice Chair
National Research Council
Harvey V. Fineberg
President
Institute of Medicine
