long delayed

Wow, this town is busy.  Not NY style, but just busy.  Every day there's a lecture, a hearing, a dozen meetings on any given topic we might think is important.  We finished up orientation with a bang.  And I started in at my office after two and a half weeks of sitting and listening to the local illuminati.  We were all getting fat from being wined and dined and told we were the most powerful science network in DC.  Well groomed, we headed off to our cubicles in our big buildings to get lost.

What I'm discovering is that DC really is about networking.  Your connections with people are important to getting things done.  I've been to a bunch of meetings now where I didn't hear anything concrete being said.  Lots of intuitive conversation, but not a lot of action decisions.  People here like to talk, and talk a lot.  And everything moves very slowly.  For example, the Obama administration put out  an executive order last year saying that 95% of federal purchases have to be "sustainable".  Now all of the agencies are dealing with figuring out what that means, but at the same time, so do suppliers. As the largest single purchasing entity in the world, the federal government has a big role to play.  But, it has to start out with just asking suppliers what their practices are. Then in a few months or next year saying, well, now you must account for your practices.  And in another year, now you have to meet some minimum standard for low greenhouse gas emissions.

You get the picture.  It moves slowly, and there are a lot of moving parts.  Each agency has it's own culture and policies.  Add to that the fact that there are political appointees and career administrators who sometimes do and sometimes don't have the same agenda.  At the EPA, the career and political heads are in general agreement, but what happens in a few years if we get an unfriendly administration?

On another note, I did go to a fascinating meeting last week.  It was called a "listening session", where stakeholders in the sustainable products markets (industry, non governmental groups, consultants, and others) got together and voiced their positions on the role of the EPA and federal government in the green market.  The federal representatives from EPA, FTC, DOE, and USDA sat and listened.  Big players were in the room, from timber industry, pharmaceuticals, chemical companies, green building and product institutes, standard setting organizations, etc.  Positions ranged from "Don't disturb the market", what you might expect from industry, to "don't confuse my mother" with too many labels, and "I have kids who want to know that we are going to do the right thing"  What was really cool was that while most industry reps were more conservative in their positions than some of the green institutes, I was surprised by how invested they were in making a sustainable market work.  Some of these industries have invested heavily in sustainability and want it to work.  Whether their motivations are cost reductions and profits, or doing the right thing, I can't say.  But it was great to be a fly on that wall.


I'll try to be more regular from here on out.  Thanks for reading, friends and family!

Civics 501, and science communication

Apparently it's all about the personal connection.  Whether you are talking about being a source for a congressman or a reporter, your reliability and status as an "honest broker" define your usefulness.  Lobbyists are useful because they can give a fast, accurate assessment of industry/interest group positions, and it's their job to be available and stay in constant contact with lawmakers and their staff.  They know their interest group better than any hill staffer or congressperson ever will, and if they keep on giving accurate information, they will continue to be contacted.  Same thing for a think tank, industry, science or environmental lobby.  That's a big part of why they are so successful.  Regardless of your position about a lobby, the lobbyist can still be useful.

But personal connections also come into play in how bills are introduced, and whether they pass.  There are rules in the house and senate, and their are unspoken rules of courtesy.  Someone in the minority party asks you to hold a bill until they can be present to vote on it, it gets held until they can.  All things being equal, if you don't have a stake in a bill's fate, you vote goes with...., well, you get it.

One thing that surprised me was that most of our speakers addressed the increasingly acrimonious polarization between parties.   I thought Washingtonians would be cynically hardened to conflict, but there was a common, genuine concern, and most feel that it is increasingly difficult to get anything done in the legislature.  The only person who wasn't dramatically concerned about the state of constant political campaigning and increased polarization of politics in DC was the historian who described actual duels between members of the early legislature.  Things aren't as polarized like the early days when people actually shot each other.

Cross cultural exchange

Settling in to DC means a couple of adjustments for a field biologist.

First: suits.  Things that have to be dry cleaned and ironed.  As anyone in the business world knows, investing in work clothes is a business in itself, and since my favorite pants are of the Carhart variety, it's a new concept.  I can't expect to wear the same thing day in and day out, and can't expect it to still last for a couple of years.  Luckily, my program is filled with scientists, so the women all check each other's outfits out, and stand around at breaks in our orientation and discuss where to shop for "professional" clothes.

Second: parking.  Temporary parking permits, and street sweeping days.  Almost got towed my first day here for parking on the right side of the street on the wrong day.... and was let of the hook of the tow truck by a nice man.   Folks in DC are more mellow than expected.   I hear the Dept. of Transporation fares poorly when compared to other DMV's.  Sadly, that's one of my next stops.

As for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, I can say they put on a pretty fancy orientation to the city, the culture of the capitol, and federal politics.  They asked us not to talk or write about the content of our speaker's talks so that the speaker's can maintain a sense of open and honest discourse, which they may not if they felt their information would be more public.  In general,  we've had a series of policy experts come in to orient us on Washington culture, which seems to be about who you know, and maintaining your capital as a scientist by keeping your head up and your mouth shut until the opportune moment to insert information into discussions.   It's logical, I guess.

We had a great session on the federal budget, which made it clear that compromise is rife, and no one has enough information to make perfect decisions.  At least we didn't when we tried to balance the budget.  Likewise, an economic journalist gave us a brief rundown on the broader picture of the economy, debt, and crises.  It makes only slightly more sense now, and not because he wasn't a great speaker.  But now I know a book to buy to try to make more sense of a crazy topic.  Greg Ip's The Little Book of Economics, fresh off the press.

Tomorrow we start up again, with Civics 501, and the Legislative Branch.... at the Library of Congress. We'll meet with people from the legislative branch, who will also be frank with us about their take on the business; therefore, unbloggable.  Looking forward to it.

First blog day, Saturday, September 4th

Prompted by a few friends, and family, who keep asking: "what's this program you're moving across the country for?" and the puzzled looks on friends faces as I tell them I'm going to DC, I'm going to try out this blog to see if it helps smooth those wrinkled foreheads.  My goal is to explain the mysteries of translating a career in field biology to a year (plus or minus) into a job in the policy world of our nation's capitol, and the greater mysteries of a western country girl moved to a big fast paced city.

Part one:  The Move
Everyone knows moving is a bitch, and long distance moving can compound that.  I got tired of hefting boxes, so I looked around for a moving company for my modest pile of boxed possessions.  Since my organization, AAAS, is paying for the move, I wasn't too worried about money, but still wanted to be frugal..... more importantly, I was worried about the fact that there was no company that had 100% great reviews.  Not news to veterans.

So, I went with one that seemed to have a few good reviews, was reasonably priced and seemed responsive.  Unfortunate choice.  My belongings seem to have evaporated.  Almost three weeks later, I have no idea of where it is, except that it was supposed to have left CA last Sunday.   That'll teach me about non-attachment to belongings.  Lucky I packed my suits.

The drive across the country was great.  Daily rain, big mountains, big deserts, and then, big corn and soy.  Stopped to see friends along the way (amazing how many people live within an hour or two of I-80).  I learned a lot.  For example, the red light district of Elko has an establishment called "Dancing and Diddling," along with the nearby western folklife Cowboy Poetry gathering.  Salt Lake City has great little neighborhoods, Ft Collins has great beer, Laramie has a big kayaking community, Ogallala NE has a comfortable hotel, and there is a LOT of soy and corn from then on to Ohio. Iowa has a lot more topography than I expected, and a great place to cruise into a small town on nothing but fumes.  You can coast down the hills, while you pray for a gas station.  Lincoln has some great book and food shops, including a hand made ice-cream shop in the old town.  Madison has one of the biggest Farmer's markets I've ever been to and is apparently the "Berkeley of the midwest."

All in all, my trip was low adventure, pleasant, and filled with friends.

Next on:  starting up in DC