john holdren

Scientific integrity in the Trump administration

We can’t tell yet what role science will play in the new administration’s policy choices, but there is reason for concern

  There has understandably been a great deal of hand wringing in the environmental policy world since the US presidential election, including on this site (see, for example, Sean’s post here, Dan’s here, and Ann’s here). There are so many hands to be wrung, however, that we’re nowhere near through them all. One topic that …

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White House scientific integrity guidelines — a long wait for not much

Early on in the Obama administration, promoting scientific integrity in government decisionmaking seemed to be a high priority. Less than 2 months after his inauguration, the President issued a memorandum giving the Office of Science and Technology Policy 4 months to “develop recommendations for Presidential action designed to guarantee scientific integrity throughout the executive branch.” …

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Obama’s Science Advisor Speaks at Berkeley

On Earth Day, Presidential science advisor John Holdren delivered the ERG Annual Lecture at Berkeley.  His topic was Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being: Priorities and Policies in the Obama Administration. He had many insights to offer on science and public policy, particularly with regard to energy and climate issues.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsMyTG4ZXcM&feature=channel]

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No More “Global Warming”

In his ERG Lecture last week, John Holdren made an excellent point about terminology.  The term “Global Warming” is totally misleading.  “Warming” suggests a gradual, gentle process.  Combined with the term “global,” it suggests that the main concern is the increase in average global temperatures. As Holdren pointed out, this is all quite misleading:  (1) …

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Climate change affecting the U.S.

The US Global Change Research Program has just issued a report on Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. For people who have been paying attention, there’s not much new here. But this report, authored by a team of distinguished scientists from inside and outside the government, endorsed by the White House (see this …

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Finally

Having finally shaken off the various and sundry anonymous holds that had  been placed on the nominations, the Senate on Thursday confirmed Jane Lubchenco to be the administrator of NOAA and John Holdren to be Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.  The Washington Post has a nice article about Lubchenco, why she …

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An important step toward scientific integrity

Yesterday, together with his executive order on stem cell research, President Obama issued a memorandum to the executive branch on scientific integrity.  (Dan noted the news of the pending decision here.)  The memorandum is just a starting point, but it is a very good one.  It elevates the issue to a high profile, assigning the …

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