Science News

Among many other strong choices for science advisers, it appears an outspoken advocate for curbing greenhouse gasses has been selected to serve as chief science adviser for the Obama administration. John Holdren, a past president of American Association for the Advancement of Science, had to cancel a meeting at Harvard to fly to Chicago. According to journalists who are familiar with these escapades, this probably means he is meeting with Obama about a job. The AAAS blog reports this, as does a NYTimes blog. About climate change, he says,

I am one of those who believes that any reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date look at the evidence makes clear that civilization has already generated dangerous anthropogenic interference in the climate system…. What keeps me going is my belief that there is still a chance of avoiding catastrophe.

Sounds pretty okay to me. He also was involved with Pugwash and was part of the crew that accepted a Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 for nuclear non-proliferation work.

What I want to know is if he will get an office IN the White House. You may recall that GWBush kicked his science advisers out in favor of them occupying space down the street.