Obama Appoints Strong Advocate of Climate Action

Barack Obama has named John Holdren of Harvard University to head the White House Office of Science and Technology. Here's how the associated press describes Holdren:

Holdren, 64, is a former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington who has pushed for more urgent action on global warming. As Obama's top science adviser, he would manage about 40 Ph.D-level experts who help shape and communicate science and technology policy.

Colleagues say the post is well-suited for Holdren, who at Harvard went from battling the spread of nuclear weapons to tackling the threat of global warming. He's an award-laden scientist comfortable in many different fields.

"Global warming is a misnomer. It implies something gradual, something uniform, something quite possibly benign, and what we're experiencing is none of those," Holdren said a year ago in a speech at Harvard. "There is already widespread harm ... occurring from climate change. This is not just a problem for our children and our grandchildren."

Holdren took questions from OneClimate viewers on the OneClimate.net Web site and in Second Life last year during OneClimate's pioneering "Virtual Bali" event, which opened a window on the UN climate negotiations in Indonesia to people across the planet.

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