Comments on: Holdren to Be Obama’s Science Advisor http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:36:51 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: stan http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805&cpage=1#comment-11442 stan Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:19:44 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805#comment-11442 Roger, I would expect better than this garbage from a science advisor -- http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/08/04/convincing_the_climate_change_skeptics/ Pathetic. Even the logic underlying his argument is faulty. Is he really as poor a thinker as it appears? Roger,

I would expect better than this garbage from a science advisor — http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/08/04/convincing_the_climate_change_skeptics/

Pathetic. Even the logic underlying his argument is faulty. Is he really as poor a thinker as it appears?

]]> By: stan http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805&cpage=1#comment-11440 stan Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:17:44 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805#comment-11440 This is at the NY Times http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/flawed-science-advice-for-obama/ "Does being spectacularly wrong about a major issue in your field of expertise hurt your chances of becoming the presidential science advisor? Apparently not, judging by reports from DotEarth and ScienceInsider that Barack Obama will name John P. Holdren as his science advisor on Saturday." and: "Roger A. Pielke Jr., a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado and the author of “The Honest Broker: Making Sense of Science in Policy and Politics,” discussed Dr. Holdren’s conflation of science and politics in a post on the Prometheus blog: The notion that science tells us what to do leads Holdren to appeal to authority to suggest that not only are his scientific views correct, but because his scientific views are correct, then so too are his political views. " This is at the NY Times http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/flawed-science-advice-for-obama/

“Does being spectacularly wrong about a major issue in your field of expertise hurt your chances of becoming the presidential science advisor? Apparently not, judging by reports from DotEarth and ScienceInsider that Barack Obama will name John P. Holdren as his science advisor on Saturday.”

and:

“Roger A. Pielke Jr., a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado and the author of “The Honest Broker: Making Sense of Science in Policy and Politics,” discussed Dr. Holdren’s conflation of science and politics in a post on the Prometheus blog:

The notion that science tells us what to do leads Holdren to appeal to authority to suggest that not only are his scientific views correct, but because his scientific views are correct, then so too are his political views. “

]]> By: docpine http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805&cpage=1#comment-11439 docpine Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:44:31 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805#comment-11439 Oh well, perhaps we'll have to wait another administration or two to get a biologist as science advisor. In my experience, the staff at OSTP can weigh in on major policy issues, especially those that cross agencies. During the Clinton administration, I remember food safety (trying to coordinate across agencies with differing responsibilities or develop a new agency as one- a policy Holy Grail that remains undiscovered. However, the advisor himself (has it always been a him? can't remember) obviously doesn't necessarily personally weigh in on policy issues outside of his area of expertise. Of course, the major task for the science advisor is feeding the giant University-National Labs-NIH NSF DOE- Science Machine. Oh well, perhaps we’ll have to wait another administration or two to get a biologist as science advisor.
In my experience, the staff at OSTP can weigh in on major policy issues, especially those that cross agencies. During the Clinton administration, I remember food safety (trying to coordinate across agencies with differing responsibilities or develop a new agency as one- a policy Holy Grail that remains undiscovered. However, the advisor himself (has it always been a him? can’t remember) obviously doesn’t necessarily personally weigh in on policy issues outside of his area of expertise.

Of course, the major task for the science advisor is feeding the giant University-National Labs-NIH NSF DOE- Science Machine.

]]> By: bend http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805&cpage=1#comment-11436 bend Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:29:42 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805#comment-11436 I guess I've always felt that IPAT was flawed in several respects. First, it is, in my estimate, redundant. What society was technologically advanced and yet not affluent? Perhaps the Soviet Union that sent sputnik into orbit? But just because a country can perform science experiments, it doesn't make it technocratic. Furthermore, while population and affluence have demonstrable correlations with impact, technology should be seen as means of mitigating the effects of the first two. The technolgy that allowed development of more benign refrigerants to replace freon diminished human impact. Holdren now recognises as much; in 2006 he said "advances in technology help meet basic human needs and drive economic growth through increased productivity, reduced costs, reduced resource use and environmental impact, and new or improved products and services..." In any case, Holdren should be an able advocate for science funding, which is really his job anyway, isn't it? I don't think that his past and mistaken views on technology, energy shortages and population will have any effect on policy. I guess I’ve always felt that IPAT was flawed in several respects. First, it is, in my estimate, redundant. What society was technologically advanced and yet not affluent? Perhaps the Soviet Union that sent sputnik into orbit? But just because a country can perform science experiments, it doesn’t make it technocratic. Furthermore, while population and affluence have demonstrable correlations with impact, technology should be seen as means of mitigating the effects of the first two. The technolgy that allowed development of more benign refrigerants to replace freon diminished human impact. Holdren now recognises as much; in 2006 he said “advances in technology help meet basic human needs and drive economic growth through increased productivity, reduced costs, reduced resource use and environmental impact, and new or improved products and services…”
In any case, Holdren should be an able advocate for science funding, which is really his job anyway, isn’t it? I don’t think that his past and mistaken views on technology, energy shortages and population will have any effect on policy.

]]> By: Roger Pielke, Jr. http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805&cpage=1#comment-11432 Roger Pielke, Jr. Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:03:10 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805#comment-11432 Stan- I guess I am an IPAT nut also ;-) But don't worry too much, for better or worse the science advisor has never really hand much power in any administration as I am sure we will see demonstrated again under Obama . . . Stan-

I guess I am an IPAT nut also ;-)

But don’t worry too much, for better or worse the science advisor has never really hand much power in any administration as I am sure we will see demonstrated again under Obama . . .

]]> By: stan http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805&cpage=1#comment-11431 stan Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:47:55 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805#comment-11431 Holdren is an Erlich protege. He's an I=PAT nut. Can we assume the same scientific rigor for his work with the White House? Well he's right about one thing -- doom may really be at hand, with power in his hands. Holdren is an Erlich protege. He’s an I=PAT nut. Can we assume the same scientific rigor for his work with the White House? Well he’s right about one thing — doom may really be at hand, with power in his hands.

]]> By: David Bruggeman http://cstpr.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805&cpage=1#comment-11429 David Bruggeman Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:18:46 +0000 http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/?p=4805#comment-11429 Well, this would probably mark the first time a Science Adviser has been <a href="http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/video_player/index/php/953125.phtml" rel="nofollow">a guest on late night television</a>. Well, this would probably mark the first time a Science Adviser has been a guest on late night television.

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