A White House list issued Tuesday of 100 top science, technology, and innovation achievements of the Obama administration includes progress related to the Earth and space sciences in understanding and combating climate change and in boosting energy efficiency and clean energy production.
The report highlights the administration’s Climate Action Plan, issued in 2013; its successful efforts toward the landmark United Nations climate agreement in Paris last year; and a goal recently established with 19 other nations and the European Union to double their governments’ investments in clean energy research and development by 2021.
Other Earth and space science–related items on the list include a comprehensive strategy for the Arctic region, a national strategy for Earth observations, a national ocean policy, efforts to increase resilience of U.S. communities to natural hazards, and the administration’s 2009 memorandum on scientific integrity.
Longest-Serving Science Adviser
The report noted that earlier this month, White House science adviser John Holdren became “the longest-serving President’s Science Advisor since Vannevar Bush pioneered a similar role while serving Presidents Roosevelt and Truman during and after World War II.” Holdren assumed the positions of White House science adviser and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on 19 March 2009. On 18 June he had served in those positions for 7 years, 2 months, and 29 days. He has now broken the record for time served in both offices that was set by John Marburger III. Marburger advised the George W. Bush administration and was its OSTP director from 23 October 2001 to 20 January 2009.
—Randy Showstack, Staff Writer
Correction, 23 June 2016: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the date of the release of the White House’s report on science, technology, and innovation achievements. This article has been updated to state that the report was issued on 21 June.
Citation:
Showstack, R. (2016), Report touts White House science impact, Eos, 97, https://doi.org/10.1029/2016EO054853. Published on 23 June 2016.
Text © 2016. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
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