WRI’s Jonathan Lash Commends President-elect Obama for Adding Top Scientists to Team

Here is the statement of WRI President Jonathan Lash on what an important signal President-elect Barack Obama has sent by naming Steven Chu - and reportedly to soon name John Holdren and Jane Lubchenco - to top science posts:

”These are outstanding scientists of enormous integrity. They will tell the president and the American people the truth about the scientific findings on our most important challenges. Each of them has shown a deep understanding of the risks created by human pressure on our environment, and each has experience and skill in helping policy makers understand and base their decisions on science.”

Chu is a Nobel-prize winning physicist already named by the president-elect as secretary of energy. Holdren is one of the world’s top climate and energy experts and is expected to soon be officially named as Obama’s science advisor and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Lubchenco is a top marine biologist and a lead author of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. She is slated to be named as administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.