WOODS HOLE – When John Holdren of Falmouth was appointed by then President-Elect Barack Obama on December 20, 2008 to be the president’s science advisor, he was given the simple task: “Help me put science and technology in its rightful place in my Administration,” recalled Holdren.
It was a task close to Holdren’s heart and one that, eight years later, he feels he and the administration accomplished. President Obama “wanted a fact-based administration,” said Holdren. “And that’s what he achieved,” he said.
Now less than two weeks after leaving his job at the White House, Holdren has already attended the women’s march in Falmouth, and expressed concern about several of President Donald Trump’s initiatives, including the recent order on travel and immigration.
“I’m not going to be silent now. President Obama is not going to be silent.” – John Holdren
And while he holds a wait-and-see approach on what Trump might do on science and technology, Holdren told Cape Cod Wave, “If the Trump administration tries to back away from the Obama agenda of clean energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, I assure you there will be strong pushback.”
“I’m not going to be silent now,” said Holdren. “President Obama is not going to be silent. And neither will the science community.”
“The benefits of science and technology for society have generally not been partisan issues,” said Holdren. “The question now with the new administration is whether they will embrace those longstanding bipartisan values.”
The Path To The White House
“I’d been thinking about this job since I was 29 years old,” said Holdren, now 72.
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