Potential Trump Science Adviser Says Climate Change Is Great
Benjamin Sanderson Science
02.24.17
Time of Publication: 7:30 am.
The new US administration has taken its time in employing a science adviser. Back when Barack Obama was elected in 2008, science adviser John Holdren was nominated a month before inauguration. I had the honor of meeting him last December, and I’ve never been more intimidated or impressed by someone’s sheer intellectual presence. His commanding knowledge of every conceivable aspect of physical science—hurricane physics, ecophysiology, glaciology, and aerosol chemistry—was simply awe-inspiring. It made me feel like there was little I could tell the guy that he didn’t already know.
The rumored frontrunner for the same position for the Trump Administration is William Happer, a physicist from Princeton. Happer’s academic science credentials are solid, but he’s earned a reputation as a climate-change skeptic, with good reason. He recently told the Guardian, “There’s a whole area of climate so-called science that is really more like a cult. It’s like Hare Krishna or something like that. They’re glassy-eyed and they chant. It will potentially harm the image of all science.”
The Benefits of Carbon Dioxide
Broadly, Happer isn’t a climate denialist per se, rather he’s a climate change enthusiast, firmly believing that further elevated CO2 levels would be beneficial for humanity. He also professes to care deeply about the scientific method. So, in this spirit, I’ll challenge these assumptions with a mind open to his viewpoint.
https://www.wired.com/2017/02/potential-trump-science-adviser-says-climate-change-great/
