Holdren’s first interviews

John Holdren has given his first few interviews. In a 30-minute interview with the Associated Press , a brief mention by Holdren of geoengineering as an option for combating climate change turned into a media circus when media outlets such as the Washington Times suggested that the Obama administration was seriously looking to implement such schemes. According to the New York Times, Holdren issued an e-mail to colleagues in the community stating the following:

“I said that the approaches that have been surfaced so far seem problematic in terms of both efficacy and side effects, but we have to look at the possibilities and understand them because if we get desperate enough it will be considered. I also made clear that this was my personal view, not Administration policy.

“Asked whether I had mentioned geo-engineering in any White House discussions, though, I said that I had. This is NOT the same thing as saying the White House is giving serious consideration to geo-engineering—which it isn’t—and I am disappointed that the headline and the text of the article suggest otherwise.”

Later in the week Juliet Eilperin interviewed Holdren and discovered that the Obama administration may compromise on cap-and-trade emissions. Holdren also gave an interview to Jane Kay at the San Francisco Chronicle in which Holdren emphasized again that greenhouse gas emissions have to be cut.

The most detailed interview, by Jeffrey Mervis, appeared on the Science website , in which Holdren suggests that the space shuttle’s retirement is likely to be delayed a year, and that it will be an additional five years before Ares, the shuttle replacement, will be ready. Holdren also called the recent efforts by the Texas state board to undermine the teaching of evolution a “step backwards.”