Holdren Dissects Near- and Long-Term Energy Challenges at AAAS Forum on S&T Policy

The administration of President Barack Obama believes that energy will likely be “the biggest science- and technology-related challenge of the new century,” White House science adviser John P. Holdren said at the AAAS Forum on Science & Technology Policy.

In a keynote address that opened the Forum, Holdren explored a range of other issues—U.S. budget deficits and their impact on federal research and development investments; science-related education and other elements of the nation's innovation culture; and the science behind the White House decision to abandon the NASA Constellation program for returning human explorers to the moon.

The former AAAS president said that many of the grand challenges facing the United States and the world—from economic growth and climate change to national security—are interconnected—are interconnected, and that energy is a nexus where they come together.

“The essence of it is simple,” Holdren told the Forum audience. “Without energy, there's no economy. Without climate, there's no environment. Without economy and environment, there's no well-being, no civil society, no personal or national security. The problem is that the world is getting most of the energy its economies need—over 80% in fact, and the United States over 85%—in ways that are wrecking the climate that the environment needs.”

The AAAS Forum on Science & Technology Policy celebrated its 35th year with an event that attracted over 500 U.S. and foreign leaders from government, education, and business to Washington, D.C., on 13-14 May.

For more on John Holdren's talk, read the full story.