After several weeks of dreary and some downright depressing announcements of nominations for cabinet and other high-level federal posts that have major involvement with environmental matters, Stephen Chu for Energy Secretary excepted, Obama has finally put forth a few names that carry hope for change for the better. One is Jane Lubchenko, a highly respected ecologist at Oregon State, for Administrator of NOAA.

The other good one, worthy of mention here for a bit of a local angle, is John Holdren of Harvard, who will be special assistant to the President for all things scientific (http://www.whrc.org/about_us/whos_who/CV/jholdren.htm). John is a rock-solid physicist who has not been hesitant to apply his knowledge and methods to governmental and environmental matters throughout his honored career. I first met him when he was one of the coauthors of a textbook I was working on for W,H. Freeman: “Human Ecology: Problems and Solutions,” Paul R. Ehrlich, Anne H. Ehrlich, and John P. Holdren, W.H, Freeman Publishers, 1973. Paul and Anne worked with John on a number of projects throughout the years, from research papers to other books. With John in the White House, I believe it is safe to say this is the first time someone with significant comprehension of the known interactions among human population, global resources, and environmental factors has ever been close to a U.S. President. The local angle? During his younger years in the Bay Area, John fished our coastal streams whenever his busy schedule allowed, making many a cast for steelhead in Pescadero Creek.