End Results

GLOBAL WARMING John Holdren, professor of environmental policy and director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy, always straddled the world of science and policy. “I’ve always had this interest in practice, as long as I can remember, in changing things,” Holdren told readers in the Winter 2008 issue.

As President Barack Obama’s chief science advisor — he was confirmed as director of the His office is currently working on a set of guidelines to ensure scientific integrity in the federal government.

And of course Holdren is part of the debate over how to cap carbon pollution in order to tackle climate change.

AFTER THE FLOOD It has been more than a year since last summer’s flood devastated much of Iowa, and Linn County Commissioner Linda Langston S&L 2007 says things are still extraordinarily busy.

Langston and fellow officials are addressing issues such as building reoccupation, new construction, and incorporating sustainability into new designs. And at state and local levels, work continues on floodplain and storm water management.

Langston, who turned to the faculty and fellow alumni of the Office of Science and Technology Policy for the Executive Office of the President in March — Holdren is in the thick of practice now.

Senior Executives in State and Local Government program during the crisis, is now passing on the lessons she learned. She has been asked by federal agencies, such as the Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration, for input on improving federal disaster-recovery processes.

“In some ways, disaster recovery is local government on steroids,” Langston says, “and change is constant.”