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The environmental journal, Nature, has selected Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as its Newsmaker of the Year. Much like TIME magazine's Person of the Year award, it is not a title that necessarily conveys good things or bad - just that your actions were newsworthy and had an impact on society.
Dr. Lubchenco came to NOAA in March, 2009 with the scientific community having high expectations. As a celebrated scientist with time spent in key positions at the Ecological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), many looked to Lubchenco to bring a well-needed reorientation toward science at NOAA. But much the same way as President Obama was immediately put to the test with a faltering economy, so was Lubchenco in the form of the Gulf Oil Spill. That environmental disaster tested her management and political skills and not all was smooth sailing.
However, her accomplishments in other areas have been ambitious and commendable. She has taken strong positions on overfishing through the implementing of the Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act, brought more scientists into the agency, and contributed to the strategic development of the Obama Administration's new ocean policy, among other accomplishments.
Rather than simply recite the excellent article, In the Eye of the Storm by Richard Monastersky, which chronicle's her career, her ups and downs within NOAA to date, and her plans for the future; I have chosen excerpts and you can download a PDF of the entire article here:
"A sprawling department of 12,800 people with a budget of US$4.7 billion, NOAA has responsibilities stretching from the bottom of the sea to the top of the atmosphere and even to the Sun, which it monitors for signs of solar storms (see 'A global reach'). That mandate put Lubchenco at the centre of the government's response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil-spill disaster — a brutal test for a scientist with little previous management experience."
"As a celebrated scientist and vocal conservationist, she made her name urging other researchers to speak out on issues of public importance, a stance that not all of her academic colleagues were comfortable with. Now, at an age when many of her cohort are easing back, she is taking on the most ambitious challenge of her career: reorienting how the nation responds to pressing environmental problems such as dwindling fish stocks, rising seas and a changing climate. She has bold plans to strengthen scientific research at NOAA, make it more relevant to society and improve the health of ecosystems and coastal communities."
"Lubchenco recalls that she turned down Obama's transition team several times when she was first offered the job. Leaving her husband and research behind in Oregon seemed too big a sacrifice. But in the end, she says, she believed in the new president and in the opportunity to achieve her lifelong goals. "I came to NOAA to lead and enable change where it would make a difference," she later explained. The rough days so far have not discouraged her. "Meaningful change is not for the timid." NOAA, as a vibrant, scientific-based government agency, can be an important resource and contributor to the development and implementation of vital environmental policy. Let's hope that Dr. Jane Lubchenco can fulfill the role of Newsmaker of the Year by leading NOAA in fully realizing its potential. Read more about Jane Lubchenco in Nature.com.
It's one year into the new U.S. administration and scorecards are flying about, tallying up the highs and lows of the Obama administration as the President prepares for a State of the Union address this week.
Some people are noting that the "change" that was a centerpiece of the Obama campaign has not materialized. Others have said that much has been accomplished in the form of small steps that don't necessarily get a lot of attention. For conservationists, there were many hopeful signs at the outset, but there has been many areas of concern as the administration makes decisions that many see as counter-productive and reminiscent of the former administration's anti-environment/pro-business approach.
Case in point: Dr. Carl Safina, head of the Blue Ocean Institute, had an op-ed piece printed in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday that calls attention to the administration's adoption of a policy regarding Pacific Northwest wild salmon in the Columbia/Snake River system. The policy is the same as one proposed by the prior administration and looks to hold the line on the current levels of wild salmon - levels that already border on extinction for many salmon species that travel these inland waterways.
According to Dr. Safina, the annual migration of wild salmon through these rivers provides critical food source and nutrients for bears, wolves, orcas, and even the plants and trees in the area. Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the head of NOAA and administration point person on this issue states that the policy is intended to "prevent further declines." However, Dr. Safina comments on that approach:
"Keeping salmon in a coma and on life support does not heal them, nor help the other species, including people, that depend on them. The likeliest outcome of a salmon strategy based on just avoiding extinction will be extinction -- and not only of salmon."
The current administration is learning the harsh realities of turning campaign rhetoric into actionable leadership. When to play politics and run down the middle or when to take a stand based on sound scientific research seems to be a difficult balancing act for most governments. As supporters of ocean conservation, we need to make sure our voices are heard by our elected officials and that environmental decisions are made based on scientific research and in the best long-term interests of the animals and the environment. Because, regardless of what administration is in power, when they are gone, they are gone.
Read Dr. Safina's entire op-ed article.
The issue of overturning many of the 11th hour steps taken by the previous U.S. administration that weakened environmental protections and regulations have been addressed several times in this blog in the past (Click here and here). But one of the big challenges we face is the tendency for government to procrastinate, stall, or stonewall acting on environmental or conservation issues until it is more convenient or financial feasible (as if nature is listening to our endless stream of rationales).
The Center for Biological Diversity(CBD) is focused on an upcoming deadline regarding a procedural process to undo crippling changes to the Endangered Species Act(ESA):
Dear Richard,
A crucial deadline is looming: By May 9, the Obama administration has to seize its opportunity to overturn last-minute Bush administration regulations that gut the Endangered Species Act, or it will miss the chance. The Bush rules exempt thousands of federal activities from review under the Endangered Species Act, and specifically exclude greenhouse gas emissions from regulation. If this administration doesn't withdraw those "extinction rules" by May 9, they will stay in effect -- a disaster for endangered species.
Congress specifically empowered Obama's secretaries of Commerce and Interior with the authority to overturn the Bush extinction regulations with the stroke of a pen. The secretaries of Commerce and Interior jointly administer the Endangered Species Act, with the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (under Commerce) responsible for marine species such as whales and sea turtles, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (in Interior) responsible for species such as wolves and polar bears.
While more than 80,000 people have written to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar demanding he revoke the Bush rules, Gary Locke has only recently been confirmed as secretary of Commerce and has yet to take a position on the issue. Similarly, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the new head of the National Ocean Atmospheric Administration, has failed to take a public position on rescinding the extinction rules. Please contact Secretary Locke and Dr. Lubchenco and urge them to immediately revoke the Bush extinction regulations.
The Endangered Species Act has served nature well for 35 years. And it's more important today than ever. Here's a link to a CBD web page where you can add your voice. Click here.
With President-Elect Obama's selection of Dr. Jane Lubchenco as chief administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a very positive step has been taken in putting in place the type of qualified scientific leadership that an organization like NOAA requires. Her appointment has been met with cheers from major conservation and environmental organizations nationwide.
Dr. Lubchenco's credentials are most impressive: A professor of marine biology and zoology at Oregon State University who received her Ph.D. at Harvard, she is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is also a MacArthur "genius" fellow and Pew fellow in Marine Conservation. Lubchenco was a presidential appointee for two terms on the National Science Board and has been a member of the Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the Pew Oceans Council.
While NOAA is indeed a government agency and its leaders must be well-versed in the art of politics and diplomacy to accomplish their mission, it must be said that to have a scientist at the helm who happens to be a qualified administrator - rather than the other way around - is what is most needed at NOAA. This is critical so that NOAA can stay focused as a science-based source of environmental policy, rather than becoming a political mouthpiece for pro-industry (ie: anti-environment) constituencies. If President-Elect Obama is to make good on some of his campaign rhetoric regarding the environment, he will need the support of scientists like Dr. Lubchenco to provide the hard facts, opinions, and solutions.
President-Elect Obama has said, "All of us know the problems rooted in our addiction to foreign oil it constrains our economy, shifts wealth to hostile regimes, and leaves us dependent on unstable regions. These urgent dangers are eclipsed only by the long-term threat of climate change, which unless we act will lead to drought and famine abroad, devastating weather patterns and terrible storms on our shores, and the disappearance of our coastline at home."
As part of his scientific "A-Team", the PETT (President-Elect's Transition Team) will need to engage people of Dr. Lubchenco's caliber. And they will need many more of them. Let's wish her well.
The environmental journal, Nature, has selected Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as its Newsmaker of the Year. Much like TIME magazine's Person of the Year award, it is not a title that necessarily conveys good things or bad - just that your actions were newsworthy and had an impact on society.
"A sprawling department of 12,800 people with a budget of US$4.7 billion, NOAA has responsibilities stretching from the bottom of the sea to the top of the atmosphere and even to the Sun, which it monitors for signs of solar storms (see 'A global reach'). That mandate put Lubchenco at the centre of the government's response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil-spill disaster — a brutal test for a scientist with little previous management experience."
"Lubchenco recalls that she turned down Obama's transition team several times when she was first offered the job. Leaving her husband and research behind in Oregon seemed too big a sacrifice. But in the end, she says, she believed in the new president and in the opportunity to achieve her lifelong goals. "I came to NOAA to lead and enable change where it would make a difference," she later explained. The rough days so far have not discouraged her. "Meaningful change is not for the timid." 
