Science, Technology, and Public Policy

As assistant to the president for science and technology, director of the White House Office for Science and Technology Policy, and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), Holdren has worked closely with Obama to reinvigorate America’s scientific capabilities on a range of policy fronts, from climate change and renewable energy to health care and nanotechnology.

"Increasing America's preparedness for future storms means more than building taller and stronger barriers to stand up against severe weather. A climate-resilient America is one built on a foundation of the best information and innovative ideas and one that incorporates scientific knowledge to understand risks, take preventative steps, improve disaster-response and recovery, and protect our communities."

This seminar considered how the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reacted to nuclear crises. The IAEA often appears not just to have weathered such crises, but to have successfully leaped through windows of opportunity presented by them. This has resulted in periodic expansions of its mandate, capabilities, and resources. The 2011 Fukushima disaster appears to be a puzzling exception, raising the question of what concatenation of factors needs to be present for the IAEA to take advantage of nuclear crises.

In the aftermath of a disaster such as superstorm Sandy, two-way communication is essential. People need to be able to receive news and updates, and to request assistance and provide status updates to loved ones. Yet after hurricane Sandy, large portions of New York, New Jersey, and other areas lost their communication systems — their mobile phone network, cable TV, and Internet. Some sought out the last few pay phones as the only equipment that worked. Here are four ways to better prepare our phones and other devices for the next disaster.

"...[A]fter a decade of steady deregulation, during which communications companies asserted that new wires required new rules, the companies are in charge of themselves. What's more, those that sell network connections in the U.S. are trying to claim a constitutional right to operate without any federal oversight."