The President of Geek

++Not since Nixon did his clumsy jig in front of the space capsule have we seen a President exuberant about anything scientific in a long time. This has been a very productive week for President Obama--his West Point speech,the declaration of the end dates for the Afghanistan war,and setting the table for next week's EPA rulings on carbon pollution. But the real enthusiasm for the office came when he hosted the White House Science Fair. 

++Science students created sand less sandbags for floods,bridges that can't flood and new ways to detect obscure types of cancers. The students, the majority of which were from High School, even had patents already. 

++At the beginning of his first term, this blog pointed out that one of his most important speeches was on scientific innovation at M.I.T.  That speech went totally unnoticed as a lot of his do, deliberately ignored.

++Today, his Weekly Address concerned his resolve to fight climate change. He recapped all the ways the United States has dealt with environmental issues in the past from restricting ozone to mercury poisoning. His problem today was how to convey the necessity of attacking climate change in a way that touches the average person. He chose children who suffer from asthma. I am sure he will be mocked for this.

++But he did revisit the subject I mentioned during the days of the stimulus package. I pointed out then that he slipped many alternative fuel projects into the mix. Later,the Right would howl about Solyndra and solar energy. Even today ALEC and the Right are fighting solar energy. But as President Obama pointed out, solar has made a 10-fold increase since the stimulus package,wind a three-fold increase and all the MPG standards that he has passed makes an enormous impact on fuel consumption. He pointed to over 1,000 cities and towns taking steps to be more energy efficient. So, naturally, next week he will take the next step on carbon emissions from old power plants.

++The forces of reaction will wail next week on his steps to restrict power plant emissions. These steps will be the next great scandal for the Right. It is pretty depressing to see how scientific fact can be politicized. We have seen how the administration has laid the table with the NASA report on climate change and the Pentagon's report on its destabilizing effect. Coupled with the Intergovernmental Report by the UN and even Pope Francis addressing this issue as urgent,the stars are aligned for making the intellectual case for action. 

++Will Obama's steady,gradual, incremental approach to this work as well as his similar approach to more cultural issues? I don't know but I hope so. But you will see massive pushback and the culprits will be the usual Koch Family combine and coal-mining interests. 

++The New York Times may be right--that these initiatives will truly be Obama's major legacy. But that means the Washington culture must fight them tooth and nail ,even if it means the human race goes extinct. Here's hoping the President of Geek succeeds.