HPRCC Staff Visit with White House Top Science Advisor

Dr. John Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and President Obama's top science advisor, visited UNL yesterday to talk with scientists and students about actionable climate science. This visit occurred in conjunction with the one-year anniversary of the release of the third National Climate Assessment report. Dr. Holdren was particularly interested in visiting UNL because of the initiative taken by University leadership, faculty, and staff to put together a report on the implications of climate change for Nebraska (the full report can be found here: http://snr.unl.edu/download/research/projects/climateimpacts/2014ClimateChange.pdf). OSTP is promoting President Obama's Climate Action Plan, which includes the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, a collection of tools and resources designed for decision makers to use to learn more about climate-related hazards and how to prepare for them. For more information on the background behind Dr. Holdren's visit to UNL, please see the following article published by OSTP staff: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/05/06/connecting-america-s-communities-actionable-climate-science.

During the visit, Dr. Holdren and two of his staff met with staff members from HPRCC and the National Drought Mitigation Center for an informal discussion on current work and projects of the two centers, as well as an update from Dr. Holdren regarding the political environment where climate and climate change are concerned. HPRCC staff took Dr. Holdren and his staff to our Automated Weather Data Network (AWDN) weather instrument calibration facility, and then to an actual weather station that is located on campus. We look forward to future discussions and collaborations with Dr. Holdren and his staff at OSTP.