14 DAY TRIAL // The new head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Jane Lubchenco, a former marine biologist at the Oregon State University, has just been confirmed in office Thursday. The American Senate has decided that she is the most appropriate person to run the agency that will most likely have to spearhead the environmental efforts that President Obama has vowed to complete. Not even a day on the job, and Lubchenco has already begun to make a difference, by adopting numerous changes in her life that minimize her personal carbon footprint.
She has bought a house near the NOAA headquarters in Washington, DC and is walking to work, rather than driving her Honda Civic hybrid. She uses the subway for longer commutes, and has already applied to be part of the Zipcar program, for when she wants to leave town. The new house has already been outfitted with energy-saving, compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL), which have replaced the old incandescent ones. Her husband Bruce Menge, also an OSU marine biologist, shares her dedication to minimizing their impact on the planet.
“I don't see myself as a pioneer in this area, because I know a lot of people who are becoming more and more aware of their own carbon footprints. It used to be the case that it was hard to find compact fluorescents. Now, in many places that's all you can find. In a relatively short period of time there has been a very rapid transition. It's not fast enough. But it really is happening. Especially when doing the right thing is also saving you money in the long run,” Lubchenco says.
But the most important change that is about to take place at the federal agency is one of mentality. The new head of office has vowed to put scientific facts above political agendas, actively taking the side of President Obama who, with his latest rulings on stem-cell research, has told that he is sick and tired of political interest dictating the country's scientific “facts.” “This is a new era. Many issues will be seen through a different lens,” the new NOAA director explains.