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The Trump administration has proven to be incompetent in filling crucial roles with qualified people, evidenced by an anti-EPA EPA head and an anti-DOE head of DOE. Now, the president has nominated a non-scientist who is also known as a climate change denier to be the head of NASA. This appointment could have far-reaching and devastating consequences for the US and the rest of the world.
The nominee in question is Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., The Chicago Tribune reports. He is a former pilot and a known climate change denier. He does have a plan for NASA, however, which involves a vision of a future where humans become a multi-planet species. That way, oil and other major companies can destroy the environments of other worlds as well.
On the plus side, it does seem like Bridenstine has expressed interest in bridging NASA and commercial spaceflight companies in the past, which might be good news for those who want ventures like SpaceX to succeed. Unfortunately, this is just not enough to justify his placement as the head to one of the most valuable agencies in the fight against climate change.
As Phil Plait wrote on Syfy, this nomination is a terrible idea for several reasons. One is the fact that Bridenstine is a politician, not a scientist. Since NASA is a structure that is largely based on science and the scientific pursuits, putting someone in charge who only has a rudimentary grasp of any field of science just makes no sense.
What’s more, NASA provides climate scientists with some very valuable data. Using satellites to track weather patterns, ice shifts, and desertification progression is just one thing that makes the agency so invaluable. By putting an anti-climate change figure as the head of NASA, Trump essentially cut the legs of scientists right out from under them.
