Droegemeier opted not to address climate change in prepared remarks at his Senate confirmation hearing in August, though he did speak out firmly on keeping science free of political influence. When asked by Senator Tom Udall whether he would dedicate himself to addressing climate change impacts in America, Droegemeier said, "I absolutely believe we have to look at the future...I'm very excited to work on that." He addressed the need for resilient rebuilding after disasters and the potential value of blending knowledge from weather and climate models; "In climate modeling, going forward, we certainly need to reduce uncertainty...I think the weather modeling community can be very, very helpful there."


Commentary by (WU meteorologist) Bob Henson
I've known Kelvin since 1985, when he was a brand-new faculty member in the OU meteorology department and I was a graduate student. He's very upbeat and personable, extremely smart and hard-working, and hugely respected within the meteorological community. I was not at all surprised to see Kelvin's nomination getting unusually widespread support from across the political spectrum.

We don't yet know how strongly Kelvin will fight for climate science to be taken seriously within the Trump White House. Many science advocates find themselves treading carefully when discussing climate change in Oklahoma, where public attitudes lean conservative and fossil fuel companies wield great political power. It's worth noting that two leading voices on climate change from the Southern Plains—Katharine Hayhoe (Texas Tech University) and Renee McPherson (South Central Regional Climate Center)—applauded Kelvin's nomination, as did physicist Neal Lane (Rice University), an Oklahoma native who served as OSTP director and science adviser for Bill Clinton.

All in all, I think Kelvin is as well positioned as anyone to build some important bridges on climate change in a very tough political climate.