Monday, September 15, 2008

Presidential Answers to 14 Science Questions Facing America


Obama answered a while back, now McCain has answered as well. This is very cool. I doubt that the mainstream media will pay any attention, but for those of who care about such issues, it's very enlightening.

Unfortunately, some of the answers are long on talk, short on specifics. But at least they both have answered. Let's hope that whichever man wins will pay some serious attention to these issues as president.
Presidential Answers to 14 Science Questions Facing America

The Story

In November, 2007, a small group of six citizens - two screenwriters, a physicist, a marine biologist, a philosopher and a science journalist - began working to restore science and innovation to America’s political dialogue. They called themselves Science Debate 2008, and they called for a presidential debate on science. The call tapped a wellspring of concern over the state of American science.

Within weeks, more than 38,000 scientists, engineers, and other concerned Americans signed on, including nearly every major American science organization, dozens of Nobel laureates, elected officials and business leaders, and the presidents of over 100 major American universities. See who here. Among other things, these signers submitted over 3,400 questions they want the candidates for President to answer about science and the future of America.

The Process

Beginning with these 3,400 questions, Science Debate 2008 worked with the leading organizations listed to craft the top 14 questions the candidates should answer. These questions are broad enough to allow for wide variations in response, but they are specific enough to help guide the discussion toward many of the largest and most important unresolved challenges currently facing the United States.
You can read the answers from each candidate, presented side-by-side at the site. Topics include innovation, climate change, energy, education, genetics, and a whole lot more.


1 comment:

Peter Clothier said...

I wish more interested parties/special interest groups would offer such a thorough opportunity to examine the candidates' views on vital issues. There's plenty of hot air here, for sure, but also a lot more substance than we have heard via media reports on the campaigns. Thanks for leading me to this site!