Science

Science Debate 2008: An Idea Gaining Momentum

Last month a group of concerned citizens got together to take a stand for a Presidential debate focused on science. They started an online petition at sciencedebate2008.com with a list of supporters that includes 11 Nobel laureates, multiple university presidents, business leaders, politicians and more and more concerned citizens each day. On Jan 11th they […]

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Last month a group of concerned citizens got together to take a stand for a Presidential debate focused on science. They started an online petition at sciencedebate2008.com with a list of supporters that includes 11 Nobel laureates, multiple university presidents, business leaders, politicians and more and more concerned citizens each day.

On Jan 11th they were on NPR's Science Friday. Organizer Shawn Lawrence Otto said that they are talking to a number of institutions about hosting the debate and hope to make a major announcement about that in "the next week or two."

The group is gaining momentum. The National Academy of Science as well as the American Association for the Advancement of Science are on board and are in talks to host the event. If so, the debates would take place in Washington DC. This works out well for Vern Ehlers (R-Michigan) and Rush Holt (D-New Jersey) the two PhD physicists in Congress who are Co-Chairing the Science Debate 2008 effort. (I didn't even know we had PhD's in Congress.)

The group's statement on the importance of science on the US economy and future reads:

Given the many urgent scientific and technological challenges facing America and the rest of the world, the increasing need for accurate scientific information in political decision making, and the vital role scientific innovation plays in spurring economic growth and competitiveness, we, the undersigned, call for a public debate in which the U.S. presidential candidates share their views on the issues of The Environment, Medicine and Health, and Science and Technology Policy.

The next step is to contact the campaigns and invite the candidates to participate. With such heavyweights of the scientific community getting behind this it would be hard to say no. Even if the debate itself will have to wait until after Super Tuesday, having it on the calendar would do a lot to remind voters to take science into consideration.

Chris Mooney, from the Science Debate 2008 Steering Committee and an expert on the intersection of science and politics, said,

[I]t is precisely because there has been little discussion of science and technology policy on the campaign trail thus far that our call is so important. We wouldn't have had to do this if the candidates, and the media, were making science policy a high priority. But in general that has not occurred.

Dr President [Seed]
Pushing for a Science Debate [Columbia Journalism Review]
Scientists Push Presidential Candidates for Positions on Science [Wired]The Call for a Science Debate [NPR Science Friday] (with tidbits like Giuliani wants a missile defense system)

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Image: Seed Magazine

Thanks Natacha!