A Vote For Science

Obama to undo Bush anti-science policies

Greg Laden — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:37:07 +0000

From the BBC:

US President-elect Barack Obama will seek to reverse Bush administration policies when he enters office on 20 January, his transition chief has said.

John Podesta said executive orders by President George W Bush on issues such as stem cell research and oil drilling were at odds with Mr Obama’s views.

Plans to pass a raft of last-minute regulations are also being watched. …

Read the rest here.

Results for State Ballot Measures on Science

Michael Stebbins — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:14:52 +0000

SEA has put together a list of state ballot measures that involved science including info on what the end result was. The list can be found here and below. It was particularly interesting that Colorado rejected an amendment to the state constitution that defined “the moment in which an egg becomes an established “person.”" Also heartening was the passing of the Minnesota constitutional amendment to “allocate funding for protecting Minnesota’s water sources, environment, cultural heritage through an increased sales and use tax rate.” California, Proposition 7 By 2010, government-owned utilities must generate 20% of their electricity from renewable energy. By 2020, all utilities must be to levels of 40% and 50% by 2025. Californians for Solar and Clean Energy Californians Against Another Clostly Energy Scheme Did not pass. California, Proposition 10 To assist people in purchasing certain vehicles and to fund research in alternative fuel and renewable energy, $5 billion in bonds from California’s General Fund would be allocated Coalition for Energy Independence: Yes on Prop 10 Consumer Federation of California Did not pass. Colorado – Amendment 48 An amendment to define the moment in which an egg becomes an established “person.” Colorado for Equal Rights Protect Families, Protect Choice Did not pass. Georgia – Amendment 1 An amendment to advance preservation programs for the forests of Georgia through a reduction of property taxes on certain pieces of land. The Georgia Conservancy Georgia School Boards Association Passed. Michigan – Proposal 08-2 A proposal to expand embryonic stem cell research, with certain limitations on which embryos are appropriate for use. Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation Passed. Minnesota – Constitutional Amendment 1 An amendment to allocate funding for protecting Minnesota’s water sources, environment, cultural heritage through an increased sales and use tax rate. Yes for Minnesota Taxpayers League of Minnesota Passed. Missouri – Propostion C A proposition which would require investor-owned electric utilities to use renewable sources of electricity to a level of at least 2% of retail sales by 2011 and 15% by 2021. Missourians for Cleaner Cheaper Energy Passed.

Happy Election Day! GO VOTE!

Michael Stebbins — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:57:06 +0000

The day is finally here. You’ve heard it from everyone, but I’ll pile on…VOTE! Our final tally on the YouTube AVoteForScience challenge is 30 something videos from scientists endorsing Obama….and not one video from a scientist endorsing McCain. That seems to reflect a general consensus on the issue of who is better on science policy issues. It’s too bad, really. It would have been nice to see a good justification for voting the other way if such an argument could be made on science issues. Here are two entertaining videos from the submissions.

Happy voting everyone!

Our First AVoteForScience Couple!

Michael Stebbins — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:01:40 +0000

We have our first submission from a couple! Bernice and Loyal Durand, two theoretical physicists from the University of Wisconsin have both endorsed Barack Obama. I think it’s great that a couple would speak out about the importance of science together. Shouldn’t be natural to vote together as well? Maybe this election day we should all take the tiny step of making sure all our loved ones vote.

Bernice Durand Endorses Barack Obama

Loyal Durand endorses Barack Obama

Massive number of OpEds endorsing Obama because of policies on science

Michael Stebbins — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:10:51 +0000

In the latest issue of Science, an article on grass-roots efforts by scientists in the last weeks before the election brought up a startling point, that there have been a lot of letters to the Editor and OpEds published in newspapers either endorsing Obama or pointing out the errors of the McCain campaign rhetoric on science. What is absolutely amazing, is that there has not been a single letter or OpEd by a scientist endorsing McCain. Not ONE? Here is a partial list of OpEds and letters that have appeared. This is by no means a comprehensive list. In fact, these are almost all in battleground states. This is a really unusual thing to happen in an election and should be appreciated for sheer volume, not to mention the amount of thoughtful time put into writing these things.

The Huffington Post
The Arizona Republic
Boulder Daily Camera
Denver Post
Rocky Mountain News
The Aspen Times
Aspen Daily News
Miami Herald
Council Bluffs Nonpareil
SW Iowa news
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Evansville Courier
Indianapolis Star
Boston Globe
Detroit News
Mining Journal
Daily Press
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Helena Independent Record
The Billings Gazette
The Missoulian
The Missoulian
The Independent interview
Santa Fe New Mexican
Los Alamos Monitor interview
Albuquerque Journal interview
Reno Gazette Journal
Elko Daily Free Press
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Philadelphia Inquirer
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
XConomy
Puget Sound Business Journal
Computerworld
Crosscut (Seattle)
The Capital Times
The Industry Radar MT
UW Milwaukee Post
Oshkosh Advance Titan
LaCrosse Racquet
Whitewater Royal Purple
Eau Claire Spectator
Oshkosh Advance Titan
Lakeland Times
Wisconsin State Journal
The Capital Times
LA Times

Nobel Laureate, Murray Gell-Mann endorses Obama

Michael Stebbins — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:54:55 +0000

Our latest AVoteforScience videos are up and a new article in Science talks about the effort and other grass roots efforts this year. I will note that Science forgot to mention that the AVoteForScience effort was done in partnership with Seed Magazine/ScienceBlogs. In fact, it couldn’t have been done without them.

Of particular interest will be the video by Murray Gell-Mann who received the Nobel prize in physics in 1969. Murray reads the letter from he and 75 of his fellow Laureates in science encouraging the public to vote for Obama.

76 Nobel Laureates in Science Endorse Obama!

Michael Stebbins — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:25:54 +0000

This is unbelievable. The Nobel Laureates for Obama effort just sent me an updated letter with an additional 11 names bringing the total to 76 Nobel laureates in science endorsing Obama. That completely eclipses the previous record of 47 endorsing Kerry and it is more than have ever endorsed anything in history.

Now, this is no group of sycophants, these are some of the greatest minds of our nation, so it is really impossible to view this as some sort of partisan blindness. I can’t help but think that the recent ridiculous comments of both McCain and Palin on science have something to to do with the new additions, but to their credit, they limit their statement to science, something they know a little about. For those of you have been asking, I do not know of a single Nobelist in science who has endorsed McCain/Palin.

The updated letter can be found HERE (pdf).

Kiki Sanford endorses Barack Obama

Michael Stebbins — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:26:57 +0000

Today’s AVoteForScience video comes from Dr. Kirsten (Kiki) Sanford, the incredibly talented host of This Week in Science, my favorite science radio show. If you haven’t heard it, you can download it as a podcast from iTunes or here. OK, cards on the table, I am a regular on the show so I am a little biased, but seriously it is an entertaining romp through the world of science. So, check the show out.

Kiki speaks frankly about innovation, education and technology and the importance of electing a President with a track record of supporting science. If you are a scientist and want your voice heard, upload your video today. Instructions can be found here.

Physicist Larry Jackel discusses loss of innovation in US and endorses Obama

Michael Stebbins — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:41:43 +0000

In a striking video that includes footage of the old Bell Labs building and a frank discussion of the loss of competitiveness in the US, Physicist Larry Jackel explains why he is endorsing Obama for President. See all the AVoteForScience videos HERE