Politics and Science
sheril | February 22, 2008John Holdren
Chair, American Association for the Advancement of Science; President and Director, Woods Hole Research Center
Watch more video statements here
sheril | February 22, 2008
Matthew and I chat with Alec Ross after the Clinton-Obama debate on Saturday. Ross represented Obama and Thomas Kalil represented Clinton.
The AAAS annual meeting took place February 14-18 in Boston, Massachusetts. Scientists from around the world gathered to discuss ideas, explore emerging trends, and share exciting new research.
Here I am with friends and SD08 steering committee members Matthew Chapman and Austin Dacey.
More images from last weekend after the jump...
The crowd watches on as Ross and Kalil discuss their candidates' positions on science policy.
We don't learn much.
More…
sheril | February 21, 2008Rosina Bierbaum
Former Associate Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP); Dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of MichiganWatch the newest video statements here
In the last 24 hours, Research!America and The American Museum of Natural History have joined the Call (read the press release). Additionally, Texas Instruments President Richard Templeton and Odyssey Investment Partners Chair Stephen Berger have signed on, along with the presidents of the M.I.T., Iowa, Oklahoma, Coppin State, and Lehigh Universities. We hope readers…
cmooney | February 21, 2008Should Congressional Democrats, led by Barbara Boxer, try to get a global warming bill passed this year, even if it's the relatively moderate (and modest) Lieberman-Warner America's Climate Security Act?
That's the matter currently dividing the environmental community, and the dilemma I address in my latest DeSmogBlog item. The answer, I would say, is that it's complicated--and where you come down really depends on how much you trust this Congress and whether you'd prefer to see a strong bill enacted later, or a weaker bill enacted sooner.
My perspective on all of this is sort of in the…
sheril | February 20, 2008John Podesta
CEO, the Center for American Progress; former Chief of Staff to U.S. President Bill Clinton
'We built it; will they come?' Watch video statements to the candidates here and check back frequently as more are coming! Expect to recognize some familiar faces...
We invite bloggers to choose their favorite for embedding and encourage everyone to contact the candidates and urge them to attend ScienceDebate2008 on April 18th in Philadelphia!
sheril | February 19, 2008A pause during a busy day at Duke to post this fantastic piece from Nature:
Quit whining and get proactive. That's the message that policy experts gave scientists at the weekend [AAA conference]. They advised them to stop complaining that politicians don't take science seriously and instead prepare for the presidential changeover next January.
Scientists were urged to organize now -- for instance, by coming up with a list of names for high-profile science positions in the new administration, no matter who runs it.
Later the article discusses Saturday's Boston debate and ScienceDebate2008:…
sheril | February 18, 2008Saturday I reported that AAAS had pulled together an unexpected preliminary presidential science debate at the annual meeting. The event was organized by the Association of American Universities and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and as promised, here's what went down in Boston...
Representatives of the major Democratic candidates accepted invitations to participate in a discussion of science in the next administration. Senator McCain's campaign sent their regrets that they could not attend on such short notice, while Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul did…
sheril | February 16, 2008Many said it would never happen so call February 16, 2008 'historic' because there's been a science debate here in Boston at AAAS (the largest science conference on the planet) between the presidential campaigns!
With a day's notice, conference organizers invited representatives from all the candidates in both parties to come to a session moderated by Claudia Dreifus of the NYTimes. The Clinton and Obama camps took the invitation very seriously demonstrating they not only care, but indeed, they want to be engaged in discussing the significance of science and technology on the campaign trail…
cmooney | February 15, 2008I'm not going to Boston this year for the AAAS meeting--Sheril will be my eyes and ears--but I didn't have to be there to hear about what Nobel laureate David Baltimore said during his president's address yesterday. He began by prominently highlighting ScienceDebate2008. Here is an excerpt from his remarks:
We have a Presidential election coming. Science and technology have played at best minor roles in the primary campaigns. Now that we have a limited candidate pool, it is time for our community to be heard.
A debate on science has been proposed and some 15,000 people and many organisation…
sheril | February 13, 2008It's no secret I'm a big fan of Wayne Gilchrest. The Republican Congressman from Maryland is a great example of someone with whom I often agree, even though many staunch environmentalists mistakenly believe they should always turn left. He's a champion of oceans and leader in science policy. He serves as the Chairman on the Fisheries & Oceans Subcommittee and Co-Chair of the House Oceans Caucus and House Coastal Caucus. Gilchrest had a central role in the passage of the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 and the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act in 2006. The nine-term…
sheril | February 11, 2008The invitations have been sent, the date and venue scheduled, and already the blogosphere and beyond are ablaze!
Hot off the Greenwire, Lauren Morello, reported:
A group of scientists, journalists and lawmakers pressing for a presidential science debate said today it is planning to hold the event at a Philadelphia science museum in April, just before the Pennsylvania primary.
The Franklin Institute will host the April 18 event, which organizers hope to broadcast on national television and the Internet.
Pennsylvania's presidential primary is just four days later, the group noted in its…
cmooney | February 11, 2008For months, everyone has been asking us--on and off the blogosphere--when will there be an invitation for ScienceDebate 2008? Well, that day has come. See here for the press release (featuring Intel chairman Craig Barrett, who just joined the initiative), and here for the actual invite.
The latter is quite long, so here are the essentials you need to know. ScienceDebate2008 is now co-sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academies, and the Council on Competitiveness. We were looking at venues, and finally settled on an offer from the Philadelphia-…
cmooney | February 6, 2008
Recently, my inbox has been filling up with emails about new online resources that bring you up to speed on the science policy positions of the candidates. The AAAS has a website, as does Popular Mechanics, Physics Today, and Scientists and Engineers for America (the SHARP Network, which also looks at congressional candidate science policies).
And I'm sure there are other ones out there that I've simply missed.
In my latest Science Progress column, though, I canvass these sites and find, understandably, that most are based on information from campaign websites, candidate speeches, press…
sheril | February 5, 2008As much as I love New York, Superbowl XLII's got nothing on Super Tuesday!
So folks, with 3,156 delegates to be allocated, let's hear some predictions for today's historic 24-state White House nominating showdown...
cmooney | February 4, 2008Let us quote the source:
February 4 -- The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine are joining the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Carnegie Institution, the Council on Competitiveness, and several other organizations and universities in an effort to co-sponsor a presidential candidate debate on science, technology, health, and the economy. "This would provide a nonpartisan setting to educate voters on the candidates' positions on key science, technology, and health challenges facing the next administration, while…
cmooney | February 4, 2008PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer has just done a wonderful online story about how Science Debate 2008 originally came about, and how far it has come since those early days. Reporter Jenny Marder didn't miss a point that I myself have been making in talks like this one--namely that if it weren't for the Hollywood writers' strike, two of our central organizers, Matthew Chapman and Shawn Lawrence Otto, might've been a lot, er, busier, and consequently, we might have had a much tougher time getting off the ground.
To that effect, Marder quotes Otto: "This is the danger of what happens when writers…
sheril | February 1, 2008
Lots going on just one day into February...
In Science magazine, Donald Kennedy has an excellent editorial called 'The Real Debate':
We in the United States are sliding down a ramp that will take us, in just 4 days, to the much anticipated "Super Tuesday" in the presidential nomination cycle, when voters in over 20 states participate in preliminary elections to select their favorite candidate. I have prepared for this by watching, in alternating stages of boredom and disbelief, the numerous "debates" staged by the creative powers who run television. I wonder whether the same sensations haven…
cmooney | February 1, 2008The entirely volunteer ScienceDebate2008 effort--owned by no one, and by everyone--continues to defy expecations.
Consider the "Science 57," a list of organizations and institutions that now endorse the effort:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)American Economics Group, Inc.The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyAnnual ReviewsArizona State UniversityThe Aspen InstituteAssociation for Women in Science (AWIS)Astrophysical JournalThe Biophysical SocietyThe Carnegie Institution of WashingtonCenter for InquiryCenter for Science Writings, Stevens…
cmooney | January 31, 2008Folks: Here's another old article I wrote that wasn't online. You could say this is the article that started it all...my 2001 report on how John Marburger had been marginalized in the Bush administration. We're talking old school....but at the same time, this kind of writing ultimately led to The Republican War on Science.
Political Science: The Bush administration snubs its science adviser
The American Prospect
December 3, 2001
MOST PEOPLE ARE DEMOTED FOR POOR PERFORMANCE. Dr. John H. Marburger, President Bush's newly confirmed science adviser, was kicked down a notch before he even started…
cmooney | January 30, 2008I'm in New Orleans at the moment for this talk at Tulane University, so I can't blog much. But I wanted to note some more awesome developments as we continue to strengthen our SD08 coalition, in anticipation of finally inviting the remaining candidates after Super Tuesday.
The biggest news is this: The Council on Competitiveness, a coalition of CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders, is now officially our co-sponsor.
Meanwhile, while I no longer try to keep perfect track of all our individual endorsers, let me note a few more very important ones:
Richard Meserve, President, The…