On Deck for the Week of Nov. 24

November 24, 2008

Monday, Nov. 24: Podcast from Clark Boyd. Among lots of things, he'll be talking about how experts are trying to reduce internet scams.

Tuesday, Nov. 25: It's Thanksgiving week and everyone is getting on the road. And you know that means traffic accidents and traffic jams. Jorge Ribas has a video for us about "roads of the future" where cars talk to each other, to the roadside and even to other people's mobile phones—all to make driving safer and smoother.

Wednesday, Nov. 26: Our weekly podcast from Gene Charleton. Venice is sinking. Or rather, the sea around it is rising. The Italian government is spending $4 billion on an engineering project to save it. Listen to what it's all about.

Thursday, Nov. 27: We need to dramatically reduce CO2 in the atmosphere. So, how? For starters, we can stop pumping it into the air. But Kurt Zenz House and Julie Shoemaker of Harvard University think we should be burying it in the ground. They give us their take.

Friday, Nov. 28: Guest blog from David Alexander Ellis. Does Social Stimuli Expand Time? Recently graduated PhD student, David Ellis, tells us about his area of study and what it's like to be starting down the path of research. Read his guest blog.

Prez Candidates Answer Science Questions

September 29, 2008

If you don't yet know about Science Debate 2008, then this is definitely worth checking out. At its core are 14 science- and technology-based questions that have been posed to the presidential candidates. The idea for submitting the questions started in November 2007 by six every day people and expanded to include more than 38,000 people. The questions originally numbered in excess of 3,400. But they were narrowed down to 14.

The questions are organized by the following topics: Innovation, Climate Change, Energy, Education, National Security, Pandemics and Biosecurity, Genetics, Stem Cells, Ocean Health, Water, Space, Scientific Integrity, Research and Health.

You can read the answers side-by-side to compare. There are some differences between the candidates, but I wouldn't say the differences are drastic. For example, they both want to appoint a science and tech advisory to the White House, they are both want to implement a cap-and-trade system to help reduce CO2 emissions, they both want to invest in non-oil energy, they both want to promote science in education, etc., etc.

And yes, there are some differences. For example, Obama wants to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent by 2050. McCain wants to reduce emissions by 60 percent by 2050. When it comes to bioterrorism, McCain has a layered strategy that focuses on containment and response in the United States. Obama's strategy is more global, with plans to reach out to international intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

But what struck me in addition to what the candidates had to say, was HOW and WHEN they have addressed science as a part of their campaign.

Obama submitted his answers to the Science Debate 2008's questions on August 30; McCain submitted his on September 15.

Obama answered an invitation by Nature, a prestigious science journal, to answer 18 questions.  McCain never answered the invitation.

Obama and Biden issued a science policy plan to "investing in America's future" on September 25. (Sixty-one U.S. Nobel laureates back the plan). McCain has issued no such plan.

These disparities are more striking to me. And I'm not the only one who sees science and technology as an important part of the presidential debate. A poll, conducted by lake Research Partners last May, shows that

• 85 percent of U.S. adults agree that the presidential candidates should participate in a debate on how science can be used to help tackle America's major challenges
• 87 percent of the U.S. public is more likely to vote for candidates that will invest in scientific education
• 43 percent consider science to be “extremely important” in influencing policy decisions

Photos: Obama (AP Photo/Alex Brandon); Mccain (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)