Science Debate 2008

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Science Debate 2008 is a grassroots campaign to call for a public debate in which the candidates for the 2008 U.S. presidential election discuss issues relating to the environment, health and medicine, and science and technology policy. The effort is being co-chaired by U.S. House representatives Vernon J. Ehlers and Rush D. Holt, Jr., and the steering committee includes Chris Mooney, Matthew Chapman, Arne Carlson, Lawrence Krauss, Sheril Kirshenbaum, John Rennie, and Shawn Lawrence Otto.

Among the scientific organizations supporting the program are the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academy of Sciences, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Biophysical Society, and the Association for Women in Science.[1] Other supporters include politicians,[2] prominent research universities, Nobel laureates, business institutions, and science media editors.[1]

Science Debate 2008's partners in the debate are the National Academy of Science, the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the Council on Competitiveness, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Originally, the four top candidates for the 2008 election, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee, and John McCain, were officially invited to discuss science and technology issues at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute on April 18, 2008.[3][4] However, after none of the candidates agreed to participate in the debate,[5][6] a second invitation was sent, proposing a debate at Portland State University on May 2, May 9, or May 16. The moderator will be David Brancaccio, and it will air on PBS. Unlike most other debates, the questions will be provided in advance. [7]

Science Debate 2008 has received media attention from MSNBC,[8][9] Science Friday,[10] Earth & Sky,[11] as well as the editors of Scientific American[12] and Science.[13] An editorial in Nature cautioned that "the proposed debate can be seen as an attempt by various élite institutions to grab the microphone and set the agenda from the top down"[14] and Nature columnist David Goldston stated that "there is no reason to assume that a presidential debate on science matters would be instructive for the public or helpful to scientists."[15]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Selected supporter list
  2. ^ Gordon Adds His Voice to Call for Science Focused Presidential Debate. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
  3. ^ Invites go out for Science Debate - Cosmic Log - msnbc.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
  4. ^ Science Debate Is Set; Now, Will Candidates Come? - Dot Earth - Climate Change and Sustainability - New York Times Blog. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
  5. ^ Cartwright, Jon (2008-04-15). US renews call for science debate. physicsworld.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  6. ^ Baum, Rudy (2008-04-21). Debate science ... please. Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved on 2008-04-21.
  7. ^ Second invitation for Science Debate 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  8. ^ Making Science a Presidential Priority - BusinessWeek.com - MSNBC.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
  9. ^ State of the science - Cosmic Log - msnbc.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
  10. ^ NPR: Voters Petition for Presidential Science Debate. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
  11. ^ Science Debate 2008 garners flood of�support � Radio Shows. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
  12. ^ Presidential Science: Scientific American. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
  13. ^ Donald Kennedy (2008). "The Real Debate". Science 319 (5863): 548. doi:10.1126/science.1155357. 
  14. ^ "Best tests for candidates" (2008). Nature 451 (7179): 605. doi:10.1038/451605a. 
  15. ^ "A debatable proposition" (2008). Nature 451 (7179): 621. doi:10.1038/451621a. 

[edit] External links

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