With the economy, Bill Ayers and Sarah Palin up for discussion, it can be easy to miss what the presidential candidates have to say about science.
About 200 people attended “Election 2008: Presidential Perspectives on Science and Technology” Wednesday night at the Technological Institute, where representatives from Sen. Barack Obama’s and Sen. John McCain’s campaigns detailed their candidates’ policies on a range of scientific issues. The Northwestern University Science Policy Action Network presented the event, co-sponsored by the Northwestern Energy Technology Group and Scientists and Engineers for America.
The event was inspired by Science Debate 2008, a national organization that submitted 14 questions to the presidential candidates, said NU Science Policy Action Network co-president Paige Hall.
“They never succeeded in actually getting the presidential candidates to come debate,” the chemistry graduate student said. “So what we wanted to do is get their advisers to come here and have a similar kind of debate about today’s science and technology issues.”
University of Chicago professor Donald Lamb, one of Obama’s science policy advisers, outlined Obama’s science plan first. He broke it into five components: restoring integrity to US science policy, doubling federal investment in scientific research, making a commitment to improving science education through grants and programs, encouraging American technological innovation, and addressing the energy, health and security problems of the 21st century.
McCain volunteer Jacqueline DeFoe, a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry at the University of Chicago, elaborated on some of McCain’s policies. Among other things, he would encourage further development of nuclear power, space exploration and greater energy security through drilling, DeFoe said. McCain has also committed to offering financial incentives for developing important scientific innovations, including $300 million for a viable electric car battery.
“It’s one thing to say that you favor all of these things, and it’s another thing to act on them,” Lamb said of McCain’s expressed support for renewable energy sources.
DeFoe defended McCain’s votes against a number of bills concerning renewable energy.
“If you go back and you look at these bills that he voted against, a lot of them either have earmarks, which I’m sure you are all sick of hearing about, earmarks that he didn’t want to vote for, or they just were being pushed by lobbyists,” she said.
A 45-minute Q&A session followed the rebuttals, featuring questions on issues ranging from global warming to research funding. With both Lamb and DeFoe up front to answer questions, this part of the forum allowed for more back-and-forth on policy details, including the various ways each candidate will reduce the country’s need for oil.
The representatives found some common ground on several issues, including the need to develop clean coal technology, a more efficient electric grid and stem cell research.
Materials Science and Engineering graduate student Lesley Chow, an Obama supporter, said she had mostly only read about how the candidates’ science policies were similar.
“They both did a good job pointing out some of the differences,” she said.
