At the end of last year, during the heat of the Democratic primaries, a coalition of citizens, scientists, and universities called for a presidential debate on science. It was called Science Debate 2008. EarthSky spoke to the organizer, screenwriter Shawn Lawrence Otto, several times, and we hosted him for a talk in our own EarthSky headquarters. He put forth a very convincing argument for a public debate on science, which is often overshadowed by health care, the economy, Iraq, and who said what and what he or she may or may not have meant by it. Unfortunately, the candidates declined a live debate.
That means we’ve missed the opportunity for Sarah Palin to expand her views on polar bears. But Barack Obama and John McCain both agreed to answer the top 14 questions on science, honed from a list of over 3,400 submitted to Science Debate 2008.
Visit Science Debate 2008’s website to read the candidates’ answers on innovation, climate change, science education, stem cell research, priorities in space, and more. (Who knew so many hot-button issues existed under the heading of “science?” Maybe we should talk more about it?)
You can read McCain and Obama’s responses side by side, or just Obama’s, or just McCain’s.
An answer that doesn’t follow the fundamental “Laws of Nature & Physics” is a non-answer and I wonder if reporters will point that out.