National ‘Netroots’ Initiative Sets Sights On Spurring First Presidential Candidates’ Debate On Science And Technology
April 11, 2008
Contact: Sheril Kirshenbaum, (919) 613-8733, sheril.kirshenbaum@duke.edu
DURHAM, N.C. – Scientists, communicators and educators at universities and associations nationwide have launched a new initiative, ScienceDebate2008, to encourage presidential candidates to take part in a public debate on science and technology prior to the general election this November.
“The need for such a debate is obvious. On issues ranging from the environment to health and medicine, reliable scientific information is fundamental to good policymaking. Yet we rarely hear any detailed discussions of these issues from the presidential candidates,” said Sheril Kirshenbaum, an associate in research at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University. Kirshenbaum is helping to spearhead the initiative.
She and her colleagues described their efforts to launch the inaugural debate in an article published April 11 in the “Policy Forum” section of the journal Science.
There are several dates on which a science debate could be held this year, she noted, however, none has yet been agreed to by the candidates.
In their article, Kirshenbaum and her co-authors write, “After a decade of what could be seen as anti-science in our nation’s public discourse, and in a mainstream media culture more suited to sound bytes than paragraphs, politicians are understandably reluctant to engage. But that reluctance is the very reason” why a debate on science and technology is needed, they argue.
Scientific research and technological innovations fuel economic growth, Kirshenbaum and her colleagues write, and it has been widely argued that climate change and economic competitiveness, as they relate to science and technology, are among the greatest challenges facing the nation today. Yet while other nations such as China and South Korea are boosting government support of research by 10 percent or more annually, funding in the United States has remained flat or been cut back in recent years.
“It’s not just a matter of funding – it’s about raising the profile of science in our national discourse and encouraging policymakers to work more closely with scientists to find solutions that are both environmentally and economically sound,” Kirshenbaum said.
ScienceDebate2008 is supported by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Council on Competitiveness, and dozens of Nobel Laureates, university presidents, former presidential science advisors, leading scientists and thousands of concerned citizens.
Ironically, the idea for a presidential debate on science first emerged as a result of collaborative efforts by individuals largely outside of the scientific community. Two screenwriters, a journalist, a philosopher and two scientists launched the effort in 2007 and worked together to build a bipartisan base of support for it among the scientific and business communities, as well as with science bloggers and other Web-based forums.
“At a time when scientists are greatly dissatisfied with an increasingly fragmented media and its moribund treatment of science, so-called ‘netroots’ efforts provide a new means of outreach,” the Science article’s authors write. “Future initiatives…may benefit from a similar approach.”
Even if candidates don’t agree on a date for a science debate this election cycle, Kirshenbaum believes the initiative has been a success. The extraordinary speed with which the science community has coalesced to support the debate, and the widespread attention it has generated in the blogosphere, has made the candidates aware of how critical science policy issues are in a global society, she said. Candidates’ responses to the debate “will be on record,” she added, “and will form a basis for future development.”
Kirshenbaum’s co-authors of the Science article are Chris Mooney, contributing editor of Science Progress; Shawn Lawrence Otto, chief executive officer of ScienceDebate2008; Matthew Chapman, president of Science Debate2008; Austin Dacey of the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, Mass.; U.S. Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ); and Lawrence Krauss, director of the Center for Education and Research in cosmology and Astrophysics at Case Western Reserve University.
###
For help reaching Kirshenbaum, contact Tim Lucas, (919) 613-8084, tdlucas@duke.edu.