President Barack Obama and his challenger, Governor Mitt Romney, have answered 14 Top American Science Questions put to them by the grassroots nonprofit I lead, ScienceDebate.org. The candidates' answers provide valuable insight into their positions on issues that, while among the most important facing the country, usually get short shrift on the campaign trail. Here they are:
Innovation | Climate Change | Research and the Future | Pandemics and Biosecurity | Education | Energy | Food | Fresh Water | The Internet | Ocean Health | Science in Public Policy | Space | Critical Natural Resources | Vaccination and Public Health
One of the most interesting highlights from the responses is Mitt Romney's shift on climate change, away from his more recent position, which was, "My view is we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet," back toward the view he held in June 2011, shortly after announcing his run for the presidency, when he acknowledged that people are significant contributors to climate change. Four days after he made that statement, Romney was slammed by Rush Limbaugh, who said, "Bye-bye nomination. Another one down. We're in the midst here of discovering that this is all a hoax. The last year has established that the whole premise of man-made global warming is a hoax, and we still have presidential candidates who want to buy into it."
Romney's change in position is unlikely to please his base, many of whom continue to deny the findings of climate science, and to whom Romney has been joking about climate change. The shift signals that he has begun reaching out to more mainstream voters. But after acknowledging the reality and human causes, Romney moves back into denial when he says that there is no scientific consensus. There is. Romney uses this claim to justify rejecting cap-and-trade as a solution to climate change. He prefers to encourage innovation and increase nuclear power in a "no regrets" strategy. So, it's complicated.
The responses are interesting in other ways, as well. Although vaccines don't cause autism, Obama never calls out vaccine-autism science deniers, who are largely on the left, but neither does Romney.
Many readers have expressed surprise at the length and thoughtfulness of Romney's answers. Even so, readers have generally said they feel Obama's answers are more grounded on concrete, well-thought-out policy, but they are disappointed that his answers are largely touting past accomplishments or existing policy positions instead of charting a more visionary path forward on these big issues, like he did in 2008.
The responses are also notable for what they don't say. Some of the questions aren't fully answered when they become politically difficult, and others could really benefit from follow-up discussion; for example, what ideas do the candidates really have for solving problems that cross national boundaries, like climate change and the global financial crisis? Such problems are cropping up more and more in a world with a global economy but no global regulatory structure. When people have a chance to internalize gains and externalize losses, whether they be economic or environmental, they will.
The Top American Science Questions were developed by asking thousands of scientists, engineers, and concerned citizens to submit the most important questions they thought the candidates should be debating but weren't. ScienceDebate.org then worked with several leading U.S. science organizations, including the National Academies, the AAAS, the Council on Competitiveness, IEEE-USA, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and others listed on the site to refine those questions into the final 14 that the group universally agreed were the most important. Barack Obama and John McCain answered similar questions in 2008.
ScienceDebate.org is a grassroots nonprofit organization funded by small individual donations and run by volunteers. Its supporters include more than 40,000 scientists and engineers, concerned citizens, about 200 leading universities and science organizations, dozens of Nobel laureates, and notable writers and editors.
Along with its media partner, Scientific American magazine, the group has also asked some three dozen members of Congress who lead key science committees to answer a subset of eight of the 14 questions. To date, just two have responded.
The questions and answers are part of a larger effort to move political dialogue into the 21st century. Candidates readily debate jobs and the economy even though they are not economists; they debate foreign policy and military intervention even though they are not diplomats or generals; they debate faith and values even though they are not priests or pastors. They should be equally comfortable debating the Top American Science Questions that affect all voters' lives, and a forum, unlike an online exchange of answers, allows for pointed follow-up discussions that would be really helpful on these major topics. To date, neither candidate has accepted the invitation to a presidential forum on these important questions. We know the public's interested. 85 percent of likely voters want them to be debating these topics. The fact is that debating the big science issues is what America is all about. We're a country of innovators. We lead the world in science, though that position is now threatened. Having a simple debate on these topics is what leadership and democracy is all about, and it's high time that candidates realize it.
You can sign up to follow ScienceDebate's efforts at http://www.sciencedebate.org/signon.html.
Shawn Lawrence Otto is the co-founder of ScienceDebate.org and a science advocate. His new book is Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America. Visit him at http://www.shawnotto.com and like him on Facebook. Join ScienceDebate.org to get the presidential candidates to debate science.
Click through the slideshow below to see ScienceDebate.org's top 14 science questions for the candidates, along with some science questions submitted by the HuffPost community.
What science questions do you want to see the candidates answer? Tweet us @HuffPostScience, using the hashtag #presquiz.