ADVICE FOR A NEW PRESIDENT

ADVICE FOR A NEW PRESIDENT

A science mom's priorities

October 20, 2008

"Science, science, science, and science."

-- Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House, at an Aug. 26 Democratic National Convention breakfast meeting in Denver, when asked about her plans for the first 100 days if Barack Obama is elected president

"Given the proper incentives, our innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs, and workers have the capability to lead the world in achieving energy security; given the stakes, they must."

-- John McCain, campaign speech

Dear Mr. President-Elect,

Now that you prepare to take office, I write to remind you about one of the largest, and yet unspoken challenges facing your administration.

Americans are living in a conundrum. When asked, most citizens express a confidence that science and technology will fix all the challenges facing our immediate future. Here in Florida, we fully anticipate that meteorologists will figure out how to accurately predict (and perhaps even eliminate) hurricanes; that construction engineers will design hurricane-safe buildings; that marine biologists will solve red tide; that ecologists will eradicate our invasive pythons and fire ants; that hydrologists will solve our water conservation problems; and that medical researchers will cure any infectious diseases that sneak across our borders.

Yet we have witnessed significant declines relative to other countries in scientific research and development under the last eight years of national leadership. So how will your executive team weigh in on science?

I imagine it is easy to overlook the importance of science as key to solving most of our important security and economic issues. And it is even easier to cheer-lead the American public using words like terrorism, gasoline prices, and other fear factors.

But we are tired of hearing about fear and fighting -- we need inspiration and innovation to return America to its global leadership of decades past. Given the declining supplies of natural resources and the increasing number of people squeezed into a finite planet, science offers objective solutions through experiments, technologies, modeling, and a unique combination of inspiration and perspiration.

We are on the cusp of significant advances in energy, agriculture and health; yet science seemed relegated to last place on the agenda during your campaign. This was perhaps not surprising, given the economic turbulence during your last weeks of campaigning, but nonetheless your administration's approach to science will likely determine our ability to retain America's global leadership.

I humbly offer some thoughts about six critical science issues: energy, education, agriculture, health, climate change, and security.

Energy

America is long overdue for a visionary energy policy, and this issue links directly to security, economics and health. "Drill, baby, drill" is not a remedy for our energy woes -- it is akin to putting a Band-Aid on an elephant. Even worse, putting costly oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, directly in the path of hurricanes, does not seem a wise use of energy dollars that could be better invested in clean technologies to lower our dependence on fossil fuels. An energy policy with incentives for research and development of new technologies will not only provide jobs, but it will lower health costs for Americans with resultant cleaner air and water. Clean energy technologies can be sold to other countries and lead to a higher quality of life for billions. Solar power is vastly underutilized here in Florida, yet the sun is a clean, widely available, free energy source. Because Americans don't embrace energy conservation, nuclear power may need consideration in our energy portfolio, but your administration should insist on research to make it "safe and secure." You would be wise to look overseas at successful nuclear programs in countries like France, to adopt or improve upon their implementation and regulatory standards.

Education

In the first presidential debate, only one candidate even mentioned "STEM" (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) as an important tool for making America competitive in global economics. This was disheartening. Our education systems are falling rapidly behind those of other countries, and yet issues like security and health depend on providing excellent STEM education for the next generation. Please create a national position for STEM leadership, ensuring that we initiate the world's best technology training, and that we make efforts to retain those overseas students who train here. The "brain drain" in America is something we cannot afford if we wish to retain our global leadership.

Agriculture

Rarely during the campaign did you mention that we have a national security issue surrounding food. America's industrial food chains rely on fossil fuels, and -- even worse -- our oil-reliant diet is not even healthy. We pay skyrocketing health costs for diabetes, obesity and other issues that directly link to our food culture. Please think about policies that will provide incentives for "locavory" (local food supplies), research on reducing our oil- and corn-based industrial food chains, and implementation of healthy diets for Americans.

Climate change

Your best efforts to fix Wall Street, secure the Middle East, insure health care for families, and cure important diseases will not ensure the quality of life for anyone if the rising levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are not curtailed. In the vice presidential debate, Gov. Sarah Palin said she was not convinced that humans were solely responsible for climate change and further said, "With the impacts of climate change, what we can do about that, as governor, I was the first governor to form a climate change subcabinet to start dealing with the impacts."

As incoming president, you will need to educate many citizens who have been misled by nonsensical campaign statements like this. Sen. Joe Biden said climate change is "clearly" man-made and acknowledged that the U.S. has 3 percent of global population but uses 25 percent of fossil fuels. Some Americans continue to ignore these important facts, and -- while the jury may still be out about the exact timeline, causes and effects of climate change -- it is ridiculously naïve for anyone in your cabinet to doubt the credentials of several thousand top scientific experts who crafted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change using the best available scientific data from around the world.

Health

As president, you need to prioritize health care. But you will also save money, time and energy to tackle the underlying causes of ill health. Create clean water supplies, reduce traffic congestion (that contributes to respiratory diseases), restructure food chains to inspire healthy diets, and create clean energy sources.

Security

Most advances in security technologies have resulted from scientific research in American labs and universities. And even more important, the American spirit of sharing our best practices with other countries has given us global leadership and admiration. We can continue to implement top-notch security measures if you prioritize research on new technologies. But perhaps the best way for our country to regain a sense of security is for our president to personify integrity, leadership, inspiration, and be the consensus-builder on the global stage.

Sincerely,

Meg Lowman, a science mom

P.S. One last piece of motherly advice -- don't forget to "walk the talk." We all would benefit from leadership that implements resource conservation. Why not plant a food garden around the White House, so you can serve local produce to visiting dignitaries? And how about replacing those solar panels that President Reagan so carelessly removed? It wouldn't hurt to request hybrid cars for your motorcade. Our children and grandchildren will thank you.


Margaret Lowman is director of Environmental Initiatives at New College of Florida. On the Web: www.canopymeg.com


http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20081020/columnist/810200308