Turning a deaf ear is one thing; outright repression is another. In 2007, Richard Carmona, former Surgeon General, testified before Congress that Bush’s officials impeded and tried to “water” down his report on the dangers of secondhand smoke. Bush’s administration had also banned him from speaking or writing on stem cells, contraception, sex education, prison, mental health and global health issues. The administration’s hard line on embryonic stem cell research stands as further evidence that Bush valued the religious right and industry lobbying far more than scientific truth.
Enter President Barack Obama, savior of us all, and most of all, science. Obama is poised to restore scientific truth to its rightful place as the foundation of public policy. For starters, he has wasted no time in surrounding himself with an all-star cast of scientific minds and, by all indications, he plans to listen to them.
On Dec. 15, 2008, Obama nominated Nobel-prize winning physicist Steven Chu, director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and leading advocate of nuclear power, to be his Secretary of Energy. Chu wants to tackle global warming and reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels by improving “clean coal” and solar technologies.
Next, Obama appointed Jane Lubchenco, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University, to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency charged with keeping an eye on the health of our seas and skies. Lubchenco, a critic of the Bush administration’s inaction on climate change, considers marine conservation and depleted fisheries to be pressing problems.
Harvard professor John Holdren is the newly appointed presidential science adviser and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Holdren, who argued publicly in 2007 for America to lead the international battle against global warming, is an expert on energy policy, technology and nuclear proliferation. Geneticist Eric Lander of MIT and Nobel laureate in medicine Harold Varmus will join him as co-chairmen of PCAST.
Every member of Obama’s team is a vocal advocate of swift action to curb greenhouse gas emissions and wean America off foreign oil. Obama even created a brand new “energy czar” post to be held by former EPA-head Carol Browner, who once called Bush’s term “the worst environmental administration ever.” All told, as Kurt Gottfried, professor of physics and chair of the Union of Concerned Scientists, writes: “They are, by far, the best group of science appointees since World War II.” Certainly, the panel expects to have contact with the president and influence on policy, or they would have refused the jobs.
As low as the stock of science had fallen, it is now on the rise. Researchers are abuzz with excitement that Obama’s appointments will soon translate into policy shifts on global warming, energy and the protection of the oceans. Back in March, Obama promised to double federal spending on basic research, which had declined in proportion to the overall budget during the Bush years. Lifting restrictions on stem cell research should also be a high priority.
Not just policy is changing. Democracy, just like science, requires and thrives on unrestricted debate of contrary beliefs. By promoting free inquiry and promising to listen to scientists, “especially when it is inconvenient,” Obama reinforces the foundation of democracy. It is no coincidence that parliamentary democracies and Western science took off at about the same time. In China, we see the reverse at work: Physicist Xu Liangying, a kind of modern-day Galileo, has spent much of his life under house arrest for upholding Einstein’s maxim that there is no science without freedom of speech.
So what does all this mean for us? That research funding will double over the next 10 years is welcome news for science majors, who will enjoy more research opportunities, job offers and perhaps even summer internships. Granted, dismal economic conditions weigh more heavily in the grim short view. Still, the money helps our chances of admission to graduate school by mitigating damage to university research programs from the downturn. Down the line, grants will be easier to come by.
Two weeks into his presidency, Obama is making good on his promises. By his order, federal regulations will require automakers to build more fuel-efficient cars yielding fewer emissions. The EPA will review the Bush administration’s decision to deny states the right to set stricter air pollution standards. Higher gasoline taxes could be in the cards.
At Obama’s inauguration, an audible sigh of relief arose from scientists who lived under a dark cloud for eight years. Obama’s philosophy, not to mention his policy, is a beacon of hope in the scientific world and a refreshing break from Bush’s approach. Can he deliver on his lofty promises? So far, so good.