Science in a Post-Bush World

Freedumb, Freedumb, Read All About It!

"The government's scientific advisory process has been distorted by political considerations. As a result, our once dominant position in the scientific world has been shaken and our prosperity has been placed at risk. We have lost time critical for the development of new ways to provide energy, treat disease, reverse climate change, strengthen our security, and improve our economy," the letter said."

Today, with the science of energy stagnated and petrified, stunting education and wisdom, it is no wonder the masses are 'flag freaking' toward their own self destruction, rather than flag waving toward an unlimited, unbounded, prosperous future for all.

Scientific Stagnation bodes an ill wind to evolution, sustainability, and survival as "cycles of humiliation, dumbing us down, violence, and Unrestrained Corporate Greed prompting resource wars with nuclear finality" join hands with global warming and ecological imbalance to precipitate the historical "rise and fall of civilization" - a Tsunami accelerating toward us with a far more spectacular event than the legends and myths of 'Atlantis and Lemuria"........ If more people knew that Energy from Corn (or going backwards to a dimwitted concept of radioactive nuclear power application ) sounded a wee bit kindergartenish and senile for the twenty first century......the Future may have a chance.

As common sense in science is lost with the continued stagnation of our energy base and deep troubling theoretical foundational issues in physics, so too, Civilization's Survival Parameters fly out of sight, out of mind, along with the values and morals inherent within new scientific understanding which new energy systems would reveal. The new scientific comprehension would eliminate the caveman 'club/stick' conflict resolution methods still used in the 21st century. Besides, caveman club/stick methods do not work well with nuclear toys, as they threaten all of humanity. "In a primitive tooth and claw society you have survival of the fittest. But as technology progresses it makes the Power, Greed, Controller, Killer, instincts so destructive that you eventually have survival of nobody at all, except maybe a few cave men. Either evolution weeds out the Power, Greed, Controller, Killer instincts or everybody ends up dead. Either moral evolution goes hand in hand with technological evolution and connects with scientific survival requirements for evolving, living systems, or we're doomed."

The Deadly Dangers of a Mis-informed, Dis-informed & Un-informed Population, Ultimately to Itself, History Provides Ample Evidence.

The Solution: The Promise of New Energy Systems & Beyond Oil Evaporates the Problem: The ill designed "Corporism: The Systemic Disease that Destroys Civilization." when devoid of a Bill of Rights for Human Life, devoid of scientific parameters necessary for Life's evolution, sustainability, and survival.

Science in a Post-Bush World
Intertwining Ideology and Science Has Compromised Advancement, Scientists Say
By KI MAE HEUSSNER
Nov. 6, 2008—
After eight years of brawls with the Bush administration on issues including climate change, stem cell research and health care, scientists across the country aren't just hungry for change they can believe in, but science they can trust.
While many a scientist has picked apart many a science-based policy of President Bush, the underlying issue that has sparked outrage from across the scientific community is the politicization of the discipline.
"The idea of putting ideology into decisions about science -- that has really denigrated the role of science," said Martin Chalfie, a Columbia University geneticist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in chemistry in early October.
Along with 75 other Nobel Laureates, he endorsed now-President-elect Barack Obama in an open letter that also blasted the Bush administration.
"The government's scientific advisory process has been distorted by political considerations. As a result, our once dominant position in the scientific world has been shaken and our prosperity has been placed at risk. We have lost time critical for the development of new ways to provide energy, treat disease, reverse climate change, strengthen our security, and improve our economy," the letter said.
As Obama the senator becomes Obama the president, these scientists and throngs of others eagerly wait for him to gain the ground lost by his predecessor.
Overcoming Legacies of George W. Bush
"The past eight years of denial and delay are over," Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) President Kevin Knobloch said in a statement the morning after the election.
Particularly when it comes to policies related to global warming, the organization is looking for a fast and clean break from the approach of Bush that did not recognize man-made global warming, and obstructed international cooperation.
But that is hardly the only issue area that needs tending, scientists say.
In science-related agencies all over Washington, such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Federal Drug Administration, "scientists have been so patiently waiting for change. They've hung on and they've kept their heads down," said Francesca Grifo, senior scientist and director of the Scientific Integrity Program at UCS.
In 2006, she led an effort by leading scientists that condemned political interference in science. In 2004, the UCS first issued a petition calling for the restoration of scientific integrity to federal policy making. Today, that document bears the names of more than 15,000 scientists, Grifo said.
On issues from A to Z, federal bureaucrats have undermined the scientific method and changed reports to make them politically or ideologically palatable, she said.
Earlier this year, a survey conducted by the UCS found that nearly two-thirds of the Environmental Protection Agency's scientists complained of recent political interference in their work.
Other examples of political interference, Grifo said, include amending the reports by biologists on endangered species and premature proclamations that the air quality at Ground Zero was safe.
Wanted: A Cabinet-Level Science Advisor
On several hot-button science issues, Obama has offered approaches and policy changes that scientists have applauded.
Recognizing the potential of stem cell research to treat Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury and other disorders, he has said that he supports expanding such research and would lift the current administration's ban on federal funding of research on human embryonic stem cell lines created after Aug. 9, 2001.
He has also said that there can no longer be any doubt that human activities are influencing the global climate.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the amount scientists have advocated (to 1990 levels by 2050), he has proposed a market-based cap-and-trade system that sets a cap on the amount of a greenhouse gas that can be emitted.
Scientists, like Chalfie, are heartened by these proposals and expect Obama to follow through on them.
But they say that they're also watching out for one key decision: the creation of a cabinet-level science advisor.
"Look at what the [next] president does in terms of appointing a science advisor," said John Porter, chairman of Research! America, a nonprofit medical and health research advocacy alliance, and former Illinois congressman.
The sooner Obama appoints a science advisor, the better, Porter said.
Bush didn't appoint John H. Marburger as his science advisor until five months after taking office. And he didn't give the position a cabinet ranking.
Obama has said that he will appoint a chief technology officer, and the names of Google's Vint Cerf and Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos have been floated as possible contenders.
However, Porter emphasized, the high-level position should represent all the sciences.
In terms of research, Porter said, the new administration should ensure that the physical sciences keep up with the life sciences and funding levels should increase by 3 percent, above inflation, annually.
Obama's plan to double research funding in 10 years, is a "worthy goal," Porter said, adding that the economic climate could present a challenge.
Regardless, he said, he is hopeful that Obama's victory means the role of science is moving up.
"I think it's a new day for science in America," said Shawn Otto, chief executive officer of Science Debate 2008. "At last we're going to see a return to policy that's crafted on evidence instead of the other way around."
Obama has won supporters from the scientific community, he added, because he not only has demonstrated an ability to synthesize the known facts into policy, he also makes an effort to reach out to those who may disagree with him.
And that, Otto said, "is similar to the best traditions of the scientific process."
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