This in my inbox today from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are soliciting ideas. The WUWT readership may want to send some along.
Here’s the political spin pitch:
Join the Conversation on the Future of Science
As a part of its efforts to introduce fully open government, the White House is reaching out to the at-large scientific community to discuss America’s national scientific and technological priorities.
Through AAAS, and our new Expert Labs program, the Obama administration wants to draw on the collective wisdom of scientists everywhere in deciding which scientific and technological challenges should be the focus of policy initiatives in the coming years.
In 2009 President Obama provided some examples of what these challenges might be:
- Complete DNA sequencing of every type of cancer.
- A universal vaccine for influenza that will protect against all future strains.
- Solar cells as cheap as paint, and green buildings that produce all of the energy they consume.
- A light-weight vest for soldiers and police officers that can stop an armor-piercing bullet.
- Educational software that is as compelling as the best video game and as effective as a personal tutor.
- Biological systems that can turn sunlight into carbon-neutral fuel, reduce the costs of producing antimalarial drugs by a factor of 10, and quickly and inexpensively dispose of radioactive wastes and toxic chemicals.
Now, the White House wants your help in shaping the federal government’s current and future scientific priorities. As scientists and concerned citizens, we have a great responsibility and a unique opportunity to be the voices that are helping to define the White House’s scientific agenda. Make your voice heard. Submit your ideas today.
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I think climate scientists should learn to calibrate and properly situate thermometers. It may be a greater challenge than the president wants to take on, but I think it worth the effort.
If that challenges is met, I’m in favor of teaching climate scientists the scientific method. But that may truly be a bridge too far.
We will definitely see.
I will let you know how it goes.
Is it just me, or is that acronym, just a long vowel “ASS”?
The list says more about President Obama than about science. Mostly they just seem like childish fantasy. In particular, “Biological systems that can … quickly and inexpensively dispose of radioactive wastes”. What biological system has the energy concentration to affect the nucleus of an atom? Does he mean “concentrate nuclear waste for disposal”? Probably not.
“Complete DNA sequencing of every type of cancer”. Does cancer have its own DNA? I thought it was caused by the disruption of the host’s DNA, allowing the host’s cells to reproduce uncontrollably.
“A light-weight vest for soldiers and police officers that can stop an armor-piercing bullet”? Is this out of a comic book?
“Educational software that is as compelling as the best video game and as effective as a personal tutor.”???
“Biological systems that can … reduce the costs of producing antimalarial drugs by a factor of 10”. His greenie friends have murdered a million people a year for twenty years by banning DDT.
This list is so un-scientific, it must have been dreamed up by a PR hack.
REPLY: Bingo, which is why I ask…WUWT?
The Great Grand Challenge:
Research that determines how to get the government to stop raising taxes and stop spending money.
The Problem: It seems equally likely that Repubs and Dems spend money on bail outs, super duper military equipment to fight somebody’s else’s war, educational mandates that focus on paperwork but not on instruction, and keeping everybody alive with health care no matter what.
The Null Hypothesis: The guv’mnt will continue to increase.
It’s like a bad version of “The Blob”. And this crazy scheme is no different. God help us.
On a related item;
Dr susan Mossman replied to the online e-mail I had sent regarding the research I have of the mechanics of rotation and energy.
You may be interested to learn that we are opening a new exhibition on Climate Science in November, 2010. As this is related to your research I am copying your email to the team for information. You can also find more information about this exhibition on: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/climate_science.aspx.
I hope that this response is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Susan Mossman
Gallery Content Manager
The Science Museum
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2DD
Tel: 020 7942 4175
Fax: 020 7942 4103
E-mail: susan.mossman@sciencemuseum.org.uk
Web: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
@ur momisugly Fitzy (17:59:02) :
Well, that is not politically correct, [snip – not going to open up that can of worms here]
It is not a secret. Obama has intentionally created havoc to the job market. He spent trillions and dishonestly promissed jobs.
It is very simple. An honest economist with business experience knows. His economuists are as bad as the “pretend climate scientists”
The first jobs in the business cycle are sales and marketing. The next phase are engineering and design. The next phase are manufacturing and service followed by IT and administrative jobs. Research for research sake doesn’t create jobs. Creates mere spending and busy work.
Now to the point. Sales, marketing and engineering can go to customers and see what they want changed and want to buy.
(there is no universal vaccine). MRSA tells us bugs are constantly evolving and becoming ressistant to vaccines. Every time the communists want to run science and research, it becomes a bottomless money pit.
An investigation into the opacity of government. The index of verbal refraction of governmentium, and its spin, are still unknown. The specific debt, that being dollars per gram of government’s constituent particles, bureaucrats and legislation, has also to be brought to light. It was known in historical times but has been lost over the past 50 years.
Oh yes, and of course space exploration, fission and fusion nuclear energy.
Let’s see, we can reduce the cost of antimalarial drugs by a factor much greater than 10 by reintroducing DDT. It would be interesting to have biological systems that dispose of radioactive wastes … considering that no known biological mechanisms are active in nuclear processes at a level that would affect radioactivity. Solar cells as cheap as paint? Has the president seen how much good quality paint costs??? We have far cheaper solar energy collection systems already: It’s called grass and trees. Better than solar cells, trees both collect the energy and solve the storage system, unlike large solar arrays that can only feed very expensive and inefficient storage devices.
“Educational software that is as compelling as the best video game and as effective as a personal tutor.”
Sounds about as realistic as Hansen’s 6 meter sea level rise.
Perhaps combine a MMOG first person shooter with zombies, car crashes and Latin? Kids would love that – everything except the educational part.
Break the link between government funding and science.
Stop equating scientific opinion with valid policy proposals.
Joe, great proud sponsors for the “climate change” wing of the museum. Next time someone adhoms about big oil supporting the “denihilist’s” just show em that e-mail!
LMFAROTFP!
After 35 yrs I recently decided to leave the AAAS because it has become the essentially a union mouthpiece for US research scientists with the most important product being continuing employment, not the truth based on the facts. Several months after I allowed my membership to lapse I was sent a recent issue of Science, to entice me back into the fold, with a major article on guess what – GW. The reports were of excellent quality, as one would expect, BUT they were based on the same old homogenized temperature data from CRU, GISS, and NOAA. Not one of the researchers thought to question how or why the data was diddled. So, grants for several years, researchers got paid, grad and post-grad students got experience and financial support, nice looking reports were generated and published in Science, and they were all meaningless because of the judiciously manipulated data.
Carl Chapman said it. Fantasy Island, with government grants.
Why didn’t Obama call for the development of a biodegradable cold fusion personal jet pack or a solar-powered fountain of youth or a time machine that also recycles Pampers?
Or how about a global thermostat to control the climate so that the weather can be maintained at optimum levels, everywhere, all the time, as per UN agreements?
If it wasn’t so seriously dangerous it would be hilarious.
None of the proposals are realistically feasible. They sound more like a dream list and they certainly are not a scientific priorities.
I am reminded a little of the Russian efforts to develop Lysenko’s ideas.
I like the part where the White House wants submittals linked via Facebook and Twitter!!
What’s wrong with MySpace? Better bands and music!
*sigh* Jimmy Carter’s “Moral Equivalent of War” energy program was bad enough, nothing of real value came out of that. This stuff is comic-book material as others have pointed out. What are they smoking up there?
Thanks, Anthony! I’m sure glad I filed my patent for my “Biological system that can turn sunlight into carbon-neutral fuel” in March! You wouldn’t believe the claims we packed into that thing!
Funny I see two items on energy, but I don’t see sustainable nuclear fusion, which would be a much more useful than solar cells as “cheap” as paint, and biological agents that can turn sunlight into carbon neutral fuel.
Seriously, is there anything that government can’t screw up???
I like the time machine idea except I’d ship CO2 and nuclear waste into the future. Someone in the future will probably find a good use for it. If you send it far enough into the future, it probably won’t make much difference.
Now how do we make that time machine thingy again? 😉
@ur momisugly[snip – not going to open up that can of worms here]
Rats. That was hilarious. I understand, though.
If you all think this is both serious and sincere you are crazy. Obama wants to take us back to the train era. The air Force fueler/tankers are 50 years old and in 8 years they can’t figure out a modern upgrade. Obama tossed out space spending.
This is just for show. Dem Lobbyists have the input and no one else. Years ago the feds let out for bids on laptop computers. After long negotiations and changes they finally approved the Osborne computer. It has been out of business 2 years when they finally got the contract.
DeNihilist (18:36:44)
Took a bit to figure the LMFAROTFP!
Your a hoot! 🙂
The list provided is limitation on what topics they will accept as priorities. If your priority falls outside it is deleted. Then when the feedback is reported, the consensus will again be reinforced (re-enforced?).
A number of years ago I would have been naive and thought this was a scientific endeavor. Now I’m more inclined to believe it is just one more example of overeducated intellectuals toadying up to the Obama administration because of a shared political affinity. It sounds like a press release from the White House, as much as a scientific call to arms. It reminds me of the National Endowment for the Arts call to artists to produce work in support of specific Obama administration policies (a political no-no with publicly entrusted money). How much publicly entrusted money is going to be spent on this endeavor?