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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Oh! Oh! I have a few:
1. Create low-cost emission-free personal transporters for everyone that don’t use any energy.
2. Finally develop those undersea bubble cities we were promised in the 1950s. And make plankton a tasty substitute for steak.
3. Find ways to eliminate the need for mathematics and logic, thus making careers in science and engineering “more accessible” to our students.
4. Figure out how to manipulate the multidimensional universe on the quantum level so that all our President has to do is say “Make it so” and whatever it is happens.
Well, on this I think I have a solution…
“Educational software that is as compelling as the best video game and as effective as a personal tutor.”???
Pueblo Colorado School District 60 has a small (10 meter) planetarium. A recent upgrade to digital gives it video game excitement. A friend of mine and I are planning on volunteering to save the district (funding short) some money, and empower the students at the same time. We’ll see,,,
The technology is available and ready now. All that’s needed is a bit of help from the rest of us.
O’course it’s not something that will elect a politician – but it has good merit..
Mike
I don’t have a problem with any of these initiatives and I’ve always voted conservative Republican (only stated due to the political creep in some of the previous posts).
(complete DNA sequencing of every cancer)
Yes, this would be useful and would keep our top biology scientists gainfully employed.
(universal vaccine for influenza)
Relies on the first point, and would save uncountable lives each year.
(solar cells as cheap as paint and buildings able to sustain themselves)
Paintable solar cells are available now, and why not view buildings as machines able to produce as well as provide?
(light weight bullet proof vests)
Spider silk is already providing the answers. We perhaps need a better way of weaving this in three dimensions. Perhaps if each two dimensional layer was woven in a fractal pattern, and overlayed offset, we could guarantee that successive layers superimposed on each other would not overlap in such a way that bullets and/or knives were able to easily slide the threads apart, which is the current problem.
(educational compelling software)
My son loved his Green Eggs and Ham CD when he was 3, and played it over and over on his PC; now he enjoys Battlefield 2 and has learned all the guns, vehicles, and physics that govern the game. His attitude hasn’t changed: learn it. We’re visual creatures, learning should take advantage of this fact.
(biological systems that can…)
(a) turn sunlight into carbon-neutral fuel
We call these “plants” Obama, they then pass this fuel to “animals”, which in turn pass this fuel back to “plants” and the cycle repeats.
(b) reduce costs of antimalarial drugs
Genetic engineering of the female mosquito into a flightless creature does this by reducing the amount of drug that needs to be purchased. This has been discussed here before, alternatively: here.
(c) quickly and inexpensively dispose of radioactive and toxic chemical waste
Yes, please fund development in this, we have identified some organisms and processes that will do some of this, get us to the point where we can do it all.
This isn’t about science it is about politics. It is simply the smoke and mirrors of democracy, which by the way, is the same smoke and mirrors of the authoritarians.
What is being proposed by the AAAS is that the government should now take the place of the free market.
How is that working out for North Korea and Zimbabwe?
Is this the same administration that killed the return to the moon program?
I wonder how much money Goldman Sachs intends to make off these new BS science policies?
Here is the biggest challenge that America and America’s children and grandchildren and great grndchildren and great great grandchildren face:
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Modern Western Politics disgusts me.
Apologies for my link above not opening a new tab, target=”_blank” didn’t seem to work?
“Educational software that is as compelling as the best video game and as effective as a personal tutor.”
They’ll be needing this one since the Administration would like to eliminate summer vacations.
‘An “exascale” supercomputer capable of a million trillion calculations per second – dramatically increasing our ability to understand the world around us through simulation and slashing the time needed to design complex products such as therapeutics, advanced materials, and highly efficient autos and aircraft.’
They’ll be needing these powerful state-of-the-art computer simulations to prove the green sustainable government subsidized garbage will actually work.
Bloody hell, and I thought Australia had problems handling science. By comparison, all we have to really worry about are the usual Greenie anti-GM army, and a government which thinks the greenhouse debate is over, on the basis of a document which gives a range of 1.5-4.5 deg C rise, i.e. a 300% difference between a probably tolerable and in some ways beneficial lower value and a really worrying upper value – if the document is correct. At least no-one in government wants a 21st century version of Aladdin’s cave. Not so far anyway. They may try to imitate this latest overseas fad, a favourite pastime for progressive Australia, so please put it out of its misery quickly!
Here’s one:
Research on how to prevent childless scientists from studying, saying or writing anything about parenting.
In fact, the next book that comes out with yet another version of the title “How to have perfect children in 20 seconds” ought to be relieved of his day time job and relegated to herding stray cats at night.
Carl Chapman (18:02:02) : & R. Craigen (18:28:43) :
——————————————-
-1 for inaccuracy and inane claims
DDT was never banned globally for use against Malaria vectors EVER even tho it’s ban was proposed by UN agencies in early 2000s
http://www.malaria.org/DDTpage.html
“OUR CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT A BAN OF DDT FOR MALARIA CONTROL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL! ”
read the laws dood
“Public health, quarantine, and a few minor crop uses were excepted”
http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/ddt/01.htm
“allows countries to continue using DDT for malaria control”
http://www.ciel.org/Chemicals/Stockholm_DDT.html
DDT has been used numerous times in the USA since its crop permit was withdrawn in 1972 for control of bubonic plague and typhus.
DDT use for insect vector control is allowed by the EPA and by law in the Stockholm Convention for insect vector control and always has been.
“Today, 4-5,000 tonnes of DDT are used each year for the control of malaria” – http://www.answers.com/topic/ddt
Sharon (20:05:52) :
Now just hold on a gosh darned minute! There’s no push to develop warp drive on that list. Doesn’t the Obama adminstration know that we are seriously behind the Star Trek timeline for making rapid interstellar travel a reality.
The reason that is not on the list, is that a space warp drive might be possiable.
This list was made up by people who no idea of reality. So what is new about that?
Or a programmable peer review machine.
No, wait, that won’t be necessary. And it would cost a lot of distinguished jobs.
Or how about a way to create trillions of computer generated U.S. dollars?
No, wait, they are already doing that too.
Or how about developing a global atmospheric system that will grow and shrink Arctic ice caps within a range of normal variation, with a few erratic extremes just to keep evolution interesting?
If they could somehow link it to the oceans, land masses, heck, even the ice, and throw in that big ball of fire in the sky and some planetary movements, it could work. Given enough funds I’m confident that they could do it, or at least monitor the situation. We’ll also need the UN for this, of course.
>Of course back then, most europeans thought that if you took a bath, you’d get >pneunomia!
Of course, this remains the operational assumption in the UK where plumbing* dates back to pre-roman times and because of global warming it is very cold most of the time.
* e.g. it is civil offense to allow hot and cold water to mix in a pipe. Hence baths, showers, and hand basin are designed to either scald or freeze (your choice) the user/victim.
I have an idea for the list!
Amplifier gain block, unconditionally stable from DC to Daylight, infinitely adjustable gain, and guaranteed not to rust bust or collect dust!
>Smokey (20:50:29) wrote :
>What is being proposed by the AAAS is that the
>government should now take the place of the
>free market.
And replace it with the pipe dreams of the technologically naive…
Free market science will help us deal with the problems of the future if it is allowed to exist then. I haven’t seen too many things the gov’t does well and/or effectively, and probably never efficiently. I worked with some guys from NIST twice over a few years. They seemed competent, and up to speed on the cutting edge of some silicon industry equipment needs and process control. Many don’t know about SemaTech, funded by the gov’t with donations from the major IC players of engineers & equipment in the 80s to keep control of that industry in the US. I don’t remember any overlying directives, people just contributed what they knew. A lot of good science was being done and shared openly. (yes, the context of the need for SemaTech was much more convoluted than that alluded to here) If climate science as implemented by the gov’t is an indication of the quality of science going forward, I have little hope, & they can keep their Δ.
Jesus are they serious?
They forgot,
*-> A floor polish that is also a desert topping.
Heather (20:35:53) :
Oh! Oh! I have a few:>>
A for effort Heather, but you are not allowed to have ideas of your own. I’m sorry, but you must choose from the List the Government gave you.
Eric Naegle (20:01:26) :
I am inspired by D. Hoffer’s ideas and I have one too (although it isn’t nearly as good as his are.) “Solar cells as cheap as paint,” OK, here we go… Tax paint until it is just as expensive as solar cells. Now solar cells are just as cheap as paint. Kind of an Obamian slight of hand, if you will.>>
Excellent Eric! Nice use of PNS! The rules didn’t say we couldn’t use PNS!
Ok – this is slightly off topic – but I believe that the UK plumbing nightmare may have been solved by a refugee Kurdish doctor’s invention:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/altogether/through_my_eyes/sangar.shtml
Not sure what effect this will have on the White House science initiative, global warming, recycling, or soap sales in the UK. However, eventually news of this innovation will filter through to East Anglia.
I imagine this removes the top item from Downing Street’s list of technological challenges.
Solar cells as cheap as paint…
Government plan results in very expensive paint, via very high taxes…
Paint taxes will float in line with the cost of solar cells.
Any paint purchased will require a stamp, like a liquor store stamp,
to assure proper taxes have been paid.
Government will expand the Department of Drugs, Alcohol, Firearms
and Paint for enforcement. IRS staff will be expanded for extra
work regarding tax code violations.
INGSOC (19:31:52) :
Europe went insane at least twice in the past century, and America was there to put an end to the madness. (Canada was there along side) This time I fear that America won’t be there anymore to save us from ourselves as she is being dragged down the hall and beaten into a pulp from within.>>
All kidding aside, I would like to second this. America has twice turned the tide in a world war, faced down a nuclear armed Soviet Union, and though having taken some missteps along the way, has been much maligned despite giving far more to the world than she recieved.
God bless America. May she soon wear once more with pride the title that is rightfully hers. Leader of the free world.
I WANT A PONY!!!!
Missing from the energy sector is the most important item and one that is necessary if solar or wind is to become practical:
It is an Energy Storage System with an in/out efficiency of over 70% and capable of retaining 95% of its energy over a 100 hour period. It should be profitable (capital and operating costs) in buying 6 hours of off peak and delivering 6 hours of peak power with a 0.5 to 1 cost to sale price ratio.
Pumped water can do this now, but it is virtually impossible to build any more in the US because of environmental, aesthetic and siting issues. Superconducting rings, and pumped air come to mind, but none have demonstrated the efficiency or even the capability to store and deliver the massive amounts of energy to make intermittent solar and wind useful
I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Dilithium Crystals.
(apologies to Joe Biden).
What is a ban? Many African countries had to stop using DDT since they couldn’t get aid funds if they did… effectively a ban surely?