But the words “medal, dinner, and Royal Society” seem to be missing. I suppose Obama just doesn’t see the need to acknowledge them at all.
*From:* White House Press Office [mailto:noreply@messages.whitehouse.gov]
*Sent:* Wednesday, May 25, 2011 9:46 AM
*To:* xxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx
*Subject:* Joint Fact Sheet: U.S.-UK Higher Education, Science, and
Innovation Collaboration
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 25, 2011
* *
*Joint Fact Sheet: U.S.-UK **Higher Education, Science, and Innovation
Collaboration*
* *
Prime Minister Cameron and President Obama agree that science and
higher education are the foundation stones of their two nations’ 21^st
century economies and that the UK and U.S. have a responsibility to
further their global leadership roles in these essential fields. The
U.S. funds approximately one-third of the world’s scientific research
and the UK is first among G-8 countries in scientific publications and
citations as a fraction of GDP. In higher education, the U.S. and UK
are home to the world’s ten highest ranking universities.
Recognizing the great potential for productive cooperation in these
domains, the Prime Minister and President reaffirmed during the State
visit their mutual commitment to strong collaboration in science and
higher education and agreed to work to increase the number of joint
endeavours among individuals in cutting-edge laboratories,
universities, scientific societies, think tanks, government agencies
to develop human capital and ensure a strong and agile knowledge base.
They expressed particular support for cooperation in fields that will
create jobs and generate new economic opportunities in both countries
while tackling some of the most pressing global challenges facing the
world today. The leaders also expressed a determination to maintain
research excellence that leads to economic growth and job creation.
The UK and the U.S. are world-leading knowledge economies and enjoy
the most productive bilateral higher education relationship in the
world, with each country being the other’s top destination for
overseas study—a partnership worth more than $1 billion annually. The
Prime Minister and President welcomed the forthcoming meeting of the
UK-U.S. Higher Education Policy Forum. They also encouraged further
strengthening of institutional higher education links including
international internships and other modes of mutual mobility for
students and faculty members—between the U.S. and UK and in
cooperation with other global partners—to better equip American and
British students with the skills needed to succeed in and bolster the
global economy.
The leaders welcomed in particular the growing partnership between the
UK Meteorological Office (Met Office) and the U.S. National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service,
codified with the signing of an historic Memorandum of Agreement in
February 2011. This agreement provides for a coordinated U.S.-UK
partnership in the delivery of space weather alerts to help provide
critical infrastructure protection around the globe. The two
governments announced today that they will embark together on an
ambitious program to create the world’s first combined space weather
model capable of forecasting terrestrial weather with great accuracy
and also indicating where, when, and for how long space weather
effects will persist in our upper atmosphere and whether these
anomalies are likely to disrupt and degrade GPS-enabled positioning,
navigation, and timing capabilities.
* *
In addition, the leaders announced a package of significant ongoing
and future activities intended to deepen their partnership and
commitment to meeting global challenges in the following areas: Space
Science and Exploration, Clean Energy and Climate Science, Food
Security, Health and Wellbeing, Innovation and Growth. Each of these
is detailed on the corresponding Joint Statement Addendum on Higher
Education, Science, and Innovation Collaboration.
###
* *
* *
*/Addendum on Higher Education, Science, and Innovation Collaboration/*
* *
The Prime Minister and President highlighted the long and
distinguished tradition of bilateral collaboration in science and
innovation, noting that some 30 percent of the UK’s internationally
co-authored papers are with US partners and those papers produce an
impact that is 50 percent higher than the UK research-base average.
The leaders expressed their determination to maintain research
excellence that leads to economic growth and job creation and asked
their respective science advisers to advance strategic discussions on
areas of mutual interest while also encouraging closer ties between
the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)
and the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology (CST). The
leaders also agreed to work together in several specific research
areas including:
* *
*Innovation, Jobs, and Growth: *The U.S. and the UK are two of the
world’s most active investors in venture capital. The leaders agreed
to work together to ensure that innovative, high-growth businesses
have access to venture capital to fund their growth and create highly
skilled jobs. The Prime Minister and President also noted their
respective countries’ achievements in attracting research and
development investment from overseas. They welcomed the decision by
Johnson & Johnson’s Corporate Office of Science and Technology and its
company Janssen to partner with six leading British Universities to
undertake cutting edge neuroscience research.
*Space Science and Exploration: *The Prime Minister and President
noted that the U.S. and the UK have enjoyed fruitful bilateral
cooperation in earth and space science and look forward to new
initiatives in these areas and in space exploration. The leaders also
acknowledged the significant contributions to understanding our own
planet and noted the UK’s important contributions, through the
European Space Agency and in collaborations with the U.S., relating to
Mars exploration, astronomy, and space physics.
*Terrestrial and Space Weather: *In addition to the collaborations
detailed above, the Met Office and NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction
Center will establish a second 24/7 space weather forecast office to
complement and coordinate the dissemination of actionable space
weather information. At this years’ World Meteorological Congress, the
two countries have agreed to work together with other international
partners to implement a fully operational global space weather warning
system. This close engagement will reflect the increasingly
international nature of space whilst respecting our separate national
priorities.
*Health and Wellbeing: *The two leaders endorsed collaboration between
world-class longitudinal studies in the U.S. and UK, with the
potential to transform our understanding of issues such as childhood
obesity, cancer, aging, and emotional wellbeing. The President and PM
Cameron also welcomed the involvement of the Economic and Social
Research Council in partnership with the National Institute on Aging
at the National Institutes of Health in the development of a U.S.
National Research Council Panel on Measuring Subjective Wellbeing,
which has the potential to generate new insights that will directly
inform social and economic policies. The two leaders also noted the
new programme of joint research on the ecology of infectious diseases.
* *
*Clean Energy and Climate Science: *The two leaders agreed on the
importance of continued collaboration and concerted international
effort in clean energy and climate science. They expressed their
strong support for the next Clean Energy Ministerial, which will take
place in London in 2012. They endorsed the announcement of UK
co-funding of the National Science Foundation’s Partnerships for
International Research and Education program in the area of
Sustainable Materials for Energy, agreeing that sustainability should
be a key consideration when making choices among competing energy
technology options. The U.S., through its Department of Agriculture
(USDA), will continue working with the UK as a part of the Global
Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases to address
mitigation of greenhouse gases from croplands, livestock production
systems, and paddy rice, while enhancing food security. In addition,
the UK and U.S. entities are engaging African and Asian developing
countries in the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement
Project to better understand the implications of climate change on
food production and food security around the world and to develop
adaption strategies. They emphasized the importance of data sharing
and open science data policies that support climate research and
modelling.
###
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As Ford would have said, ‘Mostly harmless’
“They emphasized the importance of data sharing
and open science data policies that support climate research and
modelling”.
Well, whoopee doo! The Royal Society honcho Paul Nurse must be very angry with them; data sharing and open science data policies are the last thing he wants to see:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/05/26/nursing-their-wounds-with-salt/
Somehow, I don’t think the US and UK leaders’ bilateral declaration will persuade Nursey to pull his horns in..
If science is to be the cornerstone of our two democracies then they should start to look at science not the alarmist claptrap we read daily from both governments and government friendly media.
We will both go down together if this climate alarmism and climate mitigation by reduction of greenhouse gasses continues. The climate will do what it always does. CHANGES.
The U.S., through its Department of Agriculture
(USDA), will continue working with the UK as a part of the Global
Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases to address
mitigation of greenhouse gases from croplands, livestock production
systems, and paddy rice, while enhancing food security. In addition,
the UK and U.S. entities are engaging African and Asian developing
countries in the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement
Project to better understand the implications of climate change on
food production and food security around the world and to develop
adaption strategies.
Interesting:
* No mention of industrial emission of GHG’s at all.
* Mention of mitigation but also “adaption strategies” and “food security”.
* Devolution of responsibility to USDA.
Do I detect the winds of policy change and the replacement of hand wringing by hand washing?
This is welcome news.
It is correct that UK and US are world leading knowledge economies. As should be European and Asian nations. Latin America also another, in mineral extraction, agri/aquaculture, education and health.
UK and US, having developed law and justice AND political economies that serve the development of their peoples, are right to have this agreement.
Those working in science, should be proud of their endeavours and the history which allows them to contribute, not only to their own nation, but for what may be applied for the benefit of many, many others.
The issue is ‘SCIENCE’ and should NEVER be the marketing or politicisation of science, conducted poorly or fraudulently.
It is the application of science that the UK and US need to cogently agree upon, and this is is demonstrated by both their histories and development.
The climate science section reads fair as they indicated no direction–climate change is what they said and studying the effects of a changing climate on agricultural development does not seem to be a bad thing.
They included no language on warming.
Since they did talk about openness and data sharing I would like to know where Obama stands on the UVA litigation and on the Climategate coverup of scientists acting self-interestedly in hiding data and forcing peer review into pal review where no pals get published.
“Prime Minister Cameron and President Obama agree that science and
higher education are the foundation stones of their two nations’ 21st
century economies…”
Of course they mean government-sponsored science and education. But that aside, they now want to us to regard these things as our “foundation stones?” Sounds like Orwellian bullshit to me. What happened to our previous “foundation stones” of freedom and democracy?
Obama is not a climate scientist but he knows which way the wind is blowing.
The point is, the leaders of both nations are scientifically misinformed, thus misdirected in their thinking, and now planning long-term programs and great advances on the basis of fundamentally wrong science. This is a recipe, not for progress, but for accelerating the current national scientific decline.
Now this is one tourtured statistic!
—
UK is first among G-8 countries in scientific publications and
citations as a fraction of GDP.
Tallbloke is probably correct. There may be recognition here that increased plant food (AKA CO2) is actually good for plants (after 25 y and USD’s spent in the 11th-12th order of magnitude).
It’s still tax payers money & dependence on the tax payer funded merrygoround of tax payer funded politicians handing out tax payers money to enthralled institutions, keeping us all hostage to the academic & political gravy train of which Eisenhower cautioned (in not so many words). But interesting that the vehicle of AGW as a justification seems to have had it’s day.
The sad part is, as I read that all I could think of is the 2 countries agreeing to spend even more money neither of them have.
And just because they do not overtly mention AGW, does not mean they still are not throwing lots of money towards it.
Lest we forget Obama killed the space program…so exactly what all this commitment is about who knows?
“To address mitigation of greenhouse gases from croplands, and paddy rice, while enhancing food security.”
“greenhouse gases” are the food of croplands and rice paddies, so how does “mitigating” them enhance food security?
Of course, any time something is considered a public good and thus needs public funding, then there is politicisation. You cannot separate the two when the money is one. It’s a myth that science is a public good. It’s not necessary for government to fund this. Government money spent on science takes away from private money spent on science, research, and development.
Mostly blather, I’d say.
“Do I detect the winds of policy change and the replacement of hand wringing by hand washing?”
Yes, you do. To paraphrase Thomas Gold:
The herd will swing around, but it will still be a firm and arrogant herd.
http://amasci.com/freenrg/newidea1.html
“[…] The leaders welcomed in particular the growing partnership between the
UK Meteorological Office (Met Office) and the U.S. National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service, […]”
Aha! Proof of a conspiracy. ;o)
Leading economies? Leading what? How to screw up and then steal money from your citizens? That whole article was such crap.
It is a laundry list of a laundry list of a socialist dream and probably illegal.
The federal government has wrecked havoc on our public educational system and now they intend to advance science by edict no doubt.
Anybody checked Romm’s blood pressure yet?
Nothing that can’t be reversed later, nothing that causes changes to the status quo. Warm hugs all around.
Exactly how we want our political leaders to be.
“In addition, the UK and U.S. entities are engaging African and Asian developing
countries in the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement
Project to better understand the implications of climate change on
food production and food security around the world and to develop
adaption strategies.”
Personally, I never trust anyone (or anything they write) when they spell the word “adaptation” as “adaption”. Junk words, junk science, junk sentiments.
Deep Climate will take his guitar back on the road…