ScienceDebate2008 – in Science

I'm catching up on my reading, and I just noticed that Sheril Kirshenbaum and other leaders of the ScienceDebate2008 effort have an article in this week's issue of Science. Here's a snippet from the article, but I encourage you to go read the whole thing:

A science debate among presidential candidates has not yet occurred. There are several dates when such a debate could take place; as of this writing, none have been agreed to by the candidates. After a decade of what could be seen as antiscience in our nation's public discourse, and in a mainstream media culture more suited to sound bites than paragraphs, politicians are understandably reluctant to engage. But that reluctance is the very reason for this effort and for similar efforts. In an increasingly scientific world, science will become ever more intertwined with policy issues. Scientists must embrace every opportunity to engage in broader public discourse as ambassadors, popularizers, inspirers, educators, and, especially, policy-makers.

Our primary mission, to raise the profile of science in our national dialogue and in the minds of policy-makers and the public, remains. The effort has made the candidates aware of how critical science policy issues are in our global society whether they show the courage to debate them or not, and their response to this initiative will be on record and will form a basis for future development. Looking ahead, the science debate initiative may provide a means of injecting science into political discourse in the next cycle of congressional races and the presidential race of 2012.