Science and the Election

During Friday night's debate when McCain once again mentioned the "$3 million" (it was actually more) grizzly bear DNA study as a pork-barrel, waste-of-money, ear-marked whatever, I thought "you've got to be kidding me". First of all, $3 million is nothing. My research group in grad school received NSF grants totaling almost $3 million to study the effects of UV radiation on lakes. I wonder what McCain would say to that! Probably that my Ph.D. was a waste of the federal governments' money. Probably "who cares about lake ecology?" And if he's elected, I'll bet he'll slash the NSF budget just as Bush did. And in contrast to this, did anyone else note that during the debate Obama actually said "We've got to invest in science and technology." I realize that in light of the economy, etc., science is not a priority for most voters. But it certainly is for us scientists, and I think it is crystal clear where the candidates stand on science. That McCain actually declined to answer 18 science-related questions from the prestigious journal Nature speaks for itself. As an ecologist I of course was quite interested in the candidates' responses on evolution. Obama's response: "I do not believe it is helpful to our students to cloud discussions of science with non-scientific theories like intelligent design that are not subject to experimental scrutiny." I could not have said it more clearly myself. McCain's stance on evolution, according to Nature:

McCain said last year, in a Republican primary debate: "I believe in evolution. But I also believe, when I hike the Grand Canyon and see it at sunset, that the hand of God is there also." In 2005, he told the Arizona Daily Star that he thought "all points of view" should be available to students studying the origins of humanity. But the next year a Colorado paper reported him saying that such viewpoints should not be taught in science class.

Okay, at least he finally acknowledged that creationism does not belong in science class. Of course, his creationist VP doesn't feel the same. I also found it interesting that Obama's science and technology advisers are actually, um, scientists, whereas McCain's science advisers are a couple of CEOs, the former secretary of defense, a former CIA director, and a former NSA adviser.