David Baltimore and Ahmed Zewail have written an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal calling for renewed interest in science at the presidential and congressional level. They write:
Last year things seemed hopeful, at least for the physical sciences. The National Academy of Sciences issued a report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," that helped drive Congress to pass legislation – the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) – aimed at bolstering the sciences. It was supposed to beef up the study of science in high school. In the end, no money was found to fund the initiative. It was a commitment made, but not kept.
That was the rule of thumb for most of the scientific initiatives. The science bill came back flat from congress and some programs were drastically cut. Funding for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a joint venture with several other nations, was zeroed out completely. Why is it that when it looks like things are going well for sciences, short-sighted partisan politics comes into play? Read the whole thing.
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