Campaign 2008 home | November 2007 »
October 5, 2007Clinton Says She Would Shield Science From PoliticsThe New York Times: In a stinging critique of Bush administration science policy, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York said yesterday that if she were elected president she would require agency directors to show they were protecting science research from “political pressure” and that she would lift federal limits on stem cell research. October 3, 2007Question: Science EducationThe "Gathering Storm" report warns that in an increasingly competitive world, the U.S. may lose its lead in science and technology, in part because U.S. K-12 science and mathematics education is wanting. What would you do to improve K-12 science and math education? Question: Teaching EvolutionWhile there is no controversy in the scientific community over the basic facts of evolution, advocates of creationism continue to challenge the teaching of evolution in U.S. schools. Do you believe in natural evolution as a fundamental biological process? Would you advocate keeping creationism in its various incarnations, including intelligent design, out of public school classes? Question: Nuclear WeaponsThe U.S. currently maintains its arsenal of about 10,000 nuclear weapons through the Stockpile Stewardship program, Given the concerns about nuclear terrorism and the proliferation of nuclearwepaons in other countries, is there an immediately need to change the .S. nuclear arsenal? Should the reliable replacement Warhead, or another smaller, "tactical" nuclear weapon be developed? Under what circumstances would you support the resumption of nuclear testing? Do you support the reduction in size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal? Question: Science InvestmentAs expressed by several recent national studies and reports, there is ongoing concern in the scientific and industrial communities that the U.S. is losing its world leadership in science. Do you support a significant boost in federal funding for basic research across the sciences, and how would you pay for such an increase? In an era of tight budgets and man y worthy programs, what priority would you give science education and research? Question: Energy PolicyMore than two decades of proposals have not resulted in a comprehensive U.S. energy policy. what incentives or controls would you advocate to improve energy efficiency and conservation? Looking 10 years into the future, what should the U.S. energy mix be, and what role should nuclear energy play? Question: Climate ChangeVirtually all reputable research supports the conclusion that global warming is a growing crisis caused, at least in part, by the burning of fossil fuels. Would you propose mechanisms to control and reduce carbon emissions through a carbon tax, a "cap and trade: system, or some other regulatory program? Would you favor a moratorium on coal-fired power plants that do not capture and sequester CO2? Should a U.S. program to limit CO2 emissions depend on what other countries do? October 1, 2007Obama to Urge Elimination of Nuclear WeaponsThe New York Times: Senator Barack Obama will propose on Tuesday setting a goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons in the world, saying the United States should greatly reduce its stockpiles to lower the threat of nuclear terrorism, aides say. In a speech at DePaul University in Chicago, Mr. Obama will add his voice to a plan endorsed earlier this year by a bipartisan group of former government officials from the cold war era who say the United States must begin building a global consensus to reverse a reliance on nuclear weapons that have become “increasingly hazardous and decreasingly effective.” Mr. Obama, according to details provided by his campaign Monday, also will call for pursuing vigorous diplomatic efforts aimed at a global ban on the development, production and deployment of intermediate-range missiles. “In 2009, we will have a window of opportunity to renew our global leadership and bring our nation together,” Mr. Obama is planning to say, according to an excerpt of remarks provided by his aides. “If we don’t seize that moment, we may not get another.” His speech was to come one day after an announcement by the Bush administration that it had tripled the rate of dismantling nuclear weapons over the last year, putting the United States on track to reducing its stockpile of weapons by half by 2012. The exact number of weapons being dismantled, like the overall stockpile, is secret, but officials said Monday that with the planned reductions, the total number of American nuclear weapons would be at the lowest levels since Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. Under a 2002 treaty, the United States and Russia agreed to limit the number of operational nuclear weapons in their arsenals to between 1,700 and 2,200 by 2012, though that agreement did not address weapons in reserve stockpiles. Mr. Obama, Democrat of Illinois, is seeking to draw attention to his foreign policy views with the approach of the fifth anniversary of the Congressional vote authorizing military action in Iraq. He is highlighting his early opposition to the war, which he argues is a sign of judgment that is more important than the number of years served in Washington. Mr. Obama, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, often tells voters that the Iraq war has consumed American foreign policy to the detriment of its ability to address other threats facing the nation. In his speech on Tuesday, aides said, Mr. Obama will assert, as he has before, that the United States should not threaten terrorist training camps with nuclear weapons. If elected, Mr. Obama plans to say, he will lead a global effort to secure nuclear weapons and material at vulnerable sites within four years. He also will pledge to end production of fissile material for weapons, agree not to build new weapons and remove any remaining nuclear weapons from hair-trigger alert. In his speech, according to a campaign briefing paper, Mr. Obama also will call for using a combination of diplomacy and pressure to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and to eliminate North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs. Aides did not say what Mr. Obama intended to do if diplomacy and sanctions failed. In setting a goal of eliminating nuclear weapons in the world, Mr. Obama is endorsing a call for “urgent new actions” to prevent a new nuclear era that was laid out in January in a commentary in The Wall Street Journal written by several former government officials. The authors of the article were George P. Shultz, secretary of state in the Reagan administration; Henry Kissinger, secretary of state in the Nixon and Ford administrations; William J. Perry, secretary of defense in the Clinton administration; and Sam Nunn, a former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. |
