U.S. Presidential Candidates Answer Science Questions

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

***** UPDATE - 2016 September 21 ***** Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party Nominee for U.S. President) has now responded to the questions posed by ScienceDebate.org . His answers are now included, along with the answers of the other three candidates, in the linked Internet web page posted near the end of this blog-post.

Three of the four leading candidates, in the 2016 race for the U.S. Presidency, have answered 20 questions in the areas of Science, Engineering, Technology, Health, and the Environment. As they did during the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Presidential Races, these 20 questions were posed to the candidates by the non-profit advocacy group ScienceDebate.org.

The 20 questions were answered, by press time, by former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (Democratic Nominee), businessman and real estate tycoon Donald J. Trump (Republican Party Nominee), and physician Dr. Jill Stein (Green Party Nominee). ScienceDebate.org is waiting for a response from former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party Nominee).

These 20 questions were formulated by a blue-ribbon coalition of 56 non-partisan organizations representing more than 10 million scientists and engineers. On August 10, this coalition sent the questions to the four leading presidential candidates.

“Taken collectively, these twenty issues have at least as profound an impact on voters’ lives as those more frequently covered by journalists, including candidates’ views on economic policy, foreign policy, and faith and values,” said ScienceDebate.org chair Shawn Otto, organizer of the effort and author of The War on Science.

A ScienceDebate.org news release on September 13 went on to say, “A 2015 national poll commissioned by ScienceDebate.org and Research!America revealed that a large majority of Americans (87%) say it is important that candidates for President and Congress have a basic understanding of the science informing public policy issues.”

For more than eight years, ScienceDebate.org has been seeking to include science questions in the scheduled presidential debates, or possibly dedicate a special debate of the presidential candidates to science and technology topics. Although neither has happened, U.S. President Barack Obama, and his Republican rivals John McCain and Mitt Romney, all answered the science questions posed to them by ScienceDebate.org in the last two presidential races.

The 20 questions asked the candidates, for the 2016 U.S. Presidential Race, regard:

1. Innovation
2. Research
3. Climate Change
4. Biodiversity
5. The Internet
6. Mental Health
7. Energy
8. Education
9. Public Health
10. Water
11. Nuclear Power
12. Food
13. Global Challenges
14. Regulations
15. Vaccination
16. Space
17. Opioids
18. Ocean Health
19. Immigration
20. Scientific Integrity

ScienceDebate.org urges journalists, bloggers, and the general public to press the presidential candidates on these issues during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election season.

Internet Link to the Answers, to the 20 Science Questions, by U.S. Presidential Candidates:
Link >>> sciencedebate.org/20answers

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

ScienceDebate.org ---
Link 1 >>> http://sciencedebate.org/
Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ScienceDebate.org

2016 U.S. Presidential and Vice Presidential Debate Schedule:
Link >>> http://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016-debate-schedule/2016-presidential-debate-schedule/

Official Internet Web Sites of the U.S. Presidential Candidates Questioned ---

Former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (Democratic Nominee):
Link >>> https://www.hillaryclinton.com

Businessman and real estate tycoon Donald J. Trump (Republican Party Nominee):
Link >>> https://www.donaldjtrump.com/

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party Nominee):
Link >>> https://www.johnsonweld.com/

Physician Dr. Jill Stein (Green Party Nominee):
Link >>> http://www.jill2016.com/
 
Related Blog Posts ---

Science Questions: Congressional Leaders Answer." 2012 Oct. 18.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/10/science-questions-congressional-leaders.html

 

"NEW LINK: ScienceDebate - Obama & Romney Answers." 2012 Sept. 4.

 Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/09/new-link-sciencedebate-obama-romney.html

 

"Science Questions Answered by Obama & Romney." 2012 Sept. 4.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2012/09/science-questions-answered-by-obama.html

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.

             2016 Sept. 18.


                                                              
        2016: 75th Year of Pittsburgh's Buhl Planetarium Observatory
     Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/01/astronomical-calendar-2016-january.html

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