Are science and technology being shortchanged in the current presidential race? So far, the campaign has focused on past policies and mistakes, not future directions. The talk about tomorrow has been nothing more than stirring rhetoric about making the United States great again, bringing it back, and other equally vague promises.
Missing is any specific debate about science and technology (see The Scientist, June 27, 1988, page 1). Both George Bush and Michael Dukakis are “for” them, but which technology or science do they favor, and what exactly will they do? The point is not trivial.
The decisions made by the government in the next few years will shape our lives beyond the year 2000. Listed below are some issues that the Congress and next president should think about. If we don’t act on these issues soon, they will turn from hypothetical possibilities to real crises. The key questions are:
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