The nonprofit advocacy group ScienceDebate.org has received written answers to its "20 Most Important Science Questions."
Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Jill Stein all answered promptly and in some detail, Gary Johnson, the Libertarian, did not.
Here are the Questions and Answers.
Along with its partners in this effort -- a coalition of 56 leading U.S. science, medicine and engineering organizations representing more than 10 million people -- ScienceDebate.org not only calls on U.S. presidential candidates to address the 20 questions, but also encourages journalists, debate moderators and voters to press the candidates on them.
"These 2- 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. This view is supported by a 2015 national poll commissioned by ScienceDebate.org and Research!America which revealed that a large majority of Americans (87 percent) want candidates for President and Congress to have a basic understanding of the science informing public policy.
The consortium crowd-sourced and refined hundreds of suggestions, then submitted the questions to the four campaigns along with an invitation to the candidates to discuss them on television, preferably in a live science debate (or forum) organized by the group.
"Ideally, the people seeking to govern a first-world country would have a basic understanding of everything from sustainable energy to environmental threats to evidence-based medicine," observed the Des Moines Register in a recent editorial. "They would talk about these things... Imagine if the public -- and debate moderators -- pressured presidential candidates to talk about the country's electrical grid or emerging disease threats instead of abortion and transgender bathrooms. Political discourse would be smarter. And the individuals who seek the highest office in the land might learn a few things, too."
The list of organizations supporting the 20 Questions project (see below) is a Who's Who of the American science enterprise.
To support ScienceDebate's effort to raise awareness of the vital role science plays in modern life, visit ScienceDebate.org. Other supporters and signatories include over 20 Nobel prizewinners, major actors, university presidents, tech leaders, hospitals and hospital leaders, journalists, science activists, and dozens of other science, health, medicine, and engineering advocates from across the nation.
**ScienceDebate.org*American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association of Geographers*American Chemical SocietyAmerican Fisheries SocietyAmerican Geophysical Union*American Geosciences Institute*American Institute of Biological SciencesAmerican Institute of Professional Geologists American Rock Mechanics AssociationAmerican Society for Engineering EducationAmerican Society of AgronomyAmerican Society of Ichthyologists and HerpetologistsAmerican Society of MammalogistsAmerican Institute for Medical and Biological EngineeringAssociation for Women GeoscientistsAssociation of Ecosystem Research CentersAutomation Federation*Biophysical SocietyBotanical Society of AmericaCarnegie Institution for ScienceConservation Lands FoundationCrop Science Society of AmericaDuke UniversityEcological Society of AmericaGeological Society of America*IEEE-USAInternational Committee Monitoring Assisted Reproductive TechnologiesMaterials Research SocietyNACE International, The Worldwide Corrosion Authority*National Academy of Engineering*National Academy of Medicine*National Academy of SciencesNational Cave and Karst Research Institute*National Center for Science EducationNational Ground Water AssociationNatural Science Collections AllianceNortheastern UniversityOrganization of Biological Field StationsPaleontological Society*Research!AmericaScientific American magazineSeismological Society of America*Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research SocietySociety for Science & the PublicSociety for the Preservation of Natural History CollectionsSociety of Fire Protection EngineersSociety of Wetland ScientistsSociety of Women EngineersSoil Science Society of AmericaSUNY College of Environmental Science and ForestryTufts University*Union of Concerned ScientistsUniversity City Science Center*U.S. Council on CompetitivenessThe Wildlife SocietyWorld Endometriosis Research Foundation America *Supplied experts to the questions development process**Lead organizer The consortium's list of 20 questions are available online at ScienceDebate.org/20answers.