Barack Obama's vision of a scientific America

Barack Obama's vision of a scientific America - Telegraph

What are Obama's specific pledges? First, to increase federal funding for science and engineering, which has halved as a share of GDP since 1970. He has promised to double the research budgets of the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the other key agencies over the next decade, supporting high-risk, high-reward research in computing, biotech, nanotechnology and other fields.

Second, Obama has promised to invest in education, guaranteeing students access to a strong science curriculum and increasing the importance of maths and physics in schools.

Third, there is his plan for a green economy: a promised investment of $150 billion over 10 years to create five million new jobs.

There will be a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions and renewed engagement with international climate groups, including the UN's; investment in nuclear energy, clean coal technology and energy efficiency; and a requirement that
10 per cent of America's energy comes from renewable sources by 2012.

Fourth, there will be more investment in America's space programme, and in long-term research by the Pentagon's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency.

And finally, there will also be a new willingness to engage with genetic research: the head of Obama's "transition team" has already signified that they will look again at stem-cell research, which President Bush rejected.