New Year, New Administration, New Opportunities

摘要

The economy took a nose-dive in the fall of 2008, with all indicators showing a free fall: inflation at nearly 6 percent—its highest level in 17 years—unemployment at 6 percent, no net job growth in the private sector for most of 2008, plummeting housing prices, and record losses in the banking industry. Public investments in technology, a major component of which is the Internet, have reaped huge benefits for the economy in the past. Remember, however, that it is science that supports the technology we need to keep America great in the 21st century.nnWithin a few short years, an estimated seven billion people will populate the planet, and all of them will need food, shelter, and water. Natural resources are dwindling, and the challenges of achieving energy security, assuring good quality of life in old age, securing safe water to drink, finding workable responses to climate change, and protecting public health will loom large. None of these challenges can be met without developing and employing new technologies.