Deep Concerns Aired at AAAS's 30th S&T Policy Forum

摘要

When U.S. Representative Rush Holt took the stage at the AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy, he offered a critical view of the state of the union between science and policy-makers: The federal government is underinvesting in "almost every sector" of S&T research. Energy policy remains focused on oil, despite high prices and the impact of global warming. Young students enter school open to the excitement of science, he said, but "we beat it out of them over the years." Holt's view was sobering, but it captured the prevailing mood among scientists and science policy experts during the 2-day gathering hi Washington, B.C. Despite the broad contributions of science to American well-being, many speakers said, it is finding diminished support from policy-makers and from much of the public on issues ranging from climate change to development of the S&T workforce.