Where do the presidential candidates stand on technological innovation? Questions like that tend to get lost in the shuffle - while the Iraqwar, abortion and religion get much more of the spotlight. However, it's not too early to start paying attention to what the candidates are saying about science, technology and engineering, for two big reasons.
First of all, energy and the environment are rapidly becoming key issues in the campaign: As the realities of a warming world take hold, more and more people are recognizing that energy policy affects national security, and that environmental policy affects international relations. The bottom line for all those issues has to do with science (what is happening to the world and its resources?) and technology (what can we do about it?).
Second, this campaign cycle's winnowing process could unfold relatively quickly. Even though Election Day is 18 months away, the fact that the primary season is front-loaded means that voters will have to be paying attention to their key issues sooner rather than later.
Thus, if energy policy is important to you, it's worth knowing that Republican John McCain as well as Democrat Barack Obama are in favor of instituting California's low-carbon fuel standard scheme on the national level. And that Democrat John Edwards envisions a $13 billion fund for energy innovation, primarily funded by the sale of greenhouse-gas pollution permits. And that McCain as well as Democrat Hillary Clinton have been softening their stance against ethanol subsidies.
It's even more important for the second-tier candidates to come up with some fresh solutions to technological challenges. And that's why it's good to see that one of the GOP hopefuls, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, was quick on the draw with comments about the Grand Challenges for Engineering.
Randy Atkins, who is riding herd on the Grand Challenges in his capacity as senior media relations officer at the National Academy of Engineering, told me that all the declared candidates were asked to send in statements a couple of weeks ago. Huckabee was the first to respond, and Atkins hopes that the other candidates will participate in the weeks and months ahead.
In his comments, Huckabee suggests an innovation that he says could "revolutionize not just the energy industry and how we power our machines, but also the recycling and waste disposal industries, environmental conservation, and the design and production of future products that would benefit society":
"If engineers could design and build a prototype of a universal bio-fuel conversion machine that was affordable, capable of mass production, and space-efficient enough to be on every farm, and perhaps in every home, it would truly be an invaluable wonder....
"If it also was possible to design a machine so efficient that the average household could use it to convert their waste into bio-fuel for personal use or to sell to an energy supplier, the impact on our economy and natural environment would be even greater...."
The beauty part is that such machines already exist: Manure digesters for family farms have been around for years, and now it's only a question of making the devices more affordable. There are even methods for turning cow poop into particleboard.
Meanwhile, an innovative system for turning household food waste into biogas for cooking is on the rise in urban India. The nonprofit manufacturers of the compact digester plants, which are made from two water tanks and sell for about $150, won a $370,000 Ashden Award last year.
It all goes to show you that bargain-basement innovations in appropriate technology can contribute as much as multibillion-dollar development funds to the solution of global energy and environmental problems.
For further reflections on the state of science policy, check out the American Association for the Advancement of Science's recently released analysis of the coming fiscal year's federal budget for research and development. And if it's space policy you're interested in, you can't do much better than Jeff Foust's Space Politics blog.
Are you in the mood to discuss where your candidate stands on science and technology policy? Have you come across other promising avenues in energy engineering? Feel free to add your comments below.
