Category Archives: Science Debate 2012

Science Debate 2012: Climate Change

The leading U.S. science and engineering organizations developed a list of 14 science policy questions facing the U.S. in 2012. You can read these questions–and the Presidential candidates’ answers–at ScienceDebate.org.

For each of the Science Debate 2012 questions, we’re going to provide you a selection of the authoritative and unbiased resources of the National Academies to help inform your response to the candidates’ answers. Today, we’re looking at this ScienceDebate question on Climate Change:

The Earth’s climate is changing and there is concern about the potentially adverse effects of these changes on life on the planet. What is your position on cap-and-trade, carbon taxes, and other policies proposed to address global climate change—and what steps can we take to improve our ability to tackle challenges like climate change that cross national boundaries?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

America’s Climate Choices144 pages | Paperback | Price: $26.95Climate change is occurring. It is very likely caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from human activities, and poses significant risks for a range of human and natural systems. And these emissions continue to increase, which will result in further… [more]

Advancing the Science of Climate Change528 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.95Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for–and in many cases is already affecting–a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the… [more]

Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change348 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.95Global climate change is one of America’s most significant long-term policy challenges. Human activity–especially the use of fossil fuels, industrial processes, livestock production, waste disposal, and land use change–is affecting global average… [more]

Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change276 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.95Climate change, driven by the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, poses serious, wide-ranging threats to human societies and natural ecosystems around the world. The largest overall source of greenhouse gas emissions is the burning… [more]

Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years160 pages | Paperback | Price: $36.00In response to a request from Congress, Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years assesses the state of scientific efforts to reconstruct surface temperature records for Earth during approximately the last 2,000 years and the… [more]

Science Debate 2012: Pandemics and Biosecurity

Recent experiments show how Avian flu may become transmissible among mammals. In an era of constant and rapid international travel, what steps should the United States take to protect our population from emerging diseases, global pandemics and/or deliberate biological attacks?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-Containment Biological Laboratories216 pages | Paperback | Price: $41.40During July 10-13, 2011, 68 participants from 32 countries gathered in Istanbul, Turkey for a workshop organized by the United States National Research Council on Anticipating Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-containment Biological… [more]

The Threat of Pandemic Influenza: Are We Ready? Workshop Summary432 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.10Public health officials and organizations around the world remain on high alert because of increasing concerns about the prospect of an influenza pandemic, which many experts believe to be inevitable. Moreover, recent problems with the availability and… [more]

Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Diseases340 pages | Paperback | Price: $42.30H1N1 (“swine flu”), SARS, mad cow disease, and HIV/AIDS are a few examples of zoonotic diseases-diseases transmitted between humans and animals. Zoonotic diseases are a growing concern given multiple factors: their often novel and unpredictable nature, their… [more]

The Impact of Globalization on Infectious Disease Emergence and Control: Exploring the Consequences and Opportunities, Workshop Summary – Forum on Microbial Threats246 pages | Paperback | Price: $40.50[more]

Science Debate 2012: Vaccination and Public Health

Vaccination campaigns against preventable diseases such as measles, polio and whooping cough depend on widespread participation to be effective, but in some communities vaccination rates have fallen off sharply. What actions would you support to enforce vaccinations in the interest of public health, and in what circumstances should exemptions be allowed?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality892 pages | Hardcover | Price: $71.95In 1900, for every 1,000 babies born in the United States, 100 would die before their first birthday, often due to infectious diseases. Today, vaccines exist for many viral and bacterial diseases. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, passed in 1986, was… [more]

Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism102 pages | Paperback | Price: $25.20Immunization is widely regarded as one of the most effective and beneficial tools for protecting the public’s health. In the United States, immunization programs have resulted in the eradication of smallpox, the elimination of polio, and the control and near… [more]

Priorities for the National Vaccine Plan368 pages | Paperback | Price: $51.30Vaccination is a fundamental component of preventive medicine and public health. The use of vaccines to prevent infectious diseases has resulted in dramatic decreases in disease, disability, and death in the United States and around the world. The current… [more]

Ranking Vaccines: A Prioritization Framework: Phase I: Demonstration of Concept and a Software Blueprint170 pages | Paperback | Price: $54.00As a number of diseases emerge or reemerge thus stimulating new vaccine development opportunities to help prevent those diseases, it can be especially difficult for decision makers to know where to invest their limited resources. Therefore, it is increasingly… [more]

For the Public’s Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges140 pages | Paperback | Price: $35.10The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to examine three topics in relation to public health: measurement, the law, and funding. IOM prepared a three book series-one book on each topic-that contain actionable recommendations… [more]

Science Debate 2012: The Internet

The Internet plays a central role in both our economy and our society. What role, if any, should the federal government play in managing the Internet to ensure its robust social, scientific, and economic role?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

Continuing Innovation in Information Technology42 pages | Paperback | Price: $24.30Information technology (IT) is widely understood to be the enabling technology of the 21st century. IT has transformed, and continues to transform, all aspects of our lives: commerce and finance, education, employment, energy, health care, manufacturing,… [more]

Rising to the Challenge: U.S. Innovation Policy for Global Economy573 pages | Paperback | Price: $64.80America’s position as the source of much of the world’s global innovation has been the foundation of its economic vitality and military power in the post-war. No longer is U.S. pre-eminence assured as a place to turn laboratory discoveries into new commercial… [more]

Getting Up to Speed: The Future of Supercomputing308 pages | Paperback | Price: $31.50Supercomputers play a significant and growing role in a variety of areas important to the nation. They are used to address challenging science and technology problems. In recent years, however, progress in supercomputing in the United States has slowed. The… [more]

Technology, Policy, Law, and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities390 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.10The United States is increasingly dependent on information and information technology for both civilian and military purposes, as are many other nations. Although there is a substantial literature on the potential impact of a cyberattack on the societal… [more]

Toward a Safer and More Secure Cyberspace328 pages | Paperback | Price: $51.30Given the growing importance of cyberspace to nearly all aspects of national life, a secure cyberspace is vitally important to the nation, but cyberspace is far from secure today. The United States faces the real risk that adversaries will exploit… [more]

Science Debate 2012: Research and the Future

Federally funded research has helped to produce America’s major postwar economies and to ensure our national security, but today the UK, Singapore, China, and Korea are making competitive investments in research. Given that the next Congress will face spending constraints, what priority would you give to investment in research in your upcoming budgets?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

Research Universities and the Future of America: Ten Breakthrough Actions Vital to Our Nation’s Prosperity and Security227 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.10Research Universities and the Future of America presents critically important strategies for ensuring that our nation’s research universities contribute strongly to America’s prosperity, security, and national goals. Widely considered the best… [more]

New Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences132 pages | Paperback | Price: $39.60The 2001 National Research Council (NRC) report Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science (BROES) described how basic research in the Earth sciences serves five national imperatives: (1) discovery, use, and conservation of natural resources; (2)… [more]

Research for a Future in Space: The Role of Life and Physical Sciences32 pages | Paperback | Price: $0.90During its more than 50-year history, NASA’s success in human space exploration has depended on the agency’s ability to effectively address a wide range of biomedical, engineering, physical sciences, and related obstacles. This achievement is made possible by… [more]

Research Training in the Biomedical, Behavioral, and Clinical Research Sciences208 pages | Paperback | Price: $35.10Comprehensive research and a highly-trained workforce are essential for the improvement of health and health care both nationally and internationally. During the past 40 years the National Research Services Award (NRSA) Program has played a large role in… [more]

Research in the Life Sciences with Dual Use Potential: An International Faculty Development Project on Education About the Responsible Conduct of Science54 pages | Paperback | Price: $26.10In many countries, colleges and universities are where the majority of innovative research is done; in all cases, they are where future scientists receive both their initial training and their initial introduction to the norms of scientific conduct regardless… [more]

Science Debate 2012: Ocean Health

Scientists estimate that 75 percent of the world’s fisheries are in serious decline, habitats like coral reefs are threatened, and large areas of ocean and coastlines are polluted. What role should the federal government play domestically and through foreign policy to protect the environmental health and economic vitality of the oceans?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

Ocean Acidification: Starting with the Science20 pages | Paperback | Price: $0.90Over recent years, human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels have increased the amount of carbon dioxide gas emitted to the atmosphere–and the amount that dissolves into the ocean. Now, so much carbon dioxide has been absorbed by the ocean that… [more]

Assessing Requirements for Sustained Ocean Color Research and Operations126 pages | Paperback | Price: $36.90The ocean is a fundamental component of the earth’s biosphere. It covers roughly 70 percent of Earth’s surface and plays a pivotal role in the cycling of life’s building blocks, such as nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulfur. The ocean also contributes to… [more]

Critical Infrastructure for Ocean Research and Societal Needs in 203098 pages | Paperback | Price: $29.02The United States has jurisdiction over 3.4 million square miles of ocean in its exclusive economic zone, a size exceeding the combined land area of the 50 states. This expansive marine area represents a prime national domain for activities such as maritime… [more]

Future Science Opportunities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean230 pages | Paperback | Price: $45.00Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean remains one of the world’s last frontiers. Covering nearly 14 million km² (an area approximately 1.4 times the size of the United States), Antarctica is the coldest, driest, highest, and windiest continent on… [more]

Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals204 pages | Paperback | Price: $42.30For the 119 species of marine mammals, as well as for some other aquatic animals, sound is the primary means of learning about the environment and of communicating, navigating, and foraging. The possibility that human-generated noise could harm marine mammals or… [more]

Science Debate 2012: Energy

Many policymakers and scientists say energy security and sustainability are major problems facing the United States this century. What policies would you support to meet the demand for energy while ensuring an economically and environmentally sustainable future?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

America’s Energy Future: Technology and Transformation650 pages | Paperback | Price: $62.95For multi-user PDF licensing, please contact customer service.Energy touches our lives in countless ways and its costs are felt when we fill up at the gas pump, pay our home heating bills, and… [more]

Real Prospects for Energy Efficiency in the United States352 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.95For multi-user PDF licensing, please contact customer service.America’s economy and lifestyles have been shaped by the low prices and availability of energy. In the last decade, however, the… [more]

Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass: Technological Status, Costs, and Environmental Impacts388 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.95The transportation sector cannot continue on its current path: The volatility of oil prices threatens the U.S. economy, the large proportion of oil importation threatens U.S. energy security, and the massive contribution of greenhouse gases… [more]

Electricity from Renewable Resources: Status, Prospects, and Impediments388 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.95A component in the America’s Energy Future study, Electricity from Renewable Resources examines the technical potential for electric power generation with alternative sources such as wind, solar-photovoltaic, geothermal, solar-thermal, hydroelectric,… [more]

Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use506 pages | Paperback | Price: $42.30Despite the many benefits of energy, most of which are reflected in energy market prices, the production, distribution, and use of energy causes negative effects. Many of these negative effects are not reflected in energy market prices. When market failures like… [more]

Science Debate 2012: Food

Thanks to science and technology, the United States has the world’s most productive and diverse agricultural sector, yet many Americans are increasingly concerned about the health and safety of our food. The use of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides, as well as animal diseases and even terrorism pose risks. What steps would you take to ensure the health, safety and productivity of America’s food supply?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century598 pages | Paperback | Price: $58.50In the last 20 years, there has been a remarkable emergence of innovations and technological advances that are generating promising changes and opportunities for sustainable agriculture, yet at the same time the agricultural sector worldwide faces numerous… [more]

Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States270 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.10Since genetically engineered (GE) crops were introduced in 1996, their use in the United States has grown rapidly, accounting for 80-90 percent of soybean, corn, and cotton acreage in 2009. To date, crops with traits that provide resistance to some herbicides… [more]

Ensuring Safe Foods and Medical Products Through Stronger Regulatory Systems Abroad366 pages | Paperback | Price: $57.60A very high portion of the seafood we eat comes from abroad, mainly from China and Southeast Asia, and most of the active ingredients in medicines we take originate in other countries. Many low- and middle-income countries have lower labor costs and fewer and… [more]

Hunger and Obesity: Understanding a Food Insecurity Paradigm: Workshop Summary240 pages | Paperback | Price: $46.35At some point during 2009, more than 17 million households in the United States had difficulty providing enough food for all their members because of a lack of resources. In more than one-third of these households, the food intake of some household members… [more]

Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach: Workshop Summary418 pages | Paperback | Price: $66.60Globalization of the food supply has created conditions favorable for the emergence, reemergence, and spread of food-borne pathogens-compounding the challenge of anticipating, detecting, and effectively responding to food-borne threats to health. In the… [more]

Science Debate 2012: Education

Increasingly, the global economy is driven by science, technology, engineering and math, but a recent comparison of 15-year-olds in 65 countries found that average science scores among U.S. students ranked 23rd, while average U.S. math scores ranked 31st. In your view, why have American students fallen behind over the last three decades, and what role should the federal government play to better prepare students of all ages for the science and technology-driven global economy?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas400 pages | Paperback | Price: $35.95Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity’s most pressing current and future challenges. The United States’ position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S…. [more]

Successful K-12 STEM Education: Identifying Effective Approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics44 pages | Paperback | Price: $11.65Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are cultural achievements that reflect our humanity, power our economy, and constitute fundamental aspects of our lives as citizens, consumers, parents, and members of the workforce. Providing all… [more]

Improving Measurement of Productivity in Higher Education230 pages | Paperback | Price: $42.30Higher education is a linchpin of the American economy and society. Teaching and research at colleges and universities contribute significantly to the nation’s economic activity, both directly and through their impact on future growth; federal and state… [more]

Fueling Innovation and Discovery: The Mathematical Sciences in the 21st Century57 pages | Paperback | Price: $17.95The mathematical sciences are part of everyday life. Modern communication, transportation, science, engineering, technology, medicine, manufacturing, security, and finance all depend on the mathematical sciences. Fueling Innovation and Discovery… [more]

Science Debate 2012: Space

The United States is currently in a major discussion over our national goals in space. What should America’s space exploration and utilization goals be in the 21st century and what steps should the government take to help achieve them?

How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.

New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics324 pages | Paperback | Price: $35.95Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically during the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to… [more]

Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022400 pages | Paperback | Price: $49.50In recent years, planetary science has seen a tremendous growth in new knowledge. Deposits of water ice exist at the Moon’s poles. Discoveries on the surface of Mars point to an early warm wet climate, and perhaps conditions under which life could have… [more]

Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era442 pages | Paperback | Price: $77.17More than four decades have passed since a human first set foot on the Moon. Great strides have been made in our understanding of what is required to support an enduring human presence in space, as evidenced by progressively more advanced orbiting human… [more]

Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society454 pages | Paperback | Price: $60.30From the interior of the Sun, to the upper atmosphere and near-space environment of Earth, and outward to a region far beyond Pluto where the Sun’s influence wanes, advances during the past decade in space physics and solar physics–the disciplines NASA… [more]

Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond456 pages | CD-ROM | $38.70

Natural and human-induced changes in Earth’s interior, land surface, biosphere, atmosphere, and oceans affect all aspects of life. Understanding these changes requires a range of observations acquired from land-, sea-, air-, and space-based platforms. To… [more]