Obama vows boost in science, says U.S. 'to lead once again'

WASHINGTON - President Obama promised a new era of science and technology for the nation, telling the National Academy of Sciences yesterday that he wanted to devote more funds to research and development.

America has fallen behind other countries in science, Obama said.

"I believe it is not in our character, American character, to follow - but to lead," he said in a speech at the annual meeting of the academy. "And it is time for us to lead once again. I am here today to set this goal: We will devote more than 3 percent of our gross domestic product to research and development."

That 3 percent would amount to about $420 billion.

"We will not just meet but we will exceed the level achieved at the height of the space race," he said.

That pursuit of discovery a half-century ago fueled the nation's prosperity and success, Obama told the academy. "The commitment I am making today will fuel our success for another 50 years," he said. "This work begins with an historic commitment to basic science and applied research."

And he set forth a wish list, including solar cells as cheap as paint; green buildings that produce all the energy they consume; learning software as effective as a personal tutor; prosthetics so advanced that you could play the piano again; and "an expansion of the frontiers of human knowledge about ourselves and world the around us."

"We can do this," Obama said to applause.

In recent years, he said, "scientific integrity has been undermined and scientific research politicized in an effort to advance predetermined ideological agendas."

He then drew chuckles, commenting: "I want to be sure that facts are driving scientific decisions, not the other way around."

He added: "At such a difficult moment, there are those who say we cannot afford to invest in science, that support for research is somehow a luxury at a moment defined by necessities. I fundamentally disagree. Science is more essential for our prosperity, our security, our health, our environment, and our quality of life than it has ever been."

Obama said he planned to double the budget of key science agencies over a decade, including the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy Office of Science, and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology.

He also announced the launch of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. It is a new Department of Energy organization modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which led in development of the Internet, stealth aircraft, and other technological breakthroughs.

And he said the Energy Department and the National Science Foundation would offer programs and scholarships to encourage American students to pursue careers in science, engineering, and business related to clean energy.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday that any agreement to combat global warming should require developing countries like India and China to reduce emissions. China has surpassed the United States as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and India - along with Russia and the European Union - is in the top five.

In Washington, Clinton told 16 of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases that Washington would work hard to forge a new global agreement.

As evidence, she cited an Environmental Protection Agency finding that six greenhouse gases pose a threat to health, opening the door to tighter rules.

The forum aims to lay the groundwork for an accord by December, when delegates from 175 countries meet in Denmark to write a new treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

The protocol required 37 countries to cut emissions by 5 percent by 2012.                  - Associated PressEndText