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Want science back in the national equation? Get busy, it won’t happen without your action

Funding for the majority of federal science and technology programs in the United States has declined or remained flat during the past seven years. And don’t assume that will change with the next administration. Politicians simply don’t know jack about science and technology, says former Congressman John Porter, a moderate Republican from Illinois. In fact, fewer than 3 percent of our Congressional representatives have any science background. By comparison, 8 out 9 top officials in China are scientists. “We don’t have China’s system, thank god,� says Porter, “But we do have the same challenges and opportunities in technology.�

So if you want science to once again become a national priority in the Unites States, it’s your patriotic duty, says Porter, to either: (a) run for office; (b) volunteer to be your candidate’s science advisor, if he or she doesn’t already have one or has one that you don’t like; or, for those of us employed, (c) carefully school yourself on the candidates and their positions on key issues, like embryonic stem cell research, climate change and science education, then urge your candidate to bring those issues front and center in their campaign. Meanwhile, we’ll continue do our part of bringing bi-partisan clarity to the science and technology issues weighing most heavily on the 2008 Presidential Election. In the meantime, here are a couple of excellent sites to help jump start your sci-tech election homework:

election2008.aaas.org

yourcandidatesyourhealth.org

The FDA announced today that meat and milk from cloned animals are just as safe as the normal stuff. Other nations have already come to the same conclusion, but this is still a major regulatory step here in the U.S. That said, clone-burgers and clone-shakes aren’t going to be on sale right away. The FDA has asked clone companies to hold off selling the stuff for now. Which is probably painful, since the potential market for cloned food products has been estimated at $20 billion. One reason is that there’s some serious PR work to be done before the American people are ready to swallow these not-quite-natural goods. There are also a few economic hold-ups—the animals themselves are expensive, and it may be the offspring of clones that head to the butcher. There are also some big questions about the long-term health of clones that need answering. So it’s probably safe to say that Dolly stew is at least a few years away.

France unveils an ultra-speedy train that’s roomier and more efficient than its predecessors.

Here it is: the high-speed train your kids will take when they backpack around Europe. It’s called the AGV (Automotrice a Grand Vitesse, which translates to High-Speed Self-Propelled Unit). This 224 mph machine is the successor to the TGV, which started the European high-speed train boom in the early 1980s.

The French rail giant Alstom (also the manufacturer of the London-to-Paris Eurostar train) unveiled AGV in a press conference today outside Paris featuring French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Alstom says the AGV is both faster and more energy-efficient than its predecessor and its rivals. By comparison, the TGV tops out at 200 mph (though last year a supercharged TGV set a world rail speed record at 357.2 mph), and Japan’s Shinkansen bullet train tops out at 185 mph.

The AGV’s gets a boost in speed and efficiency from a design that places engines underneath each car. This does away with the locomotives in front and back that drive the TGV, and results in 30 percent better fuel efficiency and 20 percent more passenger space than the TGV. (It can hold up to 700 people.)

Interestingly, it looks as if the first AGVs to carry passengers will appear in Italy. The Italian transport company Nuovo Transporto Aiaggiatori has ordered 25 AGVs, which should start running in Italy by 2011-2012.