White House Begins to Map Course toward Bio-Based Economy

Politicians and pundits clogged the airwaves last year with rhetoric about the state of the nation's economy. Amid this noise, a few economic policy initiatives did begin to take shape. For instance, last fall, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a request for comments on a draft policy to stimulate the bioeconomy. Scientists have long asserted that research is an investment that yields economic prosperity. A growing number of scientists and engineers have more recently advised that the biological sciences are poised to inspire transformative discoveries that can solve persistent problems while stimulating new economic opportunities. Indeed, in 2009, the National Research Council (NRC) released a 112-page report, A New Biology for the 21st Century: Ensuring the United States Leads the Coming Biology Revolution, which offered recommendations intended to harness the potential of the biological sciences to solve society's grand challenges in the areas of energy, environment, food, and health. The NRC report received a tepid response from many in the research community. Some scientists and agency research managers felt that the report stated the obvious or failed to make a compelling argument for fundamental research or specific lines of research. Many in the science-policy community, however, welcomed the report as a useful tool for triggering an important policy discussion. To a degree, the NRC report provided a roadmap for policymakers interes...
Source: Washington Watch - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news