Well-known signatories include: actors Johnny Depp and Mark Ruffalo, presidential science adviser John Holdren, former energy secretary Steven Chu, inventor Elon Musk, actor/producer David Schwimmer, and educator Bill Nye.
[8][9] This included prominent institutions such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the U.S. National Academies, as well as political movers ranging from John Podesta, President Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff, on the left to Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker, on the right.
[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, then nominee Barack Obama agreed to participate in an online “debate.” He formed a science advisory team that included Harold Varmus to help him answer the questions.
The candidates’ answers to “The Fourteen Top Science Questions Facing America,” covering climate change, energy, health care, space, the environment, and the research drivers of economic competitiveness were published in Nature.
Americans also said the presidential candidates should participate in a debate to discuss key science-based challenges facing the United States, such as healthcare, climate change, energy, education, innovation and the economy (91% of Democrats, 88% of Republicans and 78% of Independents).
[48][49][50][51][52] On January 11, 2016, Science Debate released a PSA in which children ask the candidates for President to discuss various scientific issues including climate change, clean drinking water and the honey bee colony collapse problem.