Good news everyone, somebody gives a damn about the future!

Obama gave a press conference today about science. It was 15 minutes of things I’ve ranted about on this blog for months – that not only is science education fundamental to the future of this country, but it’s fundamental to advancing society as a whole.

It’s worth watching and noting that this isn’t just a government effort, but something smartly interwoven into business, television, science celebrities and more – the kind of co-effort and cooperation that it takes to really make something of this magnitude succeed.

I particularly like when Obama says “it’s about the ability to understand our world…to think critically.” When contrasted against where our country and government had been heading the previous eight years, when contrasted against debate and discussion in society today, that’s a 180 degree turn in behavior that I’d like to see.

This campaign, called “Educate to Innovate” which in turn has another buzz word attached with it called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) will be the focal point to drive America back to the top in science education.

It sounds like a number of efforts are underway, and more are getting ready to kick off – so hopefully this won’t be a lot of smoke, mirrors, and rhetoric. Though it seems funny to have this push when NASA is having its budgets flayed. I’m not quite sure how you justify the diminishing of the most visible and premiere showcase of science, math, engineering and technology in light of this speech.