President Barack Obama brought attention to several technology and engineering topics in Tuesday’s State of the Union address before Congress, calling investment in biomedical research, information technology and clean energy technology this generation’s “Sputnik moment.” The highlights included:
· Electric Vehicles: With more research and incentives, the United States can break its dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015, the president pledged. “We need to get behind this innovation,” he said. “And to help pay for it, I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies … Instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.”
· Exports: To help businesses sell more products abroad, the government has set a goal of doubling exports by 2014. Agreements have been signed recently with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs in the United States and last month a trade agreement was finalized with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs.
· High Speed Internet: Within the next five years, it will be possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans, Obama said. “This isn’t about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls,” he said. “It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.”
· High Speed Rail: Within 25 years, the goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail, with routes in California and the Midwest already underway.
· Renewable Energy: The country is reinventing its energy policy, Obama said. “We’re telling America’s scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we’ll fund the Apollo projects of our time.” By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources, he said, leading the way for clean energy breakthroughs to translate into clean energy jobs.Read the president’s address in its entirety.
