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Where The Presidential Candidates Stand On Science

This combination of images shows Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Roanoke, Va., on Sept. 24, 2016 and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Sept. 21, 2016 in Orlando, Fla. (Desk/AFP/Getty Images)
This combination of images shows Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Roanoke, Va., on Sept. 24, 2016 and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Sept. 21, 2016 in Orlando, Fla. (Desk/AFP/Getty Images)

It can be tricky to determine, with any certainty, where the candidates stand on the issues, including on issues of science.

That’s why, for the second presidential election cycle in a row, Scientific American magazine has partnered with ScienceDebate.org to pose 20 questions to the candidates — questions that were developed and refined by dozens of scientific organizations that represent more than 10 million scientists.

The candidates’s responses were graded on three criteria: Does the answer actually address the question posed? Is the answer well-informed, with respect to scientific consensus? Does the answer have workable details?

Here & Now‘s Robin Young talks with Christine Gorman, a senior editor at Scientific American who oversaw the process, about the questions, and the candidates’ answers and grades.

Guest

Christine Gorman, senior editor for Scientific American. She tweets @cgorman. Scientific American tweets @SciAm.

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