NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2012/10/05
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2012-10-05 14:39.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear Friends of NCSE, A new survey of public opinion about climate change from thirteen countries around the world, a new member of NCSE's board of directors, and a new online resource about Alfred Russel Wallace.
POLLING CLIMATE CHANGE IN THIRTEEN COUNTRIES A recent survey surveyed public opinion about climate change in thirteen countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The survey found that "[t]he reality of climate change is firmly established in international public opinion: 9 out of 10 people polled believe that the climate has changed significantly in the past 20 years. With the exception of the United States, this belief is especially prevalent in the regions that are most vulnerable to climate risks. In addition, people seem convinced that climate change is a scientific fact, since 3 out of 4 consider that climate change has been scientifically proven." Asked "Do you feel that our climate has changed over the past 20 years?" 48% of respondents overall agreed with "Yes, very much"; 40% agreed with "Yes, rather"; 10% agreed with "No, not really"; 1% agreed with "No, not at all"; and 1% didn't know. Mexico and Hong Kong were tied for the greatest rate of acceptance of climate change, with 98% agreeing with either of the yes answers; the United States was lowest, with only 72% agreeing with either of the yes answers. Asked "Which one of the following two statements best corresponds to your opinion?" 77% of respondents overall agreed with "Climate change has been proven by science" and 23% agreed with "Climate change has not been proven by science." Indonesia and Hong Kong had the greatest rate of acceptance of the scientific validity of climate change, with 95% and 89% agreeing, while the United States, Great Britain, and Japan having the lowest, with only 65%, 63%, and 58% agreeing. The survey, conducted by Ipsos for the insurance group AXA, was conducted from July 5 to August 6, 2012, among over 13,000 respondents, with over 1000 respondents in each country; national representative samples were interviewed on line. For the report on the survey's results (PDF), visit: http://www.axa.com/lib/axa/uploads/cahiersaxa/Survey-AXA-Ipsos_climate-risks.pdf For the country-by-country data (PDF), visit: http://www.ipsos.fr/sites/default/files/attachments/international-monitor-on-climate-risks-ipsos-axa.pdf And for NCSE's collection of polls and surveys on climate change, visit: http://ncse.com/polls/polls-climate-change SANTER JOINS NCSE'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS NCSE is pleased to announce the addition of Benjamin D. Santer, a noted climate researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, to its board of directors. Santer, who has devoted years to identifying the role humans play in climate change, will advise NCSE on its new climate change education initiative. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, a recipient of the MacArthur "genius" grant, and a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, Santer was also a major contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change studies that won the IPCC the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. In a press release issued on October 4, 2012, NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott described Santer as "an invaluable addition to NCSE's board of directors."NCSE has successfully taken on evolution deniers for decades and prevailed. It's in an excellent position to apply lessons learned to climate change denial," Santer added. "We have a moral and ethical responsibility to provide the public with the best-available information on the causes and likely impacts of climate change. NCSE will play a key role in this education process, and in countering climate myths and misinformation." For the press release, visit: http://ncse.com/climate/leading-climatologist-joins-ncse-board For information on NCSE's climate change education initiative, visit: http://ncse.com/climate WALLACE ONLINE LAUNCHES Wallace Online -- the first complete edition of the writings of the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), who is credited along with Charles Darwin for formulating evolution by natural selection -- launched on September 27, 2012. Based at the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore, the project is headed by the historian of science John van Wyhe, who is also responsible for Darwin Online, a similar project that launched in 2006 and is now the largest and most widely consulted edition of Darwin's writings. "What this should hopefully do is result in a major upgrade in the quality of writing about Wallace," van Wyhe told the BBC (September 27, 2012). "Next year is the centenary of his death. Just like 2009 was the big Darwin year, 2013 will be the big Wallace year. And I hope now that people have access to all of his literature, it will make a big difference to what they say and write about him." The site includes publications by Wallace, a selection of documents written by him, a compilation of the scientific descriptions of his specimens, and a selection of works that influenced him. For Wallace Online, visit: http://wallace-online.org/ For the BBC story, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19744135 Thanks for reading. And don't forget to visit NCSE's website -- http://ncse.com -- where you can always find the latest news on evolution and climate education and threats to them. -- Sincerely, Glenn Branch Deputy Director National Center for Science Education, Inc. 420 40th Street, Suite 2 Oakland, CA 94609-2509 510-601-7203 x305 fax: 510-601-7204 800-290-6006 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Read Reports of the NCSE on-line: http://reports.ncse.com Subscribe to NCSE's free weekly e-newsletter: http://groups.google.com/group/ncse-news NCSE is on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd http://twitter.com/ncse NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today! http://ncse.com/join
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