NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2014/04/25
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2014-04-25 17:00.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, The effort to repeal the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act failed again. New, and disturbing, poll results about public confidence in science. Editorialists in Wyoming are irate about the state government's derailing the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards over climate. The New York Times surveys the state of climate change education around the globe. And a Darwin Day bill dies in the Hawaiian legislature.
REPEAL EFFORT FAILS AGAIN IN LOUISIANA Louisiana's Senate Bill 175 was tabled on a 3-1 vote in the Senate Committee on Education on April 24, 2014, which effectively kills the bill in committee, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate (April 24, 2014). The bill, introduced by Karen Carter Peterson (D-District 5), would, if enacted, repeal Louisiana Revised Statutes 17:285.1, which implemented the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act, passed and enacted in 2008, and thus opened the door for scientifically unwarranted criticisms of evolution and climate science to be taught in the state's public schools. It was the fourth bill of its kind, following SB 26 in 2013, SB 374 in 2012, SB 70 in 2011. The law targeted for repeal calls on state and local education administrators to help to promote "critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning"; these four topics were described as controversial in the original draft of the legislation. It also allows teachers to use "supplemental textbooks and other instructional materials to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an objective manner" if so permitted by their local school boards. Speaking to NBC News on April 12, 2013, Louisiana's governor Bobby Jindal (R), who signed the bill into law over the protests of the state's scientific and educational communities, acknowledged (at around 9:00) that the law allows teachers to "teach our kids about creationism." On the day preceding the committee hearing, Zack Kopplin, the young activist spearheading the repeal effort, was quoted in the Baton Rouge Advocate (April 23, 2014), as saying, "Whether we pass or fail tomorrow, it does not really matter because this is sort of ground zero for a much larger fight for science in this country." He expressed optimism about the future of the repeal effort after the November 2015 elections, which might bring new members to the Senate Education Committee. Kopplin was speaking at Louisiana State University, where he was receiving the Manship School of Mass Communication's Courage and Justice award, in honor of his efforts to defend the integrity of science education. For the text of Louisiana's Senate Bill 175 as introduced (PDF), visit: http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=875625&n=SB175%20Original For the stories in the Baton Rouge Advocate, visit: http://theadvocate.com/home/8991705-125/science-act-repeal-effort-fails http://theadvocate.com/home/8983764-125/kopplin-to-continue-fight-against For Jindal's interview with NBC News, visit: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/51522589#51522589 And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Louisiana, visit: http://ncse.com/news/louisiana POLLING CONFIDENCE IN SCIENCE A new poll from the Associated Press and GfK asked respondents not whether they agree or disagree, but how confident they are, about various claims about science. The Associated Press (April 21, 2014) summarized, "Americans have more skepticism than confidence in global warming, the age of the Earth and evolution and have the most trouble believing a Big Bang created the universe 13.8 billion years ago." Consistently with similar polls, political views and religious views were connected to views on science: the story observed that "Democrats [were] more apt than Republicans to express confidence in evolution, the Big Bang, the age of the Earth and climate change" and that "[c]onfidence in evolution, the Big Bang, the age of the Earth and climate change decline sharply as faith in a supreme being rises." Asked about "The universe is so complex, there must be a supreme being guiding its creation," 54% of respondents indicated that they were extremely or very confident in its correctness; 18% were somewhat confident; 25% were not too or not at all confident. Asked about "The average temperature of the world is rising, mostly because of man-made heat-trapping greenhouse gases," 33% of respondents indicated that they were extremely or very confident in its correctness; 28% were somewhat confident; 37% were not too or not at all confident. Asked about "Life on Earth, including human beings, evolved through a process of natural selection," 31% of respondents indicated that they were extremely or very confident in its correctness; 24% were somewhat confident; 42% were not too or not at all confident. Asked about "The Earth is 4.5 billion years old," 27% of respondents indicated that they were extremely or very confident in its correctness; 33% were somewhat confident; 36% were not too or not at all confident. Asked about "The universe began 13.8 billion years ago with a big bang," 21% of respondents indicated that they were extremely or very confident in its correctness; 25% were somewhat confident; 51% were not too or not at all confident. "Those results depress and upset some of America's top scientists," the Associated Press observed. Among those consulted for comment were Francisco J. Ayala, a member of NCSE's board of directors, and Nobel laureate and NCSE member Randy Schekman, who commented, "Science ignorance is pervasive in our society, and these attitudes are reinforced when some of our leaders are openly antagonistic to established facts." The story noted, "The AP-GfK Poll was conducted March 20-24, 2014, using KnowledgePanel, GfK's probability-based online panel designed to be representative of the U.S. population. It involved online interviews with 1,012 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for all respondents. Respondents were first selected randomly using phone or mail survey methods and were later interviewed online." For the poll report (PDF), visit: http://ap-gfkpoll.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AP-GfK-March-2014-Poll-Topline-Final_SCIENCE.pdf For the Associated Press's story, visit: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/poll-big-bang-big-question-most-americans And for NCSE's collections of polls and surveys, visit: http://ncse.com/creationism/polls-surveys http://ncse.com/polls/polls-climate-change EDITORIAL REACTION TO THE LATEST IN WYOMING Editorialists and columnists in Wyoming are irate with the state government after the state board of education decided not to implement the Next Generation Science Standards. As NCSE previously reported, a footnote in Wyoming's budget for 2014-2016 precluded the use of state funds "for any review or adoption" of the Next Generation Science Standards, and one of its authors acknowledged that the NGSS's treatment of climate change was a reason for the prohibition. It was hoped that the board might have adopted the NGSS with the funds available to it before the new budget period begins. Instead, at its April 11, 2014, meeting, the board referred the standards back to a state department of education committee -- which previously unanimously recommended the adoption of the NGSS. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle (April 18, 2014) was livid, editorially writing, "We might not know the exact extent to which man has affected climate change, but we do know that Wyoming is filled with political cowards. Some of them have stepped into the spotlight in the debate over implementing new science standards." The editorial complained specifically about Matt Teeters (R-District 5), to whom the footnote is generally attributed; Governor Matt Mead, who could have used his line-item veto to delete the footnote; and Ron Micheli, the chair of the board, who, according to the Tribune Eagle, cited climate change denial propaganda during the board's meeting. The editorial concluded, "It's sad that these cowards decide policy in this state. ... cowards refusing to stand up for what's right." Citing the position of the energy industry itself, the Casper Star-Tribune (April 20, 2014) editorially argued, "These companies ... realize the Earth is changing and are basing multi-decade projections and business decisions on the expectation of climate change. If the companies themselves are acting on this, it's safe to say they won't mind if our children learn about it, too," adding, "Anyone who stands in the way is denying our children the chance to be part of the vanguard of well-informed Wyomingites with the potential to figure out how to harness the state's energy resources in an environmentally responsible way. It's disappointing that the state isn't interested in joining the energy companies and being part of the solution, but it's reprehensible for it to deny that chance to our children." The Laramie Boomerang (April 21, 2014) editorially commented, "the board would have been saving the lawmakers and particularly the governor from continuing embarrassment and controversy. It's not as if the science standards haven't been carefully reviewed and studied already. A committee of Wyoming teachers charged with examining the standards has unanimously endorsed them for adoption," adding, sarcastically, "But, of course, politicians know better." The Boomerang concluded, "These proposed standards aren't perfect, but the overall impact of the standards is a substantial step forward from where we are now. ... One way or another, the Wyoming Board of Education must find a way to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards. They owe that to every school child in this state." And writing in the Casper Star-Tribune (April 21, 2014), Pete Gosar, a member of the state board of education, expressed his dismay with the legislature's decision to block the NGSS. Observing that "there exists little doubt that the Next Generation Science Standards would have helped to prepare Wyoming students for an increasingly competitive world, and that they are far superior to our existing Wyoming science standards" and "that they were unanimously recommended by a diverse and accomplished Wyoming science content committee after more than 18 months of careful deliberations," he noted that the legislature's decision was taken without consulting the committee members and without any open and public legislative debate about the legislature's concerns about the NGSS. For the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's editorial, visit: http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2014/04/18/opinion/staff_editorials/column152.txt#.U1VSs_ldUl8 For the Casper Star-Tribune's editorial, visit: http://trib.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-board-join-energy-industries-and-admit-climate-change-exists/article_ca4a1bd6-e7d4-5dde-acad-140c21c8067e.html For the Laramie Boomerang's editorial, visit: http://www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2014/04/21/opinion/doc53532def08b89968017925.txt For Pete Gosar's column in the Casper Star-Tribune, visit: http://trib.com/opinion/columns/gosar-blocking-science-education-standards-is-censorship/article_ca3e268b-1101-5a61-8a89-2fc56011506b.html And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Wyoming, visit: http://ncse.com/news/wyoming CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION AROUND THE WORLD "From Mauritius to Manitoba, climate change is slowly moving from the headlines to the classroom," reported The New York Times (April 20, 2014). "Schools around the world are beginning to tackle the difficult issue of global warming, teaching students how the planet is changing and encouraging them to think about what they can do to help slow that process." The article acknowledges that the process is often politically contentious. In the United States, opposition to the Next Generation Science Standards often centers on their treatment of climate change; as NCSE previously reported, the Wyoming legislature voted to block funding for any review or adoption of the standards in March 2014 for that reason. One legislator complained that the standards "handle global warming as settled science." Charles Anderson, a professor of teacher education at Michigan State University, explained that without standards that include climate change, science teachers might be inclined to avoid the topic, saying, "This doesn't feel like a very safe topic to teach. The science is conceptually difficult, and it's controversial. I might get complaints from parents and it's not part of my current curriculum, and so I'm not going to take it on. " But the barriers to climate change education are not merely legislative, they are systematic as well. Anderson explained, "The number of students who will not get education on climate change because of the financial and lack of adequate curriculum and teacher training issues is much larger than the number who will not get education on climate change because somebody in the legislature opposes it." Various countries were cited as making progress in climate change education in different ways: "Some nations teach climate in science classes and others in geography, while others again integrate the idea of sustainability across a range of subjects. China has included sustainability education in its outline for school reform, and Japan has written it into curriculum guidelines, according to Unesco." But climate change denial is present outside the United States too. The Times noted, "In Britain, the Global Warming Policy Foundation, an organization of climate change skeptics, has accused schools of brainwashing students with political indoctrination similar to that in Mao Zedong's China," accusing politicians of "effectively handing much of the curriculum to green activists." For the article in The New York Times, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/business/energy-environment/setbacks-aside-climate-change-is-finding-its-way-into-the-worlds-classrooms.html And for NCSE's resources on climate science and climate education, visit: http://ncse.com/climate DARWIN DAY BILL DIES IN HAWAII Hawaii's House Resolution 145, which would have designated February 12 of each year as Darwin Day "to celebrate all of Charles Darwin's achievements in the field of science," died in committee on April 10, 2014, when a legislative deadline passed. The resolution was unusual in establishing Darwin Day on a perennial basis: previous Darwin Day resolutions, such as Virginia's House Resolution 884 in 2009, typically designate February 12 of the current year as Darwin Day. The sole sponsor of HR 145 was Kaniela Ing (D-District 11). For Hawaii's House Resolution 145 as introduced, visit: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2014/bills/HR145_.htm And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Hawaii, visit: http://ncse.com/news/hawaii WHAT'S NEW FROM THE SCIENCE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Have you been visiting NCSE's blog, The Science League of America, recently? If not, then you've missed: * David Almandsmith discussing the second episode of Your Inner Fish: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/04/your-reptilian-innards-0015536 * Mark McCaffrey explaining the value of climate education: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/04/climate-education-what-its-worth-0015545 * Ann Reid contemplating the human microbiome: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/04/trust-your-gut-0015537 * George E. Webb's guest post on World War I and the creationism-evolution controversy: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/04/what-if-world-war-i-creationism-evolution-controversy-part-5-0015504 * Ulrich Kutschera's guest post on World War I and the creationism-evolution controversy: http://ncse.com/blog/2014/04/what-if-world-war-i-creationism-evolution-controversy-part-6-0015505 And much more besides! For The Science League of America, visit: http://ncse.com/blog 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 Check out NCSE's new blog, Science League of America: http://ncse.com/blog 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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