NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2014/05/16
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE,
Discouraging news about Oklahoma's new state science standards, but
encouraging news from South Carolina on the official state fossil
front. And a preview of The Sixth Extinction and a new milestone for
NCSE's Facebook page.
TROUBLE OVER OKLAHOMA SCIENCE STANDARDS
A committee in the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted to reject a
new set of science standards, primarily over concerns about its
treatment of climate change.
The state board of education unanimously voted to adopt the new
standards on March 25, 2014. The new Oklahoma Academic Standards for
Science are the product of more than a year of work by a committee of
more than sixty members, the state department of education's director
of science education Tiffany Neill told the Oklahoman (March 26,
2014). The standards were widely regarded as a vast improvement on
their predecessors, which received a grade of F in the Fordham
Institute's 2012 study of state science standards.
When House Joint Resolution 1099 -- a routine resolution approving or
disapproving proposed permanent rules of Oklahoma state agencies --
went to the House Administrative Rules and Government Insight
Committee, however, the new standards were attacked. The attacks
focused on the use of the Next Generation Science Standards as a
resource and on the presentation of climate science in early grade
levels, according to a May 13, 2014, post on the blog of the Oklahoma
Science Teachers Association.
The committee amended HJR 1099 to reject the state department of
education's rules implementing the new standards. In order for the
resolution to derail the new set of science standards, it would still
presumably have to be passed by the House and the Senate. The
grassroots pro-science-education organization Oklahomans for
Excellence in Science Education is calling on concerned Oklahomans to
state their opposition to HJR 1099 to the Speaker of the House, the
Senate President pro tem, and the governor's office.
The audio of the committee's May 12, 2014, hearing on HJR 1099 is
available on-line; the science standards are discussed from about 9:00
to about 52:00.
For the story in The Oklahoman, visit:
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-board-of-education-adopts-new-science-standards/article/3946962
For the Fordham Institute's report on Oklahoma's previous standards
(PDF), visit:
http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2012/2012-State-of-State-Science-Standards/2012-State-Science-Standards-Oklahoma.pdf
For the post on the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association's blog, visit:
http://www.oklahomascienceteachersassociation.org/?p=5710
For Oklahoma's House Joint Resolution 1099 as amended in committee (PDF), visit:
http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2013-14%20FLR/HFLR/HJR1099%20HFLR.PDF
For the website of Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education, visit:
http://www.oklascience.org/
For the audio of the committee meeting, visit:
http://okhouse.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1140
And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Oklahoma, visit:
http://ncse.com/oklahoma
A MAMMOTH VICTORY IN SOUTH CAROLINA?
The Columbian mammoth is on track to become the official state fossil
of South Carolina, with no mention of its appearance on the Sixth Day
of Creation.
As NCSE previously reported, after the South Carolina House passed
House Bill 4482 in February 2014, the Senate amended it to add "as
created on the Sixth Day with the other beasts of the field" after
each instance of "mammoth."
When the House rejected the Senate's amendment in April 2014, the bill
proceeded to a conference committee, whose six members included four
legislators who already voted for the "Sixth Day" version of the bill.
Yet the committee prepared a new version of the bill that omits any
reference to the Sixth Day of Creation, simply stating:
***
Whereas, giant mammoths used to roam South Carolina; and
Whereas, scientists have identified the fossils of about six hundred
and fifty species of vertebrates in South Carolina to date; and
Whereas, it has been recognized that fossilized mammoth teeth were
discovered in a swamp in South Carolina in 1725; and
Whereas, this discovery has been credited as the first scientific
identification of a North American vertebrate fossil. Now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 1, Title 1 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 1-1-691. The Columbian Mammoth is designated as the official
State Fossil of South Carolina."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
***
The amended version of HB 4482 was passed on a 98-0 vote in the House
on May 8, 2014 and passed on a 32-3 vote in the Senate on May 13,
2014; it now presumably proceeds to the governor for her signature.
For information about South Carolina's House Bill 4482, visit:
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=4482&session=120
And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in South Carolina, visit:
http://ncse.com/news/south-carolina
A PREVIEW OF THE SIXTH EXTINCTION
NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview of Elizabeth Kolbert's The
Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (Henry Holt and Co., 2014). The
preview consists of a portion of chapter 11, "The Rhino Gets an
Ultrasound," in which Kolbert discusses programs aimed at breeding the
Sumatran rhinoceros in captivity. "In an ironic twist," she writes,
"humans have brought the species so low that it seems only heroic
human efforts can save it."
Praising The Sixth Extinction, Bill McKibben writes, "With her usual
lucid and lovely prose, Elizabeth Kolbert lays out the sad and
gripping facts of our moment on earth: that we've become a geological
force, driving vast swaths of creation over the brink. A remarkable
addition to the literature of our haunted epoch." By the way, a
portion of NCSE's Josh Rosenau's interview with Kolbert is available
at the Science League of America blog.
For the preview of The Sixth Extinction (PDF), visit:
http://ncse.com/book-excerpt
For information about the book from its publisher, visit:
http://us.macmillan.com/thesixthextinction-1/ElizabethKolbert
And for Josh Rosenau's interview with Elizabeth Kolbert, visit:
http://ncse.com/blog/2014/05/talking-extinction-with-elizabeth-kolbert-0015567
FACEBOOK: N > 60,000
A milestone: there are now over 60,000 fans of NCSE's Facebook page.
Why not join them, by visiting the page and becoming a fan by clicking
on the "Like" box by NCSE's name? You'll receive the latest NCSE news
delivered straight to your Facebook Home page, as well as updates on
evolution-related and climate-related topics. Or if you prefer your
news in 140-character chunks, follow NCSE on Twitter. And while you're
surfing the web, why not visit NCSE's YouTube channel, with hundreds
of videos for your watching pleasure? It's the best place on the web
to view talks by NCSE's staff, including the new series of activist
workshop webinars.
For NCSE's Facebook page, Twitter feed, and YouTube channel, visit:
http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse
http://twitter.com/ncse
http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd
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:
* Josh Rosenau reflecting on the ninth episode of the Cosmos reboot:
http://ncse.com/blog/2014/05/cosmos-wars-episode-ix-past-is-another-planet-0015577
* Steve Newton, not to be outdone, doing the same:
http://ncse.com/blog/2014/05/cosmos-episode-ix-dr-strangelove-oceans-how-i-learned-to-0015587
* Mark McCaffrey discussing Michael Grimm's volte-face on climate change:
http://ncse.com/blog/2014/05/grimms-grim-reality-0015591
* Glenn Branch on a recent "teach the controversy" moment:
http://ncse.com/blog/2014/05/teaching-controversy-rialto-0015583
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
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