NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2014/11/28

(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)

Dear friends of NCSE,

A new survey casts light on the public's attitudes toward evolution
and toward climate change. A victory for climate science education in
Texas. And a creationist bill is introduced in Brazil.

EVOLUTION IN A NEW PRRI SURVEY

Attitudes toward evolution and the compatibility of science and
religion were addressed in a new survey from the Public Religion
Research Institute (which, as NCSE previously reported, was mainly
focused on climate change). Presented with "Evolution is the best
explanation for the origins of human life on earth," 24% of
respondents completely agreed, 29% mostly agreed, 14% mostly
disagreed, and 27% completely disagreed, with 5% of respondents saying
that they didn't know or refusing to answer. In 2007, 20% of
respondents completely agreed, 28% mostly agreed, 16% mostly
disagreed, and 29% completely disagreed, with 7% of respondents saying
that they didn't know or refusing to answer.

Asked whether they think that science and religion are "often in
conflict" or "mostly compatible," 54% of respondents chose conflict,
with 40% choosing compatibility and 5% saying that they didn't know or
refusing to answer. But asked whether science conflicts with their own
religious beliefs, 38% of respondents said that it did, while 59% said
that it did not and 3% said that they didn't know or refused to
answer. In 2009, 55% chose conflict, with 38% choosing compatibility
and 7% saying that they didn't know or refusing to answer; 36% said
that science conflicts with their own religious beliefs, while 61%
said that it did not and 3% said that they didn't know or refused to
answer.

According to the survey report, "Results of the survey were based on
bilingual (Spanish and English) RDD telephone interviews conducted
between September 18, 2014, and October 8, 2014, by professional
interviewers under the direction of SSRS. Interviews were conducted
among a random sample of 3,022 adults 18 years of age or older living
in the United States (1,502 respondents were interviewed on a cell
phone). ... The margin of error for the survey is +/- 2.8 percentage
points at the 95% level of confidence. The design effect for the
survey is 2.4. In addition to sampling error, surveys may also be
subject to error or bias due to question wording, context and order
effects."

For the survey report (PDF) and related information, visit:
http://publicreligion.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Climate-Change-2014-Topline-FINAL.pdf 
http://publicreligion.org/research/2014/11/believers-sympathizers-skeptics-americans-conflicted-climate-change-environmental-policy-science/ 

For NCSE's collection of polls and surveys, visit:
http://ncse.com/creationism/polls-surveys 

CLIMATE CHANGE IN A NEW PRRI SURVEY

A new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute hopes to help
to explain, in the words of its report's subtitle, "Why Americans are
Conflicted about Climate Change, Environmental Policy, and Science."
Included in the survey was a series of questions probing beliefs about
climate change and its causes. Asked "From what you've read and heard,
do you believe there is solid evidence that the average temperature on
earth has been getting warmer over the past few decades, or not?" 69%
of respondents answered yes, 2% volunteered that there is some or
mixed evidence, and 26% answered no, with 3% saying that they didn't
know or refusing to answer.

The respondents who answered yes (including those who said that there
is some or mixed evidence) were presented with "Climate change is
caused mostly by human activity such as burning fossil fuels" and
"Climate change is caused mostly by natural patterns in the earth's
environment" and asked which came closer to their view. The first
option was preferred by 65% of those respondents (that is, 46% of the
entire pool of respondents) and the second option was preferred by 28%
of those respondents (20% of the entire pool), while 6% of those
respondents (4% of the entire pool) said that they didn't know or
refused to answer.

The respondents who answered no were asked, "In just a few words, what
is the main reason you believe that the average temperature [on] earth
has NOT been getting warmer." The most popular answer, given by 33%,
was "Weather hasn't changed/Weather is getting colder," followed by
"Temperature varies naturally" (18%), "Insufficient proof/No
scientific evidence/Conflicting evidence" (12%), "News reports and
data on global warming are flawed/propaganda" (5%), "General personal
observation and experience" (4%), "God is in control" (2%), "Other
scientific explanation or evidence" (4%); 11% offered no reason or
another explanation and 11% said that they didn't know or refused to
answer.

Respondents were also asked, "From what you've heard or read, do
scientists generally agree that the earth is getting warmer because of
human activity, are scientists divided, or do scientists generally
disagree that the earth is getting warmer because of human activity?"
The result was that 48% of respondents thought that scientists agree,
28% thought that scientists are divided, and 17% thought that
scientists disagree, with 7% of respondents saying that they didn't
know or refusing to answer. In 2011, 40% of respondents thought that
scientists agree, 37% thought that scientists are divided, and 15%
thought that scientists disagree, with 8% of respondents saying that
they didn't know or refusing to answer.

Describing the respondents who accepted human-caused climate change as
Believers, those who accept climate change but regard it as natural as
Sympathizers, and those who reject climate change as Skeptic, PPRI
offered a few demographical data. Politically, "Democrats have a
higher percentage of climate change Believers [i.e., 65%] within their
ranks, while Republicans and Americans who identify with the Tea Party
are more likely to be climate change Skeptics [46% and 53% are,
respectively]." Religiously, "Only 27% of white evangelical
Protestants are climate change Believers, while 29% are Sympathizers
and nearly 4-in-10 (39%) are Skeptics."

According to the survey report, "Results of the survey were based on
bilingual (Spanish and English) RDD telephone interviews conducted
between September 18, 2014, and October 8, 2014, by professional
interviewers under the direction of SSRS. Interviews were conducted
among a random sample of 3,022 adults 18 years of age or older living
in the United States (1,502 respondents were interviewed on a cell
phone). ... The margin of error for the survey is +/- 2.8 percentage
points at the 95% level of confidence. The design effect for the
survey is 2.4. In addition to sampling error, surveys may also be
subject to error or bias due to question wording, context and order
effects."

For the survey report (PDF) and related information, visit:
http://publicreligion.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Climate-Change-2014-Topline-FINAL.pdf 
http://publicreligion.org/research/2014/11/believers-sympathizers-skeptics-americans-conflicted-climate-change-environmental-policy-science/ 

And for NCSE's collection of polls and surveys on climate, visit:
http://ncse.com/polls/polls-climate-change 

CORRECTED TEXTBOOKS ADOPTED IN TEXAS

The Texas state board of education voted to adopt a slate of social
studies textbooks for use in the state on November 21, 2014. Among the
books approved were several textbooks that, after criticism from NCSE
and its allies in the scientific, educational, and civil liberties
communities, were revised by their publishers (including Pearson and
McGraw-Hill) to eliminate misrepresentations of climate science.

As NCSE previously reported, a number of problematic claims were
present in the textbooks submitted for approval, including a statement
that fossil fuel emissions have caused a hole in the ozone layer over
Antarctica, a claim that scientists "disagree about what is causing
climate change," and a quotation from a notorious climate change
denial organization presented in rebuttal of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change.

Together with the Texas Freedom Network and Climate Parents, NCSE
urged the publishers to "correct all factual errors regarding climate
change in draft textbooks for K-12 students in Texas." Agreeing were
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Alliance
for Climate Education, the National Resources Defense Council, Bill
Nye, Sojourners, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Additional organizations separately urging the state board of
education to require the publishers to fix these errors were the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American
Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society and the
American Association of Physics Teachers, the Ecological Society of
America, the Geological Society of America, and the National Resources
Defense Council.

Subsequently, both Pearson and McGraw-Hill revised their textbooks.
NCSE's Josh Rosenau praised the publishers for their decision, telling
the National Journal (November 17, 2014), "They listened to us and the
nation's leading scientific and educational societies, ensuring that
students will learn the truth about the greatest challenge they'll
confront as citizens of the 21st century."

There were expressions of discontent at the board's November 18, 2014,
meeting that "the other side" of the debate over climate change was
not presented in the textbooks, as the Texas Freedom Network noted on
its blog (November 18, 2014). Nevertheless, the board eventually voted
10-5 on November 21, 2014, to adopt a slate of textbooks including
Pearson's and McGraw-Hill's.

For NCSE's evaluation of the textbooks as submitted, visit:
http://ncse.com/news/2014/09/proposed-texas-textbooks-distort-climate-change-facts-0015870 

For the letter to the publishers (PDF), visit:
http://ncse.com/files/TX_letters/NCSE_CP_TFN-signon.pdf 

For the letters to the Texas state board of education, visit:
http://ncse.com/files/TX_letters/Letters_from_science_societies.pdf 

For the article in the National Journal, visit:
http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/second-texas-textbook-publisher-drops-climate-denial-entry-amid-backlash-20141117 

For the post on the Texas Freedom Network's blog, visit:
http://tfninsider.org/2014/11/18/live-blogging-the-texas-social-studies-textbook-hearing/ 

And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Texas, visit:
http://ncse.com/news/texas 

CREATIONIST LEGISLATION IN BRAZIL

A bill introduced in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies would, if
enacted, require creationism to be taught in the country's public and
private schools. Introduced by Marco Feliciano, a controversial
federal deputy and Assembly of God pastor, on November 13, 2014, bill
8099/2014 calls (PDF) for the inclusion of "the ideas that life has
its origin in God, the supreme creator of the whole universe and of
all things that compose it."

Accompanying the bill is a justification that complains of the
existing curriculum as "propagating [the idea that] life originated
from a 'primitive cell' that was set in motion by the 'Big Bang'" and
charges that teaching evolution without teaching creationism violates
the Brazilian constitution's guarantee of freedom of conscience and
belief, especially "since the creationist doctrine is prevalent
throughout our country."

Maurício Tuffani, blogging for Folha de S. Paulo (November 15, 2014),
describedthe bill as "a monument to ignorance," and disclosed that the
bill repeated, almost verbatim, a bill filed in the Paraná state
legislature in 2007. In a later post (November 16, 2014), Tuffani
quoted the president of the Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da
Ciência as saying that her organization "will stand forcefully against
this bill."

According to a report of a 2005 poll using a version of the Gallup
questions, 31% of Brazilian respondents preferred the "God created
human beings" option, with 54% preferring the "God guided process"
option and 9% preferring the "God had no part in the process" option.
Additionally, 89% of respondents supported teaching creationism
alongside evolution, and 75% supported teaching creationism instead of
evolution.

For the text of bill 8099/2014 (Portuguese; PDF), visit:
http://www.camara.gov.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra?codteor=1286780&filename=Tramitacao-PL+8099/2014 

For the Tuffani posts (Portuguese), visit:
http://mauriciotuffani.blogfolha.uol.com.br/2014/11/15/projeto-criacionista-de-feliciano-e-um-monumento-a-ignorancia/ 
http://mauriciotuffani.blogfolha.uol.com.br/2014/11/16/design-inteligente-rejeita-criacionismo-em-aulas-de-ciencia/ 

For the report of the 2005 poll, visit:
http://www.scidev.net/global/news/few-in-brazil-accept-scientific-view-of-human-evol.html 

And for NCSE's previous coverage of events outside the United States, visit:
http://ncse.com/news/international 

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:

* Glenn Branch pursuing eighty-plus geological theories "hostile to
the Scriptures":
http://ncse.com/blog/2014/11/eighty-plus-theories-part-1-0015987 
http://ncse.com/blog/2014/11/eighty-plus-theories-part-2-0015988 
http://ncse.com/blog/2014/11/eighty-plus-theories-part-3-0015989 
http://ncse.com/blog/2014/11/eighty-plus-theories-part-4-0015995 

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 x303
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 

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