NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2015/07/10
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2015-07-10 18:34.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, Climate change education is under debate in the United States Senate.
CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION IN THE SENATE Climate change education is suddenly under discussion in the United States Senate, the National Journal (July 9, 2015) reports, with the introduction of dueling amendments to a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. A proposed amendment (SA 2144) from Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) would direct the administrators of EPA and NOAA to provide state and local educational agencies with "balanced, objective resources on climate theory," including material on "the natural causes and cycles of climate change ... the uncertainties inherent in climate modeling ... and ... the myriad factors that influence the climate of the Earth." Wicker was the sole dissenter to a sense-of-the-Senate amendment "that climate change is real and not a hoax" that was before the Senate in 2015, as National Public Radio (January 23, 2015) reported, and among dozens of senators that dissented from a similar amendment that acknowledged human influence on climate change. Human influence is conspicuously unmentioned in SA 2144, the new amendment. "It would be marvelous for educational materials from these agencies to be more widely used in our schools, because those materials of course reflect the scientific consensus that humans are largely responsible for recent climate change," commented NCSE's executive director Ann Reid. "But I'm concerned that Senator Wicker's amendment is intended to hijack the federal government's scientific expertise in the service of climate denial." Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) introduced two amendments seemingly to counter Wicker's. The first (SA 2175) is a sense-of-the-Senate amendment that refers to the scientific evidence for human-induced climate change as "overwhelming and undeniable" and holds that "instruction in climate science is important for all students and should not be prohibited by any unit of State or local government." The second of Markey's proposed amendments (SA 2176) would establish the Climate Change Education Act. Acknowledging the importance of education about climate change "to ensure the future generation of leaders is well-informed about the challenges facing our planet," the amendment would institute a competitive grant program aimed in part at developing and improving educational material and teacher training on the topic of climate change. NCSE's Reid applauded both amendments. "Senator Markey's sense-of-the-Senate amendment puts the Senate in line with the best science available, which is laudable. But the Climate Change Education Act is simply splendid. It puts the federal government's money where its mouth is -- and where, in a time when the effects of human-induced climate change are becoming more visible and more disruptive, it ought to be." According to the National Journal, referring to Wicker's amendment and Markey's pair of amendments alike, "It is unclear whether the amendments will see a vote. They are not slated to be taken up when the Senate votes on a series of amendments to the education bill Thursday [i.e., July 9, 2015], but votes will continue next week and the provisions could come up then." NCSE is monitoring their progress. "Everyone who cares about the integrity of science education in the United States needs to get in touch with their senators, expressing their opposition to SA 2144 and their support for SA 2175 and SA 2176," Reid urged. For the story in the National Journal, visit: http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/climate-change-no-child-left-behind-20150709 For the text of the three amendments, visit: https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2015/07/08/senate-section/article/S4845-1 For the story from National Public Radio, visit: http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/01/23/379242432/senate-says-climate-change-real-but-not-really-our-fault And for NCSE's action alert, visit: http://ncse.com/taking-action/tell-your-senators-support-climate-change-education 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: * Eugenie C. Scott wondering whether Kitzmiller might have happened in West Virginia: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/07/could-kitzmiller-have-happened-five-years-earlier-part-1-0016475 http://ncse.com/blog/2015/07/could-kitzmiller-have-happened-five-years-earlier-part-2-0016476 * Glenn Branch describing a 1925 skit poking fun at Bryan's role in the Scopes trial: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/06/thereby-hangs-tail-part-1-0016443 http://ncse.com/blog/2015/07/thereby-hangs-tail-part-2-0016444 http://ncse.com/blog/2015/07/thereby-hangs-tail-part-3-0016445 * Josh Rosenau discussing the fate of the Neanderthals: http://ncse.com/blog/2015/06/what-happened-to-neanderthals-part-1-0016479 http://ncse.com/blog/2015/06/what-happened-to-neanderthals-part-2-0016480 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 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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