NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2016/03/11
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2016-03-11 17:41.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, Kudos for Carl Zimmer. Signs of hope in West Virginia. And kudos for Bill Nye.
CARL ZIMMER TO RECEIVE GOULD PRIZE NCSE congratulates Carl Zimmer for winning the 2016 Stephen Jay Gould Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution. A recipient of NCSE's Friend of Darwin award, Zimmer is a prolific science journalist whose writing on evolution includes Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea (2001), the textbook The Tangled Bank (second edition, 2013), and the textbook Evolution: Making Sense of Life (second edition, 2015), coauthored with Douglas J. Emlen. Zimmer will receive the Gould Prize and present a public lecture on June 17, 2016, at the Evolution 2016 conference in Austin, Texas. The Stephen Jay Gould Prize is awarded annually by the SSE "to recognize individuals whose sustained and exemplary efforts have advanced public understanding of evolutionary science and its importance in biology, education, and everyday life in the spirit of Stephen Jay Gould." NCSE's founding executive director Eugenie C. Scott was the recipient of the first Gould Prize, in 2009, followed by Sean B. Carroll in 2010, Kenneth R. Miller in 2011, David Quammen in 2012, Judy Scotchmoor in 2013, Steve Jones in 2014, and Francisco J. Ayala, a member of NCSE's board of directors, in 2015. For information about the Gould Prize, visit: http://www.evolutionsociety.org/index.php?module=content&type=user&func=view&pid=12 ATTACK ON SCIENCE STANDARDS IN WEST VIRGINIA BLUNTED? At its March 7, 2016, meeting, West Virginia's Senate Education Committee revised House Bill 4014 to require only the review, not the repeal, of the recently adopted state science standards, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail (March 7, 2016). As NCSE previously reported, the version of House Bill 4014 which passed the House of Delegates in late February 2016 would prevent the state board of education from implementing the state science standards adopted in 2015, and there were indications that the treatment of climate science in the standards was part of the motivation. The Senate Education Committee's version of the bill, however, would establish a panel appointed by deans at Marshall University and West Virginia University and supervised by the Chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission to review the standards "and recommend revisions that it considers appropriate." The bill will proceed to the floor of the Senate, where it might be accepted, amended further, or rejected; differences between the House and Senate bills might then have to be reconciled. The legislative session ends on March 12, 2016. For information about West Virginia's House Bill 4014 from the legislature, visit: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?INPUT=4014&year=2016&sessiontype=RS For the story in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, visit: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160307/senate-education-passes-bill-with-no-science-standards-block And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in West Virginia, visit: http://ncse.com/news/west-virginia CONGRATULATIONS TO BILL NYE NCSE is pleased to congratulate Bill Nye ("The Science Guy") for receiving the National NASA Space Grant Distinguished Service Award for 2016. The award "was established to recognize individuals whose life and career have had a long[-]lasting impact in a science, engineering or education field that is related to aeronautic, aviation, or space endeavors," according to the National Council of Space Grant Directors. The host of the popular science education television programs Bill Nye the Science Guy and The Eyes of Nye, the chief executive officer of the Planetary Society (the world's largest space interest organization), and a member of NCSE's Advisory Council, Nye is also the author (with Corey S. Powell) of Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation (2014) and Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World (2015). For a press release about the award, visit: http://national.spacegrant.org/2016SpringNational/index.html 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: * Emily Schoerning discussing the wide appeal of supporting science education: http://ncse.com/blog/2016/03/supporting-science-education-not-just-rich-urban-liberal-0016954 * Glenn Branch describing Ambrose Bierce's opinion of Charles Darwin: http://ncse.com/blog/2016/03/devil-s-lexicographer-devil-s-chaplain-part-1-0016805 http://ncse.com/blog/2016/03/devil-s-lexicographer-devil-s-chaplain-part-2-0016806 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. 1904 Franklin Street, Suite 600 Oakland CA 94612-2922 510-601-7203 fax 510-788-7971 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Check out NCSE's 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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