> eric brunsell

In an earlier post, I included a link to a SEED article about why science matters in the presidential race.  Here is an article that discusses why a president’s views on evolution are important.

Here is more on the candidates views on science –

Hot Science Topics Avoided by Presidential Candidates

There really are no surprises in this story.  Clinton probably takes the strongest pro-science position. Romney and Huckabee are both against Stem Cell Research. McCain isn’t as clear.  Giuliani apparently doesn’t want the press to know his views on science.

Unlike most Republicans, McCain is strong on the need to reduce CO2 levels. However, his stance on teaching of evolution is questionable.

…on the teaching of evolution, telling the Arizona Daily Star that “there’s nothing wrong with teaching different schools of thought [on] … how the world was created.

This is nearly the same language President Bush used in 2005 when he promoted teaching alternative theories.

Bush said Monday he believes schools should discuss “intelligent design” alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation of life.

 During a round-table interview with reporters from five Texas newspapers, Bush declined to go into detail on his personal views of the origin of life. But he said students should learn about both ideas, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported.

“I think that part of education is to expose people to diferent schools of thought,” Bush said. “You’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes.” (08/02/2005)

I have a lot of students in my classes that are concerned and interested in the environment.  Are stay-at-home moms better environmentalists? I’m guessing the first sentence of this “60 second science” article from Scientific American is a good explanation of why moms recycle more than college students.

Moms Better Recyclers Than College Kids

 Maybe it’s just easier because they’re putting it out on the curb rather than finding on-campus recycling centers, but moms are more earth-friendly than their kids at college. Karen Hopkin reports. If I asked you to picture someone who recycles, you might come up with an image of an idealistic young naturelover—someone who has the time and energy to take a personal interest in the environment. At the very least, you’d probably picture more Earth mother than soccer mom. But a new study from the University of Granada suggests you’d be wrong. Because scientists there have found that housewives are more ecologically aware than undergrads…in that they’re more willing to recycle. The researchers assessed the recycling skills of some 500 university students and 150 homemakers. And they found that the housewives separate glass from their garbage more often than the students—even though students say they’re pro-environment. So why are housewives better friends to the planet than students? The researchers say that maybe it’s because it’s easier for them. Students have to haul their vast stockpiles of recyclables some distance to the proper receptacle, whereas housewives presumably just deposit their bottles at the curb. The researchers suggest that students could be encouraged to recycle by programs that emphasize how recycling is an ethical imperative for those who care about the earth. Or maybe the schools could just put a few extra recycling bins in the halls. –Karen Hopkin

Science Books & Films evaluates nearly 1000 books, videos, DVDs and software in all sciences for all age groups annually.  SB&F is published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  The following books received the 2008 AAAS / Subaru SB&F Award for best book in their category. 

• Children’s Science Picture Book: Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed and Revealed by David Schwartz and Yael Schy, with illustrations by Dwight Kuhn (Tricycle Press).  
• Middle Grades Science Book: Dinosaur Eggs Discovered: Unscrambling the Clues! by Lowell Dingus, Luis M. Chaippe, and Rodolfo Coria (Twenty-First Century Books) 
• Young Adult Science Book: The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard Preston (Random House) 
• Hands On Science Book: Exploratopia by Pat Murphy (Little Brown & Company)

See the Press Release

 Human Genetic Variation

On 21 December 2007, Science unveiled its Breakthrough of the Year for 2007 — the realization that DNA differs from person to person much more than researchers had expected…