Becoming Environmentally Aware

So those of you who know me in my day-to-day life probably know that I have taken on a challenge this semester. I was given a gift by a professor. I was given freedom. I was told when given my teaching assignment to "do whatever you want." And I have.

The class is called Environmental Issues. The one-hour discussion lab used to require the students to purchase a book that had point-counter point essays on pressing and not-so-pressing environmental issues. Many of the essays assumed a higher level of understanding about politics, world issues, and general awareness than many of my students possess at their age. They were expected to read the text and come prepared to debate the issue. I think you can imagine what happened. The class arrived not having read the material. No one was able to make a meaningful point about the material they hadn't read and the lab instructor (me) had to lead them through it. Tiring for me. Dull for them. It wasn't anyone's favorite class.

I am of the firm opinion that the point of science education is to arm students, most of whom are not pursuing science careers, with the tools they need to adequately assess and process science information that they will encounter once they leave school. I decided that over-their-heads environmental debates was not the best way to achieve this. The only way to engage students is to make the subject matter exciting. If I'm not excited about the material, how can I expect them to be? I decided to do something radically different.

OK, in week one, they HAD to do an assignment on how to find scientific sources in the library and using internet resources for a term paper they were going to do. At least they didn't have to show up to that lab prepared.

But since then, I've asked them to inventory every electrical appliance in their homes and to analyze where their energy dollars are going. We used this cool "Kill A Watt" reader I purchased for the class to compare televisions, VCRs, lights, compters, microwaves and so forth. We did the math to demonstrate how much money they could save by switching all their light bulbs from incandescent to compact fluorescents and by switching from washing clothes in hot water to cold water. I defied them to fnd a difference. I made them determine their carbon footprint and to compare their lifestyle (in terms of energy use) to that of someone from a developing country. We talked about human population growth and then I gave them assignment to try to get some grasp of "what is a billion". I gave them assignment to spend a half an hour researching an environmental issue of their choosing (Kyoto Protocal, 2000 watt society, hybrid vs. internal combustion cars, etc.) and to write a page on what they learned and what they thought about it. Wow! Did that assignment work out well. I think they actually enjoyed it. This week, I'm requiring them to keep track of every single item they throw away and to analyze it and think about how they might reduce their waste generation. I'm doing this with them, and I have decided to take this one step further. I'm going to create a blog entry of sorts on an "environmental weekend". I'm going to talk about what I did, what I bought, what I threw away and then I'm going to consider the environmental impact of my actions. I'm going to detail the thought processes I went through in making those decisions. I'm going to share with them things that I could have done differently. Ultimately, I'm going to ask them for ideas on how I might lessen my own environmental impact.

I think this could be interesting. I'll likely share it with you.

I'm pretty psyched about the class. At least I can communicate my excitement about the material to them. Surely, that has to be something.

Shopping for a Cause

Now that it appears I've got this election wrapped up =), I guess I'm going to have to make good on my promise to change the world. So I'm giving some thought to what I'd like to do. I figure it is best to stick with what I know best. Science and math. Or maybe politics. Or science and politics.

So. I could devote myself to the education of high school or undergrad students for the rest of my life. Or maybe the thing is to pursue a career in state government and work to solve this erosion of math and science scores. Or I could work to change voter registration and state-wide vote oversight.

Geez. There is so much that needs to be done.

For those of you out there who understand my strengths and weaknesses, any suggestions?

When Two Worlds Collide: Evolution vs. Special Creation

D-friend John is a Jehovah's Witness. Not just a JW, but a minister of the church. He is also an eager student of evolution. Whaaaaaa? Yes, indeed.

He is a man of with an incredibly open mind. He was called upon to lead a discussion of evolution in his church and he wanted some input. He goes to great lengths to ease my discomfort at being the spokesperson for evolution. I am encouraged by his willingness to listen to my answers with an open mind (and not in that creepy way that some religious people do where you know they are devising arguments in their minds to discount everything you say).

Earlier this summer, John sent me some information he was going to use to lead his discussion at the church. There were several pointed questions.

1. What view does the fossil record support? I assume that the views they were considering were evolution vs. Biblical interpretation or church doctrine. A quote that followed was from Darwin, indicating that if numerous species came into existence at the same time, evolution would be disproven.
2. Have sufficient fossils been found to draw a sound conclusion? This is followed by a quote from a Smithsonian scientists indicating that the fossil record gives us "an excellent picture of the life of past ages".
3. What does the fossil record actually show? This question is followed by a series of quotes that give a somewhat biased view of a decade's old view of evolutionary thought. The first quote indicated (correctly) that the fossil record has been used to justify acceptance of Darwinian evolution, but that the geologic record is incomplete and does not offer a picture of the fine gradation of species over time. A second article mentions the "Cambrian explosion" and then periods of little to no change or no fossil record. A third quotes a zoologist stating that the fossil record does not support Darwinian evolution and the "facts" are best supported by the special creation (I assume of ALL organisms) by God, and finally they quote Carl Sagan saying that the fossil record could be consistent with the idea of a Great Designer.

Now I honestly believe my friend (he has been an exceedingly trustworthy person and I have a great deal of respect for him despite our differences of opinion on God) when he tells me that this is just meant to be a learning experience for his church group, and at least to me this discussion appears to me to be a desire for an honest review of the topic. I am somewhat disappointed by the "debate" feel to it and I would be much happier if instead of jumping to the topic of "which is right, religion or science" (which itself is a false dichotomy) that they spent a season of studying evolution by itself. How can one make an informed decision about anything if you don't understand what you are arguing for or against?

Anyhoo, he asked for my thoughts on the matter.

I explained to him that there is nearly universal acceptance of evolution by natural selection among scientists with an -ology to weigh in on it. I explained that there are holes in the fossil record and that we can't expect seamless understanding of the history of life. I explained how and why evolutionary biologists integrate this understanding into evolutionary theory. I explained how the Modern Synthesis (modified and) strengthened our understanding and acceptance of Darwin's theory. I tried to point out the Creationist talking points that were intended to lead people off the path of fact and purposely introduce false doubt where really none existed. Finally, I explained to him the limits of science in "proving" theories. John was of the opinion that theories grow up to become laws if they are "proven".

After all this, John wrote me with some very interesting information. He wrote me back about his beliefs. I must say, I know nothing about Jehovah's Witnesses and even though I know one or two, religion interests me so little that I had never bothered to look into it.

He said that he didn't believe the Bible to be either a science or history textbook. The Bible was the inspired word of God.

Then he asked a very interesting question.

One thing that you said was that there is no question of whether evolution occurs but whether it occurs by natural selection or not. I am curious as to how you define evolution here – does the laboratory document a change form one species to another? Or does it demonstrate variety within species?

For a minister of any Christian church, I'll give him a great deal of credit for bothering to ask at all. I wrote him back about cellular evolution up to the point of speciation. Of course, this is the easy part. Any evolutionary biologist can do that. Still, organizing that into a (hopefully) coherent email that someone with little science background could understand was challenge enough for one evening.

And you know that he wrote me back with more questions.

I thank you for clearing up my thinking on evolution. I see what you are saying about the small changes within species. That is without doubt evolution. I don’t have a problem with that at all. But can we really apply that thinking to the appearance of all living things with their various characteristics?

....Do evolutionists consider the jump from non-living to living organisms? There are so many things to consider Liz, I really like to hear your opinion. You are more in touch with current scientific thinking than I will ever be – It is like having a living encyclopedia at my disposal…

Awww geez. Don't you hate when someone says something like that? I mean I can cobble something together and (let's admit it) probably make this guy believe whatever I wanted. But I don't want to do it wrong. I want him to really understand. Ok, I can handle the abiogenesis discussion, but what in the world do I do in an email to someone asking for understanding of everything from character evolution to Evolution with a capital "E"?

I admit I am a bit overwhelmed. I am not a paleontologist. I can't point to a single lineage and trace the evolution from one organism to another. Not even humans. I'm feeling entirely inadequate. I know what to tell this man, I just don't know how to do it well.

And so, I'm asking for help. If you have any ideas at all about communicating the Big E Evolution, please, let me know. Really.