Earth Scientists Need a “Hippocratic” Code of Ethics

Geography Professor Erle Ellis

(The following is excerpted from the blog Human Landscapes, by Erle Ellis)

Now that we’ve pushed Earth systems out of the comfort zone, Earth and environmental scientists are increasingly being called on to address the big questions that affect all of us, like “How can we keep the planet habitable for humans?”.

“Doctoring the planet” is not our regular work.  Our usual scientific questions, like “how do Earth systems work?” and “how have humans changed Earth systems?” are one thing; getting involved in intentionally altering earth systems is an altogether different matter.   Even without such involvement, Earth and environmental science are no longer just regular academic disciplines, as the global and political implications of our work and even our words are now very much in the public eye.  This was made painfully clear recently when climate change deniers hacked into the archives of CRU, selectively quoted some private scientific communications, and attempted to gain new political ground with the claim that scientists had “cooked the data” in support of the human role in changing climate (closer inspection reveals no foul play, merely poor choice of words).

In discussing this new role, Duke Earth scientist Peter Haff and I came to believe that our scientific disciplines, decision makers, and the public would benefit from a more formal code of ethics that recognizes our new societal responsibilities in the Anthropocene.

Today, we published our thoughts on this, including our proposal for a voluntary “Oath for Earth and Environmental Scientists”, in EOS, the weekly newspaper of the American Geophysical Union (<link> sorry- AGU members only).

Click here to read the “Oath for Earth and Environmental Scientists” on Erle Ellis’ blog Human Landscapes.

Why We Study Food

American Studies Warren Belasco

I recently gave a lecture at the University of Mississippi exploring why food matters and why it’s important to study food from a historical and psychological approach. Thanks to the The Media and Documentary Projects Center for producing a video of the lecture:

Warren Belasco, “Why Food Matters” from UM Media Documentary Projects on Vimeo.

Belasco has written three widely followed books on food culture. His latest, “Food: The Key Concepts,” is a short textbook based on his food-related American Studies courses. “Meals to Come,” examines the future of the food supply and “Appetite for Change,” published in 1990, argued that the trend toward popularity of rice and tofu in the 1960s and ’70s indicated a shift in American culture that changed the country’s behavior toward food.

BIO/CONTACT

College President Dynamos

UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski

Courtesy of Time Magazine

Time Magazine recognized UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski as one of the nation’s top 10 most dynamic college presidents in its Nov. 13 issue. Hrabowski joined Baltimore radio personality Marc Steiner on Nov. 24 to discuss current issues in higher education, such as the achievement gap among minority and low income students, empowering students to succeed and the impact of the economic downturn on education. Listen here:

 

Twittering Teens? Not so much

SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR ZEYNEP TUFEKCI

Why aren’t teens flocking to Twitter? Social media applications are not identical; they are communities with different norms, values and expectations. Twitter is structured as a text-based broadcasting medium which may not appeal as much to teenagers who are more likely to seek peer interaction and visual communication. At the moment, Facebook seems to fit that mold better. It is unsurprising that different platforms appeal to different audiences.

BIO/CONTACT

Our National Parks: Paradoxes

AMERICAN STUDIES PROFESSOR EDWARD ORSER

Watching the Ken Burns series on the national parks this week, I’ve been struck again by a number of the paradoxes associated with the national park movement, points I hope haven’t been lost amidst the spectacular photography and string of John Muir quotes.

For instance, when Yellowstone was officially designated America’s first national park, Congress said it should be set aside to protect its “remarkable curiosities” and “rare wonders” so that it might become “a great national pleasure ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.” As much as the democratic implications of that second mission might be laudable, the paradox of the pair of goals was inescapable:   how to preserve nature while also making it available for public use (and, one might add, sometimes, overuse and abuse)? When the National Park System was created in 1916, it received this same two-fold mandate, and balancing the two became its greatest challenge over the nearly a century since.

Terminator Toddlers? Not yet.

Tim Oates, Assistant Professor of Computer Science

Machines have far exceeded human physical abilities in many areas (e.g., endurance, moving heavy objects, flying), but they have a long way to go to match the physical dexterity and mental abilities of an average 3-year-old.

Why is this? Will we ever have intelligent machines? I’ll be discussing these and other implications of researching Artificial Intelligence tomorrow night to kickoff the Fall “Dessert and Discussion” series with UMBC alums. Click here to find out when and where.

Euthanizing old people conspiracies are CRAZY

ERICKSON SCHOOL PROFESSOR DR. BILL THOMAS

Look folks, this is an easy rumor to dispel. No one in Congress is promoting legislation that would allow or lead to government euthanization of older adults. Political interests opposed to health insurance reform are grossly distorting a sensible provision to cover private consultations between Medicare recipients and their doctors to discuss end-of-life care, which is a good thing

Historic Justice has political impact

Political Science Professor Tom Schaller

The historic nomination and now confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor changes forever the Supreme Court–and may ramify to American electoral politics.

For President Obama, who initially struggled to attract Latino votes and women voters in the Democratic primary, the appointment is reward to these
Democratic-leaning constituencies for their support in the general election. And now the Republicans, who made significant gains under George
W. Bush with Latino voters, are on the defensive politically with this key demographic swing group.

Supreme Court’s New Haven Case Ruling Reflects Poorly on Sotomayor

POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR GEORGE LANOUE

LaNoue, an expert on the Supreme Court, weighs in on today’s SCOTUS ruling in the Ricci v. DeStefano case.

“The majority decision is a narrow one with far reaching implications. The Court returned to the original purposes of Title VII which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion or gender and the specific provision that employers can not alter the outcome of legitimate employment selection systems to create preferred group outcomes.

The court did not change the standard that employments tests have to be valid as related to specific jobs, but it did say employers had to have a “strong basis  in evidence” that a test was not valid before abandoning it.
The decision is significant because Title VII applies to both public and private employers.  The Court held that the outcome of valid tests may not reflect discrimination even if group pass rates are different (the disparate impact theory).  The Ricci decision stands as a barrier to those who would make racial patronage the key to public service jobs or who advocate that proportional representation is the standard by these jobs should be allocated.

The decision indirectly reflects poorly on the jurisprudence of Judge Sotomayor who without engaging in any substantive analysis had earlier approved New Haven’s decision to abandon the tests. The 5/4, 93-page decision and Justice Ginsburg’s 39-page dissent makes Judge Sotomayor’s earlier treatment of the case look shallow.”

BIO/CONTACT

Immigrant family separation hurts education

ECONOMICS PROFESSOR TIM GINDLING was a guest on WYPR’s Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast June 10 to discuss research he conducted with Dr. Sara Poggio on the education challenges faced by children of Latin American immigrants. Listen to the full story here and a Web Extra clip from WYPR here.