[CESElist] Statistics Comparing Numbers of "ES" Majors?

[Eldridge Moores]

Good idea.  As I understand it, California has state standards  
mandating earth and space science, and they have a test that the  
students must take at the end of the 9th grade.  However, the UC  
system has not yet gotten around to accepting Earth and Space  
science, but for exceptional circumstances, for satisfaction of the  
"d" laboratory science admission requirement.  It will slowly come,  
however, I'm sure.

At the risk of repeating things that have already been said, several  
comments come to mind from the exchanges over the past few days:

1.  The NAS/NRC 1996 National Science Education Standards, the AAAS  
1993 Benchmarks for Science Literacy; Project 2061, and the Council  
of Scientific Society Presidents all have Earth and Space Sciences on  
an equal footing with Life and Physical Sciences.   We should all  
emphasizing this point.

2. We need to accept that it's not just Earth or Earth System science  
that we are talking about.   We also need to incorporate the space  
sciences, as do the AAAS and NAS/NRC.  NASA's space program is  
dominantly a planetary exploration program that in effect is doing  
geology of planetary surfaces.  That's part of our package.

3. The idea that Earth and Space sciences are not laboratory sciences  
is absurd.  There is nothing that requires that the students be in a  
laboratory.  The laboratory is the Earth, the planets, the Solar  
System, the cosmos.  Inquiry-based science is what this is all about.

4. The whole issue of climate change and global warming is  
specifically an earth science issue, and we should grab it and hammer  
on that fact.  This is probably the most critical general scientific  
issue of anyone's life at the moment.   ESS (Earth and Space  
Sciences) people should run with this topic!  Where else is a student  
going to get the knowledge he/she needs to deal with this issue?

Best regards,

Eldridge
On Aug 2, 2007, at 8:37 AM, Kovach, Russell wrote:

> As a result of this recent flurry of discussion concerning  
> acceptance of Earth Systems Science as a “true” science course I am  
> curious... is anybody aware of studies done comparing the number of  
> Geology / Meteorology / Astronomy / Oceanography majors from states  
> like NY or NC with compulsory Earth Science to states that do not  
> have such a course requirement?  These data, combined with  
> workplace and professional statistics (how many “Earth Science”  
> jobs are available as compared to true Chemistry and/or Physics- 
> centered jobs), could go a long way towards convincing state boards  
> of education and “tertiary” institutions to accept Earth Systems  
> Science as equal to the Bio/Chem/Physics triumvirate.
>
> Food for thought... and perhaps a nice little research project if  
> anybody is so inclined.
>
> Russell W. Kovach
> Science Teacher
>
> C. Milton Wright High School
> 1301 N. Fountain Green Road
> Bel Air, MD 21015
>
> (410) 638 - 4110 phone
> (410) 638 - 4114 fax
>
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Eldridge M. Moores, Ph.D., D.Sc
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Vice President, International Union of Geological Sciences
Geology Department
One Shields Avenue
University of California
Davis, CA 95616-8605 USA
Tel: 1-530-752-0352
Email: moores at geology.ucdavis.edu


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