[CESElist] Earth Science Literacy Initiative at AGU

[Robert M. Ross]

******Earth Science Literacy Initiative Activities at AGU******

     PLEASE PARTICIPATE IN AND PROVIDE YOUR INPUT TO THE
       NSF-SPONSORED PROJECT TO ASSEMBLE A DOCUMENT
  OF WHAT ALL CITIZENS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT EARTH SCIENCE!!

Activities at AGU:

Monday 2:10 - 2:25 pm, Room MC 3011:
Oral Session ED13D: Earth Science Literacy: Building Community Consensus

Tuesday 8:00 am, Hall D:
Poster ED21A-0601: Earth Science Literacy: Big Ideas and Supporting Concepts

Thursday 6:15 pm, Moscone West 3005
Open Town Hall Meeting: Developing a Framework for Earth Science Literacy

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GO TO WWW.EARTHSCIENCELITERACY.ORG TO SEE THE LATEST REVISION OF THE LITERACY DOCUMENT!!

AS OF MONDAY, DEC 15, THE WEBTOOL WILL REOPEN TO ACCEPT THE NEXT ROUND OF COMMENTS!!

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The Earth Science Literacy Draft Document:

The NSF-supported Earth Science Literacy Initiative has prepared a draft document outlining what every citizen should know about Earth science, and we are seeking community input on the most recent draft. A first public draft was announced and open for comments during October, 2008. These comments have been incorporated into the document, and a second round of comments will open on Monday, December 15. We hope that you will take the time to provide your input because this document will provide a clear and concise summary of the fundamental ideas in Earth science for policy makers, educators, students, and the general public.

This document complements the efforts of the Ocean, Climate and Atmospheric science communities in defining the big ideas and supporting concepts essential for an earth-system literate public. The Earth Sciences draft was developed through an NSF-supported, 350-participant online workshop held in May, 2008 and a 35-participant, in-person writing workshop held in July, 2008.  These workshops brought together scientists from a broad representation of the geosciences, including mineralogists, petrologists, resource explorationists, sedimentologists and statigraphers, paleontologists, tectonists, geophysists, geomorphologists, low-temperature geochemists and biogeochemists, continental dynamacists, volcanologists, geohazard specialists, and members of the freshwater hydrologic science community. The document has gone through several rounds of revisions since then, and though it is already the product of 10,000s of hours of work, we want to make sure that it represents the current state of Earth science understanding.

This is a critical time for our science -- the geosciences can play a critical role in helping society meet the challenges of natural hazards and human impacts on the environment.  Please help us make this document accurate and engaging!

Please contact Michael Wysession at michael at seismo.wustl.edu with any questions.