<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">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. <DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>At the risk of repeating things that have already been said, several comments come to mind from the exchanges over the past few days:</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>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. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>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.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>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.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>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?</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Best regards,</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Eldridge </DIV><DIV><DIV><DIV>On Aug 2, 2007, at 8:37 AM, Kovach, Russell wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <DIV id="idOWAReplyText84344" dir="ltr"> <DIV dir="ltr"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000" size="3">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?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.</FONT></DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000" size="3"></FONT></DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000" size="3"> <DIV dir="ltr"> <DIV id="idOWAReplyText51275" dir="ltr"> <DIV dir="ltr"><P class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P><DIV style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; ">Food for thought... and perhaps a nice little research project if anybody is so inclined.</DIV></DIV> <DIV dir="ltr"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color="#000000" size="3"></FONT> </DIV></DIV> <DIV id="idSignature28236" dir="ltr"> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana" color="#000000">Russell W. Kovach</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana">Science Teacher</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana">C. Milton Wright High School</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana">1301 N. Fountain Green Road</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana">Bel Air, MD 21015</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana">(410) 638 - 4110 phone</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana">(410) 638 - 4114 fax</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Verdana"></FONT> </DIV></DIV></DIV></FONT><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_______________________________________________</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">CESElist mailing list</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="mailto:CESElist@mailman.ucar.edu">CESElist@mailman.ucar.edu</A></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="http://mailman.ucar.edu/mailman/listinfo/ceselist">http://mailman.ucar.edu/mailman/listinfo/ceselist</A></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Eldridge M. Moores, Ph.D., D.Sc</DIV><DIV>Distinguished Professor Emeritus</DIV><DIV>Vice President, International Union of Geological Sciences</DIV><DIV>Geology Department</DIV><DIV>One Shields Avenue</DIV><DIV>University of California</DIV><DIV>Davis, CA 95616-8605 USA</DIV><DIV>Tel: 1-530-752-0352</DIV><DIV>Email: <A href="mailto:moores@geology.ucdavis.edu">moores@geology.ucdavis.edu</A></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN> </DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>