Daily Archive for October 1st, 2006

Looking for a SEA Change?

Published on October 1, 2006 in energy, energy policy, environment, politics, science and society, science education and science in the media. 13 Comments

SEA BannerI’ve previously mentioned examples of the manipulation or suppression of scientific information by organisations such as the Bush Administration. See for example a recent post on hurricanes and global warming. Various scientists have made it their business to speak out against these types of wrongs, either as individuals in the line of fire, as individuals noticing it in the news and blogging about it to as many as care to read, and as part of organisations here and abroad.

Well I’d like to point out a new organisation I heard about* called “Scientists and Engineers for America”, and I am pleased to share with you that their website says:

…a group of scientists and concerned citizens launch a new organization, Scientists and Engineers for America, dedicated to electing public officials who respect evidence and understand the importance of using scientific and engineering advice in making public policy.

The principal role of the science and technology community is to advance human understanding. But there are times when this is not enough. Scientists and engineers have a right, indeed an obligation, to enter the political debate when the nation’s leaders systematically ignore scientific evidence and analysis, put ideological interests ahead of scientific truths, suppress valid scientific evidence and harass and threaten scientists for speaking honestly about their research.

We ask every American who values scientific integrity in decision-making to join us in endorsing a basic Bill of Rights for Scientists and Engineers. Together we will elect new leadership beginning in 2006, and we will continue to work to elect reasonable leadership in federal, state and local elections for years to come.

America needs your help. Will you join us?

(Personally, I don’t see why it is necessary to be so America-centric about it, but there you have it. It’s their choice, of course.) Their Bill of Rights is linked here. Here are the points they list: Continue reading ‘Looking for a SEA Change?’

Green For Purple

Published on October 1, 2006 in environment and Los Angeles. 5 Comments

You’ve possibly read about my excitement about the long-awaited Expo line, connecting downtown to USC and the Science, Natural History (and other) Museums, and then connecting out to Culver City, and ultimately to Venice. I’ve blogged this here and here. They broke ground on the project two days ago. See here and here. Here’s a picture (yes, construction workers wear business suits in LA. They are very image-conscious here, and you never know when a casting director might be looking):

ground breaking on the Expo Line

I am truly amazed every day by the small percentage of people who live and work in LA who actually know about this major breakthrough – the very existence of the plans for the line, never mind its approval. It is as though I live in a different city…. Anyway, conversations are going on in the various direcly affected communities about the design of the tations, the business that will sprout up around them, the best way to include bike lanes along the projects, and the routing of the cars that will do doubt still have priority and therefore compromise the efficiency of the entire project as happened with the Gold Line. Join in these conversations if you live and/or work in the city.

expo line map

There are some significant new developments. The first is that the proposal to call the Expo line the “Aqua Line” did not succeed. Expo Line will be the name, it seems. Ok, that’s not so significant, I suppose. Meanwhile, the second branch of the Red Line, the one that stops for no good reason at Wilshire and Western, will be called the “Purple Line”. Yay. Not significant either, you say. Maybe, but the point here is that the Purple Line is actually being discussed! Not only has it been discussed, but there has been a breakthrough. That “no good reason” mentioned above was translated -back in the ’80s- into a legal blockade, making it illegal to tunnel further along that route for safely reasons. The claim was that the geological instability (that resulted in an explosion in a store) made it unsafe to pursue the goal of having a subway run down Wilshire Boulevard, and ultimately out to Santa Monica. This project would have acheived the wonderful goal of connecting Downtown to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Wiltern Theatre, The Superior Court, the Hammer Museum, and the whole of UCLA. But it was held up because (essentially) the greatest power in the history of the world could not simply look across the Atlantic or the Pacific to learn the tried and tested engineering solutions to this “safety issue”.

So the Good News: The same politician who sponsored the legislation that resulted in the ban on tunneling has how worked to (successfully) get it repealed! Continue reading ‘Green For Purple’

Acting Up At Griffith Observatory

Published on October 1, 2006 in astronomy, entertainment, Los Angeles, science, science and society and science education. 13 Comments

griffiths observatory roofAs mentioned before, I am really excited about the re-opening of the Griffith Park Observatory. See this earlier post. [Update: See post about my viisit here.]


[Further Update: After reading the rest of the post, be sure to read the comments (starting here) for some commentary on the planetarium show since it was launched.]


[Yet another update: The discussion has continued to another post, with more contributions from various people concerned with the shows and the observatory, past and present. Link here.]

I’d noticed (on their site) the employment notice:

The Observatory will complete its four year renovation and expansion project in the Fall of 2006, with improvements including the new 200 seat Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon theater, doubling of the exhibit space to house more than 60 new and exciting exhibits, and new sound, lighting, interior dome and digital laser projection technology in the refurbished Samuel Oschin Planetarium theater. Employment opportunities will continue to increase as we approach our reopening date.

… and the job decriptions for the Museum Guide:

Job Qualifications
12 semester units or 18 quarter units in a recognized college or university in Architecture, History, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, Zoology or related field. Six months experience working in the above fields may be substituted for education.

Job Description
Demonstrate and explain exhibits relating to astronomy and related sciences. Answer questions related to the observatory, astronomy and related sciences. May be asked to safeguard exhibits, and open or close
facility.

and thought it was ok (“may be substituted for education” was a bit worrying, but I think I know what they really meant), and assumed that the guides would be supplementary to more experienced staff who know more about the actual science, etc.

It seems I was wrong. A newspaper from the neighbourhood that the observatory is in, the Los Feliz Ledger, has a story (by Kimberly Gomez) entitled “Actors Get The Call Over Astronomers”. It seems that:

The traditional planetarium lecturers, who in the past led hour-long talks in the planetarium at Griffith Observatory, are upset that when the observatory re-opens this fall, they will be out of a job. According to four past lecturers, their position which traditionally required an education in astronomy, has been changed.

Continuing… Continue reading ‘Acting Up At Griffith Observatory’