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PCPG
Hires New Executive Director
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Eric
Conrad (center) is welcomed by Gary Kribbs (right), PCPG
President,
and
Paul Nachlas (left), PCPG President Elect
PCPG
is pleased to announce the selection of Eric R. Conrad, of East
Pennsboro, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania to become the next
Executive Director of the Council.
PCPG
President Gary Kribbs (AEON GeoScience) noted that the Executive
Board was extremely pleased to have Mr. Conrad helping to lead
the Council, adding that, "Mr. Conrad has 30 plus years in
managing environmental issues in the Commonwealth, is a licensed
geologist and understands the issues that our members face on a
daily basis."
Mr.
Conrad is President of E. R. Conrad & Associates, LLC a firm
specializing in providing governmental services. Prior to
starting his own firm in 2004, he was employed for 25 years by
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP). Mr. Conrad started his career as a
non-paid intern in 1978 in the old Department of Environmental
Resources and eventually became DEP's Deputy Secretary for Field
Operations, supervising the 6 DEP Regions and serving under two
Governors.
PCPG
President Elect Paul Nachlas (Alliance Environmental) also noted
that he is looking forward to working with Conrad as the Council
takes on new initiatives, stating that, "recent changes to
the Council's Bylaws allow geologists, environmental
professionals, students, academia, government and private sector
professionals to become members of the Council."
Nachlas noted further, that "with the recent changes to the
professional registration law that stress the requirement for
continuing education credits, we must help our current and
future members meet their professional development goals."
The Council will be working with the State Registration Board to
help fill this new requirement.
The
entire Board of Directors of the Council asks PCPG members to
work with Conrad as we take on our leadership role in helping to
shape the management of the natural resources of our
Commonwealth.
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| American
Geologists Receive Awards
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American
Geologists Receive Awards
Two scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey, USGS, received
a high honor for helping to develop and implement a five year
plan to revitalize Afghanistan's natural resources sector.
Dr. Patrick Leahy, former acting director and associate
director for geology at the USGS, and Dr. Jack Medlin, regional
specialist for the Asia and Pacific region, were given the Ghazi
Mir Bach Khan Superior State Medal. Dr. Leahy retired on April
30 after a 33 year career with the USGS and is now executive
director of the American Geological Institute.
USGS Director Mark Myers was reported to say that "This
medal is one of the highest awards the Afghanistan government
can bestow upon a non-Afghanistan individual, and we are honored
that President Karzai has awarded it to two premier U.S.
Geological Survey scientists. This demonstrates the value that
the USGS has in the international community for its ability to
provide credible, objective science that key policymakers can
use to help revitalize and redevelop a once war-torn nation such
as Afghanistan."
The USGS has been working with the government of Afghanistan
since 2003 to provide an oil and gas resources assessment of the
nation, which was issued in March 2006. An earthquake hazards
assessment is scheduled to be released on May 30. And the USGS
has worked with the Afghan government on a a mineral resources
assessment and a coal resources assessment, both set to be
released by the end of this year. USGS scientists also have been
training scientists in Afghanistan on the latest scientific
methods and technology so that they will be able to sustain and
further develop the new natural resources assessments that the
USGS has provided.
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Scientific
Standards Position Statement
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The Role of Science and
Scientific Standards in
Pennsylvania
Public School Curricula
A Position Statement of the
Pennsylvania
Council of Professional Geologists
The
Pennsylvania Council of Professional Geologists, representing
more than 500 practicing geologists in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, opposes educational proposals and/or actions which
would dilute the quality and quantity of science education by
incorporating non-scientific concepts or methods into public
school biology curricula as alternative explanations to
biological evolution. In particular, PCPG opposes the
introduction or instruction of the concept of ‘intelligent
design’ as an alternative to biological evolution, but is
equally opposed to the inclusion of any positions or
philosophies in science curricula which are not based on
scientific methods and accepted by the scientific community.
PCPG
is an advocacy organization which actively promotes science
education in Pennsylvania. As such, and in light of its mission
to increase the protection of public welfare through continued
improvements in the awareness and application of science within
the Commonwealth, PCPG supports the Pennsylvania Department of
Education standards on science education which specify a
curriculum including biological evolution as the accepted
scientific explanation of the diversity of life on Earth.
Biological
evolution is a fact. Evolution is change to populations over
time and the constituent species of life on Earth have
undeniably changed over geologic time. The theory of biological evolution, the lengthy explanation of the
accepted fact of evolution, is supported by a myriad of
scientific facts. Establishing many of those facts has been, and
remains the purview of geologists. PCPG does not imply that the
scientific community is in complete accord regarding the rate of
evolutionary change, or which of the several mechanisms provides
the greatest contribution to change under different
circumstances. PCPG does hold that the theory
of evolution, in its totality, is the only scientifically
accepted explanation of the diversity of life on earth.
The
Scientific Method places no bounds or limits on the scope or
direction of scientific inquiry into the natural world. Inquiry
within the construct of intelligent design, however, is
bounded and limited. Intelligent
design, therefore, can never be considered a science and its
conclusions are, as a result, unscientific. Consequently,
intelligent design and/or other non-scientific alternatives to
any scientifically derived and supported theory have no
established place in science curricula.
The
claim that intelligent design should be taught, or even
mentioned, as part of science curricula in schools because there
is “scientific controversy regarding the theory of evolution”
is not supported by facts. Controversies surrounding biological
evolution and/or its inclusion in educational curricula are not
based on scientifically derived facts or on competing scientific
theories of which there are none.
As
the premier organization which promotes the education and
professional application of Earth Sciences in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, PCPG encourages and fosters science education
and specifically opposes any educational proposals or reforms
which would dilute the quality and quantity of scientific
tutelage by the mandatory introduction of non-scientific
concepts. Likewise,
PCPG opposes the adoption and use of educational disclaimers,
written or stated, which:
and/or
which
-
state
or imply that there is controversy within the scientific
community in general, and the community of researching and
published biologists and geologists in particular, regarding
the naturalistic explanation of the diversity of life
provided by the comprehensive theory of evolution.
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