OKLAHOMA EVOLUTION/CLIMATE NEWS–SEPTEMBER 2020

1.  Pro-science education legislation in other states

2.  Climate curricula hits US schools

3.  Possible life on Venus

4.  By 2100, Greenland will be losing ice at its fastest rate in 12,000 years

5.  Birds sing a ‘sexier’ tune during San Francisco’s coronavirus lockdown

6.  A new poll on climate change action and acceptance

7.  September webcomic

8.  September videos

PRO-SCIENCE EDUCATION LEGISLATION IN OTHER STATES
Texas–During the September 8, 2020, meeting of the Texas state board of education, testifiers ranging from a pastor to a graduate student to a former climate change denier addressed the importance of incorporating climate change in science standards for the four high school core science courses — biology, physics, chemistry and integrated physics.
Carisa Lopez, political director at the Texas Freedom Network, was quoted as saying, “The scientific evidence that human-caused climate change is real and a serious threat has become even more overwhelming. Climate scientists have declared this a global emergency.” She pointedly added, “But you won’t even find the words ‘climate change’ anywhere in the draft standards for these four high school courses.”  More at NCSE.

CLIMATE CURRICULA HITS US SCHOOLS
When Arkansas was updating its statewide science standards in 2015, state representative Mary Bentley filed an emergency petition to halt the process because she opposed the language affirming the legitimacy of evolution and human-driven climate change. Duncan, who serves as the high school director of the Arkansas Science Teachers Association, reached out to the conservative local lawmaker (who also owns a plastics company) to learn more—and possibly change her mind. Duncan says he explained that activities like fracking, which had recently ramped up in Arkansas, have lasting environmental impacts.
Duncan isn’t sure whether this conversation is what swayed Bentley to withdraw the petition later that month, but the standards passed soon after. State standards matter because they determine textbook content, high-stakes statewide testing, and instructor coursework, says Glenn Branch, deputy director of the National Center for Science Education. They’re also the primary source of guidance for teachers, who ultimately decide what a given class will cover. 
This framework is particularly important because teachers don’t always know how to approach the topic of climate change nor understand its causes. While approximately 75 percent of public school science teachers devote lessons to the topic, according to a 2016 survey by the National Center for Science Education, less than half are aware of the scientific consensus on human-driven global warming. In fact, most teachers said they hadn’t received any university-level instruction on climate change.  More at Sierra Club and NCSE.

POSSIBLE LIFE ON VENUS
Venus’ clouds appear to contain a smelly, toxic gas that could be produced by bacteria, a new study suggests.
Chemical signs of the gas phosphine have been spotted in observations of the Venusian atmosphere, researchers report September 14 in Nature Astronomy. Examining the atmosphere in millimeter wavelengths of light showed that the planet’s clouds appear to contain up to 20 parts per billion of phosphine — enough that something must be actively producing it, the researchers say. 
If the discovery holds up, and if no other explanations for the gas are found, then the hellish planet next door could be the first to yield signs of extraterrestrial life — though those are very big ifs.
“We’re not saying it’s life,” says astronomer Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in Wales. “We’re saying it’s a possible sign of life.”  Coverage at Science News, Pandas Thumb, Slashdot here and here, and the New York Times.  Original paper at Nature Astronomy.

BY 2100, GREENLAND WILL BE LOSING ICE AT ITS FASTEST RATE IN 12,000 YEARS
By 2100, Greenland will be shedding ice faster than at any time in the past 12,000 years, scientists report in Nature.
Since the 1990s, Greenland has shed its ice at an increasing rate.  Meltwater from the island’s ice sheet now contributes about 0.7 millimeters per year to global sea level rise. But how does this rapid loss stack up against the ice sheet’s recent history, including during a 3,000-year-long warm period?
Glacial geologist Jason Briner of the University at Buffalo in New York and colleagues created a master timeline of ice sheet changes spanning nearly 12,000 years, from the dawn of the Holocene Epoch 11,700 years ago and projected out to 2100.
The researchers combined climate and ice physics simulations with observations of the extent of past ice sheets, marked by moraines. Those rocky deposits denote the edges of ancient, bulldozing glaciers. New fine-tuned climate simulations that include spatial variations in temperature and precipitation across the island also improved on past temperature reconstructions.  More at Science News and Ars Technica.  Original paper in Nature.

BIRDS SING A ‘SEXIER’ TUNE DURING SAN FRANCISCO’S CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN
A new study found that sparrows in San Francisco altered their birdsong to sound more appealing to mates after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the city.The study analyzed the birdsong of the white-crowned sparrow, a bird common in the San Francisco Bay Area.Amid the din of traffic and other noise in metropolitan areas, birds  sing much more loudly to be heard by potential mates. This is a phenomenon known as the Lombard effect.Though male birds aren’t drowned out, their trill cannot reach a wide range, nor is it appealing to prospective partners.  More at USA Today.  Original paper in Science.

A NEW POLL ON CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION AND ACCEPTANCE
A new poll on climate change action “shows that the political landscape among voters appears to be shifting,” according to the Guardian (September 23, 2020). But when it comes to opinions about the existence and causes of climate change, which the poll also investigated (PDF), a wide partisan divide is still apparent.
Asked “Do you think that climate change is happening, or not,” 72% of respondents answered yes and 14% answered no, with 14% indicating that they were not sure. Climate change was more widely accepted among respondents identifying as Democrats (87%) than among respondents identifying as independents (77%) or Republicans (53%).  More at NCSE and the Guardian.  Poll info at Guardian/Vice (PDF).

SEPTEMBER WEBCOMIC
Evidence of Alien Life

SEPTEMBER VIDEOS

Our Global Water Crisis Explained
Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2020