OKLAHOMA EVOLUTION/CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS–SEPTEMBER 2023

1. PragerU’s climate-change-denying videos come to Oklahoma
2. Pro-science education legislation in other states
3. This summer broke the world record for the highest temperature officially recorded
4. University of Oklahoma, Los Alamos National Laboratory awarded grant to study extreme weather triggers
5. Nature’s great survivors: Flowering plants survived the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs
6. Rare Oklahoma Crayfish hatched at Texas Zoo
7. These brainless jellyfish use their eyes and bundles of nerves to learn
8. September videos and Podcast
PRAGERU’S CLIMATE-CHANGE-DENYING VIDEOS COME TO OKLAHOMA
As promised last month, here is more on the PragerU videos, starting with the NCSE:
The Oklahoma Department of Education announced a “partnership” with PragerU Kids, a project of a right-wing advocacy group that produces videos aimed at schoolchildren, on September 5, 2023.
Although the PragerU videos are endorsed only for use in social studies classrooms, E&E News previously observed that they frequently “use talking points common among global warming skeptics to frame climate and policy.” More at NCSE.
Other coverage by Oklahoma Watch, Stillwater News Press, Yahoo, Freedom from Religion Foundation, and StateImpact Oklahoma.
PRO-SCIENCE LEGISLATION IN OTHER STATES
Hawaii–Hawaii’s House Bill 1052 and the identical Senate Bill 1350 — which would, if enacted, have established a climate impact special fund in the state treasury — both died in committee on May 4, 2023, when the legislature adjourned sine die. Money from the fund would have been used for activities “to address the impact, mitigation, and adaptation of climate change, including but not limited to … climate change education and outreach.” More at NCSE.
California–California’s Assembly Bill 285, a measure to support climate change education in the Golden State’s public schools, is on its way to the governor’s desk.
The bill will require the California course of study for grades 1-6 and grades 7-12 to emphasize the causes and effects of climate change and methods to mitigate and adapt to its effects. Additionally, appropriate coursework including such material will be required to be offered as soon as possible, no later than the 2024-2025 school year. More at NCSE.
Michigan–Michigan’s House Bill 4961 would, if enacted, establish an environmental literary task force charged with developing an environmental literacy model curriculum that would, inter alia, “[p]repare students for understanding environmental challenges of this state and the United States, including the relationship of the environment to … climate change.” “Climate change” is also listed among the “definitions for key terms that must be addressed in the environmental literacy model curriculum.” Sponsored by Julie M. Rogers (D-District 41) and thirty of her colleagues, the bill was introduced on September 7, 2023, and referred to the Committee on Education. More at NCSE.
U.S. Congress–The Green Ribbon Act of 2023, introduced on September 14, 2023, in the Senate as S. 2822 and in the House as H.R. 5484, would, if enacted, “strengthen and expand the Green Ribbon Schools Programs at the Department of Education,” including by encouraging and recognizing environmental literacy in formal and informal learning institutions.
In a press release, Abby Tinsley of the National Wildlife Federation commented, “In an era of climate misinformation, Green Ribbon schools are doing the crucial work of advancing climate literacy and building the future generation of young conservationists and climate champions.” NCSE is among the organizations to have endorsed the Green Ribbon Act. More at NCSE.
THIS SUMMER BROKE THE WORLD RECORD FOR THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE OFFICIALLY RECORDED
Earth has sweltered through its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever measured, with a record warm August capping a season of brutal and deadly temperatures, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Last month was not only the hottest August scientists ever recorded by far with modern equipment, it was also the second hottest month measured, behind only July 2023, WMO and the European climate service Copernicus announced Wednesday.
August was about 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial averages. That is the threshold that the world is trying not to pass, though scientists are more concerned about rises in temperatures over decades, not merely a blip over a month’s time. More at AP and KFOR. Original report at Copernicus.
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY AWARDED GRANT TO STUDY EXTREME WEATHER TRIGGERS
The OU School of Meteorology is about to be on the cutting edge of extreme weather research thanks to a new grant from the government.
Severe and unusual weather is undoubtedly becoming more severe and less unusual. From record-breaking heat waves across many states just this summer, or the fact that the 2023 hurricane season will likely go down as the eighth straight above-average hurricane season in a row.
Jason Furtado, an associate professor and a Carlisle and Lurline Mabrey Presidential Professor in the School of Meteorology, College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, leads the project alongside co-investigators Steven Cavallo and James Ruppert with the OU School of Meteorology and James Benedict with the Los Alamos National Laboratory. More at KTUL.
NATURE’S GREAT SURVIVORS: FLOWERING PLANTS SURVIVED THE MASS EXTINCTION THAT KILLED THE DINOSAURS
A new study published in Biology Letters by researchers from the University of Bath (UK) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico) shows that flowering plants escaped relatively unscathed from the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. While they suffered some species loss, the devastating event helped flowering plants become the dominant type of plant they are today.
There have been several mass extinctions in the Earth’s history, the most famous caused by an asteroid hit 66 million years ago, which steered the course of life on Earth profoundly. The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event eradicated at least 75% of all species on Earth, including the dinosaurs, but until now it has been unclear what kind of impact it had on flowering plants. More at phys.org and New York Times. Original paper in Biology Letters.
RARE OKLAHOMA CRAYFISH HATCHED AT TEXAS ZOO
A female Oklahoma cave crayfish recently produced a clutch of 47 hatchlings at the Center for Conservation and Research – San Antonio Zoo, a groundbreaking step for researchers studying the reproductive biology of the species.
“Successful husbandry and captive propagation of such a rare and cryptic species, that is endemic to Oklahoma, is a huge milestone,” said Curtis Tackett, threatened and endangered species biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “Understanding the life history traits of this species opens up so many opportunities to help us ensure the future conservation of the Oklahoma cave crayfish.” More at ODWC, KSAT, WOAI, Chron,San Antonio Current, yahoo!, and AZA.
THESE BRAINLESS JELLYFISH USE THEIR EYES AND BUNDLES OF NERVES TO LEARN
Jellyfish are an undeniable evolutionary success story, surviving at least 500 million years in Earth’s oceans. They are even poised to handle climate change very well in some areas of the world, all without a centralized brain like most animals. Despite this lack of a central brain, trained Caribbean box jellyfish can potentially remember their past experiences the way that flies, mice, and humans do, and learn to spot and dodge previously encountered obstacles in a tank. The findings are reported in a study published on September 22 in the journal Current Biology.
This species of jellyfish is ubiquitous in the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the central Indo-Pacific Ocean, but are generally just about a half inch in diameter. Box jellyfish like these are members of a class of jellyfish that are known for being among the most poisonous animals in the world and their stings can cause paralysis and even death in extreme cases. More at Popular Science, Science News, and Science. Original paper in Current Biology.
SEPTEMBER VIDEOS AND PODCAST
Darwin Artificial Intelligence and Plant Identification
Darwin and the love life of a mushroom
Are we causing more wildfires?
The Brainwashing Of America’s Children | Climate Town
Watch a Climate Scientist Fact Check an Alarming PragerU Video
Evolution: Bacteria to Beethoven, PragerU video on evolution by the Discovery Institute’s Stephen Meyer
Ross and Dan Phelps and the Genesis of The Ark Encounter
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