By Lisa Micheli, PhD, Executive Director
Geeks everywhere are pumped that as
part of the New Year’s media blitz the dictionary publishers Merriam-Webster
crowned science as the word of the
year! (See here). Science, a word users looked up 176% more than the year
before, was followed by other popular lookups including ecology’s niche coming in at number four. It caught me by surprise, since 2013 struck
me as a year full of doubt and questioning authority, but perhaps that’s part
of science’s growing appeal?
“The more we thought about it, the righter it seemed in that it does
lurk behind a lot of big stories that we as a society are grappling with,
whether it’s climate change or environmental regulation or what’s in our
textbooks,” said John Morse, president and publisher of Merriam-Webster Inc. (Read the article here).
As a scientist who spends a fair bit of time trying to explain what we
know and what we don’t about things like our water supply, wildlife ecology,
and climate change, I am heartened by 2013’s word.
My only worry is whether looking up science on the web will provide eager neo-geeks the reassuring
knowledge they seek….or is there the risk of finding a bunch of confusing
misinformation that may only deepen rifts between entrenched, distinctly
unscientific, points of view?
 |
| Many of Pepperwood's research projects utilize data from this weather station, pictured here with Pepperwood Steward Dave Andersen (right) and Preserve Manager Michael Gillogly (left) |
As an experiment I “googled” climate
science to see what I would find. Instantly I was gratified that the top links were actually
research-based, including sites hosted by the American Geophysical Union (AGU)
and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). But I realized while there was a lot of late-breaking
research findings there, honestly it was at such a high technical level I
suspected someone without an earth
science PhD would likely find it pretty confusing.
Only a couple search products below the hard-core science news stuff,
however, I was disappointed to find international media sites featuring cutting
edge science articles serving apparently as primarily a prod for renewed
mudslinging. Below the actual news
pieces slews of comments were posted that rapidly devolved into science-free personal
epithets traded between seasoned extremists…and I found that disheartening.
I don’t mean to disrespect the internet with my cursory experiment,
but being kind of old school I always rely on knowledgeable individuals to
filter on-line data sources for me. Colleague Dr. Andy Gunther who coordinates the Bay Area Ecosystems and
Climate Change Consortium (BAECCC) has a bunch of links up to climate
science resources, including the State of California’s succinct
climate science summary located here. For those who want greater depth, I am a fan
of NOAA’s Climate.gov which includes a real-time climate
“dashboard” on the front page.
So in honor of the word of the year, I ask what does it mean when
millions around the globe are searching for meaningful information regarding science?
 |
| Preserve Ecologist Michelle Halbur conducts TBC3 research |
Recent surveys indicate that people’s number one preferred way to get
scientific information is from scientists themselves—ideally in person—and
those are the kind of rare opportunities we aim to provide at Pepperwood
through our programs that link citizens and scientists.
At our pilot climate adaptation workshop for land managers last fall,
our TBC3 scientists were on hand and in the field to present their data in
nature’s context and to answer key questions. Our scientists in turn wanted to hear from range and conservation
managers what their priorities were to guide the next phases of TBC3 research
to make sure it will have meaning for those who need it most.
We aim to provide this kind of transparent access and exchange via
every class, workshop, lecture and hike folks participate in at Pepperwood. Please join us in making science the word of the day everyday at Pepperwood!
