Defend Science Forum this Friday at University of Hawaii Manoa

When we think about impeachable crimes of the Bush administration, most of us think about the war, and few of us think of Bush's attacks on science and critical thinking. Yet the Bush Administration is attacking science by denying scientific truths such as evolution, disrupting scientific investigations into wide-ranging issues such as health and the environment, undermining science education, and calling into question the process of scientific thinking.

The Defend Science forum this Friday is among the first of its kind in the U.S. I was able to attend the first such forum in Berkeley in 2006, and thought it very exciting. Not only were scientists stepping into the "political" realm, but they were attempting to communicate the seriousness of the attacks to a broad audience. And they were doing a good job of it! Steve Palumbi was one of the speakers at the Berkeley forum, and will be speaking in the Defend Science forum on Friday. I hope you'll make a big effort to be there. Here's the info:

Defend Science Forum
Friday, March 30, 7 pm
UH-Manoa Art Auditorium
(parking is free since it's Spring break)

Guest speakers:
Frederic Mercier
Researcher, John A. Burns School of Medicine
Expert on neuronal stem cells
“Controversies and Promises of Stem Cell Research”

and
Steve Palumbi
Professor of Biological Sciences, Stanford University
author of “The Evolution Explosion”
“Why Evolution Matters”

Moderated by
Michael G. Hadfield
Professor of Zoology, University of Hawai`i
Defend Science Advisory Board*

The Defend Science Initiative includes scientists in various fields and from a diversity of perspectives, who are extremely concerned about the current attack on science, including on its very foundation in scientific method and thinking. Its goal is to mobilize scientists, issue a broad public call to Defend Science, and to bring community-wide attention to the real issues and the real stakes. Read or sign the Call and find out how to support this initiative at www.defendscience.org

Free admission - Open to Everyone (no science background needed)
Organized by The Defend Science Initiative