In this blog and in my book Reality Check, I’ve frequently complained about science-denying politicians pushing policies which are in direct conflict with scientific evidence and reality: the creationist agenda in public schools, distorting history to serve the religious extremists, or acting on behalf of their energy industry donors to deny the reality of climate change and attack the EPA, NASA, NOAA, the NSF, and legitimate scientific organizations. So it gives me great pleasure to praise public figures who stand up for science and science-based policy, and pass laws that benefit people and the environment, rather than powerful special interests and the science deniers of every stripe. Nowhere is this more apparent than my home state, California.
Immunizing Children
Last week, the state legislature passed, and Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a no-nonsense measure that made childhood vaccinations mandatory except for extraordinary medical circumstances. No more will the anti-vaxxers in my state be able to use their “personal beliefs” to endanger other children through their own foolishness and believing debunked garbage from the internet. The problem was a severe one in our state, with its huge population and large number of anti-vaxxers driven by Hollywood celebrities like Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey. The medical community has been battling the anti-vaxxers for years with limited success, until serious outbreaks of measles at Disneyland, and other deadly outbreaks of rubella and whooping cough started killing people. But State Senator Richard Pan, M.D., who sponsored the bill, managed to get it through both houses of the Legislature by big majorities (despite a handful of GOP naysayers who thought in impinged on “personal freedom and privacy”). Then Gov. Brown signed it as soon as it reached his desk, and the bill is now law.
Anti-vaxxer parents will no longer be able to send their disease-prone kids to infect the rest of us, and herd immunity should improve quickly. This is particularly serious, because unvaccinated kids are a deadly threat to children too young to be vaccinated, or those with compromised or weakened immune systems. Naturally, the anti-vaxxers have been angry and strident in their reactions to the measure, and our state legislatures have to have armed guards thanks to death threats from the science deniers. But starting next year, they can no longer send their unvaccinated kids to public schools, and must either do the right thing, or homeschool their kids.
Confronting Environmental Challenges
California has long been at the forefront of environmental issues and legislation, with strict laws that govern most polluting industries. (As a consulting paleontologist, I have to be very aware of the CEQA—California Environmental Quality Act—that governs nearly all industry and development). We have the toughest air-pollution standards in the country, and as a consequence, the horrible smog I remember as a child growing up in Los Angeles no longer occurs. Stung by two major oil spills off the Santa Barbara Coast, California tries to regulate these dangerous polluters more than any other state, although as the recent oil spill demonstrates, there are always slip-ups. This has been true no matter which party rules in Sacramento, and both Republican (Schwarzenegger) and Democratic (Gray Davis, Jerry Brown) governors have pushed California to become one of the greenest states in the union, with many anti-global warming bills passed and green-energy measures in place. A few days ago, Governor Brown met with Pope Francis over their common goals of battling climate change and curbing environmental damage by greedy corporations, and on July 8 he gave a strongly worded speech in which he called the climate deniers “troglodytes.” This is no mere posturing. California’s huge population and size is matched by incredible economic power, from the tech wizards of Silicon Valley to the center of the entertainment industry in Hollywood and environs (movies, TV, and music especially) to the immense wealth in oil and agricultural products. California’s Gross Domestic Product (over $14 trillion) is larger than all but seven countries in the world, so if California were a nation by itself, it would be the world’s eighth largest economy. Brown’s speech was given at a conference where California is collaborating with nations and organizations around the world to battle climate change. This is moving forward, even as Washington is paralyzed by climate deniers who currently run the show and doing all they can to cripple federally-funded climate science at the NSF and NASA and NOAA, while trying to stop the EPA from doing its job.
Shouting from the Rooftops
But I want to particularly highlight an impressive example of how we get things done here. Three years ago, my good friends Tony Barnosky (professor of paleoecology at UC Berkeley) and Liz Hadly, his wife, and professor of paleoecology at Stanford, got an unusual call. As they recount it, they got a one-line email from Governor Brown asking that they call him. Thinking it was a prank, Tony called the number and left a message, and a few hours later the Governor was on the phone with Tony. Brown was interested in their newly published paper in Nature documenting how humans were causing the greatest mass extinction in earth history. The paper had gotten decent media coverage, but Brown asked Tony and Liz: “Why aren’t you guys shouting this from the rooftops?” “We thought we were,” recalls Hadly. Brown then asked them to rewrite their paper as a consensus statement for policy makers. The language of the report soon became part of the climate pact between California and other places, such as Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, as well as the IPCC. Tony and Liz worked on it for more than a year, forced to think about the practical consequences of their scientific research. As reported in Nature:
“The consensus statement is more valuable than anything else I’ve done in my career,” says Hadly. “We never could have guessed the reach this paper has had.”
Before the document could help to inform international negotiations, Barnosky and Hadly had to transform the seven-page paper they had written for scientists into a document aimed at world leaders, policy-makers and the public. Already on sabbatical to write a book, Barnosky took the lead in writing the 46-page statement. He and Hadly discussed the structure while working on it at night and weekends from their home in Palo Alto, California. Barnosky would write draft sections in intensive bursts and send them around to Hadly and the 14 other co-authors. The hardest part, he says, was summarizing the 126 cited studies—without using any scientific jargon. It took 21 iterations to nail down the wording.
This was new territory for them, but they had a guide. “Governor Brown taught us how to do this. He told us what kind of format he needed, not just to understand, himself, but to present to policy-makers,” says Hadly.
The politician had not input on the substance of the document, but he was instrumental in crafting the clarity of its presentation, from the simple font, to the necessity of bullet points and a one-page opening summary, to the choice to highlight “scientific consensus” in red.
Then Tony and Liz, with Brown’s help, got the document signed by 522 top scientists around the world, to make the nature of the consensus more clear. In May 2013, Brown held a press conference with Tony and Liz to give this information publicity that no scientist can command in normal circumstances. As the article continues:
400 business, government and civic leaders packed into a conference room at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, for a conference on sustainability technology.
The two scientists were out of their element, with Barnosky in a rarely worn suit and Hadly feeling a bit odd in high heels and a new purple dress. They presented the governor with the report, officially called Scientific Consensus on Maintaining Humanity’s Life Support Systems in the 21st Century. … In his address to the crowd, Brown chastised the media for its anaemic coverage of climate change. He said that a different approach was required to achieve the critical mass needed to create change—something like the consensus statement. … As the report’s roll-out continued, it was not uncommon for Barnosky and Hadly to receive urgent requests from Brown’s office. One day they got a call asking for hard copies of the consensus statement that the governor could take to southern California for a meeting with President Obama and President Xi Jinping. They went to a printing shop, ran off two dozen copies, then Barnosky and his daughter drove the reports to Sacramento, a six-hour round trip.
During this frantic period, Hadly and Barnosky found themselves devoting up to half of their time in support of the release. It seems to have been worth it. All of this collaboration between research scientists and the Governor has had extraordinary impact, far in excess of the normal reach of scientists filtered through the media. Together, Brown, Hadly, and Barnosky have worked hard to convey the substance of the document to political leaders in Norway, Japan, Mexico, Israel, Malaysia, and Nepal. Barnosky argues this reach could not have been achieved without Brown’s involvement:
“You can have all the consensus statements in the world, but what makes them effective is when somebody in a policy-making position actually uses them,” he says. For him and Hadly, the biggest lesson learned is that “a scientist’s job isn’t over once a paper is published”, he says. Or, as Hadly puts it, scientists can reach a point in their careers when they decide, in a world of limited resources and time, to focus on making a difference.
Governor Jerry Brown hired dowsers to survey his future retirement property.
http://news.yahoo.com/water-witch-dowsing-california-drought-145325572.html
“A spokesman for the governor confirmed Brown had used dowsers, but he declined to say if they found water.”
Jim, you do realise that this is a government disinformation site? The only people attacked here are actual skeptics. Look at Mark’s comments, (s)he is probably a government employee pushing the company line.
There’s an easy way to debunk climate scientists – publish the data in peer-reviewed journals. You’ll also gain a fair amount of fame too, because the most famous scientists are those who overturn existing paradigms. Shouldn’t be too hard to do.
Unless of course the actual experts know more than keyboard bloggers. Nah, can’t be that.
I’ll start taking the global alarmists seriously when they start using teleconferencing instead of jetting off to some exotic locale for their conferences. Also, calling people who oppose the THEORY of climate change troglodytes is not helpful (stick and stones, you know).
I don’t see how you arrive at that at all. It’s not an admission at all, probably because vaccines DO work. Overwhelmingly. Among the many scientific advances that have improved our lives, it’s hard to think of a better one than vaccination.
How exactly does the government own your children exactly? By enacting sensible and effective health regulations that save the lives of MILLIONS of people?
Mark, you need to look at the stats sometime. All major diseases were on a downward trend for the best part of a century, attributable to improved nutrition and hygiene. When these diseases reached almost rock-bottom, vaccines came along to take the credit.
How do you explain the billions paid out for adverse reactions to vaccines? Death being among those adverse reactions.
If vaccines actually worked you wouldn’t fear the unvaccinated. And please don’t fall back on that inane herd immunity BS.
If you think vaccines are good then fine, vaccinate yourself and your children, just don’t try to force it on everybody else. There are better ways to protect from illness.
‘…No more will the anti-vaxxers in my state be able to use their “personal beliefs” to endanger other children…’
That’s an outright admission that vaccines don’t work.
But beside that, your acceptance that the government owns your children is abominable.
A question if I may Donald. What drives this progressive attitude of the elected leaders in California? Is it simply a better educated pool of candidates, or do the politicians understand the electorate is more savvy and intelligent than most, and actively demand such reforms? It’s both instructive and pleasing to observe for those of us outside the US.
It is definitely interesting To see the politics of all this. Like someone else mentioned anti-vaxers are for the most part liberals and among the people who are pro-vaccine Republicans there are those who believe in creationism. Then on the liberal side you have atheists who say there’s no scientific proof regarding religion. People who are anti-science are anti-science to fit their agenda. If their side can come out on top science is great, if not science is bad. But that’s why science is great because it does not have a political affiliation!
I live in Los Banos, California in the San Joaquin Valley. We have several tomato processing plants in the area and there are two-trailer rigs delivering to them 24/7. I was looking at some tomatoes that had fallen off a truck; they were red and hard as rocks. GMO’ed to be that way for less spoilage while in transit.
My argument with GMO crops is the direction their taking them in. They don’t breed for taste but for yield and a longer shelf life. My experience is that GMO equals a bland cardboard flavor. That’s why I avoid GMO foods.
The other reason I don’t trust GMO crops is that they are likely to have pesticides in the mix. Who’s against labeling GMO foods? Monsanto. Thanks but I’ll pass on the neonicatinoids for breakfast!
The climate change concensus statement should be read by all.
Does it have a publication date and source for citation of the doc?
Of course anyone who would send their child to the public school system is an idiot anyway. Schools are dangerous for more reasons than the risk of catching some disease. They also have almost nothing to do with education. They exist mainly to indoctrinate children into beliefs the governing powers want them to believe. The school system is a failure and is broken beyond repair. It cannot bhe fixed and should be abandoned.
There is a lot of skepticism of California’s energy proposals. One of the best pieces I’ve seen is a chapter in Rud Istvan’s book, Blowing Smoke entitled California Dreaming. In it he describes an energy storage mandate that specifically excludes a practical pumped storage solution by the Eagle Crest energy company. He thinks this mandate, which is based on expensive, unproven technologies, is destined to fail and may mean rolling blackouts. It should be interesting to see how this plays out.
http://www.amazon.com/Blowing-Smoke-Essays-Energy-Climate-ebook/dp/B00OJSOCNK/ref=cm_cr-mr-title
I agree, but did you purposely leave out the deniers on the “progressive” side, such as those who are anti GMOs?
No, the post could only be so long. The anti-vaxxers are often “progressives”, so this is not polarized as a GOP science-denial issue.
Also, personal anti-vaxx behavior can have rapid, and sometimes fatal, consequences for innocent victims. Not so personal anti-GMO.
Thanks Don for reaching out about the work that Governor Brown has done, and continues to do. We are eager to continue to help in whatever way we can. Science should be informing society in many ways, and we are grateful that Gov. Brown knows this. Best, Liz