U.S. EPA is very innovative. Now it has launched a community activist program (like those led by Barak Obama in Chicago) and calls it "citizen science" research. "Citizen science" is not science in the academic sense but a form of research that enlists the public in collecting environmental data. Projects receiving funding through the citizen science grants will be expected to promote a comprehensive understanding of local pollution problems and identify and support activities that address them at the local level. Proposed projects must also consider environmental justice and should engage, educate and empower African Americans.
10 comments:
The ship has struck the iceberg. Water is pouring in to the engine room. Meanwhile back in the dining saloon, the captain is still playing party games.
K
These ludicrous photo-ops are just that.
Anon.
May be the EPA will start to grant "Citizen Ph.D.s" to citizen scientists, so the number of African American higher degree holders will increase. Why should science be a reserve of Whites and Asians?
We could call them "barefoot doctors". People could set up backyard smelters to make solar cells. Oy.
K
Venture Cannibalism.
Anon.
Barefoot doctors were trained to give some asistance at least. These people are given fake titles and made feel good. It reminds me of a toy microscope set I received for my 10th or so birthday, it was called The Little Scientist. EPA is a very serious and powerful institution, yet it promotes a less serious image. I dont understand why, but it must have a reason.
It is what psychologists call "acting out".
Anon.
If only you were right! Acting out is childish behaviour that can be cured! "Ideally, as children develop they learn to replace these attention-gathering strategies with more socially acceptable and constructive communications."(wiki)
EPA is trying to show that it is not a serious forbidding dictatorship but a friendly animal loving and tree hugging love festival. I am sure its personnel is laughing out loudly at the "citizen science" research papers they get.
NASA does the same thing - a lot of their program involves outreach to elementary schools (and controversially to the Muslim world) - the idea is I suppose to generate public support for your program. Using taxpayer money to round up more taxpayer money. A lot of the experiments on the space shuttle were submitted by public schools (partly because there isn't that much real and serious science that requires manned spacecraft - in fact hardly any). The culmination was when they tried to send an elementary school teacher on the shuttle and she got blown up. Then they tried to send an Israeli and he got blow up also.
K
It might, however, be true that some of the people they are reaching out to do in fact live on another planet.
Anon.
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