Sunday, December 28, 2014


How do we build a healthy geoscience community 
that better serves society?

The IAPG at the AGU-GAC-MAC-CGU Joint Assembly 2015



Vince Cronin and Anne-Marie Ryan
Anne-Marie Ryan (IAPG-Canada) and Vince Cronin (IAPG-USA) invite and encourage you to contribute an abstract to the session entitled "How do we build a healthy geoscience community that better serves society?

This session will be held at the AGU-GAC-MAC-CGU Joint Assembly in Montréal, Canada, May 3-7, 2015. The abstract deadline is January 14.

Information about the session can be found at:
https://agu.confex.com/agu/ja2015/webprogrampreliminary/Session6358.html

Session 6358 description
Montreal view
It goes without saying that we geoscientists would like to think of ourselves as competent scientists and paragons of personal and professional ethics. Perhaps "it goes without saying" because that self-image is not always accurate. Society faces critical challenges related to water, hazards, energy, mineral resources, and environmental change that require an informed public and reliable geoscience expertise. Is society getting what it needs from geoscientists in terms of education, objective information, and useful, informed opinions that are scientifically valid? We want to host a conversation about what we should expect from ourselves and from each other within the geosciences community, and about what society should be able to expect from us. A broad spectrum including research results, case studies in geoethics, educational strategies, and discussion of societal geoscience-related needs and issues, are all welcome in this session.

The description for this session is intentionally broad, so that we can encompass topics ranging from our responsibilities as geoscientists with respect to our planet and its inhabitants (of all species), all the way to ethical aspects of geosciences in school, businesses, law, politics, land-use planning, and so on. Whatever your interest or concern that relates to the geosciences and that has an ethical dimension to it, this is the forum in which to present your thoughts and engage in discussion.

The meeting is the Joint Assembly of the American Geophysical Union with several Canadian organizations, and will be held in lovely and historic Montreal, Canada, May 3-7. Please do not hesitate to contact Anne-Marie Ryan or Vince Cronin if you have any questions or suggestions for potential contributors who might not otherwise hear about our session.

Vince Cronin: Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu

Anne-Marie Ryan: Anne.Marie.Ryan@Dal.Ca

This session is organized by the IAPG-International Association for Promoting Geoethics (http://www.iapg.geoethics.org/evidence/joint)