Posted: 21 Mar 2010 04:59 AM PDT

Biology students, faculty to study rice paddies in Cambodia

Sunday, March 21, 2010 7:06 AM CDT

For THE NEWS

EAU CLAIRE — Five University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students and a biology faculty member will spend time this summer in Cambodia studying how the use of agrochemicals in rice paddies is effecting that country's ecosystem.

"As rice has become more valuable, the pressure has grown in Cambodia to increase the amount of rice it produces," said Deb Freund, an associate lecturer of biology who will lead the research team. "As a result, rice farmers are using more fertilizers and pesticides. We want to study how these chemicals are affecting the fauna that live in the rice paddies."

While exporting rice is critical to the country's economy, Cambodian farmers also harvest and consume much of what lives within the rice paddies, Freund said, noting that the paddies are home to many diverse creatures such as frogs, birds, crayfish, snakes and insects.

Like all ecosystems, the rice paddies have food chains within them, Freund said. Introducing chemicals can disrupt the food chain and damage the ecosystem, she said.

"The farmers may get more money for their rice by using the agrochemicals, but we want to know if they are hurting their way of life as a result," said Freund. "The paddies are evolved aquatic ecosystems populated by fish and other animals that are important to the diets of many Cambodians so there may be many adverse effects to the new farming methods."

Snapshot of biodiversity

Freund and the students will examine 15-21 rice paddies during a five-week visit to Cambodia, a small country that sits between Thailand and Vietnam. The researchers will sample populations of fish, invertebrates and amphibians, all of which are important to the paddy ecosystem, she said. They will take samples from paddies that are managed using traditional or organic methods, and paddies that are treated with chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

"We hope to capture a snapshot of Asian rice paddy biodiversity, preserving it in time before Cambodia succumbs to more capitalistic methods of agriculture," Freund said.

Freund has spent significant time in Cambodia as a volunteer with the Teachers Across Borders organization. As a result, she has developed many contacts within the country and a good understanding of the country's people and culture, she said. Her contacts and knowledge will make it easier for the research team to do their work this summer, she said.

"I've been to Cambodia four times to help teachers learn better ways to teach in the classrooms," Freund said. "As a biology person, I've noted the changes in farming practices there and began wondering about the long-term impact these changes will have on the country and its ecosystem. When I was there last summer, I hired a biology student who spoke English, and I spent time visiting rice paddies and talking to farmers."

When she returned from Cambodia, she began talking with biology students about her idea for the research project and found there was great interest among the students.

Perfect match

The project perfectly matches his interests, said Andrew Ludvik, a biology major and anthropology minor who is interested in zoology and conservation.

"It'll be a great opportunity for me to gain experience in researching and learning about organisms and ecosystems in an exotic environment, and I'll be thrown into a foreign and complex culture that I'll learn many new things from," said Ludvik, a senior from Weyerhaeuser. "This opportunity is really like a dream come true to me."

Ludvik said he expects the experience to help him as he continues his education and as he pursues his career.

"This is a perfect opportunity to gain research experience that will give me an edge to get into the grad program that I'll want and it will give me a better understanding of what I may be doing in my career," said Ludvik. "It'll be neat to see what implications the data we obtain will have on rice paddy fields in Cambodia."

While Ludvik has not traveled in Asia before, he has had several international experiences as a UW-Eau Claire student. He studied abroad in Australia for a semester and traveled to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands with Freund for a summer class.

"That also was a great experience — and my first experience with a significantly different culture," Ludvik said of the summer class. "It was very cool to learn and explore the unique animals and plants found at the Galapagos."

Real work in the field

The Cambodian research is appealing because it offers experience in anthropology, agriculture and in many different facets of biology, said Kathryn Prince, a senior biology major from Stevens Point.

"It offers the chance to do real work in the field and explore a new place," Prince said. "I'll be glad to get some extended research experience; the things learned in a classroom are of little use if there's never a chance to apply them in the real world."

Knowing the research could have a long-term impact on the country is exciting, said Chris Maierhofer, a junior biology major from Eau Claire.

"We're (hopefully) going to be using our findings to educate folks about the long-term dangers of agrochemical use, with the potential for improving health and livelihood in one of the poorest places in the world," said Maierhofer, who worked on a research project in Japan last summer. "If things go well, this will add fuel to my fire of wanting to work globally for social justice and to alleviate poverty."

This summer's research project will be funded through a grant from the AsiaNetwork, a consortium of liberal arts colleges to promote Asian studies. UW-Eau Claire was one of just 13 recipients of 2010 summer AsiaNetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Awards. This is the first time the organization has funded a project in Cambodia, Freund said, adding that the students wrote a significant portion of the grant that received the funding.

While much of their time in Cambodia will be spent doing field work, Freund also is ensuring the students develop an understanding of Cambodia's history, people and culture.

"We will visit museums, temples and other sites of historic and cultural importance to Cambodia," Freund said. "The students already are listening to language tapes and doing other things to learn about the country in preparation for the trip."

Prince believes learning about Cambodia will be a highlight of the project.

"I want to experience living in a less developed region," Prince said. "I want to learn about the country. A year ago, I didn't even know Cambodia existed. It's horrible that they've experienced such brutality so recently, yet their history remains little-known in America."

Home-school text choices are limited Christian focus ... - The Keene Sentinel

Posted: 21 Mar 2010 04:23 AM PDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Home-school mom Susan Mule wishes she hadn't taken a friend's advice and tried a textbook from a popular Christian publisher for her 10-year-old's biology lessons.

Mule's precocious daughter Elizabeth excels at science and has been studying tarantulas since she was 5. But she watched Elizabeth's excitement turn to confusion when they reached the evolution section of the book from Apologia Educational Ministries, which disputed Charles Darwin's theory.

"I thought she was going to have a coronary," Mule said of her daughter, who is now 16 and taking college courses in Houston. "She's like, 'This is not true!'"

Christian-based materials dominate a growing home-school education market that encompasses more than 1.5 million students in the U.S. And for most home-school parents, a Bible-based version of the Earth's creation is exactly what they want. Federal statistics from 2007 show 83 percent of home-schooling parents want to give their children "religious or moral instruction."

"The majority of home-schoolers self-identify as evangelical Christians," said Ian Slatter, a spokesman for the Home School Legal Defense Association. "Most home-schoolers will definitely have a sort of creationist component to their home-school program."

Those who don't, however, often feel isolated and frustrated from trying to find a textbook that fits their beliefs.

Two of the best-selling biology textbooks stack the deck against evolution, said some science educators who reviewed sections of the books at the request of The Associated Press.

"I feel fairly strongly about this. These books are promulgating lies to kids," said Jerry Coyne, an ecology and evolution professor at the University of Chicago.

The textbook publishers defend their books as well-rounded lessons on evolution and its shortcomings. One of the books doesn't attempt to mask disdain for Darwin and evolutionary science.

"Those who do not believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God will find many points in this book puzzling," says the introduction to "Biology: Third Edition" from Bob Jones University Press. "This book was not written for them."

The textbook delivers a religious ultimatum to young readers and parents, warning in its "History of Life" chapter that a "Christian worldview ... is the only correct view of reality; anyone who rejects it will not only fail to reach heaven but also fail to see the world as it truly is."

When the AP asked about that passage, university spokesman Brian Scoles said the sentence made it into the book because of an editing error and will be removed from future editions.

The size of the business of home-school texts isn't clear because the textbook industry is fragmented and privately held publishers don't give out sales numbers. Slatter said home-school material sales reach about $1 billion annually in the U.S.

Publishers are well aware of the market, said Jay Wile, a former chemistry professor in Indianapolis who helped launch the Apologia curriculum in the early 1990s.

"If I'm planning to write a curriculum, and I want to write it in a way that will appeal to home-schoolers, I'm going to at least find out what my demographic is," Wile said.

In Kentucky, Lexington home-schooler Mia Perry remembers feeling disheartened while flipping through a home-school curriculum catalog and finding so many religious-themed textbooks.

"We're not religious home-schoolers, and there's somewhat of a feeling of being outnumbered," said Perry, who has home-schooled three of her four children after removing her oldest child from a public school because of a health condition.

Perry said she cobbled together her own curriculum after some mainstream publishers told her they would not sell directly to home-schooling parents.

Wendy Womack, another Lexington home-school mother, said the only scientifically credible curriculum she's found is from the Maryland-based Calvert School, which has been selling study-at-home materials for more than 100 years.

Apologia and Bob Jones University Press say their science books sell well. Apologia's "Exploring Creation" biology textbook retails for $65, while Bob Jones' "Biology" Third Edition lists at $52.

Coyne and Virginia Tech biology professor Duncan Porter reviewed excerpts from the Apologia and Bob Jones biology textbooks, which are equivalent to ninth- and 10th-grade biology lessons. Porter said he would give the books an F.

"If this is the way kids are home-schooled then they're being shortchanged, both rationally and in terms of biology," Coyne said. He argued that the books may steer students away from careers in biology or the study of the history of the Earth.

Wile countered that Coyne "feels compelled to lie in order to prop up a failing hypothesis (evolution). We definitely do not lie to the students. We tell them the facts that people like Dr. Coyne would prefer to cover up."

Adam Brown's parents say their 16-year-old son's belief in the Bible's creation story isn't deterring him from pursuing a career in marine biology. His parents, Ken and Polly Brown, taught him at their Cedar Grove, Ind., home using the Apologia curriculum and other science texts.

Polly Brown said her son would gladly take college courses that include evolution, and he'll be able to provide the expected answers even though he disagrees.

"He probably knows it better than the kids who have been taught evolution all through public school," Polly Brown said. "But that is in order for him to understand both sides of that argument because he will face it throughout his higher education."

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Researcher scheduled for Clarke College lecture - Dubuque Telegraph Herald

Posted: 21 Mar 2010 07:37 AM PDT

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Green major takes shape at St. Michael's College in ... - Burlington Free Press

Posted: 21 Mar 2010 06:32 AM PDT

St. Michael's College hopes to offer students a new major starting in the fall: Environmental studies.

The proposal, if approved by trustees later this month, will bring the private liberal arts college in Colchester in sync with hundreds of institutions nationwide that offer a similar specialty, which typically combines courses in the hard sciences with courses in the social sciences and humanities.

Vermont's natural beauty, strong environmental ethic and many green organizations are among the reasons the major is a good fit for the Roman Catholic college with 1,900 students, said Valerie Banschbach, professor and chair of the biology department at St. Michael's.

"Because we're a liberal arts college and also a Catholic college with a focus on social justice and we're located in Vermont, we are looking to incorporate all of those features into a program that really supports the interests of students who are looking into learning about the environment and also seeking green careers."

By nature environmental problems are interdisciplinary and in order to solve them people must think broadly, she added. The natural sciences help explain environmental problems but if a solution is not politically or economically viable, it won't succeed. "The scientist can't work in a vacuum to propose solutions."

Students who pursue the major will be required to select two courses from the natural sciences (choices include biology, chemistry, physics, meteorology); two courses from the humanities, such as American studies, philosophy of science, environmental ethics; and two courses from the social sciences, such as human geography, micro or macroeconomics or global studies.

The major will include three core courses: introduction to environmental studies; environmental problems; and senior seminar in which students write a thesis or research an area that relates to their concentration. Concentrations could range from the study of water to human population or the interplay between food and the environment.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Biology

Sunday, March 21, 2010

“Biology students, faculty to study rice paddies in ... - Dunn County News” plus 3 more

“Biology students, faculty to study rice paddies in ... - Dunn County News” plus 3 more

Biology students, faculty to study rice paddies in Cambodia

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