In keeping with its mission to promote a meaningful role for science in public policy, the Academy encourages its qualified members to seek appointments on state boards and commissions.
Descriptions about the boards, as well as procedures for applying for board positions, can be found on the Office of Governor Bev Perdue's website (http://www.governor.state.nc.us/boardsCommissions/default.aspx). A partial list of relevant boards and commissions is given below.
While the North Carolina Academy of Science encourages qualified members to seek positions in state government, the Academy cannot give assurance of appointment.
State Boards and Commissions Requiring Scientists (partial listing):
- Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
- Biofuels of North Carolina, Inc.
- Energy Policy Council
- Marine Fisheries Commission
- Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
- North Carolina Biotechnology Center
- North Carolina Board of Science and Technology
- North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission
- North Carolina Environmental Management Commission
- North Carolina Forestry Council
- North Carolina Plant Conservation Board
- North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences Advisory Commission
- North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
- South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
North Carolina Academy of Science Endorses Position Statements on Climate Change
The North Carolina Academy of Science acknowledges that human activities are profoundly affecting global climate and that urgent actions must be taken to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
The world’s leading scientific organizations and scientists are in agreement that global climate is warming, largely as a result of human activities (http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2009/media/1021climate_letter.pdf). Chief among these activities are the burning of fossil fuels, widespread deforestation, and changing land use practices, resulting in increased concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere. While these “greenhouse” gases occur naturally in small amounts in the atmosphere, their elevated levels generate an overall warming effect on Earth (http://www.aaas.org/news/press_room/climate_change/). The negative effects of climate change will continue to impact human society, the economy and biological and physical systems.
The North Carolina Academy of Science endorses the scientific findings in the most recent assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (http://www.ipcc.ch/). Further, the Academy endorses the American Association for the Advancement of Science (http://www.aaas.org/news/press_room/climate_change/mtg_200702/aaas_climate_statement.pdf) Board Statement on Climate Change, and the Joint National Academies statement on climate change (http://www.nationalacademies.org/includes/G8+5energy-climate09.pdf).
The challenges before us, both demanding and exciting, require novel thinking and the intellectual capital of the world’s scientific communities. Current and future generations of scientists, many of whom will undoubtedly catch their first glimpse of science in the public school or college laboratory, will provide the brain power to engage these challenging opportunities.
The NC Academy’s long history of fostering science in the state promotes public appreciation of science, science education, scientific research and a meaningful role for science in public policy (http://www.ncacadsci.org/MissionStatement.html). The Academy offers a unique position from which to contribute to advances in science and technology that can positively engage climate change issues.
State-level Coalitions for Science & Technology Policy Advice - adopted 2/15/2008
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ACADEMIES OF SCIENCE
1/ A RESOLUTION
Approved by the Board of Directors and Assembly of Delegates
February 15, 2008
Advocating the establishment of state level coalitions for S&T policy advice to local and
state governments including governors, cabinet agencies and legislatures.
WHEREAS, The National Association of Academies of Science (NAAS), an affiliate of The American Association for the Advancement of Science, promotes the common aims and purposes of the several state and municipal academies and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and
WHEREAS, specifically the NAAS provides appropriate means for consultation to assist the academies in their common purposes and their accomplishments; and
WHEREAS, since the 1945 publication of Vannevar Bush's Science-The Endless Frontier, the federal
government has played the predominant role in supporting research and development (R&D) and
in establishing public policies that affect science and technology (S&T) in the United States; and
WHEREAS, almost every major policy issue today is influenced by scientific and technological information and expertise; and
WHEREAS, the federal government is no longer the sole focus of R&D funding and S&T policymaking, the influence of scientific and engineering research on our daily lives has steadily increased, the states have assumed an increasing responsibility for developing, formalizing, and institutionalizing policies and programs that support R&D and enable S&T evidence and expertise to be incorporated into policymaking; and
WHEREAS, the roles of the states in S&T policy are likely to expand as the federal government faces continuing budget shortfalls and a reluctance to enact policies based on scientific evidence: and
WHEREAS, today there are a great range and diversity of approaches for incorporating scientific and technological advice and evidence into policy- and decision-making at the state level; and
WHEREAS, there remains a clear and ongoing mandate for a cohesive set of both federal and state policy and programs that both sustain R&D and promote the application of new knowledge in such areas as agriculture, public health, STEM education, energy, transportation, and the environment.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:The Board of Directors and the Assembly of Delegates of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ACADEMIES OF SCIENCE (NAAS), meeting in Boston, Massachusetts in February 2008, call upon its member academies, The American Association for the Advancement of Science, other AAAS affiliates that have state and local chapters such as, but not limited to, Sigma Xi, the American Chemical Society, the National Society of Professional Engineers and IEEE, to establish state level coalitions or other mechanisms for S&T policy advice to local and state governments including governors, cabinet agencies and legislatures. The NAAS urges its member academies to reach out, cooperate with, and support existing policy mechanisms and organizations.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: The NAAS especially urges the National Academy of Sciences,
the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine and The American Association for the Advancement of Science to encourage their members to become involved in state level coalitions or participate in other mechanisms for S&T policy advice.
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