Lecture 10Past LectureContinuation ofImportant LegislationNational Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) – Passed in 1969 and state that any project that spends federal money must access the impact it has on the environment and must make this assessment known to public. “No sneaky.” Must also write an Environment Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS can be critiqued and there is a public hearing for the project. For example, new road work, airports, seaports. Environment Protection Act (EPA) – passed in 1970 with the help of President Richard Nixon.Endangered Species Act (ESA) – Passed in 1973. Protect two categories, endangered and threatened. For example, gray wolf, sea turtle, red wolf.Nature of ScienceTheory - 1) casual/use: popular guess. It is an assumption without evident. (A hunch) Conjure; opinion or imperfect fact. It’s “just a theory” which makes is easily dismissed as having little credibility. 2) Scientific Theory: consists of a combination of basic premises or assumptions that function together to explain a set of related phenomena. It is testable and provides a framework for making sense of observations. (Refutable)Scientific TheoryTentative :Idea, testable, but not rigorously tested. Contains some evidence, but not conclusive. It has support from science investigation and may be competing with other theories what also are supported with evidence. E.g. global warming due to anthropogenic activity was tentative in the 1960’sEmbedded: accepted and rigorously tested with strong support with no viable competing theories. It’s very high probable. For example, germ theory of disease transmission, cell theory (structure of DNA)Current LectureEmbedded Theory continued… - well- established through strong supporters. Overwhelming evident generated from rigorous testing, one that has withstood debate over a considerable amount of time in a wide range of disciplines. (Theory of evolution)-Science is methodical and based on evidence. You don’t vote; it’s not a democrat. Scientists doubt, question, and test alternative explanations. Science is non-dogmatic. (Aren’t asked to accept, but it can be challenged.)Peer Review – submit journals and reviewed by some professional in the subject. It is presented in a way that it’s clear and easy to understand. It is not based on whether you like the findings or not. Types of peer review are scientific journal articles, dissertations, academic books and book chapters and white papers. A white paper is a statement or opinion put BIO 105 1st Editionout by an agent or group. They are built on peer literature and peers reviewed themselves. They are informative and authoritative and proposed to guide action. Science is considered self-correcting. Limitations of science can’t adequately describe some of the most profound experiences of life. It can’t make moral decisions and is the only way of knowing the world. Good Science is peer reviewed, testable, refutable, predictable, and conclusions are based on science. Bad Science is untestable.Nothing is certain. Everything can be turned over. Example, for long time we have accepted that earth was the center of the universe until we found out otherwise. It is completely beyond our reach. Methodological materialism – scientists restrict themselves only to material causes (natural causes, like matter and energy interactions) rather than supernatural causes. Fact: Basic statement established by experiments or observation. Facts are the worlds, date and can be revised when re-tested with better instruments. FACT DOES NOT MEAN “ABSOLUTE CERTAINLY.” Evolutionists make no claim for perpetual truth, though creationists often do. Facts do not go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Examples- Water freezes at 32 degrees F, earth is a sphere, the universe is expanding, humans and gorillas evolve from a common ancestor speciesLaw: a logical relationship between two or more things that is based on a variety of facts and accepted hypothesis. It is often a mathematical statement of two or more quantities relate to each other. Examples – For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, F=ma Hypothesis – a tentative stamen such as ‘if A happens then B must happen’ that can be tested by direct experiment or observation. Examples – the solar system formed from a primordial disk of gas and asteroidal material.Belief: a statement that is not scientifically supported in the same way some facts laws, hypotheses or theories are supported. Scientifically rejected beliefs can still be help to be true. Examples – humans were created separately from all other life on Earth, There are such things as ghostsProve – means absolute certainty, absolute truth. This is often used to describe embedded theory and hence is misunderstood by non-scientist. THIS WORD SHOULD BE