Science Insights and News Service

• Climate-Change Town Hall
• John P. Holdren's Climate-Change Message
  (Windows Media | RealVideo; 23 MB)
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Under the auspices of the AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology, the AAAS public information team has established a proactive, message-based outreach initiative that functions in tandem with an existing, well-respected news media outreach operation, which responds to breaking news as it happens.

Staff within the AAAS Science Insights and News Service leverage a "glocal" strategy—promoting local engagement in global science and technology-related issues—by placing regional op-ed articles; by providing local experts and speakers; and by working collaboratively with colleagues throughout AAAS to partner with local opinion leaders, policy-makers, school board members, clergy, the public, and the news media.

As the service gains momentum, staff will add an online media training site for AAAS members, to feature helpful how-to tips for handling media interviews, as well as talking points on key topics, from global climate change and evolution to human embryonic stem cell research.

Published and Broadcast Commentary 

AAAS's public engagement efforts have included the following newspaper opinion columns and major broadcast interviews:

Climate Change in the News

• "Holdren on Letterman," past AAAS President John P. Holdren talking to Dave Letterman about climate change, The Late Show, CBS, 17 April 2008.

• "Time to get serious about climate change," by John P. Holdren, past AAAS President, director of the Woods Hole Research Center and the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard University, and Alan I. Leshner, AAAS CEO and executive publisher of Science, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 July 2006.

Evolution in the News

• "Texas Case Threatens Education and Competitiveness Nationally," Peter Agre and Alan I. Leshner, San Antonio Express-News online edition, 23 March 2009

• "Board's Actions Could Put Students at a Disadvantage," Alan I. Leshner, Houston Chronicle, 22 October 2008

• "'Academic Freedom' Bill Dangerous Distraction," Alan I. Leshner, Shreveport Times, 28 May 2008

• Letter to Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, Alan I. Leshner, 14 May 2008

• "Free Florida's Students From Lagging Behind" Alan I. Leshner and Maryann Fiala, Orlando Sentinel, 7 April 2008

• "Teaching Evolution and Creationism" Alan I. Leshner, The Diane Rehm Show, American University Radio (WAMU), 7 January 2008

• "Faith, Reason and a G.O.P. Hopeful" Alan I. Leshner, New York Times, 1 June 2007

• "Museum of Confusion" Alan I. Leshner, Lexington Herald-Leader, 26 May 2007

• "Intelligent Design: Critical Deception?" Alan I. Leshner, Akron Beacon Journal, 11 September 2006

• "No Conflict Between Science and Religion," Dr. Gilbert S. Omenn, chairman of AAAS and professor of medicine, genetics and public health at the University of Michigan, and Alan I. Leshner, Wichita Eagle, 31 July 2006

• "Science education: Protecting science, religion," Alan I. Leshner, The Oklahoman, 19 March 2006

• "Intelligent standards or religious design? Keep religion out of science classrooms," Dr. Gilbert S. Omenn and Alan I. Leshner, Detroit Free Press, 8 March 2006

• "Threats to science education hurt religion, too," Alan I. Leshner and Baxter M. Wynn, D. Min., First Baptist Church, Greenville, The Greenville News, 7 March 2006

• "Should U.S. Schools Teach 'Intelligent Design?' No — Intelligent Design: A Dangerous Distraction," Alan I. Leshner, Nevada Business Journal, February 2006

• "Let's teach science in the science classroom," Alan I. Leshner, Salt Lake Tribune, 28 January 2006

• "If evidence rules in court; only one way case can go," Alan I. Leshner, The Times-Tribune, 13 October 2005

• "It's not the Scopes monkey trial II," Alan I. Leshner, York Dispatch, 5 October 2005. Variations of this piece also appeared in the Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., and other newspapers near Dover, PA.

• "Parents: 'Intelligent design' is bad education," featuring commentary by Alan I. Leshner, in video from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, 27 September 2005

• "Evolution and Intelligent Design" with guests Alan I. Leshner, Richard Land and Nick Matzke, on the Diane Rehm Show, 4 August 2005

• "Debating How to Teach Science," Alan I. Leshner, Kansas City Star, 8 May 2005

• "Uma perigosa tendência à censura," Alan I. Leshner, O Globo, 8 April 2005

Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

• "AAAS Response to Draft NIH Human Stem Cell Research Guidelines," Alan I. Leshner, 20 May 2009

• AAAS's letter to President Barack Obama on support for stem cell research and scientific integrity, Alan I. Leshner, 9 March 2009

• "Standing in the Way of Stem Cell Research," Alan I. Leshner and James A. Thomson, Washington Post, 3 December 2007

  This Washington Post op-ed was republished in the following newspapers:

  • St. Paul Pioneer Press (3 December 2007)
  • The Sacramento Bee (4 December 2007)
  • St. Petersburg Times (4 December 2007)
  • Atlanta Journal-Constitution (5 December 2007)
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch (5 December 2007)
  • The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey; 5 December 2007)
  • The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin; 6 December 2007)
  • Houston Chronicle, 8 December 2007
  • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 15 December 2007

  This Washington Post op-ed was discussed on this site:

  • "A Stem Cell Breakthrough—No Thanks to Mr. Bush," The Editorial Board, New York Times , "The Board" online blog, 6 December 2007

• "Balancing Values in the Stem Cell Debate," by Alan I. Leshner, Washington Post, 18 July 2006

Science Across Borders

• "The Science of Diplomacy," by Vaughan Turekian and Kristin M. Lord, Foreign Policy, May 2009

• "Europe and the United States: A Crucial Moment for Science Cooperation," Alan I. Leshner and Vaughan Turekian, Eureopean Commission Joint Research Center, February 2009 newsletter, 3 March 2009

• "Vaughan Turekian and Tom Wang: Building an International Network of S&T Knowledge," Edward W. Lempinen, AAAS Web site, 3 February 2009

• "Use Science for Diplomacy, Not Division," Alan I. Leshner, The Baltimore Sun, 16 July 2007

• "Building Science, Building Trust," Farkhonda Hassan and Alan I. Leshner, The Kuwait Times, 8 January 2007

• "Saving Science in Iraq," Alan I. Leshner, The Boston Globe, 16 November 2004

Science Education

• "School Standards Needed," Alan I. Leshner and Jo Ellen Roseman, Daily News-Miner of Fairbanks, AK, 17 June 2009

• "Adopt National Standards to Help Children Compete," Alan I. Leshner and Jo Ellen Roseman, Houston Chronicle, 10 June 2009

• "A Wake-up Call for Science Education," Alan I. Leshner, Boston Globe, 12 January 2009

• "Letter to Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry," Alan I. Leshner, 14 May 2008

• "Anti-Science Law Threatens Tech Jobs of Future" Alan I. Leshner, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 6 May 2008

• "Charlie Rose: "The Imperative and Promise of Science"," featuring Dr. Bruce Alberts, Shirley Ann Jackson, Sir Paul Nurse, Lisa Randall, and Harold Varmus; Charlie Rose, PBS, 7 April 2008

• "Don’t mess with science standards," Alan I. Leshner, The Star-Telegram, 11 December 2007

  This op-ed also appeared in the Waco Tribune Herald on 13 December 2007.

• "National Standards: The time is now for Washington to heed the call," Alan I. Leshner, The Washington Times, 15 August 2007

Science and Public Engagement

• "Celebremos las historias de la ciencia," Monica Bradford, El País, 26 October 2007

• "Beyond the Teachable Moment," Alan I. Leshner, Journal of the American Medical Association, 19 September 2007 (First 150 words; full article requires subscription)

• "Science and Public Engagement," Alan I. Leshner, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 12 October 2006

Science and U.S. Policy

• "Where do Obama and McCain stand on science?", David Baltimore and Alan I. Leshner, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 21 September 2008

• "Why won't the candidates debate science?," Carl E. Wieman and Alan I. Leshner, Denver Post, online commentary, 3 September 2008

• "Among science-debate questions put to candidates," Alan I. Leshner, Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 March 2008

For more information on the AAAS Science Insights and News Service, contact Ginger Pinholster in the AAAS Office of Public Programs, 202-326-6421, gpinhols@aaas.org, or Edward W. Lempinen, 925-945-1937, elempine@aaas.org.