George Rebane
The newly proposed lecture series ‘What’s Next in Science?’ is causing a dust-up in the local blogs, and as a former scientist who has worked on the frontiers of knowledge, I should weigh in. At issue is how the Nevada County Board of Supervisors should respond to the lecture series that is being organized by local residents Mr Robert Bergman, current mayor of Nevada City, and Dr Judith Kildow, PhD, retired professor of “ocean related issues”.
Given their well-known ideological bents and the tentative list of first year lecture titles/subjects, the organizers appear to be launching a program promoting California’s highly politicized AB32 global warming agenda (more detail on this is found here on Russ Steele’s NCMW). As long as Mr Bergman and Dr Kildow are acting as private citizens, I don’t think there is anything wrong with such an activity wrapped into the folds of selectively supportive science – even if it turns out to be propaganda light, or even some stronger stuff. It is their First Amendment right.
And who knows, their lecture series may even become a staple of our local culture, drawing in audiences from near and far. If it indeed turns out to be such a salutary community betterment enterprise, then from various local elected bodies the lecture series and its founders would be due resolutions of recognition that are suitable for framing.
But what I find more than a bit gratuitous is that such a resolution is being sought from our BoS even before the first lecture is scheduled. This is the same board that less than six months ago deemed a resolution in favor of Prop23 to curtail job-killing AB32 to be beyond their self-inflicted non-partisan pale (well covered here and on NCMW). Does this look like the Rood Center is preparing for a premature change of ideology ceremony?
One can well argue that we are now reduced to a 3-2 conservative majority on the Board. But it still is a majority that can carry the day, a majority that can still take a principled stand against betting our economic future on the promise of government subsidies, if only we play ball and turn our left cheek toward Sacramento’s progressive plutocrats. Perhaps the advertized theme of the lecture series – ‘Bringing the Ocean to the Sierra’ – really derives from the political gerrymandering of the coastal districts vs the inland and mountain districts. We will all then hear the socialized surf.
Perhaps I should also sign this
Dr George Rebane, PhD
[11jan2011 update] The resolution has been pulled from today BoS agenda.
rebanesruminations.com 
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