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Position Statements
GSA Council adopted minor revisions to seven position
statements at its May 2017 meeting: Data Access, Geoheritage,
Supporting Planetary Exploration, Rewarding Professional
Contributions in the Public Spheres, Water Resources, The
Value of Geologic Mapping, and Teaching Evolution. Council
also endorsed the “Freedom of Scientific Expression” statement
by the American Meteorological Society. Summaries are below.
Full versions of these and other position statements are online
at www.geosociety.org/PositionStatements.
DATA ACCESS
The Geological Society of America (GSA) supports the pres-
ervation of geoscience samples and data sets for the public good
and urges public and private sector organizations and individu-
als to routinely catalog and preserve their collections and make
them widely accessible.
GEOHERITAGE
The Geological Society of America (GSA) supports the con-
servation of geoheritage sites to meet present and future educa-
tional, scientific, aesthetic, cultural, and economic needs.
SUPPORTING PLANETARY EXPLORATION
The Geological Society of America (GSA) supports planetary
exploration to advance research concerning the evolution of
Earth, our solar system, and beyond; to collect geologic and geo-
physical data on planets, moons, and other objects in the solar
system; to explore Earth from space, like other planets, by
remote sensing to detect processes and changes not easily
observed on the ground; to deepen and expand human under-
standing of our place in the universe; to reinforce science, tech-
nology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and effective
training of the next generation of scientists; to increase U.S.
competitiveness in science and technology development; and to
enhance the quality of life through technological innovation.
REWARDING PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS IN
THE PUBLIC SPHERES
The Geological Society of America (GSA) encourages,
affirms, and supports positive contributions to geoscience in the
public spheres and enhancing the public perception of the geo-
sciences. The time, effort, talent, and scholarly activity that are gent design, or hydroplate theory, attempts to explain compli-
invested by geoscientists in public policy, education, and
research on teaching and learning are critically important for
educating and safeguarding local, regional, national, and global
populations. As such, GSA recommends that geoscientists in
academia, government service, and professional practice receive
formal recognition and reward for such efforts through positive
performance evaluations, reappointments, promotions, and
tenure reviews. GSA also encourages support, by means of
www.geosociety.org/gsatoday
appropriate reassigned time or travel assistance, to those Position Statements
individual geoscientists engaged in substantive scholarly and
professional activity on issues of public policy, education,
and research on teaching and learning.
WATER RESOURCES
To ensure the availability of safe and reliable fresh water
resources, The Geological Society of America (GSA) encour-
ages partnerships that improve fundamental scientific under-
standing and analyses of water resources; enhance collection,
management, and accessibility of water resource information;
increase stakeholder involvement in all aspects of water
resource education, assessment, and decision making; and
broaden education and outreach to foster collaboration among
government agencies, educational institutions, industrial and
agricultural users, and the public.
THE VALUE OF GEOLOGIC MAPPING
To improve the scientific basis for public and private natural
resource and land-use decisions, The Geological Society of
America (GSA) supports comprehensive geologic mapping on
local, state, and national scales and advocates increased public
investments for current state and national geologic mapping
programs.
TEACHING EVOLUTION
The Geological Society of America (GSA) strongly sup-
ports the teaching of evolution and the directly related concept
of deep time as part of science curricula at all levels of educa-
tion. The evolution of life on Earth stands as one of the central
concepts of modern science. During the past two centuries,
research in geology, paleontology, and biology has produced
an increasingly detailed, consistent, and robust picture of how
life on Earth has evolved. GSA opposes teaching creationism
alongside evolution in any science classroom and rejects the
characterization of evolution as scientifically controversial.
Science, by definition, is a method of learning about the natu-
ral universe by asking questions in such a way that they can
be answered empirically and verifiably. If a question cannot
be framed so that the answer can be tested, and the test results
can be reproduced by others, then it is not science.
Creationism, whether presented as creation “science,” intelli-
cated phenomena of the natural world by invoking a creator or
designer. Creationism is not science because it invokes super-
natural phenomena that cannot be tested. It therefore has no
place in a science curriculum. Because science is limited to
explaining natural phenomena through the use of empirical
evidence, it cannot provide religious explanations. Science
teachers should not advocate any religious interpretations of
nature and should be nonjudgmental about the personal beliefs
of students.
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