PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND PRACTICES - COLUMN 162
15 concerned the misrepresenta- tion of findings, or the giving of unsupported opinions.
21 were for other mixed offences, including 2 actions in which the offense was not stated; some exam- ples include: failure to sign and seal a document when required to do so and abuse of a dues abatement program.
Interestingly, of the 50, 11 actions were taken after other convictions against the same individual. In addition, Texas took 28 actions for failing to comply with its annual Continuing Professional Development reporting requirement and 12 other state actions were taken for failure to pay taxes or fees.
As I pointed out there is no central registry that lists those geoscientists against whom a disciplinary action has been taken (2016, op. cit.). This makes it very difficult for the public to perform due diligence on a geoscientist, particu- larly one who has few if any references on Google or similar databases. Most states have a question on their license renewal forms asking if the licensee has been the subject of a disciplinary action
during the previous year. The wording of this question varies from state to state. If the state is informed on an action, then the state could take action to suspend or not renew the license, but how many do? How many engineers are the subject of disciplinary actions for incompetent or unethical practice. How well does state licensing of geoscientists, engineers, or any other profession really protect the public?
The exemption of some classes of geo- scientists from licensing creates another set of problems. Government employees are usually exempted. In one sense, they work for their agencies and do not, in that sense, work for the public. But as the agencies are working for the benefit of the public, this exemption seems a bit stretched. The next group of exempted geoscientists are those working in the natural resource sector, mining and petroleum. This exemption avoids the political problem faced by those advo- cating geoscience licensing from having what may be a significant number of natural resource geoscientists opposing the licensing effort. A major objection natural resource geoscientists have to
state licensing is the fact that most of them have a multistate practice and getting and maintaining a bunch of state licenses is expensive. The lack of easy reciprocity is a real problem in such cases. Many natural resource geologists work for companies and not directly for the public and thus, in some states, can avoid licensing because they are not practicing publicly. This is one of the issues in the recent change in the Arizona licensing law. For those few natural resource geoscientists who do engage in or contribute to fraudulent activity, they are almost always subject to state and federal securities laws that carry both civil and criminal penalties. These are much more severe than a licensing violation.
Geoscientists practicing engineering geology, environmental geology, and hydrology are usually those promoting licensing. They practice in just one or a few states and feel that the license puts them on a par with licensed engi- neers. In Colorado, which does not have geoscience licensing, these geoscientists use AIPG Certification as an alternative.
Geologic Ethics & Professional Practices is now available on CD
This CD is a collection of articles, columns, letters to the editor, and other material addressing professional ethics and general issues of professional geologic practice that were printed in The Professional Geologist. It includes an electronic version of the now out-of-print Geologic Ethics and Professional Practices 1987-1997, AIPG Reprint Series #1. The intent of this CD is collection of this material in a single place so that the issues and questions raised by the material may be more conveniently studied. The intended ‘students’ of this CD include everyone interested in the topic, from the new student of geology to professors emeritus, working geologists, retired geologists, and those interested in the geologic profession.
AIPG members will be able to update their copy of this CD by regularly downloading the
pe&p index.xls file from the
www.aipg.org under “Ethics” and by downloading the electronic version of The Professional Geologist from the members only area of the AIPG website. The cost of the CD is $25 for members, $35 for non-members, $15 for student members and $18 for non-member students, plus shipping and handling. To order go to
www.aipg.org.
Geoscience Online Learning Initiative (GOLI) - AGI/AIPG
You, as an AIPG Member, are invited and encouraged to submit a presentation to be given online for the Geoscience Online Learning Initiative (GOLI). AGI and AIPG have teamed up to build a portfolio of online learning opportunities to help support the professional development of prospective and early-career geoscientists as well as addressing topics of interest to the broader geoscience profession. GOLI courses support both synchronous and asynchronous online learning, and count toward continuing education units (CEUs).
A $200 stipend and 10% share of registration fees are provided to the presenters (details on presenters guide).
If you are interested please read the GOLI - AGI/AIPG Presenters Guide and Guidelines and Suggestions for Webinar Presentations on the AIPG National website (
www.aipg.org).
AIPG, 303-412-6205
www.aipg.org
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