PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND PRACTICES - COLUMN 156


Topical Index-Table of Contents to the Professional Ethics and Practices Columns


A topically based Index-Table of Contents, “pe&p index.xls” cov ering columns, articles, and letters to the editor that have been referred to in the PE&P columns in Excel format is on the AIPG web site in the Ethics section. This Index-Table of Contents is updated as each issue of the TPG is published. You can use it to find those items addressing a particular area of concern. Suggestions for improvements should be sent to David Abbott, dmageol@msn.com


Compiled by David M. Abbott, Jr., CPG-04570, 5055 Tamarac Street, Denver, CO 80238, 303-394-0321, fax 303-394-0543, dmageol@msn.com


Twenty Years of PE&P Columns and Counting


Twenty years ago, the first PE&P column appeared in the November 1995 issue of TPG. The years have flown by.1 I’m periodically asked how I keep coming up with new material for this column. The answer is that comments, questions, etc. from 100s of geoscientists over the years, and news stories prompt the initiation of, or further comments on, a topic. The observations I made in that first column (slightly edited) are worth repeating. Producing this column requires input from many people, not just me. No one knows everything there is to know about geoscience ethics and practices and geo- scientists tend to be rather opinionated besides. Contributions and discussions need to come from all AIPG members, including students and young profes- sionals. Please feel free to contribute. A good question is much appreciated. I would prefer to be far more a compiler than author.


This column is titled “Professional Ethics & Practices” because, although different, professional ethics and prac- tices tend to be closely related sub- jects. Good professional practices can be employed to avoid ethical problems. Consideration of ethical issues often prompts suggestions for good profes- sional practices.


A great many geoscientists have con- tributed to the columns over the years. Their contributions help make this col- umn what it is. I’ve cited 159 articles and columns by 96 authors in the TPG over the years, which are included in the Geologic Ethics & Professional Practices CD that is updated with each issue.


Several of these authors have made multiple contributions over the years including Martin Andrejko, CPG-8512, Bill Stone, MEM-2164, and our three Student’s Voice columnists, Nancy Price, Stephanie Jarvis, YP-0125, (who continues as a Young Professional columnist), and Kristina Pourtabib, SA-3410. Their columns have addressed a variety of ethics and practice issues and demonstrate that AIPG’s younger members can make excellent contri- butions to this column. My wife, Sue Abbott, AS-001, has edited most of these columns. Her support and excellent com- ments assist in improving the quality of these columns.


Updating the AIPG Code of Ethics


The time has come to look at AIPG’s Code of Ethics and propose changes that address several issues:


      by duty to various groups while the 2015 AGI Guidelines for Ethical Professional Conduct (discussed in columns 153 and 155) are divided two categories: the day-to-day activi- ties of individual geoscientists and a geoscientist’s activities as a member of a professional and scientific com- munity.


Should the organization of AIPG’s Code be changed?


  AGI Guidelines include statements on the following subjects not currently in the AIPG Code:


 Separate facts/observations from interpretations.


1. My 95-year-old Mother asserts that time seems to continually speed up as you get older.


2. Robert E. Tepel, 2012, LXIII: the “primacy clause” in codes of ethics: a window into licensure board and professional organization values: AEG News, 55, March 2012, p. 32-37.


 


 Encourage and assist in the development of a diverse and inclusive workforce.


 Promote greater understanding of the geosciences by other techni- cal groups, students, the general public, news media, and policy makers through effective com- munication and education.


 Acknowledge the complexities and uncertainties of Earth sys- tems.


 Inform the public about natural resources, hazards, and other geologic phenomena clearly, accurately, and responsibly.


 Advocate responsible steward- ship of the planet through an improved understanding and interpretation of Earth systems, and by communicating real and potential implications of human actions.


Should some or all of these subjects be added to the AIPG Code? See the Geoethics topic below for papers on some of these issues.


The use of “should” or “shall”:


Robert Tepel, who writes on licensure issues for the AEG News, reviewed the ethics codes of the US states and the Canadian provinces and territories that license geologists and several professional organizations, including AIPG.2 Tepel states, “If a professional membership organiza- tion views its members’ duties to each other, or their duties to their clients or employer, as more important than their duties to the public, it will show in the strictness hierarchy of its code of ethics by way of ‘shall’ vs. ‘should,’


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