Ho Boy. Here we go. This is a potential source of evidence for many school board discussions on whether to teach creationism alongside science. (I wonder why they consider astronomy an appropriate field for the journal?). Jim! You are good to bring this up. We should all take a lesson from the active misinformation campaigns against global warming, linking cancer and tobacco, and, historically, against the scientific consensus that SDI (Star Wars) would not work. These are all attacks on science itself, and should be addressed as such. (Please not that I am not talking about dissenting scientific opinion, but about directed attacks towards a specific political, economic or religious outcome.)
At last years Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, there were plenty of speakers and panels discussing how we address these issues in the pubic. I think at ESA, there are also such discussions. I am glad to see that there is some organization around educating the public (that portion of the public not currently in school) on these science matters. Evolution is surely another field that we can publicly counter the misinformation. What can we say, definitively? Evolution is a foundational principle in both Geology and Biology. Evolution is a fact. Knowledge about evolution (the fact that species change over time) pre-dates Darwin. Darwin's Theory describes the Mechanism of evolution....the Theory of evolution by Natural Selection. Natural selection has been observed in many instances, and evidence for evolution comes from multiple lines of evidence in multiple fields. If you write a letter to the editor and that's all you say, you'd be on solid ground. It's worth reminding people. Kelly At 07:47 PM 5/2/2007, Jim Sparks wrote: >Have you seen this? A peer reviewed journal for young earth creationism! >Please tell me that someone out there is preparing some stiff opposition to >this. > >When this thing gets off the ground it will do a pretty good job of >undermining scientific method and credibility. This may be even worse than >recent scandals involving pharmaceutical industry funding of >product research or petroleum industry scientists contradicting >climatologists on global warming. Journals on the whole are losing their >credibility because of various financial entanglements in a few key >fields. This current attack is not going to help ecology and evolutionary >biology one bit. > >As goes the reputation of journals, so goes the voices of reason. Can >anyone think of a way to defend Aristotelian logic or all we all going to >just watch placidly as the age of reason slips into the shadowy >recesses of a new, albeit perhaps more subtle Dark Ages. > >Sincerely, >Jim Sparks >http://www.icr.edu/ijcr/index.html > > *International Journal for Creation Research * > >The Institute for Creation Research is pleased to announce the inaugural >Call for Papers for the International Journal of Creation Research (IJCR). > >IJCR is a professional peer-reviewed journal of interdisciplinary scientific >research that presents evidence for recent creation within a biblical >framework. > >Addressing the need to disseminate the vast field of research conducted by >experts in geology, genetics, astronomy, and other disciplines of science, >IJCR provides scientists and students hard data based on cutting-edge >research that demonstrates the young earth model, the global Flood, the >non-evolutionary origin of the species, and other evidences that correlate >to the biblical accounts. > >It is our hope that you will be encouraged in your study of creation science >issues that remain at the forefront of education and research. > >Andrew A. Snelling >Editor-in-Chief > >-- >James L. Sparks Jr. M.Sc. >Freelance Ecology >4530 E. Seminary Ave. >Richmond, VA 23227 >804.426.2479 (cell)
