> [Original Message] > From: What's New <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 2/10/2006 9:07:29 PM Subject: [BOBPARKS-WHATSNEW] What's New Friday February 10, 2006
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 10 Feb 06 Washington, DC 1. GLOBAL WARMING: MAYBE SCIENTIFIC OPENNESS IS "ONLY A THEORY." Last week, WN reported that top NASA climate scientist James Hansen was under pressure to cool it on global warming. The pressure, we have since learned, was coming from 24-year old White House appointee George Deutsch, who had been an intern in the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. Earlier, Deutsch had informed a NASA contractor that the word "theory" had to be added to every mention of the Big Bang. "This is more than a science issue," he declared, "it is a religious issue." On Friday, NASA chief Michael Griffin made it clear to all NASA employees that it's not the job of public affairs to "alter, filter or adjust" material from the technical staff. Wednesday, Deutsch resigned. What was he doing in a sensitive position in the first place? Although his job at NASA was a reward for work in the re-election campaign, he did have a journalism degree from Texas A&M, didn't he? Well, actually no. He lied about that. Deutsch was right about one thing: science issues can also be religious issues. 2. EVANGELISTS: MAYBE GOD DIDN'T MAKE HIMSELF PERFECTLY CLEAR. There is a rare split among evangelical Christians. A group of 86 evangelical leaders formed the Evangelical Climate Initiative to combat global warming www.christiansandclimate.org , even taking out a full-page ad in the NY Times. However, a number of evangelical heavy weights, including Jerry Falwell and James Dobson, oppose the initiative, and the National Association of Evangelicals has decided not to take a position. But what does God say? "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth," Genesis 1:28. Well, we've done it. We've subdued just about everything. Consider the plight of the polar bear. 3. POLAR BEARS: MAYBE THEY'LL GROW FLIPPERS WHEN THE OCEAN MELTS. Environmental groups sued the government in December to add polar bears to the endangered species list; their habitat is fast being destroyed by global warming. According to the Wash Post, the Bush administration has agreed to study whether polar bears should be on the list. Coming just as the Evangelical Climate Initiative is announced, the reality of global warming now seems to be accepted by almost everyone except petroleum geologists. 4. JOURNALISM? PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS MOVE TO THE ALTERNATE WORLD. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists is presenting its annual journalism award to novelist Michael Crichton for "State of Fear," a fictional story in which global warming is not for real. AAPG was presumably unable to find a journalist sufficiently divorced from reality to meet oil company standards. 5. BLASPHEMY: ITALIAN JUDGE DISMISSES CASE AGAINST PARISH PRIEST. The priest had been accused of "abuse of popular credulity." THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the University of Maryland, but they should be. --- Archives of What's New can be found at http://www.bobpark.org What's New is moving to a different listserver and our subscription process has changed. To change your subscription status please visit this link: http://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=bobparks-whatsnew&A=1
