| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"turk" |
| Date: |
29 Dec 2006 08:29:17 PM |
| Object: |
HOW OLD IS THE GRAND CANYON? PARK SERVICE WON'T SAY |
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=801
HOW OLD IS THE GRAND CANYON? PARK SERVICE WON'T SAY - Orders to Cater to
Creationists Makes National Park Agnostic on Geology
Washington, DC - Grand Canyon National Park is not permitted to give an
official estimate of the geologic age of its principal feature, due to
pressure from Bush administration appointees. Despite promising a prompt
review of its approval for a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by
Noah's flood rather than by geologic forces, more than three years later no
review has ever been done and the book remains on sale at the park,
according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER).
"In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park
Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology," stated PEER
Executive Director Jeff Ruch. "It is disconcerting that the official
position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is
'no comment.'"
In a letter released today, PEER urged the new Director of the National Park
Service (NPS), Mary Bomar, to end the stalling tactics, remove the book from
sale at the park and allow park interpretive rangers to honestly answer
questions from the public about the geologic age of the Grand Canyon. PEER
is also asking Director Bomar to approve a pamphlet, suppressed since 2002
by Bush appointees, providing guidance for rangers and other interpretive
staff in making distinctions between science and religion when speaking to
park visitors about geologic issues.
In August 2003, Park Superintendent Joe Alston attempted to block the sale
at park bookstores of Grand Canyon: A Different View by Tom Vail, a book
claiming the Canyon developed on a biblical rather than an evolutionary time
scale. NPS Headquarters, however, intervened and overruled Alston. To quiet
the resulting furor, NPS Chief of Communications David Barna told reporters
and members of Congress that there would be a high-level policy review of
the issue.
According to a recent NPS response to a Freedom of Information Act request
filed by PEER, no such review was ever requested, let alone conducted or
completed.
Park officials have defended the decision to approve the sale of Grand
Canyon: A Different View, claiming that park bookstores are like libraries,
where the broadest range of views are displayed. In fact, however, both law
and park policies make it clear that the park bookstores are more like
schoolrooms rather than libraries. As such, materials are only to reflect
the highest quality science and are supposed to closely support approved
interpretive themes. Moreover, unlike a library the approval process is very
selective. Records released to PEER show that during 2003, Grand Canyon
officials rejected 22 books and other products for bookstore placement while
approving only one new sale item - the creationist book.
Ironically, in 2005, two years after the Grand Canyon creationist
controversy erupted, NPS approved a new directive on "Interpretation and
Education (Director's Order #6) which reinforces the posture that materials
on the "history of the Earth must be based on the best scientific evidence
available, as found in scholarly sources that have stood the test of
scientific peer review and criticism [and] Interpretive and educational
programs must refrain from appearing to endorse religious beliefs explaining
natural processes."
"As one park geologist said, this is equivalent of Yellowstone National Park
selling a book entitled Geysers of Old Faithful: Nostrils of Satan," Ruch
added, pointing to the fact that previous NPS leadership ignored strong
protests from both its own scientists and leading geological societies
against the agency approval of the creationist book. "We sincerely hope that
the new Director of the Park Service now has the autonomy to do her job."
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| User: "satyr" |
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| Title: Re: HOW OLD IS THE GRAND CANYON? PARK SERVICE WON'T SAY |
30 Dec 2006 01:20:07 AM |
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On Fri, 29 Dec 2006 20:29:17 -0600, "turk" <turk96@nowaynohow.not>
wrote:
"As one park geologist said, this is equivalent of Yellowstone National Park
selling a book entitled Geysers of Old Faithful: Nostrils of Satan,"
Pretty snappy. We should extend an invitation to the geologist to
start posting here.
--
satyr #1953
Chairman, EAC Church Taxation Subcommittee
Director, Gideon Bible Alternative Fuel Project
Supervisor, EAC Fossil Casting Lab
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