Park Service Sticks With Biblical Explanation For Grand Canyon

The Bush Administration has decided that it will stand by its approval for a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah’s flood rather than by geologic forces, according to internal documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

Despite telling members of Congress and the public that the legality and appropriateness of the National Park Service offering a creationist book for sale at Grand Canyon museums and bookstores was “under review at the national level by several offices,” no such review took place, according to materials obtained by PEER under the Freedom of Information Act. Instead, the real agency position was expressed by NPS spokesperson Elaine Sevy as quoted in the Baptist Press News:

“Now that the book has become quite popular, we don’t want to remove it.”

In August of 2003, Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Joe Alston attempted to block the sale of Grand Canyon: A Different View, by Tom Vail, a book explaining how the park’s central feature 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 that there would be a high-level policy review, distributing talking points stating: “We hope to have a final decision in February <2004>.” In fact, the promised review never occurred –

· In late February, Barna crafted a draft letter to concerned members of Congress stating: “We hope to have a final decision on the book in March 2004.” That draft was rewritten in June and finally sent out to Congressional representatives with no completion date for the review at all;
http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_14313.shtml

any issue, any topic and the US is officially the buffoon in world opinion. This is soooooo abso-fucking-lutely pathetic.

and believes it was cause by a "flood" is a twit. Refusing to believe that this magnificent natural wonder was formed over millions of years is in serious self denial about Science. This fundie "the earth is only 10,000 years old" crap is frighteningly ignorant. That these willfully ignorant cretins are the ones shaping our foreign and national policy scares the hell out of me.
Why do people so willfully clutch this myth to their Bible Belted bosoms? What the hell are they so afraid of that they choose fantasy over fact?

For the "Born yesterday" Republicans. My rich, Republican next-door neighbor has been telling me that humans come from clones brought to our planet in flying saucers. I should get him this book for X-mass.

This from the world leader in scientific research?

Imposing their religious view on the population with no regard for science or even debate?

Jesus Christ would be turning in his grave if he wasn't still alive (and always will be)......Would God want his creation to switch off their brains and blindly take the Bible literally, when it is blatantly Hebrew poetry and myth - true at a far deeper level than the literal.

I'm sorry, but your country is being run by religious extremist morons who are determined to take it back to the Dark Ages.

That might explain the giant canyon on Mars, Vallis Marinaris.

Religion is a drug for these people, and I don't know how we'll ever get them to kick the habit before they kill us all. The pseudo-faith they espouse is no different from pseudo-science.

I expect they'll gather with torches outside the National Acadamy of Science any day now.


"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all. To teach superstitions as truth is a most
terrible thing."
-Hypatia, Librarian of Alexandria (circa 400 AD)

(Hypatia was the last of the great
classical neoplatonic philosopher mathematicians. She was murdered by
a mob of religious fanatics in 415 AD, an act which closed the career
of ancient science. The destruction of the Library of Alexandria
followed.)

I guess we will have to look to China and India for all the science students from now on. I was in a world history class once where one student would only read the bible. Poor teacher almost went nuts. I was on the debating group and I almost went nuts with this guy also. So not only science would be hurt with this thinking I guess.

This has been discussed. Your article is dated Oct 14th.