ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
For those interested in the creationists book for sale at the Grand
Canyon National Park the following is from the National Center for
Science Education (http://www.ncse.org).
It is long and has links following it but it is accurate.
Martin
There is renewed controversy about the sale of a young-earth creationist
book in bookstores at Grand Canyon National Park. Meanwhile, Ronald L.
Numbers is interviewed in Salon, and Brian Alters's export witness
statement from Selman v. Cobb County is now available on-line.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility -- "a national non-profit
alliance of local, state and federal scientists, law enforcement officers,
land managers and other professionals dedicated to upholding environmental
laws and values" -- is charging the National Park Service with stalling on
a promised review of a creationist book sold at the bookstores at Grand
Canyon National Park. Although the park's bookstores are operated by a
separate non-profit organization, the Grand Canyon Association, the
National Park Service is responsible for approving the items that are sold
there. In August 2003, the NPS approved the sale of Grand Canyon: A
Different View, edited by Tom Vail and published by Master Books, the
publishing arm of the Institute for Creation Research. A Different View
expounds a young-earth creationist view of the geology of the canyon, and
proclaims that "all contributions have been peer-reviewed to ensure a
consistent and biblical perspective." In his review of the book, the
geologist Wilfred Elders described it as "'Exhibit A' of a new, slick
strategy by biblical literalists to proselytize using a beautifully
illustrated, multi-authored book about a spectacular and world-famous
geological feature," adding, "Allowing the sale of this book within the
National Park was unfortunate. In the minds of some buyers, this could
imply NPS approval of young-earth creationists and their religious
proselytizing."
After the sale of A Different View was approved, the superintendent of the
park appealed to the NPS headquarters for "a review of the book in terms of
its appropriateness," and the Chief of the Park Service's Geologic
Resources Division recommended its removal, saying that it "does not use
accurate, professional and scholarly knowledge; is not based on science but
a specific religious doctrine; does not further the public's understanding
of the Grand Canyon's existence; [and] does not further the mission of the
National Park Service." Meanwhile, the sale of the book became a matter of
public controversy: Elders's review appeared in Eos (the weekly newsletter
of the American Geophysical Union); the presidents of the American
Paleontological Society, the American Geophysical Union, the National
Association of Geoscience Teachers, the Association of American State
Geologists, the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology, the American
Geological Institute, and the Geological Society of America signed a joint
letter to the NPS, urging that A Different View be removed "from shelves
where buyers are given the impression that the book is about earth science
and its content endorsed by the National Park Service"; and stories about
the controversy appeared in the Los Angeles Times and The New York
Times. A spokesperson for the NPS repeatedly assured the press and
Congress that the promised review would be forthcoming.
In a December 28, 2006, press release, however, PEER charged, "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." Jeff Ruch, executive director of PEER, commented, "As
one park geologist said, this is equivalent of Yellowstone National Park
selling a book entitled Geysers of Old Faithful: Nostrils of Satan." In a
December 28, 2006, letter, PEER urged the new director of NPS, Mary Bomar,
to remove the book from sale at the park's bookstores and museums as well
as to "[p]rovide training to the interpretive staff at Grand Canyon NP
regarding how to answer questions from the public concerning the geologic
age of the Canyon and related matters; and ... [a]pprove an updated version
of the long-stalled pamphlet 'National Park Service Geologic Interpretive
Programs: Distinguishing Science from Religion' for distribution to agency
interpretive staff." It ought to be noted that PEER is not charging the
NPS with forbidding its interpretive staff to present the scientific facts
about the canyon's age and geology, but only with not providing its staff
with the resources it needs to do so effectively, especially when faced
with park visitors who have questions about, or even embrace, views that
reject those facts on religious grounds.
Prompted by PEER's press release, the controversy over the sale of A
Different View is beginning to attract attention again in the media, with
the Arizona Daily Sun (January 4, 2007) offering a report in which a
spokesperson for the NPS was quoted as saying, "We do not use the
creationist text in our teaching, nor do we endorse its content. However,
it is not our place to censor alternate beliefs." But the Sacramento Bee
(January 4, 2007) suggested, in a forceful and cogent editorial entitled
"Don't use parks to promote creationism," "A new year and a new National
Park Service director mark an opportunity for change. Here's an easy
one. Settle the 3-year-old controversy about a creationist account of the
Grand Canyon." The editorial argued that "Mary Bomar, the new National
Park Service director, should send a message that programs and materials in
national parks present the best scientific evidence and don't endorse any
particular religious beliefs," and concluded by urging Bomar to "fix this
easily and quickly: Remove the book from sale from within the park; its
proper place is for sale in private bookstores outside the public
park. Equally important, finish the long-delayed pamphlet 'National Park
Service Geologic Interpretive Program: Distinguishing Science from
Religion' and distribute it to park rangers. The nation's public parks are
not the place to promote religious theories about the formation and
development of Earth."
A spokesperson for the NPS, David Barna, told The New York Times (January
5, 2007) that there was no formal review of whether the bookstores ought to
discontinue selling A Different View in part because of differences among
the NPS's specialists. According to the Times, "When officials got
together to discuss the book, the geologists and natural resource
specialists would say, 'Get this book out of here,' Mr. Barna said. 'But
the education and interpretation people would say: 'Wait a minute. If
your science is so sound, the fact that there are differences of opinion
should not scare you away.'" In a written statement, the Times reported,
Barna "notes that Park Service management policies require reliance on 'the
best scientific evidence available' and, as a result, rangers tell visitors
that "the Colorado River basin has developed in the past 40 million
years." But the Times also reported that "the guidelines also say that
material available from concessionaires in national parks should adhere to
the standards used to evaluate Park Service materials." PEER's executive
director Jeff Ruch was quoted as contending that selling the book promoted
fundamentalist Christian views: "This is government establishment of
religion in a fairly fundamental way, if you pardon the pun."
For Wilfred Elders's review of the book at issue, visit:
http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/rncse_content/vol24/4521_bibliolatry_revisited_review__12_30_1899.asp
For a discussion of the controversy over its sale, visit:
http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/rncse_content/vol24/5100_flood_geology_in_the_grand_can_12_30_1899.asp
For PEER's press release, visit:
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=801
For PEER's letter to the new director of the NPS (PDF), visit:
http://www.peer.org/docs/nps/06_28_12_peer_ltr_Bomar.pdf
For the story in the Arizona Daily Sun, visit:
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/163166
For the editorial in the Sacramento Bee, visit:
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/102565.html
And for the story in The New York Times, visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/05/washington/05canyon.html
--
Martin Weiss, PhD
VP, Science
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111 th Street
Corona, NY 11368
ph 718 699 0005 x 356
fax 718 699 5227
***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]
|
