This whole month, Fossil Friday is “fossil by request.” Want to see a pile o’ marsupial teeth? Want me to dig into the La Brea tar pits? Are you an ammonite addict? Your wish is my command! The first requested fossil is coming from GrizzlyD, who asked for “some Mesozoic beasties.” Well.…
When part 1 of “Intelligent Design in Public Schools” ended, I was in the middle of summarizing my essay of the same title that was published in Whitney A. Bauman and Lucas F. Johnston’s collection Science and Religion: One Planet, Many Possibilities (Routledge 2014). Where was I?…
NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview (PDF) of Grady Klein and Yoram Bauman's The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change (Island Press, 2014). The preview consists of chapter 2, "A Brief History of Planet Earth," which begins with the formation of the earth about 4.6 billion years ago…
In reading about the hoopla and choreography around the new EPA power plant regulations and thinking about the “teachable moments” the new regs offer, I can’t help but wonder: Would the situation today be different if we’d included human impact on the climate system—the causes,…
It’s nice to be asked to write something, and it’s especially nice to be asked to write something in your field of expertise, and it’s nicest of all to be asked to write something when the people who ask you know exactly what they want. So when Whitney A. Bauman of Florida International…
NCSE is proud to have been named in the Best of the Scout Report for 2014, as "the most shared resource by Scout Report readers" for the academic year 2013-2014. "There are many free excerpts to read and it's a fun way to trace the evolution of these popular and significant debates," the report…
The rallying cry of science deniers in 2013? "One more time!" Once again legislators across our fair land have been pushing anti-evolution and anti-climate change bills. Many are classic "academic freedom" or "strengths and weaknesses" bills. Others take a less obvious tack, allowing teachers to "…
Responding to a new report that found the term “global warming” motivated people more than the term “climate change”, a blog in the New Yorker entitled “Scientists Consider New Names For Climate Change” spoofs that “leading scientists are recommending replacing it…
Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, science deniers flocked to familiar ground in 2014. Three bills attacking evolution and three bills hammering on "scientific controversies" were trotted out in Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Virginia. All went down to defeat. Bills targeting…