Vow! No - no, this is not from the Sharia council in Swat. This is from a US House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing from Mar 25th and the enlightened gentleman is John Shimkus (R) from Illinois (tip richarddawkins.net):
I like his reasoning for denying the dangers of global warming: "man" will not destroy the Earth - because it seems that God will...
And on the benefits of more CO2:
Yes - and also look at Venus. It is so carbon-happy that it doesn't have any idiot Congressmen on its cozy surface.
Enjoy.
What is Irtiqa?
Irtiqa is Salman Hameed's blog. A few years ago (before Facebook killed many of the blogs), it used to track stories of science & religion, especially those related to Muslim societies. That is still one of its foci, but now it dovetails more of Salman's interests including film, astronomy, science fiction, and science outreach in both Pakistan and the US.
Irtiqa literally means evolution in Urdu. But it does not imply only biological evolution. Instead, it is an all encompassing word used for evolution of the universe, biological evolution, and also for biological/human development. While it has created confusion in debates over biological evolution in South Asia, it provides a nice integrative name for this blog. For further information, contact Salman Hameed.
The blog banner is designed by Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad. You can find all his creative endeavors at Orangie.
Salman Hameed
Salman is an astronomer and Associate Professor of Integrated Science & Humanities at Hampshire College, Massachusetts. Currently, he is working on understanding the rise of creationism in contemporary Islamic world and how Muslims view the relationship between science & religion. He is also working with historian Tracy Leavelle at Creighton University to analyze reconciliation efforts between astronomers and Native Hawaiians over telescopes on top of sacred Mauna Kea in Hawaii. He teaches “History and Philosophy of Science & Religion” with philosopher Laura Sizer, and “Science in the Islamic World”, both at Hampshire College. Salman and Laura Sizer are also responsible for the ongoing Hampshire College Lecture Series on Science & Religion, and you can find videos of all these lectures below. Contact information here.
LABELS
- Arab Spring
- art
- Astronomy
- Astronomy Pictures from Pakistan
- atheism
- beliefs of scientists
- Catholic Church and science
- creationism
- education
- education in muslim world
- ethics morality and science
- evolution
- faith and medicine
- film theater and television
- Friday Journal Club
- general
- history
- humor
- intelligent design
- Irtiqa Conversations
- Islam and Modernity
- islam and science
- Islamic Calendar
- islamic creationism
- Judaism and science
- media
- Muslims in Europe
- off topic
- Pakistan
- politics of science and religion
- posts by Nidhal Guessoum
- primates
- pseudoscience
- religion and environmentalism
- Religion and Health
- Religion and Technology
- Saturday Video
- science and Native religions
- science and religion books
- science fiction
- science in muslim world
- science of belief
- science of morality
- science religion and terrorism
- UFO religions
Blog Archive
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2009
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April
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- Pray that Marianne Williamson never gets published...
- Skeletal remains and the issue of cultural affilia...
- A friendlier atheism
- Swine flu: Is it Halal?
- Turkish Gulen schools under scrutiny in Central Asia
- Off-Topic: No point in talking to the Taliban in Swat
- Poetic take down of superstition from 2000 years ago
- Pushing the limits of our knowledge about origins
- On Madrasas in Singapore
- Should we drop the term "Muslim World"?
- This blog going "Irtiqa"
- Modernity and Religion
- Queen Esther had two tails...
- Video: Philip Kitcher - Religion after Darwin?
- Export and Import of Christianity
- NYU: Darwin and the boundaries of science conference
- God, global warming, and a congressman from Illinois
- New Scientist on the Turkish censorship of Darwin
- Off-Topic: The situation in northern Pakistan
- Oped on Iran's nuclear program
- Commandments and Communication
- Multiverse theory: Leave it to science
- The First Cause?
- Science & Religion in "Knowing"
- International Year of Astronomy in Pakistan
- Flow charting medieval Muslim philosophy
- Off-topic: Pakistan in the hands of Zardari
- BBC documentary: Did Darwin Kill God?
- Webcast of McGill Islam & Evolution Symposium
- Ethics, morality, and legality of robotic wars
- Galileo and Medici exhibit at the Franklin Institute
- Biology textbooks and religion in Pakistan and the US
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April
(32)
4 comments:
You know, raffles and prize giveaways in Canada require a basic knowledge (usually simple geometry) question which must be answered correctly in order to receive your prize. I would like to institute a similar requirement in the US, only for public offices. Are you smarter than a 5th grader? If not, no seat in congress for you!
That's too tough. No one will with that... :)
We're deficient in CO2? I had no idea!
We cannot allow a CO2 gap!
(Weee'll meet again... don't know where... don't know wheeeen...)
To be more serious, just out of curiosity, do their numbers regarding CO2 abundances in the thousands of ppm during the Cambrian and Triassic originate from anywhere reputable? Given how little un-metamorphosed rock there is from those eras, I can't imagine those figures are known accurately.
matt,
"To be more serious, just out of curiosity, do their numbers regarding CO2 abundances in the thousands of ppm during the Cambrian and Triassic originate from anywhere reputable? Given how little un-metamorphosed rock there is from those eras, I can't imagine those figures are known accurately."
I actually don't know. However, there have been times in the past when Co2 values have been very high - but that doesn't mean that it would have been good for humans. Remember the "Snowball Earth" theory. Those severe bouts of ice-ages were followed by extreme heat. Now I forgot the exact process - but it had to do with continents being towards the polar regions (and CO2 sinks were reduced because of snow-cover). This is right before the Cambrian explosion.
I think I have poured everything I remembered from Scientific American articles about a decade ago :)
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