Click here for an animation of a 20-foot storm surge covering Galveston, Texas. This could happen in reality tonight. This is why the National Hurricane Center warns that those who stay put on Galveston Island face "certain death."
Month: September 2008
Barrier islands and hurricanes
LiveScience.com has a timely article: Ike Underscores Foolishness of Building on Barrier Islands. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, many (including me) questioned the wisdom of having a city in a sinking swamp along a river that would rather run in a different channel. I'm not saying I'm in favor of abandoning New Orleans now …
Hurricane Ike — headed for Galveston & Houston
The deadliest natural disaster in US history was the Galveston hurricane of 1900 (they didn't name hurricanes back then). The storm surge from this category 4 hurricane washed over much of Galveston Island, killing 6,000 to 12,000 people. Galveston is now protected by a seawall, and much of the city has been raised to a …
Continue reading Hurricane Ike — headed for Galveston & Houston
The Bible Rocks — endorsements
I received my copy of The Bible, Rocks, and Time yesterday (I thought I wouldn't get it until October!). Here are some of the endorsements from inside the front cover: What an enjoyable tour of the history of geology, the interaction between geological study and biblical exegesis, and the current field of geology itself! Professors …
Auf der Geoblogosphäre
Thank you to geoberg.de for listing The GeoChristian as part of their geoblogosphere (their list of significant geology blogs). The GeoChristian von Kevin Nelstead - verschiedene Geothemen, die sich auch mit Kreationismus aus der Sicht eines Christen befassen My translation: The GeoChristian by Kevin Nelstead -- different geology topics, concerned also with creationism from the …
9/11 from space
I was unaware that the International Space Station flew over New York City on September 11, 2001. Here is an image taken by a member of the space station crew: The NASA Image of the Day Gallery site (which is different than NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day) has this image at a variety of …
Hurricane Ike — here we go again?
The five-day forecast for the path of Hurricane Ike (presently a category 4 hurricane), from the National Hurricane Center: Pray for the people in the path of this storm, in the Bahamas, Cuba, and the US Gulf of Mexico coast. Grace and Peace
America’s largest oil spill
America's largest oil spill wasn't the Exxon Valdez in Alaska, it is in Newtown Creek, in New York City. Earth Magazine has the article: New York's Dirty Secret: The effort to clean up America's largest oil spill.Wedged between the hard-bitten boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, N.Y., lies a six-kilometer-long slip of sickly green water called …
Coprolites
Earth Magazine (formerly GeoTimes) has an article on coprolites (fossilized dung): It's a Dirty Job, But Someone's Gotta Do It. The article goes into a little history of coprolitology (my word), how to tell if a rock is a petrified turd, and how to tell "who dung it." Image: a foot-long carniverous dinosaur coprolite from …
The role of fission nuclear power in our energy future
I am somewhat cautious about fission nuclear power and its role in America's energy future. It may play a temporary role, but it is not a long-term solution to our energy needs. There certainly are advantages to fission power, such as no emissions of greenhouse gases or other pollutants. Those opposed to nuclear power often …
Continue reading The role of fission nuclear power in our energy future
Should we be Picken wind or natural gas?
I wrote a few weeks ago about the Picken plan (which is being promoted extensively by T. Boone Picken, oil and gas billionaire). Basically, Picken's proposal is to use natural gas for automobiles rather than for generation of electricity, and to use wind power to replace gas-powered power plants. There are many merits to this …
Religion and Science: Pathways to Truth
The Wesley Ministry Network (associated with Wesley Theological Seminary) has created a new DVD course entitled Religion and Science: Pathways to Truth, hosted by Dr. Francis S. Collins, former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, and author of The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. I have not seen this …
GeoChristian 