I was in need of some humor this week. Here are a few things that have made me laugh: 1. Church Reduces Carbon Footprint; Worships in the Dark (from The Sacred Sandwich). Here are a few quotes: In an effort to stem the tide of global warming, Raintree Christian Fellowship began worshipping in the dark …
Month: February 2009
Required reading for science majors
The geoblogosphere (as well as the broader world of science blogs) has a meme going around: Imagine: YOU are asked to assign a half-dozen-or-so books as required reading for ALL science majors at a college as part of their 4-year degree; NOT technical or text books, but other works, old or new, touching upon the …
Reading — February 2009
Here are a couple books I finished in February: The Bible, Rocks, and Time, by Young and Stearley. This is the best book I've read on the relationship between geology and Christian faith. It is much more than a Biblical and scientific polemic against young-Earth creationism, though that is certainly a big part of the …
Wasteful spending on volcano monitoring?
I did not watch President Obama's State of the Union Address, but the geoblogosphere is abuzz about something Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal had in his Republican Party response: But Democratic leaders in Congress -- they rejected this approach. Instead of trusting us to make wise decisions with our own money, they passed the largest government …
More Google Earth — Car on side of building
Car on the side of a building, The Hague, Netherlands:
More Google Earth — iPod Indian
Indian with ear buds, east of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada:
More Google Earth — hippos
Hippos in the mud, west of Sitalike, Tanzania: Grace and Peace
Found on Google Earth: Atlantis (no) and pink bunny (yes)
The release of Google Earth 5.0 included better bathymetry of much of the ocean floor. (Bathymetry is the study of ocean and lake depth) Some have claimed that this pattern on the Atlantic sea floor west of the Canary Islands is the ruins of the mythical island of Atlantis. The area is over 100 miles …
Continue reading Found on Google Earth: Atlantis (no) and pink bunny (yes)
Bad arguments for Christianity
C. Michael Patton at Parchment and Pen has 14 Examples of Really Bad Apologetics. There are many good arguments (apologetics) for the truthfulness of Christianity: Historical evidence for the resurrection Historical evidence for the reliability of Scriptures Philosophical arguments for the existence of God, such as the cosmological argument Some of the bad arguments for …
YEC B.S. in geology program
Cedarville University of Cedarville, Ohio has added a Bachelor of Science in Geology program. From the Cedarville announcement: Cedarville University’s Board of Trustees recently approved the formation of the Bachelor of Science in geology degree, set to begin in fall 2009. Faculty will equip students for lifelong scientific leadership in career fields such as hydrogeology, …
Digital Topo Maps
I used to go to Topozone when I wanted to just browse around an area with topographic maps. It is no longer free. Here's a free alternative: digital-topo-maps.com: If you want the complete topo map as a PDF, you can still get those from the USGS Map Locator. Grace and Peace
Nuclear challenges
Here are two challenges for using nuclear energy as part of our world's energy future: Uranium, like fossil fuels, is a limited, non-renewable resource. It is mined from the Earth, and consumed by nuclear fission. Breeder reactors can make some additional fuel, but that too is of a limited quantity. In Arizona, uranium could be …
Geoblogosphere News
How does one keep up with over 100 active blogs in the geoblogosphere, including The GeoChristian? By keeping an eye on Geoblogosphere News from Stratigraphy.net. If I subscribed to all of these in Google Reader, I would soon be overwhelmed. I have 384 unread items in Google Reader right now the way it is. But …
Atoll image
From yesterday's NASA Earth Observatory Image of the Day: Tetiaroa Island, French Polynesia. The formation of atolls was first properly described by Charles Darwin during his voyage on the Beagle, one of his contributions to the science of geology (Time magazine 1947). Grace and Peace
Presidents Day and Republican environmentalism
For Presidents Day, The Evangelical Ecologist points to the environmental legacy of Republican Presidents, even George W. Bush. See also the Republicans for Environmental Protection web site. Grace and Peace
Frozen waterfall
The Billings Gazette has a great picture of a frozen waterfall in northwest Wyoming: Waterfalls draw many to winter festival. Go to the article for a larger picture. I love winter! Grace and Peace
Australia fire images
From NASA's Earth Observatory: Brushfires in Southeast Australia: Grace and Peace
Amazing Grace
I don't watch very many movies, but I watched a great one with my family tonight: Amazing Grace. This is the story of William Wilberforce, the English Member of Parliament who fought for years to outlaw the slave trade in the British Empire. Here's what I thought about as I reflected on the movie: The …
Living the Cross Centered Life
I recently finished reading Living the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney. Here are some quotes: In the midst of our various responsibilities and many possible areas of service in the kingdom of God, one overarching truth should motivate all our work and effect every part of who we are: Christ died for our sins. …
Landslide videos
Dave's Landslide Blog has videos, like this one: and this one: There are more at the blog. HT: Geology.com News Grace and Peace
GeoChristian 