By your own answer you've shown why it's needed.

Back in high school we spent a week covering creation myths--Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Indian, etc. This was in science class no less, by a teacher who to this day I have no clue what his personal beliefs were on the issue. It sparked a lot of interesting conversation. Nobody felt "attacked" or "threatened" or "pressured" in any way. Most of the kids there were Christian but not all, and we spent a lot of time discussing Hindu and Native American creation stories especially.

Discussing these in a rational, open setting like classroom is exactly the right place to do this, since that's how one is exposed to different ideas, different belief systems, different evidence. Having it at the start of Natural History class (basically focusing on the formation and evolution of the Earth) was the perfect place for it. The teacher referred back from time to time to the earlier discussion and I never once recall any judgmental pigeon-holing (of the type that would call any belief "religious bullshit") ever happening.

Referring to religious beliefs in this way is exactly why intolerance for others has increased and why society is becoming more riven. Most schools today are scared to death to approach the subject, and most parents and activists have chips on their shoulders just waiting for excuses to fly off the handle about it all.

My school was more better, and it's helped a lot in my understanding of where religious folks are coming from.

Ferret

I used to be a strong supporter of the Libertarian Party and helped try to get them elected in several campaigns, but they eventually proved to be no different than the Democrats or the Republicans. Oh they talk good game, but when push came to shove and they had some actual power they did squat-all with it.

Many years ago the Libertarian Party won the majority of the city council of a mountain town here named Leadville. They had three of the five seats, a clear majority of the voters behind them, and two fairly unpopular remaining Council members who were stunned at how their buddies had been tossed out. Things looked pretty good for the LP there for a bit.

Bu they didn't do anything. They didn't roll back any taxes. They didn't introduce a newer, simpler property tax system or even try to get rid of the existing system. They didn't take the state to court over any of their mandates, nor did they take the Feds to court over their silliness. They didn't even open up the town meetings to open-carry of firearms (Colorado is a local-rule city, so laws like this could certainly be implemented). I think one of them eventually got caught in some kind of influence-peddling scandal, though that might have been up in Denver instead.

In short, they did nothing at all to show that they were any different than the Democrats or Republicans who had come before them.

They failed catastrophically when they had the chance to prove that they were different, and that was the end of my energetic support. I'll vote for them over most Democrats and occasionally against a Republican, but that's the only time.

Ferret

THIS.

Ferret

One strongly suspects you're willfully missing the point here...

Ferret

Actually, large temperature increases over a short period of time (decades or centuries) isn't at all unprecedented:

http://www.greencarcongress.co...

Ferret

I didn't see him say that.

Ferret

Well said brother.

Well said.

Ferret

Most armchair scientists don't understand this at all.

Ferret

I was wondering if anybody would mention those amazing ruins!

That civilization moved/disbanded because they were found in a wet period and then hit a dry one. Unfortunately the timing of our arrival in California was about the same.

Ferret

I wish AGW cultists would stop throwing this kind of thing out there. All it does is damage their credibility even more.

It's a proven falsehood that the water shortages in California are caused by global warming. Yes, California is in a drought, but the water shortages are being caused more by bad policy than by anything else:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03...

Facts are stubborn things.

Ferretman

Lightbulb standards are not the proper province of the Federal government; no power enumerated under the Constitution grants such authority nor can be stretched into granting such authority.

LEDs and (my favorite) magnetic resonance bulbs are superb technologies and I have several in my off-grid house precisely because they are so energy efficient. I can afford them. What do the greenies who insist that $30 light bulbs be mandated want to say to the woman with two kids barely getting by on a few hundred dollars a month? They need to be able to buy cheaper lighting than that.

Lighting technology will advance, and over time all bulbs (even incandescents) will become more efficient. Keep the government out of it.

Ferret

....how happens to live in a 100% off grid solar house.

Groups trying to "stop" deployment of solar and wind (and geothermal and yes, nuclear) are just stupid.

I have zero problem with the basic thesis that none of these techs should be subsidized by the government. Let them stand or fall on their own; no industry (and that means none ) should be subsidized by the Feds in any way whatsoever.

But there's also no reason to throw up roadblocks per se. That's ideology, not conservatism or libertarianism.

Ferret

...and frankly I can't charge them where I need to be able to charge them.

My house is off grid and solar-powered so you'd think that would be ideal. The problem is that when the sun is out I'm not at the house, I'm at work....where there aren't any places to charge something like this (military base). And of course when I'm home the sun isn't up--I'd have to pull down my batteries (which supply all the power to said house) to charge the car.

I could easily be sold on an electric car, but not until the price comes down and I've got some way to charge it up at work.

Ferret

So no real response to the observation, just personal insult?

Typical Warmite.

Ferret

....gave it a 3 out of 5.

Was never particularly interested in reading the books. They simply didn't look all that interesting.

Ferret