This week is a climate change party in Cancun, with 193 nations participating at the UN conference in Mexico. And in Kentucky, the finance and structure plans for the Noah’s Ark Theme Park are being solidified with the support of the Governor and a massive tax break from the state.
Kentucky, home of Mitch McConnell, will soon transform into the promised land for the more biblically minded theme-park goers. For starters, there’s going to be a replica of the Ark filled with animals, a replica of the tower of Babel, all sorts of petting zoos for the children, and much more, all with support of large tax incentives from the state of Kentucky.
According to Mike Zovath, a senior vice president of Answers in Genesis, the organization that will run the daily operations of the park, “It’s our opportunity to present accurate, factual biblical information to people about a subject that they’re really interested in.”
“Factual biblical information” was what Illinois Rep. John Shimkus, the man that will be taking over the House Energy Commission, was talking about when last year stated: “…I do believe in the Bible as the final word of God …and I do believe that God said the Earth would not be destroyed by a flood.” Shimkus believes that global warming is a hoax because it presumes that human carbon emissions can alter the global water levels, something that the almighty assured Noah he would never again perform.
It’s murky water, in terms for First Amendment rights. The state of Kentucky is, after all, giving tax benefits to a religiously themed amusement park. But surely it’s representative of larger movements of the religious right on a national and a global scale. Rep. John Shimkus’ view of climate change as fictitious and downright blasphemous is embarrassing as is the state endorsement of the park by the Kentucky governor. But as the UN summit in Cancun progresses this week, it’s also proving to be counter productive.
There’s more going on in Mexico than just the UN summit. In Tabi, Mexico, an ancient Mayan village that’s been devastated by climate change in the recent years is beginning to adapt. They’ve begun to augment their traditional agricultural practices of slash-and-burn farming. Not because they want to, but simply because the world climate is changing, and their survival calls for a sense of immediate and dramatic adaptation.
When their food source began to dwindle as a consequence of climate change, that produced a sense of survival urgency. While pockets of life like this Mayan village are adapting just to survive, a theme park in Kentucky and a U.S. representative—as symbols for about 40% of Americans that endorse creationism—are not only neglecting, but blatantly aggravating the climate talks.
Maybe the hopes of Noah’s Ark Theme Park and Shimkus involves thumping their bibles just loud enough to drown out all the background noise of sensibility?
December 06, 2010 at 8:01 pm, mememine said:
Climate Change was “Worst Case Scenario” worship cult of envious small minded car accident rubber-neckers and extreme left wing ideologues who enjoyed other people’s misery and the Climate Change non issue allowed these climate cowards and childish fear mongers to gather under one Armageddon Flag. Now the flag is white in defeat. Voters said NO! You should have been real liberals, not obedient Greenzis who wanted something far bigger than oil’s capitalist power……..carbon trading.
There is a special place in history for you faded modern day witch burners who selfishly cried “FIRE” in the move theatre and condemned Billions to a “Death By CO2″.
After threatening my kids with your CO2 death warrants, we can call you losers anything we want.
Good riddance.
Now we drop the CO2 and start the love of our planet and responsible environmentalism anew. I am a progressive and a liberal, and a former CO2 Theory believer and now a progressive GREEN CO2 FEAR DENIER.
System Change, not climate change.
December 07, 2010 at 7:40 am, Jenny said:
Climate change is scientifically sound, scientifically proven, and accepted as real by thousands of real scientists, across this real globe that really exists.
Meanwhile, a state senator is giving financial support to a theme park about a fictional story and calling it real. Unicorns are now happy and at home in Kentucky.
December 08, 2010 at 5:48 pm, Tapatitucci said:
Well I don'[t beleive in god. I am fairly educated and am a former college professor. Yet if one looks at the historical records, the earth has gone periods of extreme temperature before man had any influence over the climate. For example in England in the 12th AD grapes were grown in northern England and much of Greenland was ice free. (I guess those viking camp fires did the trick.) then inexplicable the earth grew colder with extremely cold conditions and the expansion of ice sheets between the years 1450-1850. We are again seeing a change toward a less colder period. Really no one can actually explain the reasons. Going back millenia geological records show a palnet that had more or less land and ice. Speculation, run from volcanic activity minor fluctuations in the orbit of the earth and the spining of it around its access, fluctuation in solar output, the effects of gravity and other forces as the entire solar system orbits the gallatic center and the other planets position in the solar system, earthquakes caused by any of the celestial phenomena, etc etc.
The real conclusion we have is the earth is warming and resulting sea level will rise whether “god promised Noah anything “however, our ablity to actually effect this process is highly questionable at our current state of primative technology. The most we can do is what our more primative ancesters did move and adapt.
And if we understand anything it will revert again to iceage conditions. So in the long run I guess maybe Noah was right.
December 08, 2010 at 8:53 pm, Tim Tomlinson said:
Hmm, Mitch Mcconnell doing whats right for the people? This guy is one of the biggest crooks in Congress. No wonder he wanted the tax cuts for the rich. He stands to make a fortune on this fictional theme park in his home state!