John Shimkus #fundie

John Shimkus #fundie dailymail.co.uk

A Republican congressman hoping to chair the powerful House Energy Committee refers to the Bible and God on the issue of global warming.

Representative John Shimkus insists we shouldn't concerned about the planet being destroyed because God promised Noah it wouldn't happen again after the great flood.

Speaking before a House Energy Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing in March, 2009, Shimkus quoted Chapter 8, Verse 22 of the Book of Genesis.

He said: 'As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease.'

The Illinois Republican continued: 'I believe that is the infallible word of God, and that's the way it is going to be for his creation.

'The earth will end only when God declares its time to be over. Man will not destroy this earth. This earth will not be destroyed by a flood.

He added: 'Today we have about 388 parts per million in the atmosphere. I think in the age of dinosaurs, when we had the most flora and fauna, we were probably at 4,000 parts per million. There is a theological debate that this is a carbon-starved planet — not too much carbon. And the cost of a cap-and-trade on the poor is now being discovered.'

The Republican is a vocal opponent to President Obama's American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 - the so-called 'cap-and-trade' Bill, aimed at limiting carbon emissions.

The Bill passed the House of Representatives last year, but has yet to pass the Senate.

77 comments

old comment by CJ

I hate to quote Wikipedia, but allow me to:

"The climate of the Cretaceous is less certain and more widely disputed. Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are thought to have caused the world temperature gradient from north to south to become almost flat: temperatures were about the same across the planet. Average temperatures were also higher than today by about 10°C. In fact, by the middle Cretaceous, equatorial ocean waters (perhaps as warm as 20°C in the deep ocean) may have been too warm for sea life, and land areas near the equator may have been deserts despite their proximity to water. The circulation of oxygen to the deep ocean may also have been disrupted. For this reason, large volumes of organic matter that was unable to decompose accumulated, eventually being deposited as "black shale".

Not all of the data support these hypotheses, however. Even with the overall warmth, temperature fluctuations should have been sufficient for the presence of polar ice caps and glaciers, but there is no evidence of either. Quantitative models have also been unable to recreate the flatness of the Cretaceous temperature gradient.[citation needed]
Oxygen levels in the Mesozoic atmosphere were probably lower (12 to 15%) than today's level (20 to 21%). Some researchers have postulated levels of 12% because that was assumed to be the lowest concentration at which natural combustion could occur. However, a 2008 study concludes that at least 15 % is necessary.[4]

old comment by CJ

I hate to quote Wikipedia, but allow me to:

"The climate of the Cretaceous is less certain and more widely disputed. Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are thought to have caused the world temperature gradient from north to south to become almost flat: temperatures were about the same across the planet. Average temperatures were also higher than today by about 10°C. In fact, by the middle Cretaceous, equatorial ocean waters (perhaps as warm as 20°C in the deep ocean) may have been too warm for sea life, and land areas near the equator may have been deserts despite their proximity to water. The circulation of oxygen to the deep ocean may also have been disrupted. For this reason, large volumes of organic matter that was unable to decompose accumulated, eventually being deposited as "black shale".

Not all of the data support these hypotheses, however. Even with the overall warmth, temperature fluctuations should have been sufficient for the presence of polar ice caps and glaciers, but there is no evidence of either. Quantitative models have also been unable to recreate the flatness of the Cretaceous temperature gradient.[citation needed]
Oxygen levels in the Mesozoic atmosphere were probably lower (12 to 15%) than today's level (20 to 21%). Some researchers have postulated levels of 12% because that was assumed to be the lowest concentration at which natural combustion could occur. However, a 2008 study concludes that at least 15 % is necessary.[4]

old comment by WWWWolf

How do you get from this...

> As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease.

...to this?

> Man will not destroy this earth.

The bit of scripture seemingly guarantees that the Earth and the cycle of seasons will remain. It bloody well doesn't guarantee that humankind can't fuck other things up royally.

Yeah, it's nice to know that you the days to plant and days to harvest will come right on the schedule. Nothing guarantees you'll be able to leave the farmhouse and actually do those tasks.

> This earth will not be destroyed by a flood.

But farmers know that even tiny little floods can be a real pain in the ass if you want to plant crops, you know. Better avoid upsetting the climate too much. You know. Just in case.

old comment by Swede

Stealing the beginning from an earlier poster:
[Shimkus and God stand among the ruins of a crumbling, dead Earth]
Shimkus: [sputtering] But... but you promised to not destroy the earth!
God: But... I put you humans as stewards of the Earth. Plus, I only promised to not destroy it in a flood.

If you ask the people at the Horn of Africa it seems the Earth is about to not endure anymore. They haven't had harvest in years, they only have heat and summer, and they are dying like flies. It's a humanitarian catastrophe; millions of children are not developing as they should, due to serious lack of nutritions and water. Their brains will stay underdeveloped their whole life; if they get to have a life, that is...