Flat Earth Madness

The GOP Flat Earth Madness

The current Republican madness can easily be summarized with three recent examples of their governing prowess.

First, we have our own local Rep. Jesse Kremer's recent pronouncement during a legislative hearing on a bill limiting free speech that, "the Earth is 6000 years old. That's a fact."

Second, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, recently told a meeting of the Recreational Vehicle Association that he did not want to be in the business of running campgrounds because his audience would do a better job than the National Park Service. This explains his budget proposals severely curtailing the fine work the Park Service provides to the public.

Third, the Secretaries of both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy have declared that humans have no impact on our changing climate and that the scientific consensus to the contrary is nothing more than a "hoax." They are systematically cleansing their agency's public information systems of all references to climate change while slashing funding for research into what can be done to reverse it and save the planet. They are reversing policies promoting the development of renewable energy systems and curtailing the continued use of fossil fuels.

My wife and I are currently traveling in the West. We recently spent time in both Arches and Zion National Parks. In both and along the Interstate highways leading to and from them, one can easily see that Rep. Kremer's "facts" are nothing more than beliefs based upon selected biblical references that are fine in church on Sunday but have no place in legislative deliberations. As we marveled at the towering mountain cliffs etched vertically down thousands of feet, we could clearly see the effects of millions of years of sedimentary deposits subsequently upthrust from the horizontal to near vertical and then eroded over millions of years by wind, rain, snow and swollen rivers into deep canyons. The National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey have clearly not caught up to Rep. Kremer's beliefs turned into "facts" upon which laws can be crafted. The signage the Rangers provide at viewpoints and on trails clearly proclaim the passage of many millions of years for the creation of the formations we saw.

In the National Parks we visited this Summer and over many past road trips around this beautiful country there are always exhibits covering the local history surrounding the development of each park. Invariably, they were taken from Native inhabitants who deemed them sacred by force or treaty and turned over to local citizen immigrants. These pioneer developers were often railroad titans or other profiteers who saw these pristine places as a means to make a buck when packed with tourists. They cut down trees, re-routed rivers, laid railroads or built roads to their lodges and campgrounds, then charged admission for as much as they could for as long as the resource held up. 

The creation of the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service helped reverse the damage caused by those privateers and preserve the natural beauty and sacred places for us all to enjoy. They manage the resources to preserve and protect them, to tell the histories and local stories, to advance the scientific inquiries into local ecosystems and share that knowledge without regard to profit. Secretary Zinke ignores the very mission of his agency when he proposes to cut its funding and turn over administration of the park campgrounds once more to those driven by profit.

Not content to merely re-negotiate the Paris Accords on climate change as President Trump proposes, his minions at the DOE and EPA are forging ahead to dismantle years of work aimed at saving the planet. On our travels West, we noted long coal and oil tanker trains moving antiquated fossil fuels around the country. In juxtaposition, we saw field upon field of large wind turbines in every state. In the barren Nevada dessert, we saw hundreds of acres of photovoltaic panels aimed at the sun. These are the energy sources of the future that will help prolong life on our planet. Even as our government cuts back on renewable energy, the energy industry is cutting back on fossil fuels and switching to renewables. Energy titans will continue to squeeze the fossil fuel balloon until it runs dry to be sure, but they will already be on the renewable bandwagon when it does.

The GOP, led by Trump and his shadow, Steve Bannon, will continue their madness of dismantling the government as long as we let them. Hopefully, there will still be National Parks to visit and enjoy after we send them packing.

Waring R. Fincke is a retired attorney and serves as a guardian for the elderly and disabled.