Barbara Forrest

"What Is Intelligent Design? Why Should We Care?"
The intelligent design movement is an integral component in the Religious Right's attempt to control public education and public policy. Barbara Forrest will explain the Discovery Institute's religious and political agenda for undermining secular education and secular government by attacking the teaching of evolution.

"Slam Dunk for Science and the Constitution:
The Dover Intelligent Design Trial"
Judge John E. Jones III delivered a forceful, unambiguous decision in Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District: "The evidence at trial demonstrates that ID is nothing less than the progeny of creationism." This powerfully stated legal opinion is a victory for the separation of church and state and the integrity of public school science education. Barbara Forrest will explain the broad scope of Judge Jones's ruling and its implications for future efforts by intelligent design creationists.

An Informal Talk on Hurricane Katrina
Barbara Forrest will talk about life in south Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Hundreds of thousands of people from the southwest corner of the state near Texas to the eastern border near the Mississippi Gulf Coast lost homes, jobs, and loved ones. These killer storms have permanently altered both the physical and cultural landscapes in the state where the phrase "let the good times roll" has long described life in the "Pelican State."

Mark Bowen

Thin Ice I: High Altitude Ice Coring, How It's Done and Where It Can Take You
... or perhaps "Where It Once Could Take You," because, unfortunately, the melting of high altitude glaciers stands to make mountain ice core drilling more-or-less impossible sometime this century. Indeed, we will pass on this cruise many glaciers that are wasting away. I will tell the story of Lonnie Thompson's career, using slides I have shot myself on the three expeditions I've taken with him, and the best of some thirty years of photographs taken primarily by two members of Lonnie's team, Bruce Koci and Keith Mountain, both of whom are superb photographers. Expect spectacular images of the Andes, the Himalaya, and other great mountain ranges, as you also learn painlessly about the art of ice core drilling, the sagacity of the only team in the world that has proven capable of doing it, and the astonishing variety of clues about climate and the environment that are found in glacial ice.

Thin Ice II: What the Mountains are Saying about Global Warming
While Lonnie Thompson has observed that mountain glaciers have "no known political agenda," their global retreat is often cited as the clearest evidence there is that global warming is here now, and that humans are causing it. I will show dramatic images of the changing mountain environment, and present the more subtle -- and perhaps more disturbing -- evidence revealed by mountain and polar ice cores. I will also review the physics of the greenhouse effect and the historical development of this venerable, century-old field. Finally I will discuss implications for the future and the question of "Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference," that is, the level of human-induced warming that is expected to have serious, adverse consequences for society. The discussion has focused upon the issue of sea level rise, which is intimately tied to ice.

Paul Kurtz

Planetary Humanism I
As we cruise to Alaska on this luxurious ship, we are thrilled by the vistas of the glaciers in their pristine splendor. We ask, are the glaciers melting, is global warming real? If so, what does this portend for our planetary environment?. What does this mean for the human species on this fragile planet? What does it mean for other species who share the planet with us.

Can we transcend the parochial religious and national allegiences of the past? Can we create a new planetary civilization? What obligations do we owe to humankind as a whole; to future generations yet unborn, to our planetary habitat? Shall we burn up all of the oil and natural gas, denude the forests, strip mountains to recover the coal?

Planetary Humanism has an agenda for the future, including a New Planetary Bill of Right and Responsibilities. It is part of a New Enlightenment that we need to advance.

Planetary Ethics II
What is the role of the autonomous individual in the planetary community? Can a person live a full life in his or her own terms without caring ahout the needs of others or making sacrifices for them? If God is dead for modern civilization, humans are alive and we are in part responsible for the future. Should we flee from this and seek salvation in another world, as theists advise, or can we accept it with gusto and optimism. How shall we view the Human Prspect?

I believe that a new beloved cause is emerging that is unique in the history of humankind. and it has fallen on this generation to begin to fulfill this cause.. This may be called Planetary Ethics . For the first time in human history, we recognize that no part of our planetary abode is isolated from any other. We share this lovely blue green planet (as seen from outer space) with others. It is our common home; and every person is related to every other. We are interdependent; we live in a transactional world beyond nation states or territorial possessions. We believe in "the right of privacy--Yes--" in "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Yet we live in a contingent and precarious world. The future is not fixed, it depends in part on what we do. For many the challenge for humankind at this juncture of history is unique. Can we rise to the occasion? Can we join the beloved cause with gusto and dedication.

Joe Nickell

Mysterious Entities of the Pacific Northwest
An overview of alleged aliens, ghosts and monsters (Including Sasquatch and lake and sea creatures) along our cruise route -- slide illustrated.

 

 

Vern Bullough

What We Don't Know About Gender
During the past twenty years there has been a radical thinking of gender. The change has been from environmental influences to genetic ones, from nurture to nature. There is still a lot we do not know, and the discussion will concentrate on some of the contradictions that remain.

Toni Van Pelt

Challenging Society:
How religion and patriarchy shaped my life

James Underdown

Why I'm Not A Christian
The Bus Stop Arguments
Most discussions about religion happen outside the context of formal debates and academic settings. These exchanges are often short-lived, and may involve many different topics.

In this talk, Jim Underdown will take a shotgun approach to arguing about religion by briefly covering several of the best arguments against common Christian and theistic beliefs. These handy responses give the average Freethinker philosophical ammunition to refute a variety of beliefs and maybe even plant the seeds of doubt.
Mr. Underdown will also briefly cover other useful tactics to use during conversations about religion. (Includes handout)