Thursday, January 18, 2007
LANE SAFE
Skeptic magazine’s Michael Shermer corrects the record:
In last week’s eSkeptic , we published highlights from a press release issued by PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility), a Washington D.C.-based environmental watchdog group. That press release, dated December 28, 2006, was headlined:
HOW OLD IS THE GRAND CANYON? PARK SERVICE WON’T SAY
Orders to Cater to Creationists Makes National Park Agnostic on GeologyThe first sentence of the release reads:
Washington, DC — Grand Canyon National Park is not permitted to give an official estimate of the geologic age of its principal feature, due to pressure from Bush administration appointees.
Unfortunately, in our eagerness to find additional examples of the inappropriate intrusion of religion in American public life (as if we actually needed more), we accepted this claim by PEER without calling the National Park Service (NPS) or the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) to check it.
Many of the magazine’s readers did call the NPS and the GCNP, however, leading to a retraction. Where does this leave the Age’s Terry Lane? Well, seeing as Media Watch is still on holidays, he’ll probably remain employed.
(Via Blithering Bunny)