 A QUIET
STAND OF ALDERS "The alder, whose fat shadow nourisheth All set neere to him long flourisheth." -- William Browne, c. 1613 |
|
A QUIET
STAND OF ALDERS "The alder, whose fat shadow nourisheth All set neere to him long flourisheth." -- William Browne, c. 1613 |
| Welcome
to A Quiet Stand of Alders, a
website
that invites you to experience the scientific importance, and the
beauty and peace, of trees and other plants. This is the message
to which I have dedicated my life: plants are essential to the survival
of the world, and they deserve much more appreciation than they receive
from most people, especially from the political and business leaders in
the United States. Plants are much more than a mechanism for the
survival of the planet; they create worlds of beauty and peace.
The world depends not only on plants in general, but on the diversity
of plants—the millions of species that make up the forests, fields, and
deserts of the world. This diversity of plants, as well as of all
other organisms, has been produced over billions of years by the
process of evolution. In the United States, wild plants are being
destroyed, their diversity is being reduced, and teaching the process
of evolution is under religious attack. Watch this website for
links to sources of information about plants and evolution, including
my books and those of other authors, as well as essays about plants,
evolution, and religion. Keep checking for occasional
updates. Christians Burning Bibles? January 4, 2010
Many political controversies are not about evidence and reason, but about prejudice, rage, and religious brainwashing. Nothing short of religious brainwashing could account for this news item from last October: a Halloween “book-burning” in which Christians tore up Bibles. If fundamentalist Christians really believe the Bible to be the word of God, only a complete disengagement of their consciousness from reason could make them tear up Bibles. Read more about it here. It was supposed to be a book burning at the Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, North Carolina. (From the video, it appears that the church is mostly white.) They announced that there would be “fried chicken, and all the sides.” Instead, when protestors and media showed up, it rained. Besides, it turned out that an actual book-burning was against the fire code, and the church did not have permission to do it. But the church claimed that it was “a great success” because the protestors and media were outside in the rain while the congregation was inside, tearing up books instead of burning them. Who could doubt the hand of God blessing this event? Which books did they feel that God was commanding them to destroy? I can only hope that my Encyclopedia of Evolution was one of them. They burned The Wizard of Oz. And The Living New Testament. Why did they destroy a New Testament? This church believes exclusively in the King James Version of the Bible; apparently, God inspired this translation, published in 1611, rather than the scriptures that Jesus himself read and quoted. Poor Jesus; how could he have known that he was using the wrong Bible, without the wise people of Amazing Grace Baptist Church to tell him? There is no reasoning involved in this act; for there is nothing in the Bible saying that King James was authorized to issue the solely correct version of God’s word (in English, a language not in existence when Jesus was alive.) The idea that Bibles other than the King James Version should be destroyed is simply a weird idea that some American preachers made up and with which they brainwashed hundreds of followers. And these people are ready to take action. Being a Christian, even a conservative one, is no defense against them. This sort of mindless destruction, a religious tantrum, is the same force that is behind many of the attacks on this good green planet. Religious extremists are not only eager to rip apart Bibles of which they do not approve, but look forward to the day when the Earth will be destroyed by a Wrathful God who will send everyone but them to the Lake of Fire. Rescuing a planet that God will destroy in just a few years is of no concern to them. They look forward to the big Earth-Burning, and maybe they will all have a fine lunch of fried chicken on that day. Bibliography
Books:  Upcoming Books: Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Encyclopedia of Biodiversity Articles Presentations |
a blog about evolution and related topics Stanley A. Rice writes books about plants, evolution, and the environment which are informative and authoritative, while remaining easy to understand and fun to read. He also writes fiction. He teaches courses in biology and botany at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. [More ...]
Recently
Published
Green Planet New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2009 ISBN: 978-0813544533 Events
Archives
January-March 2008 Green Peace Listen to the forest As interesting as watching grass grow April-June 2008 South with the spring Somebody oughta invent a machine... The Quiet Stand of Alders Saving the Environment—For Whom? Survivors July-September 2008 Welcome to the Republican climate! Goodbye, from the world’s biggest polluter! Yes, Virginia... Consider the lilies Small acts America the glutton Looking for a few good conservatives October-December 2008 A Good Time to be a Vulture A State of Embarrassment Just for Money? Shoot Something Furry Conservatives Are Nature-worshippers The Real World On the Brink of Collapse Winter Sleep January-March 2009 The Inspiration of Science February 12, 2009: An Important Date The Sabbath of the Earth Cottonwood Investments Perseverance Witness Trees The Fundamental Problem April-June 2009 The End of Altruism A Lovers’ Embrace? We Can Afford Environmental Protection Dividing Up the World If Humans Vanished… July-September 2009 Henry David Thoreau, Prophet and Scientist Nature and Language The Olive Tree An Artificial Future Resurgence Of Racism In the South Mere Consumers You Are an Ecosystem October-December 2009 Childhood Experiences With Nature Be Conscious of Image Not for Profit? Absurd Creativity Fiscal Responsibility -- In Plants Slime Suggested
Reading & Links
OCAST
USDA research facility at Lane, Oklahoma Citizens for the Protection of the Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer Botanical Society of America Project Kaleidoscope National Association of Biology Teachers Oklahoma Academy of Science Oklahoma Native Plant Society Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Tulsa County Conservation District Blue Thumb Program Up With Trees Lighter Reading
Email: srice@se.edu Represented by Jodie Rhodes Literary Agency Legal info., Disclaimers, etc. |