Belated Realization

Have you ever tried to imagine what a world without grasses would look like? The scenery might well look pretty bleak, with extensive patches of bare soil. We see good examples of this in illustrations of di­nosaurs in their natural surroundings ­scientists have long declared that there were no grasses present in dinosaur com­munities. The plant-eating dinosaurs had to make do, we have been assured, with cy­cads, ferns, horsetails and trees of flowering plants such as palms and magnolias.

Lives lived, choices made

The world is full of apologists for all sorts of points of view. Among academics today there are humanists, atheists, agnos­tics, and even some who are officially Christian, Jewish, Muslim or adherents of any one of a vast array of Eastern religions. Nev­ertheless most scientists ignore any religious implications for their disciplines. There are, of course, exceptions, some of them well known. The stories of why these people made the choices that they did, are often very interesting.

Why animals don't get lost

Since the advent of global positioning satellites, or at least since their availability for civilians, scientists have found many uses for these devices. One of the more in­teresting applications is to track animals. Of obvious popular appeal are programs such as "fish with chips." Scientists have been astonished to dis­cover how far these and many other ani­mals migrate. This article explores some examples.

Anniversaries worth celebrating

This year we celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus, and next year we celebrate the 250th anniversary of his ground breaking system for naming and catego­rizing plants and animals. Prior to the time of Linnaeus, natu­ralists had a terrible time dealing with the creation's incredible biodiversity (variety of organisms). They even had prob­lems trying to discover what name, if any, had been applied to a given organ­ism. Linnaeus developed a system that eliminated the chaos. To this day, we have enjoyed the results of his efforts.

A Play In One Catastrophic Act

Nestled on the southern shore of the Gaspe Peninsula on the northern shore of the Bay of Chaleur, sits a world class museum about which most Cana­dians are entirely ignorant. The museum is in a small provincial park consisting of land overlooking the bay, fossil bearing cliffs and the beach below. Purchased by the Quebec government in the 1970s to protect a spectacular assemblage of fossil fishes, the land was designated a provin­cial park (Parc national de Miguasha) in 1985. A few years later this park was also designated a UNESCO World Her­itage Site.

Our Father and His Creation

This article argues that in line with the biblical teaching, creation should be regarded as the work of God the Father. It explains what it means to call God the Father. Looking at his work of creation, it deals with the meaning of "out of nothing," the duration of creation, and the creation of things visible and invisible. The claims of evolution and theistic evolution are evaluated.