More On Senator Marco Rubio's Geological Knowledge

He's been called one of the rising stars of the GOP and one of the symbols of the future.

He's also got a lot to learn about science.

Take a look at this from GQ (h/t to ThinkProgress). When asked how old he thought the earth was, he responded:

I'm not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that's a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I'm not a scientist. I don't think I'm qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that. It's one of the great mysteries.

Yes, there are "multiple theories" about how the universe was created (some of them actual science, most of the others are not), but that's not what he was asked.  He was asked about the age of the earth - and to that question he said he wasn't sure "we'll ever be able to answer that."

But he's wrong.  It's not much of a mystery and  - that age isn't much in dispute.  It's about 4.54 billion years old (give or take 50 million).

The funny thing about Rubio is that he's not even being consistent with his own church.  He told Christianity today that:

I'm a Roman Catholic. I'm theologically in line with the Roman Catholic Church.

Ok, so what does the Roman Catholic Church say about the age of the earth? Let's take a look at this document from the Vatican website:

According to the widely accepted scientific account, the universe erupted 15 billion years ago in an explosion called the “Big Bang” and has been expanding and cooling ever since. Later there gradually emerged the conditions necessary for the formation of atoms, still later the condensation of galaxies and stars, and about 10 billion years later the formation of planets. In our own solar system and on earth (formed about 4.5 billion years ago)...[Emphasis added.]

So Rubio disagrees with his own church?

More anti-science from the GOP - the future of the GOP.

GOP: The Stupid Party

Governor Jindal in Politico:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday called on Republicans to “stop being the stupid party” and make a concerted effort to reach a broader swath of voters with an inclusive economic message that pre-empts efforts to caricature the GOP as the party of the rich.

In his first interview since his party’s electoral thumping last week, Jindal urged Republicans to both reject anti-intellectualism and embrace a populist-tinged reform approach that he said would mitigate what exit polls show was one of President Barack Obama’s most effective lines of attack against Mitt Romney. [Emphasis added.]

While the interview is about much more (he talks about banking reform, immigration, and how "merely being the anti-Obama party didn't work" for example) he did say:

“It is no secret we had a number of Republicans damage our brand this year with offensive, bizarre comments — enough of that,” Jindal said. “It’s not going to be the last time anyone says something stupid within our party, but it can’t be tolerated within our party. We’ve also had enough of this dumbed-down conservatism. We need to stop being simplistic, we need to trust the intelligence of the American people and we need to stop insulting the intelligence of the voters.”

Ok, then.  Perhaps if Governor Jindal wants the GOP to cease being "the stupid party" he can start with the majority of Republicans (58%, according to Gallup) who believe that "God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years" even though the science dates the first "modern" humans evolved about 200,000 years ago.

Or perhaps Governor Jindal could address the 57% of Republicans who don't believe there's solid evidence for Global Warming (when asked by Pew only 43% said there was solid evidence for it) if he wants the GOP to stop being "the stupid party."

Perhaps had Governor Jindal vetoed the "Louisiana Science Education Act" instead of signing it, I'd have a little more faith in his words. And what did the LSEA do? From Slate:

The act allows “supplemental textbooks and other instructional materials” to be brought into classrooms to support the “open and objective discussion” of certain “scientific theories,” including, of course, evolution. As educators who have heard such coded language before quickly realized, the act was intended to promote creationism as science.

Good going, Bobby.

GOP = Scientific Ignorance

Some more evidence (as if you needed it):

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, Sarah Palin's successor, appeared stumped by a question about the age of the earth Thursday, choosing not to answer a multiple choice question regarding the matter during a gubernatorial debate.

"Only God knows," Parnell responded, when asked if the earth was more accurately described as "6,000" or "six billion" years old.

Democratic candidate Ethan Berkowitz wasted no time, telling the moderator, "I'll go with six billion."

Parnell's answer did not go over without some skepticism, however. One person in the recording can be heard laughing, and another asks, "you really don't wanna answer that?"

"I really don't know," Parnell then said. "For either one of us to do it is quite speculative."

There's no speculation involved - it's science. According to science, the age of the earth is calculated to be 4.54 billion years old give or take 50 million years or so.

The calculations are done by something called radiometric dating. The idea is that unstable radioactive isotopes "degrade" from heavier isotopes to lighter isotopes at a pretty constant rate. By isolating the relative amounts of the isotopes within a given sample and comparing how much there is of one as opposed to another, scientists come up with a fairly accurate number. It's a solid (ie non-speculative) method. If it's wrong then whole huge chunks of physics are also wrong.

On the other hand, the Bible says 6,000 years. So I can understand Governor Parnell's confusion. Or perhaps his unwillingness to offend the faithful.

Evolution, Climate Science, and now radiometric dating - can someone please explain to me why such anti-intellectionalism is almost always found in the GOP?