Adaptation of Endotherms to High Altitudes
Jean K. Lightner
God created His creatures to reproduce and fill the earth. As they do so, numerous challenges are faced in different environments, requiring creatures to adapt. High altitudes present serious challenges for endotherms, including a reduced partial pressure of oxygen. Through a variety of mechanisms, many creatures adapt quite successfully to this hytpoxia. Adaptation includes immediate, short-term responses followed by longer-term, more sustainable responses. For mammals and birds that have lived for generations at high altitudes, genetic changes have been identified, reflecting a more permanent esponse. The neo-Darwinian model does not account for the observed phenotypic and genetic changes. Instead, this adaptation is clear evidence of the care God bestows upon His creatures, even in our current fallen world.Full Article:[PDF]
Clarifying Four Meanings for “Worldviewâ€Â
Steven Chisham
Because the majority of authors and speakers discussing the worldview concept have focused primarily on its effects and not its causes, they have been largely unsuccessful at clearly defining the initial origin and functional operation of the human worldview in certain key ways. Lacking this clarity, the term “worldview†is often used intuitively and even inaccurately. Moreover, different senses of the term are used as if all meanings were equivalent. The result, unfortunately, is that an individual may simultaneously reference distinctly different aspects of the worldview paradigm, thus either causing confusion by his or her statements or perhaps even becoming confused as to what he or she is actually discussing. Hence, four distinct potential meanings for “worldview†are identified and clarified: the worldview mechanism, worldview structure, worldview perspective(s), and the social worldview. It is this last sense, which is a second-order construct of the individual’s worldview perspective, where one will find collective views such as the creationist worldview and atheistic worldview.Full Article: [PDF]
Critique of Modern Oort Comet Theory
Wayne Spencer
The Oort comet theory proposed in 1950 has been extended and modified by modern research. Creationists have used short-period comets as a young-age indicator and suggested that comets caused impacts on the moon and the earth. The original ideas of Jan Oort from 1950 have been modified by scientists today to deal with difficulties in Oort’s original proposals. This paper reviews modern theories on comets, especially regarding the orbital dynamics of the different types of comets. Short-period comets are considered as two separate groups: the Jupiter-family comets and the Halley-type comets. Both groups of short-period comets have a limited “lifetime.†Long-period comets and near-parabolic comets also are considered as the original rationale for the Oort theory. A young-age view suggests that long-period and near-parabolic comets may have been created along their current orbits, headed inbound toward the sun. Naturalistic comet theories have experienced difficulties related to explaining how comets could make the necessary transitions from one type of orbit to another. The Oort theory is also believed to apply to extrasolar planetary systems. This implies that it should be possible to observe interstellar extrasolar comets, yet none have been observed. These issues show that though it is widely accepted by astronomers, the Oort comet theory has not been successful.Full Article: [PDF]
Were the Wind River Terraces Caused by Multiple Glaciations?
Michael J. Oard
Geologists believe that fifteen terraces in the upper Wind River Basin of northwest Wyoming are correlated to multiple ice ages. However, field examination reveals only four significant terraces: WR1, WR3, WR7, and WR9. The bottom two, WR1 and WR3, were connected to glacial outwash from an ice cap over the Wind River Mountains but were likely formed during the same glaciation, not from two distinct ice ages, called the Pinedale and Bull Lake glaciations in the uniformitarian scheme. Although terrace WR7 is claimed to be linked to the Sacagawea glaciation, the moraine in the type area for this glaciation is not physically connected to terrace WR7. This moraine has similar geomorphology to the “Bull Lake†and “Pinedale†moraines, suggesting just one glaciation for all these moraines. Terrace WR7 also has contradictory dates ranging up to about 660 kyr, based on dates from the Lava Creek B ash in WR7. This date indicates three missing glaciations. The few terraces above WR7 are not associated with any glacial feature, despite geologists’ claims. Due to uncertain dating of WR7, the dates of higher terraces are equally uncertain. Terraces above WR3 are best understood as pediments and planation surfaces formed during channelized Flood erosion and runoff in currents moving toward the southeast through the Upper Wind River Basin.Full Article: [PDF]
The Little Ice Age in the North Atlantic Region Part V: Greenland
Peter Klevberg, Michael J. Oard
The first paper in this series introduced methods of studying past climate change. Subsequent papers addressed the historicity of the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age, the importance of the Little Ice Age in understanding climate change and constraining climatic models, and an account of effects of the Little Ice Age in Iceland and Norway. This paper presents a summary of the climate change record in Greenland, especially for the Little Ice Age.Full Article: [PDF]