RE: Michael Crichton dies

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu>]

> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu] 
> On Behalf Of David Krentz
>
> 
> I think we all owe a lot to Crichton, JP was a huge influence 
> on a new generation of scientists, artists and closet 
> dino-enthusiasts world wide (movie and book).

That being said, he was also the enemy of Science and scientific thinking
during the last decade of his life. His irresonsible promotion of
non-scientific counterclaims against climate and paleoclimate research
reached the very highest levels of power: "State of Fear" was required
reading by Senator Inhofe's (himself a climate change denier) Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works. When George W. Bush wanted to
meet with a climate expert he didn't get a climatologist from NOAA or NASA
or a paleoclimatologist from USGS. Instead, he brought in Crichton.

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216                        
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661               

Faculty Director, Earth, Life & Time Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite/
Fax: 301-405-0796

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
                        Building 237, Room 1117
                        University of Maryland
                        College Park, MD 20742 USA