March 16, 2009 by RevLurch.

I usually try to stay out of politics on my blog but this one goes right to the heart of caring for God’s creation.  Apparently, researchers at UW-Milwaukee have a different take on Climate Change then I’ve been hearing lately from denominational higher-ups and politicians

Scientists at the university used a math application known as synchronized chaos and applied it to climate data taken over the past 100 years.”Imagine that you have four synchronized swimmers and they are not holding hands and they do their program and everything is fine; now, if they begin to hold hands and hold hands tightly, most likely a slight error will destroy the synchronization. Well, we applied the same analogy to climate,” researcher Dr. Anastasios Tsonis said.Scientists said that the air and ocean systems of the earth are now showing signs of synchronizing with each other.Eventually, the systems begin to couple and the synchronous state is destroyed, leading to a climate shift.”In climate, when this happens, the climate state changes. You go from a cooling regime to a warming regime or a warming regime to a cooling regime. This way we were able to explain all the fluctuations in the global temperature trend in the past century,” Tsonis said. “The research team has found the warming trend of the past 30 years has stopped and in fact global temperatures have leveled off since 2001.”The most recent climate shift probably occurred at about the year 2000.

The article goes on to ask the question about just how much human activity affects this shifting climate.  Sounds to me like climate researchers are not quite as sure as Mr. Al Gore.  If climate change is detrimental to humanity but we are not the cause, how does that change the current vein of environmentalism that seems to have captivated mainline Christianity?  Have we gone down the wrong path and lost our way caring for God’s creation?

Upon further reflection:  Why am I so worried about this being political when it should be a scientific and theological discussion about caring for God’s creation and how best to do that?

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

March 16, 2009 by RevLurch.

He was a sports owner.  I did not know him.  I only rooted for his teams.  But he made his investment. Built his own arena without public money and made a lot of money doing it.  By reports, “He was the most normal billionaire you would ever meet.”  He also ran a world class organization that was respected throughout the sports world.  He was quiet and did his job with honor and respect unlike many other owners.   He will be missed.

Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News

Consider how many remarkable things we know about the man, without really knowing the man. Davidson owned the Pistons since 1974, led them through two glorious eras, winning three NBA titles. And when you list the names most attached to the success, they range from Isiah Thomas to Jack McCloskey to Chuck Daly to Joe Dumars to Bill Laimbeer to Vinnie Johnson to Dennis Rodman to Ben Wallace to Chauncey Billups to Larry Brown to Rip Hamilton and back to Dumars.

And yet, before there was Joe D the winning player and executive, there was Mr. D the pioneer, one of the first owners to finance his own state-of-the-art basketball arena and to supply his team with its own jet. All the while, he expanded his holdings from an internationally successful glass company, Guardian Enterprises, to an entertainment empire that includes The Palace of Auburn Hills, the WNBA champion Detroit Shock and the DTE Energy Music Theatre.

For all that public success, there was a private nature about Davidson that he never relinquished, for himself or his wife, Karen, and grown children, Ethan and Marla. His legacy is reflected in the leaders expected to continue on, with president and CEO Tom Wilson in his 32nd year with the organization, and Dumars in his 23rd season with the Pistons.

It’s funny, but Detroit (or Auburn Hills) never has been a preferred destination for basketball players. But once they get here, it’s usually pretty hard to leave.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »