".....the talk by Dr Eric Pianka, a highly respected evolutionary ecologist, given to the Texas Academy of Science at Lamar University in Beaumont. Pianka may have been misunderstood in that he probably did not say that Ebola use should be some sort of deliberate policy. But the reality, based on an incomplete transcript of the actual talk, is still cause for grave concern.
The talk was deemed to have content for which the general public
was ‘not yet ready’. Pianka was predicting the imminent collapse of humanity from various causes, including disease. So far, this is nothing out of the ordinary for environmental extremists of his ilk. But there is a disturbing aspect that sets it apart from the many other ‘doomsday scenarios’ such as his thoroughly discredited fellow evolutionist Paul Ehrlich.
Pianka actually seems to have been overtly enthusiastic about the prospect that a virus like Ebola would soon mutate to wipe out the majority of humanity. AIDS, he claimed, was too slow to do the job needed to save the planet from the human scourge. The respected Christian commentator Nancy Pearcey reports that a supporter of Pianka’s attending the lecture posted the following comment:
Pianka’s comments received rapturous applause, ending with a standing ovation, from the audience of several hundred scientists, students and professors. A handful expressed outrage afterwards at someone getting excited at the prospect of billions dying in agony from a disease that has them hemorrhaging from every orifice. But only hours after his speech, Pianka received a plaque from the Academy...
Pianka, a lizard specialist, was apparently vocal in condemning the (biblical, creationist) idea that people are special (made in God’s image) as opposed to other organisms. He underlined his point by telling a story about a neighbour who asked him what good the lizards are that he studies. Pianka answered: ‘What good are you?’ and then exclaimed, ‘We’re no better than bacteria!’" CMI
P.S.----- "Pianka's acceptance speech for the 2006 Distinguished Texas Scientist Award from the Texas Academy of Science[ resulted in a controversy in the popular press when Forrest Mims, vice-chair of the Academy's section on environmental science, claimed...Pianka had "endorsed the elimination of 90 percent of the human population" through a disease such as an airborne strain of the Ebola virus. Mims claimed that Pianka said the Earth would not survive unless its population was reduced by 90% suggesting that the planet would be "better off" if the human population were reduced and that a mutant strain of Ebola (which has up to a 90% mortality rate) would be the most efficient means....
Pianka has stated that Mims took his statements out of context and that he was simply describing what would happen from biological principles alone if present human population trends continue, and that he was not in any way advocating for it to happen. The Texas Academy, which hosted of the speech, released a statement asserting that "Many of Dr. Pianka's statements have been severely misconstrued and sensationalized." However, Dr. Kenneth Summy, an Academy member who observed the speech, wrote a letter of support for Mims' account, saying "Dr. Pianka chose to deliver an inflammatory message in his keynote address, so he should not be surprised to be the recipient of a lot of criticism from TAS membership. Forrest Mims did not misrepresent anything regarding the presentation." Wikipedia
The talk was deemed to have content for which the general public
Pianka actually seems to have been overtly enthusiastic about the prospect that a virus like Ebola would soon mutate to wipe out the majority of humanity. AIDS, he claimed, was too slow to do the job needed to save the planet from the human scourge. The respected Christian commentator Nancy Pearcey reports that a supporter of Pianka’s attending the lecture posted the following comment:
‘Dr. Pianka’s talk at the TAS meeting was mostly of the problems humans are causing as we rapidly proliferate around the globe … the bulk of his talk was that he’s waiting for the virus that will eventually arise and kill off 90% of human population. In fact, his hope, if you can call it that, is that the ebola virus which attacks humans currently (but only through blood transmission) will mutate with the ebola virus that attacks monkeys airborne to create an airborne ebola virus that attacks humans. He’s a radical thinker, that one! I mean, he’s basically advocating for the death of all but 10% of the current population! And at the risk of sounding just as radical, I think he’s right.’
Pianka’s comments received rapturous applause, ending with a standing ovation, from the audience of several hundred scientists, students and professors. A handful expressed outrage afterwards at someone getting excited at the prospect of billions dying in agony from a disease that has them hemorrhaging from every orifice. But only hours after his speech, Pianka received a plaque from the Academy...
Pianka, a lizard specialist, was apparently vocal in condemning the (biblical, creationist) idea that people are special (made in God’s image) as opposed to other organisms. He underlined his point by telling a story about a neighbour who asked him what good the lizards are that he studies. Pianka answered: ‘What good are you?’ and then exclaimed, ‘We’re no better than bacteria!’" CMI
In those days you were living apart from Christ.
You lived in this world without God and without hope.
Ephesians 2:12 NLT
P.S.----- "Pianka's acceptance speech for the 2006 Distinguished Texas Scientist Award from the Texas Academy of Science[ resulted in a controversy in the popular press when Forrest Mims, vice-chair of the Academy's section on environmental science, claimed...Pianka had "endorsed the elimination of 90 percent of the human population" through a disease such as an airborne strain of the Ebola virus. Mims claimed that Pianka said the Earth would not survive unless its population was reduced by 90% suggesting that the planet would be "better off" if the human population were reduced and that a mutant strain of Ebola (which has up to a 90% mortality rate) would be the most efficient means....
Pianka has stated that Mims took his statements out of context and that he was simply describing what would happen from biological principles alone if present human population trends continue, and that he was not in any way advocating for it to happen. The Texas Academy, which hosted of the speech, released a statement asserting that "Many of Dr. Pianka's statements have been severely misconstrued and sensationalized." However, Dr. Kenneth Summy, an Academy member who observed the speech, wrote a letter of support for Mims' account, saying "Dr. Pianka chose to deliver an inflammatory message in his keynote address, so he should not be surprised to be the recipient of a lot of criticism from TAS membership. Forrest Mims did not misrepresent anything regarding the presentation." Wikipedia
