Age of Earth Misrepresented by Wisconsin State Representative

Age of Earth Misrepresented by Wisconsin State Representative

On May 11, 2017, the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities held a public hearing on a bill (Assembly Bill 299) to impose stricter penalties on college students who disrupt public speakers. During the hearing, state Representative Terese Berceau asked:

“So, my question is, if a geology student says, “I’m sorry, but the Earth is only 6,000 years old” — rejecting science that says that the Earth is considerably older than that — is it not OK for a professor to tell that student that they’re wrong?”

In response, state Representative Jesse Kremer stated:

“So, this bill stays out of the classroom. Yes, the Earth is 6,000 years old, that’s a fact. But, we can discuss that outside of this room.”

Later in the hearing, Representative Kremer restated his believe that it is “a fact” that the earth is only 6,000 years old, contradicting decades of scientific research showing that the earth is 4.4 to 4.5 billion years old.