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Notes to visitors:
About the news...
Contemporary science coverage is very mixed, ranging from the good to the bad and on to the very ugly. Some of the items listed in this column are good, some junk, some introduce new perspectives on old claims or ideas and some are included solely for their general news value.
Periodically, the question arises as to how the novice can identify which of the myriad items featured here each week belong to which category. I could launch into a monologue on why relative risks < 3.0 don't distract me from my coffee and why small sample studies are less than exciting, I could point out that massive risk and miraculous cures are exceedingly rare and I could probably wax poetic on the value of skepticism. Better yet, I could point the novice to a valuable resource in the methodology of identifying junk science and protecting themselves there from, which is what I think I'll do: Click for more about Steve Milloy's book Junk Science Judo: Self-defense Against Health Scares and Scams
WHO estimates 9 out of 10 of these premature deaths, some victims of fluorescent-green excess, were likely pregnant women, or children under the age of five.
Infanticide on this scale appears without parallel in human history. See the complete Malaria Clock.
* Based on the median WHO estimate 300 million to 500 million cases globally each year,
"Malaria: The long road to a healthy Africa" - "The Nature Outlook Malaria zeroes in on the major issues in the war on malaria, with a particular focus on Africa. It analyses the current state of affairs, the major scientific and other obstacles in treatment and control, and the promising areas where substantial progress might be made. Until February 2005 the supplement will be freely available online." (Nature)
As determined by NOAA Satellite-mounted MSUs
New JunkScience.com Feature!
Think you know about global warming? Good at getting information from graphs? Try your hand at these.
August 31, 2004
"Open Letter to Roll Back Malaria from Prof. Amir Attaran" - "Prof. Attaran criticises, quite correctly, the many failings of the various Roll Back Malaria Partners as they prepare for their Global Advocacy meeting in Washington DC. Africa Fighting Malaria will not be present at the meeting as it seems RBM hasn't invited anyone that dare criticise the unmitigated failure that is RBM." (AFM)
"Malaria down in Swaziland and Mozambique" - "Thanks to DDT spraying, malaria cases are heading to all time lows in the region. Mozambique doesn't use DDT, but uses more expensive carbamate insecticides instead. If it used DDT like SA and Swaziland it could protect more people and save more lives." (AFM)
"Conflicting with Reality" - "Former New England Journal of Medicine editor Jerome Kassirer, in an August 1 Washington Post op ed, argues that conflicts in interest in medical science are so pervasive today that the new National Institutes of Health (NIH) cholesterol guidelines are somehow tainted -- not because the guidelines are themselves wrong, but because of their authors. He seeks to use an ad hominem argument of the worst kind to dictate the future use of scientific research." (Iain Murray, TCS)
"Media 'Con Game': Predetermined Storylines" - "NEW YORK -- Harper's magazine editor Lewis Lapham is being appropriately mocked for a major pre-GOP-convention boner. In the September issue of his magazine, which has been on newsstands for over a week, Lapham writes about the "Republican propaganda mill" and the GOP convention:
"The speeches in Madison Square Garden affirmed the great truths now routinely preached from the pulpits of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal -- government the problem, not the solution; the social contract a dead letter; the free market the answer to every maiden's prayer -- and while listening to the hollow rattle of the rhetorical brass and tin, I remembered the question that [Richard] Hofstadter didn't stay to answer. How did a set of ideas both archaic and bizarre make its way into the center ring of the American political circus?"
That's right, Lapham wrote about the GOP convention speeches before anyone even stepped to the podium. Lapham has apologized for what he's calling a "rhetorical invention," use of "poetic license," and a "mistake." (Nick Schulz, TCS)
"Foodmakers Search for A New Fat . . . Again" - "When major food companies began widely using partially hydrogenated oils in the 1970s, they thought they were making their products more healthful. Consumer groups and regulators applauded the industry's switch from heavily saturated fats, such as lard and palm oil. "Full Body Scans Raise Cancer Risk, U.S. Study Shows" - "WASHINGTON - People who pay for whole-body X-ray scans in the hope of finding tumors at their earliest stages may, ironically, be raising their overall risk of cancer, doctors warned on Tuesday. The scans are marketed as a way to catch cancer before symptoms begin, but the radiation from the scans themselves could cause cancer, the researchers said." (Reuters)
"Science news can be hazardous to your health" - "Yes, al-Qaida is scary. But it's the science news in the daily newspaper that keeps me wondering if I will live until dinner. Plato said that the unexamined life was not worth living. I wonder if he would have said that if The Athens Advocate had kept running stories about asbestos in the Parthenon, PCB in the grapes and mercury in the baklava. Some days, when the science news tells me about a potential pandemic, a killer asteroid or the end of the universe, not necessarily in that order, I consider leaving the Sierra Club for the Hemlock Society." (Ralph Schoenstein, Newsday)
Sigh...
"Are school uniforms making kids ill?" - "PARENTS are today warned that their children's school uniforms could be making them ill. Children are being exposed to toxic and cancer-causing chemicals used to make some types of school uniforms. As tens of thousands of Welsh children return to school this week after the long summer break, WWF Cymru urged parents to check their children's clothing labels for man-made chemicals, which are known to contaminate people and wildlife." (The Western Mail)
Hmm...
"Special brew" - "Until recently the best cancer prevention advice has been: don't smoke, don't get fat, and cross your fingers. But a strange-tasting drink from South Africa could provide new hope, as Rory Carroll reports" (The Guardian)
"Sweatshops and the Olympics" - "OSLO -- The Olympics in Athens were not only a competition for gold medals. They were also part of a different battle over corporate image of sportswear companies. Self-styled anti-sweatshop groups took the opportunity to try to steal some of the limelight through the Fair Play at the Olympics campaign, targeting companies such as Nike, Puma, Adidas and Fila." (Jan Arild Snoen, TCS)
"Cold weather snaps are bad for your heart" - "MUNICH - Cold weather snaps can trigger heart attacks, particularly in people suffering from high blood pressure, researchers said on Monday. The increased rate of attacks seen during wintertime lows is probably due to the fact that cold temperatures increase blood pressure and put more strain on the heart." (Reuters)
GIGO:
"Computers Add Sophistication, but Don't Resolve Climate Debate" - "When the Bush administration issued an update last week on federal climate research, it was criticized with equal vigor by environmentalists and by industry-backed groups.
We're sure the resultant impression of runaway warming in Meehl's graph is purely accidental. Basing his anomalies graphic on the 1890-1919 average is also a rather novel approach, other items here based on the climatological mean (1951-1980 average).
The thumbnail to the left links to a graphic of lower troposphere temperature anomalies determined from data captured by NOAA satellite-mounted MSUs. July, 2004 global mean -0.213.
This leaves us with several possibilities: the enhanced greenhouse effects works nothing like we suppose; the lower troposphere measures are incorrect; the near-surface amalgam is incorrect or; some combination of the above. Although there are many uncertainties regarding climate we think we have a fair understanding of the greenhouse effect - if not then the entire argument is moot. That leaves the temperature records. Of these, the satellite data has been validated against balloon-sonde measures while the near-surface amalgam is "odd man out." Satellite data gives near-complete global coverage while near-surface records increasingly reflect temperatures in cities and at airports, an urbanization of the record accelerated by closure of rural recording stations and urban development.
So, what are these computers modeling? Is it enhanced greenhouse effect (EGE) or urban heat island effect (UHIE)?
"Global Warming as Secular Faith" - "Tourists and locals alike in southern Italy have been plagued by swarms of locusts this summer. There have been many biblical comparisons to Old Testament plagues. That the town of Matera has been overrun by the locusts has undoubtedly contributed to such comparisons. Matera was the outdoor setting for the filming of Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ because it strongly resembles images of the Holy Land. "British Gas accused of forcing its customers into ‘fuel poverty’" - "Energywatch, a UK consumer group, and Ofgem, the energy industry regulator, have criticised price rises by British Gas. British Gas recently announced a 12.4% rise in gas prices, and a 9.4% rise in electricity prices." (EthicalCorp.com)
"Mexico detects huge new deep-sea oil finds" - "Mexico's Pemex has detected vast new oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico that could double the country's total reserves and boost its oil output to rival Saudi Arabia's, the state oil monopoly said Monday." (Reuters)
"Mexican Oil Claims Doubted" - "MEXICO CITY, Aug. 30 -- Officials at Mexico's state-owned oil monopoly said Monday that the company has detected massive new oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico that could potentially double the country's reserves, but industry analysts cautioned that the company's findings are still unproven." (Washington Post)
"Ford Forced To 'Th!nk Twice' About Crushing Zero Emission Cars" - "San Francisco - Following three days of grassroots pressure this week in San Francisco and Oslo, Ford Motor Company has committed to 'reconsider' the fate of its Th!nk all-electric, zero emission vehicles, the most efficient cars in its oil addicted fleet. The company says that it will respond by September 15, 2004. Global Exchange, Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network followed up by sending a letter to Ford CEO Bill Ford, Jr. calling on him to live up to his environmentalist image, scrap plans to crush its U.S. fleet of Th!nk EVs and accept a purchase offer from Norwegian automaker Elbil Norge. Human rights and environmental leaders requested that Ford meet immediately with concerned citizens to map out an environmental recovery plan that will end the automaker's five year oil binge and put it on the road to a zero emissions future." (Rainforest Action Network)
Hmm... guess it depends on whether Elbil Norge manages to absolve Ford of all responsibility for these cheery little incendiaries, doesn't it. Ford shouldn't engage in appeasement games with anti-corporate groups - that's how Bill Clay Jr got into this fix in the first place.
"Windfarm scheme ‘threatens eagles’" - "BUILDING a windfarm on protected peatlands could harm a vulnerable population of golden eagles on Lewis, according to conservationists fighting the plans." (The Herald)
"Study Finds Electricity Beats Hydrogen for Power" - "A new study finds that major applications for hydrogen envisioned in hydrogen economy scenarios could be more efficiently accomplished with technologies that use electricity directly. It concludes that in key roles envisioned for hydrogen as an energy carrier - namely transmission of remote renewable resources, storage of intermittent renewables or for use in vehicles electricity offers options that are more energy efficient and might preclude massscale emergence of hydrogen technologies." (FuelCellsWorks.com)
"Would you like rat hair with your toast, sir?" - "Don't look too carefully at your toast this morning. American regulators have decided that it can safely contain one rodent hair for every 50g of the flour that goes into it. Your cup of coffee can contain 14 allegedly rodent-sourced carcinogens. And the canned tomatoes that you might have with your bacon are allowed up to either two maggots or 10 fly eggs in every 500g can. It might seem an odd way to frame an argument but perhaps people are too removed from their food supply to realize the variety of 'foreigns' naturally present in their food supply - granted, probably not as many as all-singing, all-dancing, 'natural' organic products but ever-present just the same.
"Meet the new bully at Western Farm Press" - "Biotech Bullies Slander OCA & Growing Biodemocracy Alliance in California." "The Future of Genetically Modified Crops: Lessons from the Green Revolution" - Felicia Wu and William Butz, Rand Corporation, $20.00 (paperback, 114 pp.); ISBN: 0-8330-3646-7, MG-161-RC, © 2004
August 30, 2004
Says it all:
"The animal lab critic, cancer and hypocrisy" - "A PROMINENT animal rights campaigner, who spends her free time shouting abuse at people linked to laboratory testing and who has pledged to die for the cause, is being treated with a life-saving cancer drug that was tested on mice, rats, dogs and guinea pigs. "Where's EPA's Waldo?" - "Waldo is the well-recognized cartoon character who hides in a highly detailed cartoon drawing, challenging the reader to find him. Only his black dot eyes wire rimmed glasses and striped stocking cap can be found after carefully scanning the drawing. Waldo is not easy to find. Neither is the identity of the subset of the Nation's population which EPA claims is currently exposed to unhealthy levels of particulate air pollution known as PM 2.5. So for discussion purposes, let's just call this segment of the population "Waldo." (Kay H. Jones, TCS)
"Doctors' body accuses drug firms of 'disease mongering'" - "The Royal College of General Practitioners has accused drug companies of "disease-mongering" in order to boost sales. The college, whose members include many of Britain's 37,000 GPs, says the pharmaceutical industry is taking the National Health Service to the brink of collapse by encouraging unnecessary prescribing of costly drugs. In evidence to a parliamentary inquiry, the college accuses the companies of over-playing the dangers of conditions such as mild depression or slightly raised blood pressure." (The Sunday Telegraph)
"Global study shows nine factors identify majority of heart attack risk" - "HAMILTON ONTARIO (August 29, 2004)--A major Canadian-led global study has found that the vast majority of heart attacks may be predicted by nine easily measurable factors and that these factors are the same in virtually every region and ethnic group worldwide." (McMaster University)
Not wishing to frighten anyone:
"Drugs contaminate our drinking water" - "Before you read any more of this story, go to your kitchen sink and draw a glass of water. Hold it up to the light and take a good look. Take a sip. And think about this. Researchers are finding that our drinking water may contain small amounts of the many drugs that line the shelves of most of our medicine cabinets. In addition to that refreshing sip of water, you may be ingesting everything from the estrogen used in birth control pills to antibiotics and anti-depressants." (Wisconsin State Journal)
"Doubts over good carb diet claims" - "Nutritionists have cast doubt on a Lancet study showing cutting out "bad" carbohydrates leads to weight-loss. They were commenting on US research in the Lancet which showed the diet, which promotes foods with a low glycaemic index (GI) score - could be beneficial. Foods with low GI scores keep blood sugars stable, eliminating the peaks and troughs which can lead to snacking. But experts from the British Dietetic Association said cutting calories was still the key to weight-loss." (BBC Online)
"Eateries Push for Obesity Suit Protection" - "WASHINGTON — Bills to protect restaurants and food companies against lawsuits by people who claim the meals or snacks made them fat are moving ahead in the states like hamburgers passed out a drive-thru window. Measures known as "cheeseburger bills" bar people from seeking damages in court from food companies for weight gain and associated medical conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. Supporters say the proposals shield businesses from having to pay to defend themselves against frivolous suits. Opponents contend the claims often are valid and ought to be heard in court." (Associated Press)
Ah... 'energy efficient' buildings:
"Pollution 'slows down' workers" - "The reading and writing speeds of millions of office workers are being dramatically impaired by poor air quality. For the first time, researchers have measured how sick building syndrome - the mystery flu-like illness often blamed on germs spread by office air conditioning - could be affecting workers' performance." (The Observer)
"Bush: Consider Landowners on Environment" - "WASHINGTON - President Bush on Thursday ordered Cabinet agencies to pay more attention to private landowners, states and local governments on how to manage the environment. That could influence federal decisions about the use of public lands, the level of protection for waterways and fighting pollution." (Associated Press)
Careful! Sounds like [gasp] property rights...
"Demographic 'Bomb' May Only Go 'Pop!'" - "REMEMBER the population bomb, the fertility explosion set to devour the world's food and suck up or pollute all its air and water? Its fuse has by no means been plucked. But over the last three decades, much of its Malthusian detonation power has leaked out.
For those who consider people only as a problem:
"A Greener Globe, Maybe" - "WITH all the hand-wringing about the economic perils of falling populations, and the prospect of a spreading demographic shift from explosion to implosion, there could be one beneficiary: the environment. "Gaming the World's Poor" - "Upon returning from a United Nations-sponsored conclave in 1954, philanthropist Preston Hotchkis warned Americans to "[g]et acquainted with the United Nations, because what it does can touch your pocketbook." Hotchkis would not be surprised at how just many times his warning proved correct in the next 50 years. Many Americans are still not aware of the oddball ambitions of this international body -- ambitions that carry a steep price tag." (Neil Hrab, The American Spectator)
"Wettest summer in almost 50 years may be followed by warm, dry spell" - "It seems as if we have spent the summer huddled under umbrellas whingeing about the weather while meteorologists chide us that it is really not so bad. But moan at will because it is now official: we have been enduring the wettest summer for nearly half a century." (The Guardian)
"Now that summer's nearly over ... here comes the summer" - "It seemed that the heat had long disappeared amid the downpours of August. Yet following the record-breaking rains an unexpected reprieve has arrived: Britain is set for an Indian summer." (The Observer)
Meanwhile:
"Farmers' Almanac Predicts a Wild Winter" - "LEWISTON, Maine -- Gas up the snowblower but don't put away your umbrella: The Farmers' Almanac is predicting a wild winter with heavy precipitation and dramatic temperature swings in the Northeast. The northern Plains and Great Lakes will be snowy, the almanac says, while it will be milder in the southern half of the country. The Northeast will have unusually wet weather -- either as rain or snow, according to the almanac. ``The big thing is it's going to be a winter of extremes,'' said managing editor Sandi Duncan, whose almanac hits newsstands Tuesday." (AP)
"Now here's the weather forecast: we haven't got a clue" - "If you want to know what the weather will be like later this week, don't bother with the Met Office's five-day forecasts: just have a guess. A Sunday Telegraph investigation has found that the forecasts, published on the Met Office's website each day and relied on by thousands of people, change wildly from day to day and are so vague and unreliable as to be virtually useless. The results of the investigation have prompted calls from leading meteorologists for the forecasts to be abandoned and for the reliability of the Met Office's forecasts to be subjected to independent scrutiny." (The Sunday Telegraph)
"Writers against... the weather" - "Arguing against war is easy, writes Ian Jack. Fighting climate change means making sacrifices." (The Guardian)
"Who Guards the Guardian?" - "One of the joys of middle age (or as I prefer to think of it, near maturity) is that most of the possible little tricks and evasions used in discourse have already been tried upon me. I have even, to the astonishment of my early trainers, become able to spot some of them before I am gulled. I don't mean the grand things in life, like the famed advice that one should try everything in this life except incest and folk dancing, or don't attempt to draw to an inside straight; more those minor matters that proponents of a particular cause or idea proffer as proof of their correctness." (Tim Worstall, TCS)
The Week That Was August 28; July 31; July 24; July 17, 2004 (SEPP)
"Acid oceans spell doom for coral" - "The increasing acidity of the world's oceans could banish all coral by 2065, a leading marine expert has warned. Professor Katherine Richardson said sea organisms that produced calcareous structures would struggle to function in the coming decades as pH levels fell. The Danish expert told the EuroScience Open Forum 2004 that human-produced carbon dioxide was radically changing the marine environment. CO2 levels are now said to be at their highest level for 55 million years." (BBC Online)
?!!
"GLOBE EDITORIAL: Science sidelined" - "ONCE AGAIN a Bush administration scientific report blames emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases for global warming, and once again the reaction of the Bush White House is to say the evidence does not warrant action. Kennebunkport is going to go the way of Atlantis by the time this administration gets serious about climate change. This week the US secretaries of energy and commerce and the president's science adviser signed a report to Congress stating that warming trends in recent decades cannot be explained by natural factors and are due to increases in carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. But the report gave the administration license for additional foot-dragging by adding that the studies in the report did not "make any findings of fact that could serve as predicates for regulatory action." (Boston Globe)
"Experts Welcome, But Doubt, Bush Climate Softening" - "OSLO, Norway - Environmental experts Friday welcomed a hint of a softening in U.S. skepticism about global warming but saw little chance President Bush might rejoin international efforts to cap greenhouse gases. "Knee-Jerk Reaction to White House Global Warming News; NCPA Cites Research Showing Earth Not Warming" - "WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 -- Experts from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) criticized today's editorial in the New York Times for jumping to conclusions the White House did not draw. The editorial takes the White House to task for reporting that any recent global warming may be caused by human activity, but at the same time refuses to do anything about it. The NCPA further stressed the White House report in question relies on computer models proven to be unreliable." (U.S. Newswire)
"Canada Reinforces Its Disputed Claims in the Arctic" - "The $4 million exercise is the most prominent sign to date of Canada's intensifying effort to reinforce disputed claims over tens of thousands of miles of Arctic channels and tundra. Once nearly permanently frozen, forbidding and forgotten, the region is today seen by officials from Canada and competing nations as a potential source of both wealth and trouble. "Major temperature rise recorded in Arctic" - "German scientists probing global warming say they have detected a major temperature rise in the Arctic Ocean this year and linked it to a progressive shrinking of the region's sea ice. Temperatures recorded this year in the upper 500 metres of sea in the Fram Strait - the gap between Greenland and the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen - were up to 0.6 C higher than in 2003, they said. The rise was detectable to a water depth of 2,000 metres, "representing an exceptionally strong signal by ocean standards," it said." (AFP)
"Japan: Govt to propose new plan to fight global warming" - "Japan will propose the development and introduction of technology to save energy and help control global warming at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in December in Argentina. "The Alaskan Front" - "Where the battle of greens versus big oil is heating up, once again" (Brad Stone, Newsweek International)
"TransAlta's latest deal is hog manure" - "TransAlta hit the environmental comedy circuit four years ago with its purchase of "credits" from Ugandan farmers to cut down on their cows' flatulence. This week, the Alberta utility giant brought down the house once more with an agreement to pay an unspecified amount for non-emissions from Chilean hog manure." (Peter Foster, Financial Post)
"TransAlta completes first Canadian Certified Emission Reduction purchase under Kyoto" - "CALGARY, Alberta (Aug. 24, 2004) - TransAlta Corporation today announced it has made the first Canadian purchase of Certified Emission Reductions under the Kyoto Protocol. The purchase of 1.75 million tonnes of greenhouse gas reductions will be officially signed Tuesday, Aug. 24 at a ceremony in Santiago, Chile. Terms of the agreement are confidential." (News Release)
We know some Alberta residents are impressed by this, just not favorably.
"Oil Isn't Going Away" - "The real threat is the ever-rising challenge of meeting global demand" (Newsweek International)
"So what is Ford driving at?" - "The boss of the American car maker - which last year produced more than 6.7 million vehicles - sets high environmental standards, but is there any real prospect his firm will meet them?" (The Observer)
"Solar? Eclipsed." - "Why does wall street continue to look down on renewable energy?" (Newsweek International)
"Bananas could power Aussie homes" - "Australian engineers have created an electricity generator fuelled by decomposing bananas, and hope to build a full size fruit-fired power station. At present, much of Australia's annual banana crop goes to waste, because the fruit are too bruised or small. But rather than just letting them rot, the researchers would like to put the rejects to good commercial use." (BBC Online)
"The more we grow, the less able we are to feed ourselves" - "Rain may be ruining crops here, but globally there are record harvests. Yet it's still not enough to meet demand." (Independent)
Oh... does this mean we should get out of the way and let biotech assist in making up the shortfall?
"Seed crossings bring back old traits for organic farmers" - "What if organic gardeners and farmers could plant fruits and vegetables suited for life without chemicals? What if organic growers had access to varieties naturally resistant to diseases, to varieties with cold tolerance and with large leaf canopies to shade out weeds?" (San Francisco Chronicle)
These crops suited for life "without chemicals" (synthetic ones, presumably), they'd be the plants chock full of toxins to beat back predating insects, yes? So, poisons grown in plants are better than poisons applied to plants, no? So, biotech plants like Bt corn are just what organic farmers are looking for, yes?
"SOUTH AFRICA: GM foodstuffs are here to stay, says Grain SA" - "Despite controversies surrounding genetically modified (GM) foods, 65% of South Africa's yellow maize crop is grown from GM seed. Yellow maize is primarily used to feed livestock, according to Grain South Africa. Anti-GM activists claim GM maize fed to feedlot cattle results in a GM beef product entering the consumer market." (Pretoria News)
August 27, 2004
"Soda, Diabetes Linked by Scientific Misconduct?" - "If you doubt that our society's lifestyle nannies are of dubious integrity, a new highly publicized study supposedly linking regular (non-diet) sodas with weight gain and diabetes should clear up any remaining skepticism." (Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com)
"Obesity: a Sign We're Doing Things Right" - "Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson recently designated obesity a disease, with all the negative implications that entails. Our society, crippled, it seems, by obesity, is sick. Yet new research suggests this interpretation has got everything about face. Obesity is not a symptom of a sick society, but a sign of a very healthy one." (Iain Murray, TCS)
"Asthma problem 'levelling off'" - "Rates of asthma among children appear to have stabilised, according to a survey of youngsters in Aberdeen. But the pioneering study, which spans 35 years, identified an increase in the diagnosis of both eczema and hay fever." (BBC Online)
"Fishing Just for Fun Damages Stocks, Study Finds" - "WASHINGTON - People fishing for sport are doing far more damage to U.S. marine fish stocks than anyone thought, accounting for nearly a quarter of the catch from overfished species, researchers said on Thursday. And for the "charismatic" species that saltwater enthusiasts really go for, the impact is even more dramatic, the researchers found." (Reuters)
"Farmed Salmon: The Science And the Fury" - "As the public face of the six-member research team that reported high levels of PCBs in farmed salmon, David Carpenter has become a lightning rod for criticism by the salmon industry." (Ellsworth American)
"Conference To Examine Alternatives To Soil Fumigant" - "PLANT CITY - The latest developments in the quest for alternatives to methyl bromide will be examined next week at a conference in Plant City." (Tampa Tribune)
"Leader: Limits of freedom" - "Greg Avery, founder of Shac, the animal rights group campaigning for the closure of Huntingdon Life Sciences research work in Cambridgeshire, expressed shock at the home secretary's latest ban. Certainly to ban an American anti-vivisection campaigner from travelling to the UK to address a conference is a serious step. In Mr Avery's view it only reinforces his group's view that direct action is the only way forward. Freedom of speech is indeed a fundamental principle of a democratic society. But Dr Jarry Vlasak does not just make controversial speeches. In the words of the Centre for Consumer Freedom, which monitors animal rights groups for the science business world, "he's not making bombs, but is making bombers." (The Guardian)
The joys of socialism and poverty:
"North Korea's environment crisis" - "The UN and officials in Pyongyang have agreed the first-ever assessment of the state of the North Korean environment. The report was written by North Korea's national coordinating council for the environment, together with the UN's Development and Environment Programmes." (Alex Kirby, BBC News Online)
"El Nino looming yet again" - "It is the last thing farmers want to hear: the possibility that a one in 100-year El Nino event is building in the Pacific." (The Australian)
When they breathlessly cite a "one in 100-year" event they don't mean exceptional magnitude or anything similar - rather that only once in 100 years of records has an El Niño event developed so late in the year, the pattern is usually well-established in June.
"U.N. Agency Sees No Rapid Development of El Nino" - "GENEVA - Fears of a new El Nino, a phenomenon that brings extreme weather patterns, are unfounded despite unusual ocean temperatures which often herald the devastating weather anomaly, the World Meteorological Organization said Thursday." (Reuters)
WMO might be right. A quick look at the sea surface temperature chart shows a significant pool of cool water extending north along the South American west coast, almost extending to the Galapagos Islands. In the past this has preceded a belt of cool surface water extending westwards along the equator into the central Pacific - no indication yet of La Niña but not suggestive of looming El Niño either.
"Scientists warn of new Anthropocene age" - "STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Scientists are beginning to accept that Earth has entered a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, so named because humans have come to rival nature in their impact on the global environment. The EuroScience forum in Stockholm heard on Thursday that climate change was the most obvious of a complex range of man-made effects that is rapidly changing the physics, chemistry and biology of the planet." (Financial Times)
The Old Gray Lady morphing into a blue-rinse broad?
"Editorial: Warming to Global Warming" - "After three years of belittling or suppressing science, the Bush administration appears willing to concede that humans and their industrial activity have been largely responsible for the recent warming of the earth's atmosphere. This tardy acceptance of what mainstream scientists have been saying for years does not mean that the administration is prepared to deal seriously with the problem - by, for instance, supporting mandatory caps on emissions of carbon dioxide. But at least nobody is trying to hide the evidence." (New York Times)
Romancing themselves somewhat aren't they? How do they get the above from "Warmer temperatures in North America since 1950 were probably caused in part by human activities"?
Juliet Eilperin does better:
"Administration Shifts On Global Warming" - "A Bush administration report suggests that evidence of global warming has begun to affect animal and plant populations in visible ways, and that rising temperatures in North America are due in part to human activity.
Oh boy...
"The planet goes haywire" - "Fires and floods, heatwaves and hurricanes - it's been a year of extreme weather. And there's more on the way as global warming kicks in, warns John Vidal" (The Guardian)
"Bush u-turn on climate change wins few friends" - "In a dramatic reversal of its previous position, the White House this week conceded that emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases were the only likely explanation for global warming. Mr Bush's former allies in the energy industry criticised the findings." (London Guardian)
"Warming to wilt mountain ways" - "In summer, the hillsides above Crested Butte look like a painting by Claude Monet. Reds, yellows and blues are dabbed everywhere brilliantly on a canvas of green. This is, says no less an authority than the state Legislature, the wildflower capital of Colorado." (Vail Daily)
"Ad Firm Targets Emissions Proposal" - "A public relations firm with ties to the automobile industry has launched ads suggesting that a proposed California rule to cut carbon dioxide exhaust could cause more people to die in traffic accidents. Well, they're not the first to conclude that buzz-boxes are essentially small-wheeled coffins:
Back in 1989, car critics like Ralph Nader more honestly acknowledged the trade-off between safety and CAFE's goals. "Larger cars are safer -- there is more bulk to protect the occupant. But they are less fuel efficient ... ," he said after declaring small cars the least safe on the road.
According to a 1989 Harvard-Brookings study, CAFE-induced downsizing has increased car occupant fatalities by between 14% and 27%; that translates to between 2,000 and 4,000 extra deaths a year.
"Scientists shed light on hydrogen's splitting headache" - "The quest to produce hydrogen energy is a holy grail for the world's scientists. As oil prices soar, a substitute for a once plentiful resource no longer seems such a fantastic pursuit.
Yeah, sure...
"Sun will power us into paradise" - "In the not too distant future silent cars will glide around our city streets, rooftop panels harnessing the sun's energy will generate enough power for the whole country, the pace of global warming will have slowed and power lines will be replaced by underground pipes." (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Aha!
"Enron Spawned Trouble for Fish" - "To the long list of Enron Corp.'s victims, add Northwest salmon. A fresh round of evidence released Wednesday suggested that Enron traders shipped emergency power out of California, even as hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest — struggling to ease the energy crisis — were running full tilt. That's where the salmon, an icon of the Northwest, come in. Water that normally would have eased them away from massive hydropower turbines instead was used to make electricity, further endangering the already endangered fish." (Los Angeles Times)
So, now we have have it. Never mind the egregious fraud, Enron are bad because they competed with the fishies!
"Tracking America’s exported air pollution" - "A consortium of 100 scientists from 6 countries is cooperating on a 6-week study of air pollution as it leaves the east coast of the United States, flows across the Atlantic Ocean, and hunkers down over Europe." (Environmental Science & Technology)
"Nuclear power" - "Recent British speculation about an increased role for nuclear power in electricity generation has prompted Copeland Council to express its support for the development of new nuclear power generators to replace those closed at Calder Hall." (The Whitehaven News)
"Going nuclear looks the option" - "THE dramatic price increases by British Gas this week highlight how the economics of the energy market have moved against us. The spike in oil prices has hogged most of the headlines though for now prices are sharply back from their peak. But experts have been warning for some time that Britain is facing an underlying crisis as the golden era of self- sufficiency thanks to North Sea oil and gas comes inexorably to an end." (Daily Mail)
"Uncertain economics of wind energy" - "As media institutions across Europe grapple with the threat of global warming, politicians, NGOs and ministries in the Baltic states are laying the groundwork to increase the level of renewable resource energy." (The Baltic Times)
"The future's a gas" - "EVEN as headlines scream about $50 a barrel oil, energy firms and their investors are becoming increasingly excited about its likeliest replacement: not wind nor wave nor solar power, but gas—or, to be precise, gas that is frozen and transported as liquefied natural gas (LNG). This is expected to become as ubiquitous and crucial to the global economy as petroleum is today. Scenario planners at Royal Dutch/Shell think that gas may surpass oil as the world's most important energy source by 2025." (The Economist)
"Scientists' bioengineering feat" - "A man has enjoyed his first real dinner in nine years after a pioneering operation to rebuild his jaw using an artificial bone grown in one of the muscles of his back." (The Guardian)
"Explosion investigated at Watertown biotech company" - "WATERTOWN, Mass. -- An explosive device damaged the offices of a biological research company early Thursday morning, but no injuries were reported, officials said. "Asia heads towards use of GMO foods, despite activist protests" - "HONG KONG, Aug 27 - A decision by Thailand, one of Asia's prime agricultural producers, to allow open-field trials of genetically modified crops marks another milestone for the controversial products in the region, as governments ignore activists' concerns, industry analysts said Friday. "WTO ruling delayed in transatlantic row over GMOs" - "GENEVA - The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has put off until March a decision on whether the European Union broke trade rules by not allowing imports of genetically modified foods (GMO), officials said on Thursday. "Monsanto's rivals want a bigger piece of biotech crop pie" - "The agricultural biotechnology field, dominated since its inception by Monsanto Co. of Creve Coeur, is becoming more crowded. At least four major companies are identifying useful genetic traits and engineering them into a variety of crops. If these gain regulatory approval, some will compete head-to-head with Monsanto's products, while others may be sold alongside them. But one thing seems certain, industry experts say: Over the next few years, farmers will have more choices in deciding what to plant. And as the competition heats up, financial returns rather than brand loyalty will win the day." (Post-Dispatch)
"Profit no reason to manipulate life" - "In attempting to open the debate on biotechnology, and genetically modified (GM) crops and foods, Mark Fyvie, head of the state-funded Cape Biotech Regional Innovation Centre, serves up polemic presented as rational discourse ("Don't see GM food as a threat," Cape Times, August 18). "Fear Factor" - "Environmental activists seeking to halt the worldwide spread of the advanced technologies they fear see China as an important battleground. Predictably, Greenpeace is leading the charge against China's adoption of such technologies. In 2001, for example, the group ran a loud campaign demanding that the European Union not lend any money to help finance any Chinese nuclear power projects. Today, Greenpeace has China's acceptance of biotechnology in its crosshairs." (Neil Hrab, The American Enterprise)
"Genetically modified crop destroyed in France's south" - "MONT-DE-MARSAN, France, Aug 25 - A field of genetically modified maize planted by the US group Monsanto in south-western France was ripped up this week by unidentified individuals, police said Wednesday." (AFP)
August 26, 2004
"Revamp of malaria control essential" - "The science journal Nature has just published a series of papers on malaria and its control. Focusing on this preventable and curable disease is crucial and timely; malaria is the top killer of children in Africa, accounting for more than 1-million deaths worldwide each year." (Richard Tren, Business Day)
"Halting Malaria" - "Health Minister Manto Tsabalala-Msimang has drawn much criticism for what, at times, appear to be irrational actions. One such action is the continued use of the maligned insecticide DDT to combat malaria. The use of DDT in combination with effective drug therapy for malaria patients has kept the disease under control since 1946." (Business Day editorial)
"One Billion People Still Drink Unsafe Water-UN" - "GENEVA - More than one billion people drink unsafe water and over 2.6 billion, around 40 percent of the world's population, have no access to basic sanitation, U.N. agencies said on Thursday. "Around the world, millions of children are being born into a silent emergency of simple needs," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. "We have to act now to close this (health) gap or the death toll will certainly rise," she added. The World Health Organization and UNICEF, the Children's Fund, said in a report children were particularly vulnerable to sicknesses brought on by dirty water and poor hygiene. Diarrhea kills some 1.8 million people each year, most of them children under five, with millions left permanently debilitated, they said." (Reuters)
"Study could bring diarrhoea vaccine closer" - "LONDON - Scientists have taken a step closer to creating a vaccine against a virus that causes the most common form of diarrhoea and vomiting in children. A team of scientists from Harvard Medical School and the Children's Hospital Boston in the United States created models down to the atom of key proteins that form part of the virus, called the rotavirus. The rotavirus infects almost all children, usually between six months and two years old, and kills an estimated 440,000 children per year, mostly in poor countries." (Reuters)
"Sweden slams European Commission approval of toxic chemical" - "The Swedish government on Wednesday reiterated its criticism of the European Commission's approval of the use of herbicides containing the toxic chemical paraquat inside the European Union." (Agence France-Presse)
"Blue Stockholm skies for ESOF" - "First pan-European meeting on science and society opens with a hopeful eye to the future" (The Scientist)
"Metabolic syndrome greatly raises risk of death" - "NEW YORK - People with metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of conditions that can include problems with weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar control -- are much more likely to die from heart disease and other causes than those without the syndrome, new research shows." (Reuters Health)
So, people who are sick are more likely to die... and they worked this out, all by themselves?
Imagine that...
"Magnets may not really work for pain" - "NEW YORK - Natural magnets, believed by many to ease pain, may actually do little to that effect, new research reports." (Reuters Health)
Smoke screen (Number Watch)
I:
"Asthma study smokes out dangers of a cosy fireplace" - "Babies who live in homes heated by gas or wood fires grow up to have more breathing problems and asthma, University of Sydney researchers have found." (The Sydney Morning Herald)
II:
"Asthma risk 'exacerbated by house air fresheners'" - "Air fresheners, furniture polish and household cleaners may increase the risk of asthma in young children, a study has found." (Independent)
III:
"Cleaning chemicals linked to asthma in young children" - "Fumes given off by cleaning products and solvents in the home may be a cause of asthma in young children, according to new research." (The Guardian)
So, it's fireplaces, air fresheners or cleaners, depending on the personal biases of the reporters.
Actually, I'd take exception to at least the second one - it's lack of air freshening that seems to be causing some problems (specifically, poorly ventilated "energy efficient" housing and electrickery too expensive for home heating).
"Environmental groups object to 'eco-label'" - "ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Several environmental groups are objecting to Alaska's pollock fishery -- the largest fishery in the United States -- getting approval for an "eco-label." (Associated Press)
"Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX) retrieves first Arctic core" - "The first 40 million years of Arctic climate history have been recovered from beneath the Arctic seafloor. The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program's (IODP) Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX) retrieved 272 meters of sediment core. This core goes back to a time when there was no ice on the planet and it will tell us about the climate of the region and when it changed from hot to cold, and hopefully, why." (Swedish Polar Research Secretariat)
"Chile leads South Pole climate change research" - "Chilean scientists and military researchers will jointly assess climate changes in South Pole glaciers during air and land expeditions in late 2004, announced Chilean Defence Minister Michelle Bachelet." (Mercosur)
"Earth warned on 'tipping points'" - "The world has barely begun to recognise the danger of setting off rapid and irreversible changes in some crucial natural systems, a scientist says." (Alex Kirby, BBC News Online)
"Top U.S. newspapers' focus on balance skewed coverage of global warming, analysis reveals" - "SANTA CRUZ, CA--Reporters and editors at four of the nation's top newspapers adhered to the journalistic norm of balance at the expense of accurately reporting scientific understanding of the human contributions to global warming, according to an analysis that appears in the current issue of the journal Global Environmental Change." (UC Newswire)
Really? What "scientific understanding of the human contributions to global warming" would that be then?
We can state accurately that: atmospheric CO2 levels have measurably increased since the 1950s and; global near-surface temperature amalgams indicate a cooling and recovery over the same period - period! Won't find much press reflecting that though.
The hazards of election years:
"White House Shifts Its Focus on Climate" - "In a striking shift in the way the Bush administration has portrayed the science of climate change, a new report to Congress focuses on federal research indicating that emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases are the only likely explanation for global warming over the last three decades." (New York Times)
"Global Warming Means More Frost-Free Days - Report" - "WASHINGTON - Frost will become less and less common across much of the world as global warming accelerates, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. "Summer breezes shouldn't freeze us" - "Exactly what's behind this way-too-cool Milwaukee summer? I've seen more than enough science fiction movies to suspect the logical answer: Gotta be global warming, right?" (Eugene Kane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
"President Bush, See You in Court" - "As climate change increasingly affects islanders and those living in the North, many are seeking legal recourse in international venues. Frustration with the Bush Administration's failure to take meaningful action on climate change is spilling over into the courtroom. Victims and potential victims of climate change, ranging from community organizations to city councils to entire nations, are taking legal action to force the US government to address the issue." (The Dominion)
Weekly Whipple:
"More Heat Waves Expected" - "Boulder CO Aug 23, 2004 - Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research say global warming will bring about more frequent and more intense heat waves in the United States and Europe. "Global Warming Must Be Turned To Our Advantage" - "Anthony Gibson: 'If one looks back over the weather extremes of the last half century, they have had no lasting impact' Whether or not what happened last week in Boscastle was a symptom of global warming, or just one of those natural calamities that could have happened in any age, it still ought to serve as a wake-up call to shake us out of our collective apathy when it comes to flood defences." (Western Morning News)
CO2 Measurement Problems (Still Waiting For Greenhouse)
Uh-huh...
"Put us all on rations" - "It will take more than a few extra pounds on our gas bills to make us do something about global warming" (Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian)
"What actually influences air pollution over the Indian Ocean?" - "Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry detect substantial pollution of the atmosphere during periods between summer or winter monsoons." (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft)
Swatting moonbats:
"They think it's oil over - but they're wrong" - "THERE are few compensations from getting older, but one is how smug you feel when fashions come around again the second or third time. For instance, in Monday’s Guardian, the current leader of the Apocalypse Cult, George Monbiot, was explaining that the world is about to run out of oil and so we’d be better off living in wattle huts without electricity, in order to escape the coming energy famine. Mr Monbiot is a fashionable "environmentalist" who frequently crops up in lists of Britain’s brainiest people." (George Kerevan, The Scotsman)
?!!
"New 'timber power plant'" - "Northern Ireland is to be the site of the UK's largest production facility for a new environmentally friendly fuel. Reader asks: "What happens to the carbon if they burn biomass without creating carbon dioxide?"
Fair question. It has a couple of possible answers: maybe the combustion is incomplete & they're producing carbon monoxide (CO) rather than carbon dioxide (CO2) or maybe this Northern Irish plant is staffed by leprechauns practicing mysterious ancient arts. Then again, the scribe involved in this piece may have indulged in other Irish traditions.
"Scientists Say Sunoil Could Power Cars, Homes" - "LONDON - British scientists say they have found a new, greener way to power cars and homes using sunflower oil, a commodity more commonly used for cooking fries. In a presentation made to members of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia on Wednesday, researchers from Leeds University said in England said the popular vegetable oil could easily be used to make the hydrogen needed to develop fuel cells, a promising alternative source of energy." (Reuters)
What's the steam source for their reformation? What sort of energy efficiency are we talking here?
"Ford chief sets roadblock for hybrid auto bill" - "Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford, who pitches himself as one of America's leading corporate environmentalists, has launched a campaign in the waning days of the legislative session to kill a plan that would reward Californians who buy the most fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles. "'Hidden' wind farm shows way ahead for green energy" - "Scotland's flagship wind farm was hailed yesterday as an example of the way forward for the renewable energy sector." (Edinburgh Scotsman)
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