Science

"News Corp Misleads Audience on Climate Change"

"Brace yourself for some shocking news: a new study on Friday found that the two major publications of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation greatly mislead their audiences about climate change. The Union of Concerned Scientists combed six months of Fox News broadcasting and a year's worth of Wall Street Journal editorial pages for mentions of the science of 'climate change' and 'global warming,' then compared each claim to 'mainstream scientific understanding' of the topic at hand." They found 93% of the statements on Fox News were misleading and 81% of the statements on the Wall St. Journal's opionion pages were misleading.

Source: Mother Jones, 09/24/2012

"How 'Silent Spring' Ignited the Environmental Movement"

"On June 4, 1963, less than a year after the controversial environmental classic 'Silent Spring' was published, its author, Rachel Carson, testified before a Senate subcommittee on pesticides. She was 56 and dying of breast cancer. She told almost no one. She'd already survived a radical mastectomy. Her pelvis was so riddled with fractures that it was nearly impossible for her to walk to her seat at the wooden table before the Congressional panel. To hide her baldness, she wore a dark brown wig."

Source: NY Times Magazine, 09/24/2012
September 19, 2012 to September 25, 2012

Lewis M. Branscomb Science and Democracy Forum-Sept 19th, 25th

Join the Union of Concerned Scientists (USC) Center for Science and Democracy for a forum on barriers to citizen access to governmental scientific information. Attend the symposium via webcast or in person at the Newseum (limited seating) from 8:30 to Noon EDT. The session is free but requires registration.

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Court Again Rejects Demands for Climate Scientist's E-Mails

A Va. court ruled Sept. 17, 2012 that e-mails generated by climate scientist Michael Mann when he worked at the Univ. of Virginia were exempt from the state's FOIA. Mann has been the target of repeated attacks by climate change deniers due to his famous "hockey stick" graph of global temperature records and indicators.

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Critics Question Claims of Spray Success Against West Nile Mosquitoes

Federal and state health officials say that pesticide spraying for adult mosquitoes has reduced risk of West Nile virus by killing specific percentages of mosquitoes. When confronted with Freedom of Information Act requests for the data to back up those claims, they do not seem to be able to find any.

Source: Huffington Post, 09/19/2012

"PBS NewsHour's Climate Change Report Raises Eyebrows (VIDEO)"

"A recent report from 'PBS NewsHour' on climate change has drawn sharp criticism from climate groups that feel it provides a false sense of debate around the facts of climate change."

"The segment, which aired on September 16, features interviews with 'converted skeptic' and University of California, Berkeley professor Richard Muller, along with climate skeptic Anthony Watts, a retired meteorologist.

Source: Huffington Post, 09/19/2012

Stanford Organics Study: Did Methods, Politics Threaten Kids' Health?

After a study by Stanford researchers, published September 4, concluded that organic foods had negligible health benefits, controversy occurred. Now critics, mostly from the environmental health and organic food communities, are challenging the study's methods, its accuracy and completeness, its framing questions, potential conflict of interest stemming from funding support, and the competence of the news media in reporting it.

Source: Huffington Post, 09/14/2012
October 3, 2012 to October 5, 2012

SXSW Eco Conference on Sustainability

In its second year, SXSW Eco is a three-day conference in Austin, TX addressing the need for a concerted, cross sector approach to solving the recognized challenges facing the economy, the environment and civil society.

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