Earlier this week, ABC News asked: Can wind power be hazardous to your health? Some residents of a Cape Cod town have complained about headaches, nausea and other symptoms that they attribute to noise from wind turbines near their homes. I’ve written about “wind turbine syndrome” a bunch of times, including here at Discover and…Continue Reading…
I knew I could count on Michael Pollan for this tweet: “No scientific consensus on GMO safety”: statement by European Network of Scientists for S and E responsibility http://t.co/2p3hqerMtV — Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan) October 21, 2013 Of course, there is a scientific consensus, just as there is for the safety of childhood vaccines and the…Continue Reading…
One of biotechnology’s most articulate allies has laid down the gauntlet: My challenge to the biotechnology industry – the whole food industry in general in fact – is very clear. You have to stop opposing labelling. Instead, you have to embrace the consumer right to know. To lose this entire debate to a motley coalition…Continue Reading…
Mark Lynas detonated a stink bomb on Twitter today: Imagine an ‘anti-science hall of shame’ w. climate deniers & anti-GM activists side by side. e.g. Seralini vs Pat Michaels? Nominations? — Mark Lynas (@mark_lynas) September 5, 2013 While I have on occasion used the anti-science tag for eye-catching purposes (see here and here)–and have been…Continue Reading…
One of the maddening aspects of the GMO discourse is the conflation of industry concerns with science. The biggest example, of course, is the way Monsanto has become a proxy for anti-GMO sentiment. True, this dynamic is not unique to biotechnology. Debates on pharmaceuticals, energy, and agriculture revolve around multinational companies that are stand-ins for…Continue Reading…
Just for kicks, take a guess when Michael Specter wrote this in the New Yorker: If the politics of genetically modified food has never been so anguished, the scientific prospects have never seemed more promising. The answer and his superb piece can be found here. Consider: Since his article appeared, the angry politics of genetically modified…Continue Reading…
As far as explainers go, I thought this Guardian piece discussing possible links between climate change and extreme weather was pretty good. What’s interesting to me is that it was written by Bob Ward, the policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. It’s part of a larger…Continue Reading…
I surfaced briefly today, checking my Twitter feed at just the right time:
Staking out the middle ground in these polarized times is not an easy thing to do. I know this from experience. For example, I’m pretty comfortable with what science tells us about climate change. To me, there’s a cumulative body of evidence that rises to the level of concern. But I also realize there is…Continue Reading…
If you follow the public debate on genetically modified foods, you know it’s become unhinged from reality. This is because green groups and influential voices in the food movement have allowed the fringe to hijack the conversation. Now that those furies have been let loose, it’s going to be that much harder to have a civil dialogue…Continue Reading…