Monthly Archives : March 2015

GMO Labeling Articles Should Reference Scientific Consensus

I recently spoke at Cornell about the public GMO discourse–who has shaped it and how some commonly held perceptions have taken hold in the media. In one talk, I discussed the importance of thought leaders, such as Michael Pollan and Vandana Shiva. Pollan and Shiva are cultural icons who speak to (and on behalf of) people who…Continue Reading…

Frankenjournalism at MSNBC

Two years ago, a bill to label foods that contained genetically engineered ingredients was introduced into Congress by a Democratic representative from Oregon and a Democratic senator from California. It didn’t go anywhere, and we haven’t heard much about it, though since then proposed mandatory GMO labeling laws in some states have been in the news. As…Continue Reading…

A Badly Flawed NYT Story Trumpets Cell Phone Health Dangers

[UPDATE: See media reaction at bottom of this post. Also, be sure to read the correction at end of the NYT article and the response from the NYT public editor.] I’m racing to meet a deadline, but this story in the New York Times is so dismaying I had to take a few minutes to call attention to…Continue Reading…

Climate Change and the Power of Narrative

In 2013, a psychology professor reviewing Malcolm Gladwell’s latest best-selling book was critical of the author’s modus operandi: He excels at telling just-so stories and cherry-picking science to back them. That charge had been percolating for a while, but people were suddenly paying more attention to it, including science journalists. After the WSJ review triggered a larger debate on…Continue Reading…

A Plea for for a More Constructive Climate Debate

In the Guardian, Mark Lynas writes about the “need to recapture the climate debate from the political extremes.” Good luck with that! I’m afraid this proverbial horse has left the barn. Of course, you should still read the piece, because it’s a necessary reminder of the real dynamics that shape the public discourse on climate change. As…Continue Reading…

Shining a Light on Mike Adams, AKA The Health Ranger

There is nothing you can say about Mike Adams that is more revealing than what appears at his website, Natural News. For example, today’s bolded headline: US Navy sailors “disappeared” – Fukushima radiation cover-up Among the day’s “most read” articles: Companies begin planting microchips under employees’ skin Yes, this would be the same Mike Adams that…Continue Reading…

What to Make of The Guardian's New Climate Change Series?

In 2009, the New York Times launched  “a new, crack environmental reporting unit that will pull in eight specialized reporters from the Science, National, Metro, Foreign, and Business desks in a bid for richer, more prominent coverage,” as the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) detailed. It seemed like a smart, innovative approach: Environmental issues have become increasingly…Continue Reading…

Drilling Down into the Connection Researchers are Making Between Climate Change and Conflict

The Carbon Brief, a UK website created in 2011, is a destination for many seeking non-partisan information and analysis on climate change related news and research. I like the neutral tone of the articles and the comprehensive perspective it offers on controversial issues, such as the state of the science on polar bears and, in a similar vein, the growing…Continue Reading…

Narrow Media Coverage of Study linking Climate Change to Syria Conflict Misses Fractious Debate on a Field's Scholarship

This week a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) received widespread media coverage.  The paper’s takeaway was tweeted by all those reporting on it. The drought that sparked Syria’s civil war has been linked to climate change. My story: http://t.co/UOTb50ye0B pic.twitter.com/nIcPD6rb9J — Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) March 2, 2015 New study,…Continue Reading…

Bill Nye Had a Fixed View on GMOs. Then Something Happened.

A decade ago, Bill Nye, aka The Science Guy, did a segment on GMOs for his TV show. His approach surprised some who saw it years later. “It was weightily anti-GMO, something I wouldn’t have expected from Bill Nye,” one writer has noted. You can watch it yourself and decide. Others have rendered their judgement: Greenpeace,…Continue Reading…