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…
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…
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…
Last month, after the terrorist attacks in Paris, Nature published a Q & A with an anthropologist who studies the murderous motivations of Islamic extremists. He discussed socio-cultural factors and an allure to a radical ideology. That may help explain Islamic attacks against “infidels” in Europe and the United States, but then what’s driving suicide bombers in…Continue Reading…
In the current issue of Science, I report that a dozen university academics recently received freedom of information requests from a non-profit group opposed to genetically modified (GM) products. Why were these 12 scientists selected? In my piece, I write: The group, U.S. Right to Know (USRTK) of Oakland, California, says it has no vendetta….Continue Reading…
Several years ago, the Boston Review published a forum called, “The Truth About GMOs.” Nine viewpoints were represented. All the authors, a number of them scientists and scholars, had different perspectives. Some were enthusiastic biotech supporters, others staunch opponents. Several had staked out a middle ground, acknowledging the technology’s benefits and risks. The truth about GMOs, it turned…Continue Reading…
In 2014, as in years past, I used this space to offer observations on a wide range of stories and subjects. I critiqued faux journalism that went viral, called attention to the creepy antics of an alternative health advocate, discussed the Science Guy’s blind spot on GMOs, revisited a few touchy archaeological issues, and discovered perhaps the most insufferable…Continue Reading…
Those of you familiar with Black Swan author Nassim Taleb know he has a formidable mind and an abrasive public persona. It is necessary to separate the two when analyzing his logic, which is what economist/writer Noah Smith does admirably in his Bloomberg column on Taleb’s controversial GMO paper. (More on Smith’s take in a minute.)…Continue Reading…
Earlier this year, the earth scientist Jon Foley wrote an article that laid out why he was skeptical about agricultural biotechnology. Among other things, he said “that GMOs have frequently failed to live up to their potential” because of the way they have been deployed: GMOs have done little to enhance the world’s food security. Mainly,…Continue Reading…
A decade ago, controversy erupted after it was revealed that a creationist book was being sold in six bookstores at the Grand Canyon National Park. It was a biblical explanation of the Grand Canyon. As Cornelia Dean reported in the New York Times, the book says God created the heavens and the earth in six…Continue Reading…