Archives - February 2004

February 27, 2004

"Enviros Commence Election-Year Attack" - "Environmentalists have commenced their election-year attack on President Bush." (Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com)

"Eco-myths are a gun to the head" - "The scare tactics used by environmental groups to emphasise their green agenda is like having a gun held to the head.

That was the provocative message delivered in a lecture by Bjorn Lomborg, the author of the controversial book The Skeptical Environmentalist.

Dr Lomborg, whose best-selling writings angered greens around the world, told an invited audience in London that such tactics made people panic about an impending ecological meltdown and lose sight of what really mattered.

He used his lecture at the Adam Smith Institute, a right-wing think tank, to up the ante in a long-running feud with groups such as Greenpeace." (BBC News Online)

"Scientists doubt animal research" - "Many animal experiments may be of little benefit to treating human disease, according to experts. Much of the research is poorly conducted and not thoroughly evaluated, say scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. They are now urging a systematic review of all existing animal research before new experiments are carried out.

The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, have boosted animal rights groups.

However, on the same day that the BMJ paper is published, the Royal Society has produced a guide which says humanity has benefited immensely from scientific research involving animals. The society, which is the UK's national academy of science, says virtually every medical achievement in the past century has been reliant on the use of animals in some way." (BBC News Online)

"Journals plan regulation scheme" - "Medical journals should have a code of conduct, similar to that which governs newspapers, an ethics body has said. A draft code has been set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics. British Medical Journal editor Dr Richard Smith, the code's author, said he hoped it would act as a "badge of trust" for readers. The code says journal editors should do all they can to ensure the research they publish is accurate and not tainted by conflicts of interest." (BBC News Online)

From the Not-this-crock-again? files: "Nalgene plastic may be harmful" - "Studies show that the popular water bottle may pose serious health risks" (Brenna Doheny, The Daily Barometer)

Our Swollen Future

"Mix of chemicals plus stress damages brain, liver in animals and likely in humans" - "Stress is a well known culprit in disease, but now researchers have shown that stress can intensify the effects of relatively safe chemicals, making them very harmful to the brain and liver in animals and likely in humans, as well." (Duke University Medical Center)

Probably of great interest to those poor souls allegedly suffering Gulf War Syndrome (one of the keyword terms in this release). The fact remains, however, that Gulf Vets are healthier than the equivalent non-serving population and indistinguishable from equivalent non-deployed personnel. Whatever their genuine malaise, there is apparently no "Gulf War Syndrome" to have.

"Ending the Agent Orange Myth" - "Agent Orange is every bit as bad as environmentalists, anti-war activists and veterans victim groups have always claimed.

Or so sayeth the media, with headlines like "Study Finds Sharply Increased Risk of Cancer among Dioxin-Exposed Vietnam Veterans" (Agence-Presse France) and "Study: Agent Orange Linked to Cancer Risk" (Associated Press Online)." (Michael Fumento, Scripps Howard News Service)

"French ban pesticides sold in Aust" - "THE French government has banned a group of pesticides which are still on sale in Australia despite concerns over their impact on human and animal safety.

The French Minister for Agriculture Herve Gaymard suspended from sale six pesticides based on the active ingredient Fipronil because of possible risks for wildlife including pets, aquatic organisms, birds and non target insects.

French bee keepers also claim the chemical has decimated commercial bee hives and have taken separate legal action to ban the Fipronil chemicals." (AAP)

"Atkins foes have their own explaining to do" - "Dr. Robert Atkins is dead.

But he isn't resting in peace.

A doctors' group that lobbies for a vegan diet -- and, according to Atkins' widow, illegally obtained the medical examiner's report that showed Atkins obese at his death -- continues to pound the pavement for low-fat eating.

Remorseless about its postmortem attack on the doctor who popularized the high-fat, low-carb diet, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has moved on to ads that hit men where they live: erectile dysfunction." (Carolyn Susman, Palm Beach Post)

"20 Questions for Foodphobes" - "Rather than lecturing people about the technology that has made their food crops possible, and how easily old technologies, too, could be made to sound scary were we not all by now familiar with it, I am trying an alternate strategy: asking people twenty questions — some of which may sound scary — that I hope will make them think more rationally about food safety." (Thomas R. DeGregori, HealthFactsAndFears.com)

"Documenting a paradox: Smoke decreases rainfall but ultimately increases its intensity" - "Air pollution and smoke suppress rainfall, but cause the remaining rain amounts to fall in greater intensities, with lightning and hail, says a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem." (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Iain Murray with a rational take on this week's silliest story: "The Unthinking in Pursuit of the Unthinkable: Disingenuous global-warming nonsense" - "When a "scandalous" story breaks in the United States, makes no waves, resurfaces a few weeks later in the left-wing British press, and only then do liberal activists start haranguing people about it, it is safe to say that the story should be treated with a little suspicion. That is certainly the case with the environmental cri du jour, that the Pentagon is alarmed by the national-security aspects of global warming and recommends immediate action. Even the Pentagon thinks global warming is worse than terrorism!

It's all nonsense, of course, as you'd expect from any story touted round the media by Greenpeace." (Iain Murray, National Review Online)

Defense and national security reporter for The Washington Times, Bill Gertz, ran with it though: "Change of climate a security factor" (Bill Gertz, The Washington Times)

MSNBC finally figured out something's going on: "Storm over Pentagon climate scenario - Consultants present worst-case view: warming, then sudden cooling" - "A report commissioned by a Pentagon think tank is creating a storm of controversy — not because of any military scenarios but because of what it has to say about climate change.

Environmentalists, and even European media, have jumped on the report as evidence that President Bush is out of touch with even his own experts. Bush withdrew the United States from U.N.-sponsored talks to implement a treaty to curb carbon dioxide and other emissions tied to warmer temperatures.

Climate change skeptics say the report, subtitled "Imagining the Unthinkable," is nothing new and purely speculative.

The Pentagon think tank, for its part, paid $100,000 for the report but said it was not satisfied and would not forward it to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld." (MSNBC)

Sigh... GBN have posted this update on their site, along with their carefully hidden-in-plain-sight links to the original PDF file of the report in question. See also items on this site Feb. 24; 22; 11; Jan. 28 (see how 'secret' it is? JunkScience.com's been sporadically mentioning the silly thing for the best part of a month, beginning with the Fortune fantasy Jan. 28). Presumably, The Observer 'obtained' the report the same way we did, by clicking on the download link, copies were freely e-mailed around too. Pretty darn weird 'suppression' if you ask me.

Mark Hertsgaard, however, has his own take: "Weathering the Crisis" - "George W. Bush may not know it, but one influential part of his government is finally taking global climate change seriously. An extraordinary new report by an elite Pentagon planning unit has declared that climate change is a national security threat of the greatest urgency and demands an immediate response." (Mark Hertsgaard, Nation)

What's going on? Has someone been going around whacking these people with a 'stupid-stick' or something? Come on people! This is weather-machine-at-the-North-Pole, controlling-the-population-with-contrails, spying-on-us-with-black-helicopters stuff! Sheesh!

Gasp! "UK carbon dioxide emissions soared in 2004" - "New Government figures released today indicate a big increase in greenhouse gas emissions in 2003. The increase was caused by a rise in energy consumption and a return to coal burning.

Friends of the Earth has calculated that compared to 2002, emissions of carbon dioxide from energy rose by approximately 3 per cent in 2003. This is huge increase in one year, especially as the Government has promised a 20 per cent cut in carbon dioxide levels by 2010 (based on 1990 levels)." (Fiends of the Earth press release)

"Commission split on Kyoto Protocol" - "EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission's united front on the Kyoto Protocol on climate change has once again been undermined by transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio.

Ms Palacio, well known for her strong views, told the Financial Times that the EU should look at other ways of achieving its goals of reducing greenhouse emissions.

"Should we maintain our position or not? Maybe there are no alternatives. But I think there are alternatives".

"We should look at other ways of achieving our goal - to reduce emissions - while maintaining the competitiveness of our industry".

Following her comments the Commission released a press statement reaffirming its commitment to the Protocol which says that the EU must reduce its levels of emissions by 8% between 2008 and 2012.

"The European Commission strongly rejects all calls to change its position concerning the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and its full implementation by the European Union", says the statement." (EUObserver)

"EU commissioner asks Russia to clarify stand on climate change treaty" - "MADRID Feb 26, 2004: European Energy Commissioner Loyola de Palacio asked Russia on Thursday to make clear soon whether it intended to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, a decision vital to the future on the United Nations treaty.

The protocol requires developed countries to cut emissions of heat-trapping industrial gases which cause global warming. But it cannot enter force until it has been ratified by a certain percentage of polluting states." (AFP)

"Funds Want Oil Companies to Report on Climate" - "Pension fund managers representing public employees in Connecticut, New York, Maine and New York City said yesterday that they had filed shareholder resolutions calling on 10 North American oil companies to report to investors on their plans to deal with the potential impact of global warming and related climate change on their businesses.

The resolutions added the heft of some of the nation's largest investors to the ranks of shareholder activists who have been using resolutions to confront the petroleum industry on climate change issues. The resolutions also took aim at a broader range of companies, including midsize oil companies like Anadarko Petroleum, Devon Energy and Valero Energy that previously had flown below the radar of the activists." (New York Times)

"Aviation should be included in emissions trading" - "Aviation is increasingly responsible for the greenhouse effect and should be included in the emissions trading scheme, according to a report by the German Environment Ministry." (Edie.net)

"Hot Trash-To-Fuel Technology Gathering Steam" - "NEW YORK - Got garbage? Toxic trash? Zap it with a torch three times hotter than the sun and gather the resulting gas to fuel pollution-free cars and home power units.

It may seem like an idea out of a mad scientist's notebook, but the method - known as plasma torch technology - is gaining acceptance with governments and corporations, especially those with growing waste problems." (Reuters)

"Oil spills 'should go to beaches'" - "Major oil spills should be dealt with by pushing the oil towards beaches, a leading marine ecologist has urged.

Dutch scientist Martin Schulton said that, in contrast to the usual practice of trying to move floundering tankers further out to sea, they should be moved towards the shore.

In the long run, he said, this was much less environmentally damaging." (BBC News Online)

Book Review: "Origins of The Organic Agriculture Debate" - "How in the world did so many people get so fearful of the very science and technology that have lifted humanity out of malaria and mud huts? That's the fundamental question asked and discussed at length in the new book by ACSH's Thomas DeGregori, Origins of The Organic Agriculture Debate.

The book is more than just an organic farming book; it is a far-reaching examination of the social anthropology behind the "natural" movement — from the scientific and technical revolution of the past 200 years to the resulting anti-science backlash that evolved into the current organic worldview and other anti-science beliefs. Importantly, DeGregori returns throughout the book to contemporary debates on agricultural technologies and development policy to discuss why belief in such "rejected knowledge" is harmful to people and needlessly destructive to the environment." (Alex Avery, HealthFactsAndFears.com)

"Mexico's Tortilla Feeds Debate on GM Food Safety" - "KUALA LUMPUR - The question of whether Mexicans should be eating genetically-modified (GM) maize in the millions of tortillas they consume each day surfaced as a litmus-test issue yesterday at an international conference on biotech trade.

Mexico, the birthplace of maize, faces competing pressures of deep trade ties with the United States and Canada, both strong promoters of the use of GM crops, versus the will of a large peasant population whose culture and religious beliefs drive them to protect their dozens of native varieties." (Reuters)

"Mexico bans import of some GM corn" - "KUALA LUMPUR - Mexico announced it will ban the import of some genetically modified (GM) corn in a bid to protect its corn industry and consumer health.

Victor Manuel Arambula, executive secretary of Mexico's biosafety commission, said Thursday the country would prohibit any research or introduction of corn varities engineered for non-agricultural purposes, such as producing chemicals used in pharmaceutical products and plastic.

Arambula said the ban would come into force with immediate effect to prevent any genetic contamination of corn cultivated in Mexico for food." (AFP)

"Disputes Stall Biotech Trade Talks" - "Europe and developing countries clashed with the United States Thursday about the global trade in genetically modified commodities, with the former demanding strict labeling and liability laws and the latter seeking looser guidelines.

As a five-day conference on biotechnology safety neared its conclusion, government officials, scientists and environmentalists from more than 80 nations remained mired in disputes about whether gene-spliced crops might benefit - or befoul - human health and the environment." (Associated Press)

"Environmentalists blast Brazil over biosafety protocol" - "KUALA LUMPUR - Environmental activists criticised Brazil for trying to water down moves towards the tough labelling of genetically-modified (GM) products as demanded by the European Union and developing countries.

"It is outrageous that one country that has inked the protocol -- Brazil -- is blocking the negotiations at this moment," Greenpeace spokesman Eric Gall told reporters at the first Conference of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

Gall said that while most countries that have signed the protocol wanted GM producers to provide detailed documentation, Brazil was taking the position of the United States and Canada, which have not signed the UN accord.

"We are far from an agreement because of this obstructive attitude of Brazil," Gall said, adding that the South American country's position could undermine the whole negotiation because decisions are made on the basis of consensus." (AFP)

Uh-huh... "Scientists suspect health threat from GM maize" - "Scientists investigating a spate of illnesses among people living close to GM maize fields in the Philippines believe that the crop may have triggered fevers, respiratory illnesses and skin reactions.

If preliminary results are confirmed, it would be one of the first recorded cases of serious health problems associated with GM crops, and could damage the reputation of the biotech agriculture industry, which is rapidly expanding in developing countries.

The scientists' findings were immediately challenged by Monsanto, the world's leading GM company, and by the Philippine government." (John Vidal, The Guardian)

"Gene-altered crops are safe: officials" - "China will make sure the controversial genetically modified (GMO) crops don't cause negative impacts on the country's bio-environment, the Ministry of Agriculture said Wednesday." (People's Daily)

February 26, 2004

"Doubt cast on free radical theory" - "Scientists have questioned a widely accepted theory for a cause of diseases such as cancer and arthritis. Many experts believe that molecules called free radicals, produced when the body fights infection, inflict damage on the body's tissues. Drugs have been developed to mop up these excess amounts of the molecules, and thus prevent damage and disease. But research by University College London, published in Nature, suggests the theory may be incorrect." (BBC News Online)

"UK: Public health warnings 'not working'" - "Public exhortations to stop smoking, lose weight and take more exercise will not work, a major report on the nation's health has concluded.

Individuals, business and Government all had a role to play in taking responsibility for public health, its author said." (Daily Telegraph)

"Top brands threatened with boycott over obesity" - "THE Consumers’ Association is threatening a boycott of top branded foods unless the Government and food industry take action to improve the nation’s diet and tackle obesity.

The watchdog insisted yesterday that the time for talking was over and said that it intended to press hard for change.

It claimed that poor diet was now linked to more deaths than smoking, with 30 per cent of deaths of coronary heart disease due to diet compared with 20 per cent of deaths due to smoking. It said that a third of cancers were down to diet — the same number accounted for by smoking." (The Times)

"Geologists cleared in Bangladeshi poisoning case" - "A British court has ruled that a geological survey team is not to blame for failing to detect arsenic contamination in Bangladesh's well water. Bangladeshi villagers had accused the British Geological Survey (BGS) of negligence, arguing that it should have spotted the danger.

Lawyers representing the villagers plan to appeal against the decision, which is expected to prevent other lawsuits against the BGS in this matter from going ahead.

Arsenic poisoning is a serious issue in Bangladesh, where natural water supplies are contaminated with the poison by natural run-off from the Himalayas." (NSU)

"Natural disaster deaths rise sevenfold" - "FRANKFURT - Natural disasters caused by extreme weather claimed seven times as many victims in 2003 as in the previous year and the trend is set to continue, says the world's biggest reinsurance company.

Munich Re said in its annual review of natural catastrophes that earthquakes, heat waves and tornadoes had killed 75,000 people during the year, including 40,000 who died in December's severe earthquake in Iran.

The figure was higher than the 50,000 estimate the company gave in a preliminary report in December, largely because the full effects of the Iranian earthquake were not yet known then, a Munich Re spokesman said.

"After three years of relative calm, no fewer than five great natural catastrophes occurred in 2003," the report said, saying the five events alone had accounted for about a third of all economic and insured losses.

Apart from the Iranian earthquake, a heat wave that hit central and southern Europe in the summer claimed 20,000 lives, and an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale killed 2,200 in Algeria in May, the report said." (Reuters)

"Glacier marches on to Nature's explosive finale" - "THE world’s glaciers have been forced into retreat by global warming, but the Moreno Glacier is still on the march and has now, against all predictions, started to prepare for a rare and spectacular explosion of ice and water.

Its relentless forward creep means that Moreno is now acting as a dam across Lake Argentino in Patagonia, into which it empties after its journey down from the Andes.

In recent weeks the glacier’s advance, an estimated 500 metres in the past year, has seen it span the water of the lake and reach the Magallanes Peninsula and so cut off the Rico and Sur inlets from the main body of Lake Argentino.

Experts say that next the water level in the Rico and Sur inlets, fed by mountain streams, will rise by as much as 26 metres (86ft) until the weight of the water will eventually become too much for the glacier to hold back." (The Times)

Hmm... spectacular it undoubtedly is but rare, that's rather subjective. True, it doesn't happen every day, but, according to the tourist blurbs, every 3-5 years and, as this article eventually gets around to mentioning, apparently happened 15 times from 1917-1988 so a 4 year average sounds about right.

"Astonishing discovery over the Amazonian rain forest" - "An international research team has discovered huge amounts of unexpected organic aerosols over the South-American tropical rain forests." (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft)

"Environment prize goes to BBC" - "The world's richest environment prize, the Zayed Prize, has been accepted by the BBC at a ceremony in Dubai. The $0.5m award recognises the BBC for its coverage of issues related to the environment and sustainable development.

The prize was accepted on behalf of the BBC by Sian Kevill, the editorial director of BBC World, the corporation's commercially funded 24-hour international news channel.

Two other prizes worth $300,000 each went to the founders of the UN-led Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and two leading environmental activists." (BBC News Online)

Odd choices, you think? Not really, when you know the jury list includes Klaus Topfer, Robert Watson...

Oh dear! Arianna didn't do her homework: "Bleak Forecast" - "If he's smart enough to use it, the Democratic nominee may have just been handed the perfect cudgel with which to pummel President Bush – and cripple Karl Rove's attempts to position his man as America's go-to guy on national security.

The weapon in question is a new report on the grave and gathering threat posed by global climate change – and the potentially cataclysmic consequences of the Bush administration's obstinately ignorant approach to global warming." (Arianna Huffington, AlterNet)

but Keay did much better: "Pentagon-sponsored climate report sparks hullabaloo in Europe But new ice age unlikely, Bay Area authors of study say" - "A Pentagon-commissioned report by two Bay Area futurologists has sparked an international brouhaha over possible climate change disasters. But both the authors and military officials say the study has been largely misconstrued by the media and environmentalists." (Keay Davidson, San Francisco Chronicle)

as did Seth: "If a climate change shook the world" - "... Randall, the study's coauthor, said the exploration did not reflect a change in the Bush administration's view of climate change.

"It's an unlikely event," Randall said, "and the Pentagon often thinks the unthinkable, and that's all this was." (Seth Borenstein, The Inquirer)

and Robert kicked the tires and checked under the hood (even if it's not clear he recognised much): "Pentagon Study Looks at Global Climate"  - "WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon prides itself on preparing for the worst -- be it war, famine or other calamity.

So it may not seem surprising that the Pentagon last year asked two private consultants to consider the potential global impacts of an abrupt and severe change in the world's climate." (Robert Burns, AP Military Writer)

"Faster carbon turnover in basal food-chain levels in aquatic than terrestrial ecosystems" - "Improved knowledge of how carbon moves through food chains of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems is required to understand capacity of ecosystems to sequester excess atmospheric CO2, improving climate change scenario predictions. In Ecology Letters, March, Cebrian shows aquatic ecosystems transfer carbon through food chain basal levels ten times faster than terrestrial ecosystems. Basal trophic stored carbon is released back to the atmosphere or transferred to higher trophic levels quicker in aquatic than terrestrial ecosystems." (Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

"Deepest waters of the north Pacific warmed significantly over last 20 years" - "TORONTO - International researchers who conducted a systematic sampling of water from the depths of the north Pacific have discovered a startling warming at the bottom of the ocean.

The increase is small. But given that the waters on the ocean floor are believed to have had no contact for centuries with warmer water from closer to the surface, experts are wondering what exactly is at play.

"It's very important to monitor those changes because they give us clues about what's happening," said Stan Wilson, a senior scientist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who was not involved in the research.

The scientists, from Japan and Canada, found that between 1985 and 1999 the temperature on the ocean floor across the north Pacific rose by five one-thousandths of a degree Celsius. Water at that depth - about five kilometres down - is typically about 1.1 C." (CP)

"German Industry and Greens at Loggerheads Over Emissions Plan" - "German industry and unions are up in arms over an emissions trading system to cut pollution, even as the clock ticks on a March deadline for Berlin to submit a list of companies and their carbon credits to the EU." (Deutsche Welle)

"America's new coal rush" - "Utilities' dramatic push to build new plants would boost energy security but hurt the environment." (The Christian Science Monitor)

"DOE seeks new round of pollution control technology for coal-based power plants" - "WASHINGTON (02/25/04) -- The Department of Energy (DOE) has released a solicitation for the second round of proposals under President Bush’s Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI). The Department plans to provide approximately $280 million in federal funds for demonstrating barrier-breaking technologies that sharply reduce and ultimately eliminate pollution in coal-based power plants.

“Clean coal is a crucial element of our overall energy policy and our goal of a balanced, diverse energy portfolio that will provide Americans with energy and economic security and continued environmental improvement,” Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said. “The technologies we seek to foster through Round II will help make it possible for coal to remain a cornerstone of our domestic energy portfolio, particularly for power generation, and to continue that role into the long-term future.”

Coal generates more than 50 percent of America’s electric power and constitutes more than 90 percent of proved fossil fuel reserves." (Capitol Reports)

"UK wind power industry says set for rapid growth" - "LONDON - Britain's wind power industry said this week it is poised for rapid growth over the next two years as improved financial incentives encourage companies to pour a billion pounds ($1.87 billion) into new projects.

Europe's windiest country would nearly triple its capacity, giving Britain enough turbines to supply a million households, or 1.3 percent of total electricity demand, said the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA)." (Reuters)

"Environmental Group Depicts Ford's Chief as Pinocchio" - "STUNG by the depiction of its chairman and chief executive as Pinocchio in an advertisement, the Ford Motor Company has sent a cease-and-desist letter to an environmental group responsible for the ad.

Ford is demanding that the group, Bluewater Network, which is based in San Francisco, stop "unlawful conduct" in a print and Internet campaign that attacks Ford's environmental policies.

Bluewater began running an ad in national and college publications earlier this month that said William Clay Ford Jr., the company's chairman and chief executive, had failed to make good on a promise the company made in 2000 to increase the fuel efficiency of its sport utility vehicles 25 percent by 2005.

The ad features a line drawing of Mr. Ford with an extra-long nose and the words: "Bill Ford Jr. or Pinocchio? Don't buy his environmental rhetoric. Don't buy his cars." (New York Times)

"Boost for transgenic foods as China widens imports" - "SHANGHAI — China, once wary of importing gene-spliced farm goods, is widening its doors to billions of dollars worth of transgenic crops, amid increasing pressure to import more agricultural products to feed its huge population.

A green light for imports of bioengineered farm products patented by Monsanto paves the way for more imports from overseas, boding well for key industry players such as Switzerland's Syngenta AG analysts said on Tuesday.

It was a logical step for a country relying increasingly on global markets to replenish dwindling grain stocks after years of harvest declines, they said." (Reuters)

"Contamination of Conventional Seed with Genetically Engineered Material Prompts Call to Protect Organic Seed" - "Greenfield, MA - Findings released by the Union for Concerned Scientists showing widespread contamination of conventional seed by genetically engineered (GE) materials give a clear indication that those wishing to avoid planting GE crops may, in fact, be inadvertently planting GE contaminated crops.

"The evidence is mounting, as this survey by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows, that GE contamination is happening," said Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association. She noted that organic producers take great care to offer customers a quality product with only the limited use of synthetic processing materials or ingredients. "Now, producers are faced with not only the problem of contamination in the field but, more fundamentally, even the inability to be sure they are choosing non-genetically engineered seed," DiMatteo said." (Press release from: Organic Trade Association (OTA))

"US defends GM foods at biotech forum" - "KUALA LUMPUR - The United States vigorously pressed its case for genetically-modified food at an international conference debating the potential risks of biotech products and trade guidelines.

The US, the top producer of GM crops in the world, defended their safety and urged delegates attending the first Conference of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to allow smooth trade in the products to help ease world hunger.

Deborah Malac, biotech division chief in the US State Department, said bio-technology may not cure world hunger but it is an important tool to boost global food security.

"It is not the silver bullet nor the answer to solve world hunger but we do believe it is a critical element that needs to be applied," she told a news conference." (AFP)

"Rules for gene-altered foods on way" - "Label guidelines could come as early as next week But critics fear Canadian public will be misled.

Four years and several hundred thousand dollars later, Canada is about to publish its first voluntary standards for labelling food free of genetically modified ingredients.

But critics, including consumer groups and some food processors, say the rules are so badly flawed they will be of no use to the majority of Canadians worried about consuming genetically modified food.

"We want labelling but what we got was meaningless," said Nadege Adams, of the Council of Canadians, a consumer group that monitored the process.

A cereal could be advertised as containing GM-free corn even though the canola oil in the ingredient list is genetically modified, said Susan Powell, executive director of the Canadian Food Exporters Association." (Toronto Star)

Excuse me? What DNA is in oil? Didn't think so, so how do we get genetically modified oil?

"Why it's time for GM Britain" - "Leaked papers show the cabinet has given the go-ahead to genetically modified maize. Top government science adviser Chris Pollock puts the economic and ecological case to Ian Sample." (The Guardian)

"GM crops delayed by at least a year after cabinet leak" - "Genetically-modified crops cannot be planted in the UK for at least another year, and maybe not even then, the environment minister, Elliot Morley, said yesterday." (The Guardian)

"GM industry liable" - "The biotechnology industry will be liable for any compensation for damage or contamination caused by genetically modified crops, leaked Cabinet minutes reveal." (Daily Telegraph)

"Brussels backs Berlin crop plan" - "The European Commission on Tuesday came out in favour of Germany’s plans for the co-existence of GM and non-GM crops.

Farm commissioner Franz Fischler at a meeting of agriculture ministers on Tuesday said that he fully supported German proposals to protect conventional and organic farmland from contamination by biotech crops.

His comments came after a presentation by Berlin laying out the current state of play for German GM farmers, who are financially liable if they contaminate other non-GM crops.

“In the commission’s view the German initiative on co-existence is a good one.” (EUpolitix.com)

February 25, 2004

"Earth almost put on impact alert" - "Astronomers have revealed how they came within minutes of alerting the world to a potential asteroid strike last month. Some scientists believed on 13 January that a 30m object, later designated 2004 AS1, had a one-in-four chance of hitting the planet within 36 hours." (BBC News Online)

It eventually passed the Earth at a distance of about 8 million miles (~12 million km), >30 times the distance from Earth to the Moon or almost 1,000 times the diameter of the Earth.

"Study doubts health drive gains" - "A report on improving the nation's health is expected to call for more emphasis on prevention of illness. The report by Treasury adviser Derek Wanless is thought likely to cast doubt on the value of big initiatives to promote healthier lifestyles. The study will make the case for stronger political leadership and urge a 20-year campaign to cut coronary heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Working class lifestyles are likely to be blamed for health inequalities. The report is expected to focus on to poor diet, lack of exercise, and alcohol abuse." (BBC News Online)

"A Report on Childhood Obesity" - "MADISON AVENUE was challenged again yesterday over the way it markets food to children, as a new report was released suggesting that advertising contributes to childhood obesity.

The report, by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, summarized existing studies on obesity and the media like television, video games and movies that capture children's attention. Although it endorsed no solutions, it did discuss possible policy changes, like regulating or reducing food advertising aimed at children.

And it is far from the first examination of ads focusing on children; just on Monday, the American Psychological Association recommended that the government put restrictions on marketing to those younger than 7 or 8 because they are unable "to recognize advertising's persuasive intent." (New York Times)

"Soya 'link' to male infertility" - "The humble soya bean may play a role in the problem of male infertility, a team of researchers in Belfast has found. Soya contains the female hormone oestrogen and too much of it is being linked to poor quality sperm." (BBC News Online)

"Scientists raise caution about effects of HRT on hearing" - "A small pilot study suggests that women who undergo hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) may run the risk of diminished hearing. Depending on the measure, HRT recipients on average did anywhere from 10 to 30 percent worse on hearing tests than women who had not received HRT." (University of Rochester Medical Center)

"Elvis lives, MI5 murdered Diana, MMR is dangerous" - "The rational must unite against this loopy alliance of anti-science crackpots" (Tim Hames, The Times)

"Scientist Says 'Asian Brown Cloud' Threatens Gulf" - "DUBAI - A body of pollution which has been identified in the skies across Asia is now threatening to engulf the Middle East and make the planet a drier place, a leading environmental scientist said on Tuesday." (Reuters)

"Global warming: How far can it go? Worst-case scenario paints a grim picture" - "In a dire look at a hypothetical hothouse world, consultants for the Pentagon see nations warring over water, food and whom to blame for greenhouse warming. (Hint: It's you and your sport utility vehicle.)

"Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life," two Emeryville-based futurists concluded in a report late last year for the Defense Department's Office of Net Assessment.

Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall were drafted for an unclassified, worst-case look at climate change. But the echo chamber of Internet news and opinion transformed their exercise into a top military secret or the ultimate comeuppance for a fossil-fueled executive or a Bush conspiracy to hide the WMDs of the natural world.

As if the report itself wasn't fantastic enough." (Ian Hoffman, Tri-Valley Herald)

"Alarmists Exaggerate Pentagon Climate Report - Global Warming Speculations Misrepresented as Fact" - "Washington, D.C., February 24, 2004—A recent report on the possible future effects of global warming, issued by two researchers working for the U.S. Department of Defense, is being unfortunately misinterpreted as a prediction of imminent climatic disaster. The report, prepared last October, considers a series of far-ranging scenarios based on an array of models and hypotheses of varying degrees of likelihood. The authors repeatedly emphasize the conditional nature of the report, referring to their predictions as “extreme” and “not the most likely.” (CEI)

The Week That Was February 21, 2004 (SEPP)

"Apocalypse Always" - "Last month a group of 19 scientists made an apocalyptic claim: If current warming trends continue, more than a million species will be extinct in less than half a century. This follows a possibly even more alarming statement made in December by the World Health Organization (WHO), which said that global warming killed 150,000 people in 2000.

Both charges are shamefully exaggerated, considering that there's no consensus among scientists that global warming exists and, even if it does, what causes it. Is it induced by mankind? Or is there a natural cycle of warming and cooling that man cannot control? Or some combination of these elements?

Despite a legion of legitimate doubts, the hyperbole manages to grow more inflated. The book "Climate Change and Human Health -- Risks and Responses," published by the WHO, claims that the death toll from global warming will be twice as high in the next 30 years. That is unless, of course, something is done about it, which is exactly the WHO's goal: To employ the force of government to establish policies that match to its ideology." (C.C. Kraemer, TCS)

"Defusing the Global Warming Time Bomb" - "Global warming is real, and the consequences are potentially disastrous. Nevertheless, practical actions, which would also yield a cleaner, healthier atmosphere, could slow, and eventually stop, the process." (James Hansen, SciAm.com) [Subscription required]

"Thawing subarctic permafrost increases greenhouse gas emissions" - "The permafrost in the bogs of subarctic Sweden is undergoing dramatic changes. The part of the soil that thaws in the summer, the so-called active layer, has become thicker since 1970, and the permafrost has disappeared altogether in some locations. This has lead to significant changes in the vegetation and to a subsequent increase in emission of the greenhouse gas methane. Methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas." (American Geophysical Union)

"Atmospheric water clusters provide evidence of global warming" - "Researchers at Hamilton College have identified several methods for successfully determining the structures and thermodynamic values for the formation of atmospheric water clusters, which scientists have speculated may accelerate global warming. The Hamilton team's findings were published in the March 3 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society." (Hamilton College)

"Tests on greenhouse gas underway" - "Australia was researching technology that could ultimately mean the underground storage of greenhouse gas emissions, a Sydney forum has been told. Dr Peter Cook, from Canberra's Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies, said researchers were working on the next steps in developing zero emission technologies. These could be used to capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from large-scale operations, he said." (AAP)

From CO₂ Science Magazine this week:
Editorial:
"Rising Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations: Will They Destroy Earth's Coral Reefs?" - "A number of climate alarmists are shouting yes!  Real-world data, on the other hand, are whispering no." (co2science.org)

Subject Index Summaries:
"Climate Oscillations (Millennial Variability - Oceans)" - "Buried in the mud and ooze at the bottom of the planet's oceans lie more treasures than gold or silver; for there resides much of the evidence that will someday turn back the tide of radical environmentalism that defines the anti-CO2 movement of the world's climate alarmists." (co2science.org)

"Agriculture (Species -- Wheat: Biomass)" - "Atmospheric CO2 enrichment typically stimulates the biomass production of most plants.  Does it do the same for wheat?" (co2science.org)

Plant Growth Data:
"This week we add new results (blue background) of plant growth responses to atmospheric CO2 enrichment obtained from experiments described in the peer-reviewed scientific literature for: Cabbage, Chaparral Ecosystem, Peanut, Rice and Scrub-Oak Ecosystem." (co2science.org)

Journal Reviews:
"Will CO2-Induced Global Warming Slow the Atlantic Branch of the Ocean's Thermohaline Circulation?" - "Climate models that form the basis for the IPCC's world view of future climate suggest it will.  Newer models, however, suggest otherwise." (co2science.org)

"The Role of the Sun in Holocene Climate Change" - "Evidence continues to accumulate for (1) the solar forcing of climate change during the Holocene, and (2) the global extent of the climatic variability of that period." (co2science.org)

"Australia's Great Barrier Reef: Resurrecting Itself, Again and Again and Again" - "Can a mature coral reef, once totally destroyed, ever regain its close-to-original composition?" (co2science.org)

"Will Less-Than-Adequate Nitrogen Keep Earth's Ecosystems from Positively Responding to Increases in Atmospheric CO2?" - "Some scientists have said that it will.  Real-world data, on the other hand, have yet to support their contentions." (co2science.org)

"Digestibility of Pasture Forage Is Enhanced by Elevated CO2" - "A number of co-occurring phenomena combine to produce the pleasantly-surprising result." (co2science.org)

Major Report:
"Enhanced or Impaired?  Human Health in a CO2-Enriched Warmer World" - "Hardly a heat wave passes but what climate alarmists are quick to blame global warming for any excess deaths that may have been associated with it.  If the whole truth be told, however, global warming would likely reduce the number of lives lost to extreme thermal conditions, considering what happens at the cold end of the temperature spectrum.  In addition, CO2-induced changes in the composition of the plants we use for food and medicine may actually be improving human health and extending human lifespan." (co2science.org)

The Week That Was February 14, 2004 (SEPP)

"Environment groups continue to attack GM foods" - "KUALA LUMPUR - Environmental groups said new studies show genetically-modified (GM) foods pose serious health threats to humans as an international meeting here continued to debate labeling GM products.

Jeffrey Smith, director of the US-based Institute for Responsible Technology, said data from three studies conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology showed that during pollination GM maize may have made people living near maize fields in the Philippines ill.

He also said the cauliflower mosaic virus, used in most GM foods, was found intact in rat tissue up to three days after it was mixed into a single meal and it was unknown what the long-term effects of this were." (AFP)

Gasp! Not the cauliflower mosaic virus! Um... just a minute, what foods have we ever eaten that don't contain viruses, fungi - whole ecosystems of micro fauna and flora? Not being a plant (despite aspersions cast by occasional correspondents), I don't feel too threatened by CMV.

"Manila rejects GM maize health findings" - "MANILA, Feb 24 - The Philippines said on Tuesday it would press ahead in using gene-modified (GM) maize as it doubted findings by a Norwegian scientist that some Filipino farm workers showed signs of exposure to the plant's anti-pest toxin.

"It's absurd. No biology student will believe it," Artemio Salazar, director of the corn programme of the Philippines' Department of Agriculture, told reporters." (Reuters)

"Minister denies pressure on GM" - "Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Carwyn Jones has denied coming under pressure from the Westminster Government to approve the sale of a genetically modified maize seed in Wales. In a statement on Tuesday, he reiterated the Welsh Assembly Government's policy to take "the most restrictive position possible on GM." (BBC News Online)

"EU presidency has yet to rule on GMO maize request" - "BRUSSELS, Feb 24 - EU president Ireland has not yet decided whether to ask the bloc's farm ministers to consider authorising a genetically modified (GMO) type of canned maize, a move that might see the EU lift its five-year ban on new biotech products.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Ireland's Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh said the matter was still under consideration and a decision would be made over the next month.

"We're still reflecting on the issue and we'll be in a position before the March council meeting (of ministers) to make a decision on it. But I haven't made up my mind yet," he said, speaking during this month's meeting of farm ministers." (Reuters)

"Coming a cropper" - "The public is against GM crops being grown in Britain but the government will not rule it out. John Vidal rates this and other elements that could ruin the plans" (The Guardian)

"Can we keep the cap on transgene escape?" - "Molecular strategies are being developed to impede escapes of transgenes from transgenic crops into wild relatives, which might become invasive upon acquiring transgenic traits such as resistance to pests or herbicides. In Ecology Letters, March, Haygood et al mathematically analyze how probability of escape within any given period depends on factors including leakage parameter characteristic of the strategy. They find that even fairly long average escape times create substantial probability of escape much sooner." (Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

February 24, 2004

"Toxic math" - "A New York-based group called the Radiation and Public Health Project recently released seemingly alarming statistics about cancer and infant health in downstate Grundy County. The group implied that an alleged rise in health problems was related to the Dresden 2 and 3 nuclear reactors in Morris, which have license renewals pending before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission." (Chicago Tribune)

"Panel Presents Report on Leukemia Cluster" - "FALLON, Nev. -- A panel studying a childhood leukemia cluster in this rural northern Nevada town reported Monday it knows no more about the cause of the cancer than it did when studies began three years ago.

The panel's final report, presented at a meeting attended by more than 100 people, was a disappointment for families of children afflicted by the cancer. But researchers said the massive amount of data they compiled should help in future efforts to determine the cause of the disease." (AP)

Nevada Cancer Scare Is Tree-Ring Circus

"Traffic fumes may up leukemia risk: study" - "NEW YORK - Exhaust fumes from cars and trucks may increase the risk of childhood cancer, researchers in Italy report.

In a 20-year study of childhood leukemia cases in an Italian province, children living near busy roads had an increased risk of developing the disease, according to an article in the International Journal of Cancer.

The study is not the final word on the possible link between traffic and cancer, but it "provides further evidence of a relationship between exposure to traffic exhausts and childhood leukemia," according to a team led by Dr. Paolo Crosignani at the National Cancer Institute in Milan." (Reuters Health)

"Hormone use linked to asthma in women" - "NEW YORK - Women who use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to curb the symptoms of menopause appear to be at increased risk for developing asthma, new research suggests. However, the risk of asthma is still low." (Reuters Health)

"Fiber from fruit, cereal keeps heart healthy" - "NEW YORK - Not all forms of fiber may offer equal protection from heart disease, new research released Monday suggests.

Specifically, investigators found that only dietary fiber from cereals and fruits - and not vegetables - appeared to reduce the risk of heart disease. "There was nothing at all for vegetable fiber, and we don't really know why," study author Dr. Mark Pereira told Reuters Health.

But even if future studies demonstrate that fiber from vegetables is useless in warding off heart disease, he said, eating vegetables provides people with many other important nutrients that protect against heart disease and other conditions." (Reuters Health)

"Number of children linked to obesity for mom and dad" - "The more children a person has, the greater the risk he or she will become obese, according to a new study from Duke University Medical Center. From an analysis of a large database of middle-aged Americans, researchers found women faced an average 7 percent increased risk of obesity per child and men an average 4 percent increased risk per child. Researchers attribute the weight gain to a busier lifestyle that may include a diet of more fast food and leave less time for exercise." (Duke University Medical Center)

At least, according to Lester, we won't need fat taxes: "Speaker Warns Against Future World Disaster" - "If someday soon, when wars break out over water and the price of cereal skyrockets, don't say Lester Brown didn't warn you.

Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute and president of the Earth Policy Institute, gave a lecture titled "Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble," Saturday to a crowd that filled Campbell Hall past capacity. Brown used his speech to argue that if current environmental trends continue, the global economy will eventually fall apart.

"Right now we are on the edge of one of history's hinge points, after which nothing will be the same," Brown said. "I believe a major global wake-up call will come within a year in the form of rising food prices." (Daily Nexus)

"U.S. Fish & Wildlife testing hatchery-raised fish for pollutants" - "SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Northeast region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is testing its hatchery-raised salmon and other fish for dioxin and other pollutants because of fears they could be picking up pollutants from commonly used feeds.

Marvin Moriarty, Northeast regional director for the service, said Monday that the tests were ordered following a study that found farm-raised salmon contains significantly more of the long-lived chemicals, including dioxins, than salmon caught in the wild.

The study, published last month in the journal Science, suggested the pollutants came from PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls in the fish oil and meal fed to farm-raised salmon." (Associated Press)

Oh George... "The corporate stooges who nobble serious science" - "The MMR scandal shows a business riddled with conflicts of interest" (George Monbiot, The Guardian)

"Taming the NGOs: An Epic Fight" (PDF) - "NGOs are strong—so strong that some commentators call them the “second superpower.” Over the last 10 years, the NGO movement has become so influential that many governments and corporations alike now tremble at the thought of offending its members. But this may be about to change. The movement faces mounting pressures to become more accountable and more transparent. In this article, we will look at some of the factors driving this push to set certain ground rules for NGO participation in global political life." (Neil Hrab, EU Reporter)

"Environmental cases hinge on limits of authority" - "As early as Tuesday, the Supreme Court could begin to issue decisions on four environmental cases with implications for improving water quality, cutting air pollution and protecting unscathed federal land in the West.

By the time the court term ends in June, justices will have ruled on eight cases bearing on the environment - the most heard in one term in a decade.

The court will not be ruling on the constitutionality of any environmental laws. Instead, it will decide who has the authority to make decisions or how far law extends in cases that affect water, air and land quality." (USA TODAY)

"Senate to Vote on Shielding Gun Makers" - "Backers of a bipartisan bill that would shield firearms dealers and manufacturers from lawsuits are pushing for a vote this week in the Senate." (New York Times)

"Lawyers, Guns and Mayors" - "Rather than make our streets safer, Congress proposes basically to immunize the gun industry from litigation." (New York Times)

"Group Talks Defending Earth From Asteroid" - "GARDEN GROVE, Calif. -- The asteroid believed to have wiped out dinosaurs 65 million years ago was rare but hardly unique, say scientists gathered to discuss ways of aggressively defending our planet from another such space rock, including by detonating nukes in space.

Asteroids capable of inflicting damage on a global scale hit the Earth roughly every million years, and we shouldn't dawdle in developing a method of deflecting them, say the scientists attending a four-day planetary defense conference in suburban Orange County.

Scientists have proposed a variety of strategies to nudge an asteroid off course. The list is the stuff of science fiction and includes using lasers, mirrors or atomic weapons launched from Earth." (AP)

This has drawn a ridiculous amount of attention: "Pentagon Report Warns on Climate Change" - "A secret report prepared by the Pentagon warns that climate change may lead to global catastrophe costing millions of lives and is a far greater threat than terrorism. The report was ordered by an influential US Pentagon advisor but was covered up by "US defense chiefs" for four months, until it was "obtained" by the British weekly The Observer." (AFP)

What is it about? Basically, a "what-if?" scenario think tanks are paid to dream up, similar to "What would we do if space aliens landed in Queens?". What's it based on? This is from page 6 of the report:

The climate change scenario outlined in this report is modeled on a century-long climate event that records from an ice core in Greenland indicate occurred 8,200 years ago. Immediately following an extended period of warming, much like the phase we appear to be in today, there was a sudden cooling. Average annual temperatures in Greenland dropped by roughly 5 degrees Fahrenheit, and temperature decreases nearly this large are likely to have occurred throughout the North Atlantic region. During the 8,200 event severe winters in Europe and some other areas caused glaciers to advance, rivers to freeze, and agricultural lands to be less productive. Scientific evidence suggests that this event was associated with, and perhaps caused by, a collapse of the ocean’s conveyor following a period of gradual warming.

Longer ice core and oceanic records suggest that there may have been as many as eight rapid cooling episodes in the past 730,000 years, and sharp reductions in the ocean conveyer--a phenomenon that may well be on the horizon – are a likely suspect in causing such shifts in climate.

"During the 8,200 event severe winters in Europe and some other areas caused glaciers to advance, rivers to freeze, and agricultural lands to be less productive." This loss of agricultural productivity, did that have anything to do with predating most agriculture? Never mind... The associated graphic is on page 5 (I suspect that should read: "Medieval War[m] Period" actually. Oh well...). Curiously, it appears to indicate that Greenland is currently ~5°F cooler than the periods before and after the 8,200 event - barely 2°F warmer than the event itself. Are we all frightened yet?

Even more curious is the ferocious promotion of this speculative report by eco-activists and left-leaning publications. The historical warming prior (and subsequent) to the cited event 8,200 years ago seems of far greater significance and amplitude than the apparently incomplete recovery from the Little Ice Age we are currently experiencing. Nor is there any suggestion that this apparently aggressive warming was anything other than a natural event (haven't seen anywhere that current fossil fuel use caused warming 8,200 years ago). The graphic also seems to indicate several subsequent periods as warm as, or warmer than that preceding the 8,200-year event, although none apparently preceded or precipitated such aggressive cooling as the highlighted event. And their point is...?

Anyway, the "secret" report follows:

Exec Summary: "An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security October 2003" (PDF) - "Imagining the Unthinkable - The purpose of this report is to imagine the unthinkable – to push the boundaries of current research on climate change so we may better understand the potential implications on United States national security.

We have interviewed leading climate change scientists, conducted additional research, and reviewed several iterations of the scenario with these experts. The scientists support this project, but caution that the scenario depicted is extreme in two fundamental ways. First, they suggest the occurrences we outline would most likely happen in a few regions, rather than on globally. Second, they say the magnitude of the event may be considerably smaller.

We have created a climate change scenario that although not the most likely, is plausible, and would challenge United States national security in ways that should be considered immediately." (Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall) Click here for the full report (PDF)

"Winter Weather Wonder, Part II" - "January 2004 was unusually cold for most of the Northern Hemisphere (see previous TCS CharTiFact). The cold prompted the UK's Independent to link the weather in a recent op/ed to increased carbon dioxide in the air saying, "Global warming will plunge Britain into new ice age 'within decades'." This is hype." (Willie Soon, Lucy Hancock and Sallie Baliunas, TCS)

"Climate: Hard lessons from climates past" - "BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 23 -- Over the next century, if the current trend continues, Earth is going to see climate conditions that have not existed in hundreds -- and perhaps thousands -- of millennia. The outcome of this trend will shape the future not only of homo sapiens, but many other species with which we share the planet.

Even if all nations undertake aggressive measures -- and even if those measures are successful -- atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will stabilize at somewhere above 400 parts per million. Without any restrictions, CO2 levels in the atmosphere will reach 1,000 ppm.

"This is an experiment that hasn't been done in a long time," said Dan Schrag, professor of geochemistry at Harvard University. "Atmospheric CO2 has never been higher than 300 ppm in the last 400,000 years, and probably not in the last 30 million years," he said." (Dan Whipple, United Press International)

Hmm... current atmospheric CO₂ levels are ~375ppm or ~100ppm (roughly one-third) increase from the pre-1750 guesstimate. To reach 1,000ppm this century would require emissions 6-7 times greater than those of the last 250 years combined, is that realistic? The Mauna Loa atmospheric CO₂ measurements constitute the longest continuous record of atmospheric CO₂ concentrations available in the world.* The Mauna Loa record shows an 18% increase in the mean annual concentration, from 315.98 parts per million by volume (ppmv) of dry air in 1959 to 372.95 ppmv in 2002.* While atmospheric CO₂ increase has not been linear, in fact, atmospheric CO₂ fell during the mid-1960s**, it has been reasonably consistent. The SIO CO ₂ record from the South Pole shows that annual averages of atmospheric CO ₂ concentrations rose from 314.8 ppmv in 1958 to 370.3 ppmv in 2002. This represents an annual increase over 1.2 ppmv per year.* Extrapolating the last half-century through the next (not allowing for any technological improvement) suggests an increase of less than 130ppm (to ~500ppm) by century's end. That's a long way from the bald statement above.

* Keeling, C.D. and T.P. Whorf. 2003. Atmospheric CO2 records from sites in the SIO air sampling network. In Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A.

** Bacastow, R.B. 1979. Dip in the atmospheric CO₂ level during the mid-1960's. Journal of Geophysical Research 80:3109-14.

"Cooler Heads Coalition Vol. VIII, No. 4" - "British Government Continues Attacks on U.S. on Climate Change; European Consensus on Kyoto Cracks Further; Junk Science Group Accuses Bush Administration of Suppressing Junk Science; and more!" (CEI)

"US 'does accept climate threat'" - "Most US policymakers do accept that climate change is a significant threat, a leading British scientist believes. Professor John Schellnhuber, of the University of East Anglia, said he thought about 80% of senior politicians recognised the danger "in principle". He said he thought this consensus would eventually lead to a change in policy by President Bush's administration." (Alex Kirby, BBC News Online)

"The Emperor’s New Climate, Part IV: Disaster Does Not Loom" Read Part I - Weird Science - Click here; Read Part II - Are We Warm Yet? Click here; Read Part III The Kyoto Depression - Click here. - "A funny thing happened as James Hansen was fielding questions from reporters in Washington, D.C., in 1988, terrifying senators with global warming predictions: The forests of eastern North America—no doubt including the Blue Ridge Mountains 60 miles to the west of the capital—were quietly absorbing CO2.

A study by Princeton University, Columbia University, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducted between 1988 and 1992 showed that the eastern forests were so efficient a “sink” or absorber of carbon dioxide that they more than made up for all the emissions from America’s factories, power plants, campfires—even its SUVs.

Published in Science in 1998, it got comparatively little notice, but if the years covered by the study are typical, the implications for the world’s climate could be enormous. It would mean that America, rather than being a force oppressing the rest of the world with its huge economy and its greenhouse emissions, is actually picking up other countries’ greenhouse “trash.” If CO2 is a problem, it’s the rest of the world that’s causing it." (Duncan Maxwell Anderson, NewsMax,com)

"Climate science or science fiction?" - "Proponents of policies to control human-induced global warming cite science as the basis for their claims and proposals. There is only one problem — as much as they claim otherwise, there is no scientific consensus for their theories." (H. Sterling Burnett, The Washington Times)

"Forecast of Rising Oil Demand Challenges Tired Saudi Fields" - "Saudi Arabia's oil fields are in decline, raising questions about whether the kingdom will be able to satisfy the world's thirst for oil in coming years." (New York Times)

"Australia: Jitters over renewable energy push" - "ENVIRONMENT Minister David Kemp is road testing a plan to treble the mandatory renewable energy target to 30,000 gigawatt hours, a move that is alarming some of his ministerial colleagues.

MRET is regarded as the single most significant measure Australia has introduced to encourage the development of the $1 billion renewable energy industry.

Dr Kemp's proposal is significantly more than that suggested by the Tambling MRET review panel, a government-appointed body, in its report published last month.

The new proposal, developed by the Australian Greenhouse Office, appears unlikely to receive the support of federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane." (The Courier-Mail)

"Fuel-cell microbes' double duty: treat water, make energy" - "Something big may be brewing on the sewage treatment circuit thanks to a new design that puts bacteria on double-duty-treating wastewater and generating electricity at the same time." (National Science Foundation)

"GMO Trade Talks Start with Lines Clearly Drawn" - "KUALA LUMPUR - Talks to regulate international trade in genetically modified (GM) crops got going Monday with supporters and critics of the controversial technology well set to battle things out.

Delegates from nearly 90 countries met in the Malaysian capital for the first time since a regime governing cross-border trade in GM organisms became law last year, with details on shipment labeling, liability and compliance still to be worked out." (Reuters)

"Adopt strict rules on GMOs" - "KUALA LUMPUR: The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety meeting has been urged to adopt strict rules against risks from the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and to prevent a US-led coalition from “weakening” biosafety standards. Friends of the Earth International adviser on genetic engineering Juan Lopez Villar said the creation of a legally binding international regime for liability and redress should be negotiated after the meeting. A comprehensive identification and labelling system that clearly identified all GMOs intended for trade should be established, he added. “The US and its allies are again boycotting a multilateral agreement and are trying to impose their own standards on the rest of the world. “These countries are promoting weak standards that will deny consumers the right to know what is in their food,” he said in a press statement yesterday. The group also distributed a statement urging the delegates not to let the coalition dubbed the Miami Plus Group from watering down the protocol again." (The Star, Malaysia) [Complete]

"China eyes GM food crops to cut costs-academic" - "WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Feb 23 - China is set to commercialize genetically modified rice and is testing biotech wheat varieties as it looks for ways to cut farmers' costs, an expert from the University of California, Davis said on Monday.

Starting next year, China plans to spend $500 million per year researching crops modified to withstand insects, diseases and herbicides, Scott Rozelle told a Canadian outlook conference.

"That's going to mean by 2005, China is outspending the U.S. government in plant biotech research," Rozelle said, noting private companies spend much more on crop biotech research in the United States." (Reuters)

"Wheat Is at Forefront of Biotech Battle" - "WICHITA, Kan. - More than 10,000 years after nomadic hunters first harvested stands of wild wheat, researchers are working on genetically engineering mankind's oldest crop in what may become the last stand in the battle over biotech foods.

With a genome five times the size of the human genome, wheat is so complex that it is one of the last major crops to undergo genetic manipulation. The food staple has become the center of the fight over genetically modified organisms." (Associated Press)

"Study probes Canadian farmers' views on GM wheat" - "WINNIPEG, Manitoba - University of Manitoba researchers want to find out what would influence Canadian farmers to grow genetically modified wheat in a 12-page survey of 11,000 rural Prairie households." (Reuters)

"Despite confinement, crop genes can spread fast to wild" - "With the slim chance that farmers will stop planting crops containing genes from other organisms, researchers have started to develop strategies that trap these foreign genes, reducing the risk that they'll spread to wild relatives. But an investigation by scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota-St. Paul shows that these containment strategies can quickly fail." (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

"Purdue scientists: Genetically modified fish could damage ecology" - "The genetic modifications that improve animals for human consumption also could doom populations if released into the wild. While genetically modified fish will be bigger and have more success at attracting mates, they may also produce offspring that are less likely to survive to adulthood. As generations pass, a population could dwindle in size and, potentially, disappear entirely." (Purdue University)

"Crops 'widely contaminated' by genetically modified DNA" - "US scientists are warning of a potentially "serious risk to human health" after the discovery that traditional varieties of major American food crops are widely contaminated by DNA sequences from GM crops.

Crops engineered to produce industrial chemicals and drugs - so-called "pharm" crops - could already be poisoning ostensibly GM-free crops grown for food, warns the study by the Washington-based Union for Concerned Scientists, released on Monday." (NewScientist.com news service)

Rather less hysterically: "Non-transgenic crop may be rare" - "There may be no corn, soybeans or canola seed in U.S. crops that do not have traces of their genetically engineered counterparts, according to a study released Monday by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The union, an environmental advocacy group, tested non-transgenic seed from major seed suppliers and found low but detectable levels of DNA from two transgenic varieties in 50% to 83% of corn and soybean and between 83% and 100% of canola." (Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY) | Engineered DNA Found in Crop Seeds (Washington Post)

"Syngenta and Monsanto offer farmers broad access to agricultural technologies" - "Syngenta and Monsanto announced today that they reached an agreement that resolves a patent interference proceeding in the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office involving transgenic broad leaf crops. It also dismisses a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Syngenta that had been pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Under the agreement, Syngenta and Monsanto will provide each other with royalty-free, non-exclusive licenses related to the development, use and sale of transgenic crops containing agricultural technologies such as insect-protection and herbicide-tolerance produced through the use of the cross-licensed Agrobacterium-mediated transformation technology." (SeedQuest)

"Australia: GM food crops to be planted in weeks" - "Thousands of hectares of genetically modified canola could be planted in NSW as soon as April, after a meeting of the State Government's expert council decided there was no reason it should not go ahead.

Two chemical companies have applied to run joint tests of GM canola in NSW and have asked that the participating farmers be allowed to sell the crops.

An official recommendation is expected to go to the Minister for Agriculture, Ian Macdonald, next month but members of the NSW Agricultural Advisory Council on Gene Technology told the Herald the proposal would be given the all clear." (The Sydney Morning Herald)

"UK 'not yet set for GM go-ahead'" - "The UK environment minister, Elliot Morley, has sought to calm fears the government will shortly give the go-ahead to genetically modified crops. Mr Morley said there were still several issues to be settled, and the UK could not let GM crops be grown commercially. He told journalists the UK would give no blanket approval for GM varieties, but would judge each crop on its own. But it is clear the government is close to making an announcement on GM crops in the UK, probably in early March." (Alex Kirby, BBC News Online)

February 23, 2004

"Epidemiology Beyond Its Limits" - "In 1995, science writer Gary Taubes warned that the science of epidemiology (tracing the source and causes of disease) was reaching a crisis point. In "Epidemiology Faces Its Limits" (Science, Jul. 14, 1995), Taubes argued that modern epidemiology was in danger of becoming a "pathological science" because it had devolved into a data dredging exercise, mindlessly searching an ever-expanding pool of danger for marginally significant associations unpredicted by any a priori hypothesis. For instance, researchers might discover by sifting through volumes of data on ovarian cancer that women who eat yoghurt every day suffer the illness marginally more than non-yoghurt eaters and therefore decide that yoghurt is a risk factor for cancer. The future did indeed seem bleak." (Iain Murray, TCS)

"The Perils of Abundance?" - "The infant mortality rate has long been considered a measure of the state of a state's well-being. It is, it has been assumed, directly related to poverty, poor nutrition, and lack of healthcare. And at first glance this appears to be the case. Countries with the worst infant mortality rates are the war torn and impoverished, while those with the lowest are highly developed and politically stable.

No wonder then, that critics of the United States often point to our infant mortality rate -- 7 per 1,000 live born infants according to the latest figures -- as a disgrace. We consistently rank behind most Western European countries, Canada, Japan, and Hong Kong. And just above or below Cuba, depending on the year." (Sydney Smith, TCS)

"Top doctor wades into MMR debate" - "The government's top doctor has criticised the man at the centre of the MMR controversy. Sir Liam Donaldson, England's chief medical officer, accused Dr Andrew Wakefield of peddling "poor science". He said the 1998 study has never been replicated and was criticised by "independent experts around the world". His comments came as the General Medical Council prepared to open an investigation into the way Dr Wakefield carried out his study." (BBC News Online)

"Vegetarians vs. Atkins: Diet Wars Are Almost Religious" - "HE charges that his group is like the Taliban. He claims that her group's dangerous message has "spread like a virus across North America, Europe and elsewhere."

The issue inspiring such invectives? Not religion, but diets." (Gina Kolata, New York Times)

"Neither the IPCC, nor the NAS, confirmed that human-caused climate change is a serious problem, says MIT professor" (PDF) - "In recent issues of The Hill Times there have been some seriously misleading comments made about the current state of climate science and the conclusions of the scientific review bodies assigned to study the situation. These misrepresentations are crucially important to correct if Canadians are to come to sensible decisions regarding climate change policy." (Richard S. Lindzen, The Hill Times [p. 13]) [Subscription required - 2 weeks free trial access available]

"Agriculture emissions findings 'flawed': NFF" - "Australia's farmers have labelled the Kyoto Protocol flawed and have called for more research into the relationship between climate change and agriculture.

In a submission to a Senate inquiry, the National Farmers' Federation acknowledged the importance of climate change and its potential impact on agriculture.

Government figures show agriculture emits about 20 per cent of Australia's greenhouse gases (GHGs) but the NFF said there was much uncertainty about the effect, about how to measure emissions from farming and land use, and about developing the best way to reduce the emissions from agriculture." (The Age, Melbourne)

"Victoria, Australia: Bay wind farm plan derided" - "A PLAN to erect 300 wind turbines across Port Phillip, Western Port and Corio bays was dismissed as a joke yesterday by the Bracks Government.

Energy Minister Theo Theophanous ruled out any move to have offshore wind farms. "There is no proposal before us, but even if there was, we are not interested in having wind farms on our waters," he said.

Mr Theophanous said the notion was against government policy." (Herald Sun)

"Government face GM legal threat" - "LONDON - The government's plans to commercially grow genetically modified (GM) maize could face a legal challenge from environmental lobby group Friends of the Earth (FOE) who said testing had failed to rule out risks to human health and the environment." (Reuters)

"Why opposition to GE crops is based on sound science" - "Confrontational tactics are sometimes needed in the fight for a greener future, writes Steve Sawyer." (The Age, Melbourne)

[Steve Sawyer, a former executive director of Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace International, runs Greenpeace International's political and business unit.]

"Heated debate expected at GM food conference" - "An international conference on regulating genetically-modified food has opened in Kuala Lumpur with heated debate over science that some call monstrous and others promote as an answer to world hunger.

Environmental group Friends of the Earth fired the first shot, releasing a 51-page report charging that 10 years after the first GM food appeared on supermarket shelves, biotech corporations have failed to prove its benefits for farmers or consumers.

The assessment was released to coincide with the opening of the first Conference of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, a UN accord which came into force last September.

The five-day conference will debate the potential risks of new biotech products and trade guidelines, with a clash likely between European countries and the United States over the labelling of GM foods." (AFP)

"Genetically altered corn worries Mexican farmers" - "CAPULALPAN, Mexico -- The villagers knew that the corn stalk growing in Olga Maldonado's garden was different. It stood taller than a man, and the husks holding the ears dangled in bunches, like bananas.

"The way it grew, it was amazing," said her brother, Javier Toro Maldonado.

Many of the people who stopped to gawk had grown corn in this mountainous community for generations, swapping seeds and fine-tuning the genes so the crop would flourish on the steep slopes.

But they hadn't seen anything like this.

"People were curious," Javier Maldonado recalled. "They would say, `Olga has such big corn, and she doesn't even take care of it.' But Olga never told anybody where she got the seed from." (Houston Chronicle)

February 22, 2004

"The green visionary who has banished famine from the world" - "WHOEVER, wrote Jonathan Swift, “could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass grow where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind than the whole race of politicians put together.” I have just met such a man. Living and working near Mexico City and about to celebrate his ninetieth birthday is someone who in the past century, by personal intervention, saved more lives than anyone else in human history — about a thousand million people.

The green lobby hates his achievements. And you? If you belong to the 99 per cent of our countrymen who have never heard of Dr Norman Borlaug, you are as ignorant as I was about him before I went to Mexico to meet this man and make a television documentary about him for BBC Four." (Matthew Parris, The Times)

Some have reported difficulty accessing this article via the above link - try this alternate for personal, non-commercial use.

"The Worst Pandemic Looks to Get Worse" - "Fake AIDS drugs, unlicensed copies, real bioequivalent generics and even stolen brand name drugs are being sold on street corners in many African cities. The immediate result is that wretched Africans are spending their life-savings in the hope of prolonging their lives a few months, but are actually buying something useless, or at best something that is unlikely to keep them alive for long. The inevitable result is something far more worrying for society -- the build up of fatal drug-resistant HIV." (Roger Bate, TCS)

"Journal regrets running MMR study" - "The medical journal that published a controversial study linking MMR to autism says, with hindsight, it would not have published the paper." (BBC News Online)

"MMR doctor: I stand by my research on autism link" - "The British doctor who claimed to have identified a link between the MMR vaccine and autism last night angrily rejected claims that the research was "flawed" as parents of children involved in the original study accused his critics of a "witch-hunt." (Daily Telegraph)

"Reid inquiry call over MMR claim" - "Health Secretary John Reid has called for an inquiry into claims that controversial research linking the MMR vaccine to autism was "flawed". He urged the General Medical Council to investigate "as a matter of urgency", after the Lancet medical journal said it should not have published the study. Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet, told the BBC the researchers had a "fatal conflict of interest". Chief researcher Dr Andrew Wakefield rejected the journal's claims. But the Department of Health said it welcomed the Lancet's regret for publishing material that had caused so much public concern." (BBC News Online)

"We do enjoy a good health scare" - "There will be widespread, if publicly unacknowledged, rejoicing in the British medical profession over the discomfiture of The Lancet for having published flawed and possibly tainted research concerning the alleged connection between the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and the development of childhood autism. The research was funded, at least in part, by the Legal Aid Board, and the parents of some of the subjects of the investigation were pursuing legal action against the manufacturers of the vaccine, facts that the researchers omitted to mention. There was an undeclared conflict of interest." (Daily Telegraph)

"Misled over MMR" - "Treat whistleblowers with caution" (The Observer)

Hopefully, The Guardian stable will take some of their own advice. Given their breathless BS reporting below, as Watson et al try to renew their tickets on the global warming gravy train, this seems highly unlikely.

"Public health campaigns 'are a waste of money'" - "The Department of Health is spending millions of pounds on public health campaigns without any evidence they actually work, an official report will conclude this week. Derek Wanless, whose first study on the NHS paved the way for tax rises to fund the health service, delivers a follow-up report on Britain's gathering health crisis this Wednesday. Mr Wanless singles out for particular criticism the provision of NHS clinics to help smokers quit. He points out that ministers have no evidence they are effective." (Independent on Sunday)

"Fast food firms accused of using sport to attract children" - "Health campaigners fear obesity among the young is being fuelled by multimillion pound sponsorships of celebrities and events." (The Guardian)

Whoops! "Apology for excess obesity figures" - "The government today apologised for a gargantuan error on obesity figures, admitting that contrary to its claim earlier this week that there were 900,000 obese incapacity benefit claimants, in fact there are only 900.

This means that the average amount paid out in England every week is £70,965 rather than the £70,965,000 health minister Lord Warner claimed. The Department of Health blamed an "administrative error" for the mistake." (The Guardian) | Gross error fattened obesity figure (The Guardian) | Government slims down figures in 'war on fatties' (Independent)

"Plant estrogens may not affect breast cancer risk" - "NEW YORK - Naturally occurring substances called phytoestrogens, found in soy, flaxseed and other foods, do not seem to prevent breast cancer in Western women, researchers from the Netherlands report.

Phytoestrogens, which are estrogen-like plant substances, come in three main varieties: isoflavones, lignans and coumestans. Because women in Asia, whose diets are high in isoflavone-rich soy foods, are much less likely to get breast cancer than women in Western countries, there has been great interest in finding out whether phytoestrogens play a role in preventing breast cancer.

Some studies have linked soy consumption with a reduced risk of breast cancer in Asian women, but others have not. But a link between soy and a reduced risk of breast cancer has not been found in Western women." (Reuters Health)

"EDITORIAL: A Political Load on Science" - "The self-righteous "sky is falling" tone of a report accusing the Bush administration of tailoring science to narrow political goals may be a tipoff that at least some of its authors have an agenda other than the disinterested pursuit of truth. Some authors of the 46-page study, organized by the liberal Massachusetts-based Union of Concerned Scientists, certainly have strong political views about President Bush." (Los Angeles Times)

"EU agrees to make polluters pay for environmental damage" - "BRUSSELS - European Union governments and lawmakers reached agreement on new legislation that will force industries guilty of polluting the environment to pay for the clean-up.

EU governments and members of the European Parliament hammered out a compromise text on the "polluter pays" directive that is expected to become law next month.

But environmentalists have attacked the draft law as being too soft, as it does not cover nuclear pollution or marine oil pollution and limits liability for biological contamination from genetically modified crops.

EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, however, said she was delighted that the EU law on environmental liability was finally in sight of the statute books after first being mooted 15 years ago." (AFP)

"Flight of the British sparrow linked to a growth in tidy urban gardens" - "The popularity of the garden make-over - complete with pine decking and brick paving - could be one of the reasons behind the dramatic decline of the British house sparrow, scientists said yesterday.

Studies have shown that richer neighbourhoods where gardens are frequently turned into the botanical equivalent of an outdoor room struggle to support a thriving sparrow population.

A growing body of evidence suggests that the drop in sparrow numbers in recent years is likely to be caused by a lack of food, which is itself linked with how tidy many suburban gardens have become." (Independent)

JunkScience.com welcomes Jerry Brennan as the new host of Still Waiting For Greenhouse and wishes him well in this endeavour. It is no trivial matter to assume responsibility for a popular and respected website so, be patient, normal services will resume as soon as practicable. Also, it couldn't hurt to send a few tips and leads for the "Recent Media Stories" section (at least title, if not the article but remember to include the URL so the item may be linked). Jerry can be contacted by e-mail here.

April 1 already? "Now the Pentagon tells Bush: climate change will destroy us" - "Climate change over the next 20 years could result in a global catastrophe costing millions of lives in wars and natural disasters.

A secret report, suppressed by US defence chiefs and obtained by The Observer, warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a 'Siberian' climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world.

The document predicts that abrupt climate change could bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and secure dwindling food, water and energy supplies. The threat to global stability vastly eclipses that of terrorism, say the few experts privy to its contents." (The Observer) | Key findings of the Pentagon (The Observer)

Oh dear, looks like the poor ol' 'bserver (or someone) has confused a rough draft for this with a serious report.

"World Bank, Pentagon: global warming red alert" - "Weather of mass destruction bigger threat than terrorism" (greenpeas release)

Letters of the moment: "The case against Kyoto" (The Guardian)

Hoegh-Guldberg again: "Barrier Reef just 50 years from death" - "Trouble in wonderland . . . a new report warns that coral bleaching will devastate the Great Barrier Reef's tourism industry. Photo courtesy of GBRMPA

The Great Barrier Reef will lose most of its coral cover by 2050, inflicting billions of dollars in damage on Australia's tourism and fishing industries, a study on coral bleaching has warned.

The authors, the head of Queensland University's Centre for Marine Studies, and his father, an economist, predict, at best, reefs will have about 5 per cent living coral cover by the middle of the century, a predicament that would take the reef 50-100 years to recover from." (The Sydney Morning Herald) | Media Release and Report (WWF)

This one was commissioned by the Worldwide Font of Nonsense, last time it was the 'peas, as I recall. Hoegh-Guldberg takes extreme "storylines" from the IPCC little book of horrors, feeds them into a sea surface temp model running on his laptop and comes up with toast reef. Given that he's been doing the same act for years now it seems likely that this got a run due to Australia's east coast having a spell of hot weather - my region had its hottest February day since 1925 on Saturday, although nearly 80 years of paving and construction suggests UHIE probably coloured the result somewhat.

Got plenty of coverage though: "Great Barrier Reef Faces Major Coral Destruction" - "Australia's Great Barrier Reef will lose most of its coral cover by 2050 and, at worst, the world's largest coral system could collapse by 2100 because of global warming, a study released on Saturday said. The study by Queensland University's Center for Marine Studies, commissioned by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, said that the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef was inevitable due to global warming, regardless of what actions were taken now." (Reuters) | The late Barrier Reef (Sydney Morning Herald) | Great Barrier Reef corals mostly dead by 2050 (AFP via Yahoo! News) | Australia reef's days 'numbered' (BBC News Online)

"Reef threat won't sway Australia" - "SYDNEY, Australia -- Australia will not sign the Kyoto pact on global warming, despite a new report that warns rising ocean temperatures will kill most of the coral on the Great Barrier Reef by 2050, an official said Sunday." (AP)

This from someone who allegedly sings in a group called "Midnight Oil" (and so is definitely qualified to comment on the effects of slight elevation in a minor variable in a chaotic, coupled, non-linear system of such incredible complexity as say, global climate): "Heatwave a 'wake-up' call" - "This month's heatwave across Australia was a wake-up call to act on global warming, Australia's peak environmental group says. The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) urged voters to put the heat on politicians over greenhouse issues ahead of a federal election. "Australia's track record on greenhouse issues is woeful and that's something voters should think about as the election approaches," ACF president Peter Garrett said. The National Climate Centre has described the recent run of scorchers across Australia as the "the most significant February heatwave in the past century". And climate change would result in a dramatic increase in the number of over 35-degree days, the CSIRO has predicted." (The Age, Melbourne)

"Snow blanket protects life - Global warming could expose plants, animals to freezing weather" - "One of the most challenging issues facing environmental science, policy and management is climate change. While there is a strong consensus among scientists that the world is getting warmer because of human-caused increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide -- the greenhouse effect -- there is much less consensus about the effects of climate change.

While we might all welcome some warmer temperatures this week, in mid-summer an extra five degrees during a heat wave might cause hardship and illness for vulnerable people like the elderly or poor, as well as for animal and plant populations. And what about precipitation? We know rainfall amounts and patterns are strongly influenced by temperature, but there is great uncertainty about where, when and how much precipitation will change." (Poughkeepsie Journal)

"New studies: Global warming will add to Great Lakes levels - Lake-effect snow not considered in contrary earlier computer models" - "If you think five straight years of low water levels on Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes is a symptom of global warming, new meteorological evidence suggests your thinking is a bit shallow.

While it’s still impossible to state definitively what effect, if any, global warming is having on the Lakes, the most sophisticated attempt yet to model their hydrology in a warmer future shows no long-term dropping of the water levels. In fact, it shows a net increase in the water supply to the Great Lakes basin.

This from some of the same scientists who several years ago were pretty certain the low water levels of recent years would continue as a result of climate change.

“New results are contradicting the earlier results,” said Brent Lofgren, a scientist at the University of Michigan-based Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration." (Business North)

"Two US power companies cave in to shareholder demands on climate change" - "American Electric Power and Cinergy have agreed to the shareholders' proposals that the companies report publicly on greenhouse gas and other emissions.

The firms are described by CERES, a US coalition of environmental, investor, and advocacy groups as, “two of the top emitters of carbon dioxide emissions in the electric power sector”.

Both companies agreed to the shareholders' requests that a committee of independent directors oversee the report.

As a result, the shareholders will withdraw resolutions facing the two companies." (EthicalCorp.com)

"Most UK investors ignorant to impact of emissions trading" - "A majority of UK institutional investors are unaware of the impact the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will have on the value of their portfolios, a MORI poll has found.

The survey, commissioned by the Carbon Trust, found that half of investors claimed to know nothing about the EU ETS, or the risks and opportunities it presents.

Tom Delay, Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust, told edie: "The key message for investors about emissions trading is that this is real, it's happening, and the way business responds to it will determine the winners and losers in the years ahead." (Edie.net)

The real cost of wind turbines... (EnviroSpin Watch)

"New System Begins Rerouting U.S. Aid for Poor Countries" - "WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 — The United States is now plunging into a fundamental overhaul of its assistance to developing nations, demanding that applicants for a rich new source of financing prove their worthiness. Already, countries from Bolivia to Bangladesh are competing to be among the winners.

This month, the board of the new Millennium Challenge Account met for the first time to lay the groundwork for grants that President Bush has promised will total $5 billion annually by 2008. In the first year, perhaps just 15 nations will win awards.

The program is ambitious. If fully financed, the Millennium Challenge Account would reflect close to a doubling of the American aid that goes primarily to promote development in poor countries, analysts say. It would represent an overall increase in foreign aid of nearly 9 percent." (New York Times)

"Mendocino message" - "A county ballot measure to ban genetically engineered crops draws national interest -- and big money -- from both sides." (The Sacramento Bee)

Sigh... "GM seeds may have built-in obsolescence" - "Giant biotech companies are pressing for the revival of a GM technology so damaging to the world's poor that it has been suspended by worldwide agreement.

The drive to rehabilitate the so-called "terminator technology" - designed to deny hundreds of millions of poor farmers the ability to replant seeds from their own crops - is expected to reach a peak at an international conference in Malaysia this week.

Senior managers have been trying to rebrand it as a green technology that will solve the spread of genes from GM plants to other crops and weeds. Delegates to the Malaysia conference say that they are expecting a big push next week by biotech firms and the Bush administration." (Independent on Sunday)

"FEATURE-World awaits more GM crops as safety debate rages" - "BRUSSELS, Feb 22 - The global sowing of genetically modified (GM) crops will continue rising in the next few years, gaining more of a foothold in the world's food supply, but millions still need convincing that the food is safe to eat.

For once, green groups can agree with the biotech industry on one thing: with Brazil and China now part of the growing family of major GM producers, the area of land devoted to gene-spliced crops across the world must inevitably rise." (Reuters)

And more letters of the moment: "Planting a GM future" (The Guardian)

"Farmer welcomes GM crop licence hope" - "A FARMER who allowed his land to be used for GM maize trials has welcomed the prospect of the crop being commercially licensed.

Jim Dutton gave his endorsement after a Government plan to press ahead with licensing genetically-modified (GM) maize for commercial production was leaked yesterday.

Mr Dutton, from Sunnymead Farm, Wivenhoe, near Colchester, grew the modified seed for a three-year period - during which his crops were twice damaged by anti-GM protesters.

“It is nice to see a GM crop being licensed. It is a beginning. During the trials here, it seemed to be better for wildlife. It is good to see the powers-that-be agreed with that,” he said." (East Anglian Daily Times)

"E.U.'s top environment official says differences with U.S. over biotech crops will persist" - "KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The dispute between the United States and the European Union about the safety of genetically modified food is not going away any time soon and will likely widen into a global debate, the E.U.'s top environment official said Thursday.

"I think it will continue to be a very difficult debate," said European Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom. "I think it will spread to the rest of the world. We will have a debate also with China, Brazil, and other countries. I hope we will not end up in conflict," Wallstrom told a news conference on the sidelines of a U.N.-backed conference on biodiversity here." (Associated Press)

"Michael Meacher: GM - yet another example of ministers listening to no one but themselves" - "The Government has no moral, scientific or political authority to press ahead with the cultivation of genetically modified maize as Cabinet sub-committee minutes leaked this week indicate they intend to do. When Margaret Beckett says, as the minutes record, that there is no scientific case for a ban, she is raising the telescope to her blind eye." (Independent on Sunday)

"Critics will always make a meal of cautious government welcome to GM foods" - "ALWAYS distrust a leaked report. It is likely to be incomplete, probably biased, and will almost certainly be grinding an axe. Thus, when I read the telltale sentence: "Secret documents show that Tony Blair is planning to give the go-ahead to GM crops despite overwhelming public opposition ..." I took a very large pinch of salt. When, in addition, I saw the give-away phrase "Frankenstein Foods" to describe anything derived from genetically modified plants, I knew that I would have to discount at least 50% of what I was about to read.

GM crops are one of those subjects on which most people have hard and fast views. If you are a Green supporter, or a foodie, buy organic produce, or care passionately about the environment, you are likely to be adamantly against them. If, on the other hand, you believe that progress in science means taking risks, you are likely to be in favour. The truth, as always, is more complex than both but far more interesting.

Mr Blair may well be about to approve a very limited programme of GM planting, but the reports from his scientific advisers are cautious, conservative and immensely circumspect about the case for it. The