archives - january 2000

January 31, 2000

SHARK of the day: "Powerful attorney hints he will pursue mobile health issue" - "Peter Angelos, the powerful Baltimore lawyer who has successfully litigated against the tobacco industry, asbestos manufacturers and others in personal injury cases, is looking into the mobile phone health issue. 'We have some people we represent and we're looking at that,' Angelos told RCR last week. Angelos confirmed his law firm is looking into whether mobile phone technology poses an occupational hazard to wireless workers. 'We're taking a look into the matter,' said Angelos, owner of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team and a heavyweight Democratic donor... John Pica, an associate of Angelos, said the firm already is involved in a class-action lawsuit in Anne Arundel County Circuit court in Maryland in which two National Security Agency employees allege that the electromagnetic field from an audio tape erasing machine caused their brain tumors," reports RCR.

COMMENTARY of the day I: "Fear and ignorance on biotech" - The Chicago Tribune editorializes, "It would be a travesty if the U.S. allows fear and ignorance to crowd out crucial public education about biotechnology's potential."

COMMENTARY of the day II: "Still hate SUVs?" - Ken Smith writes in The Washington Times (Jan. 29), "Already the vehicles have suffered a blizzard of complaints. At best, critics dismiss them as needless luxuries (meaning they are comfortable). At worst, they regard SUVs as threats to human life and the Earth's environment. In a column last May, Geneva Overholser of The Washington Post referred to them as 'inexplicably popular extravagances' and 'nonsensical, gas-guzzling behemoths.' 'I feel like a lunatic about SUVs,' she wrote, 'and I hereby invite you to join me in raving.' One hopes that the Chevy Metro and other micro-cars she doubtless favors can get her through the snow drifts the next time she needs to get to the hospital."

BIOTECH ROUNDUP:

"No reliable test for GM-free food" - "Science must play a leading role in restoring public confidence on food safety, says a new report issued by the UK Government Chemist Dr Richard Worswick. And on the controversial subject of genetically-modified (GM) food, hesays that it is impossible to prove that any processed food is free of GM material," reports the BBC.

"GM deal finds favour all round" - "There has been a broad international welcome to an agreement by a United Nations conference on rules governing the trade in genetically-modified food products," reports the BBC.

"Global deal agreed on GM food" - "After intense negotiations, a global agreement has been reached on safety rules for genetically modified products that allows countries to bar those seen as a threat," reports The Times. Summary of Protocol

"Anti-GM farmers start tour" - "American farmers opposed to genetically modified crops will begin a tour of Britain this week to try to persuade growers and politicians that the new technology poses a threat to family farms," reports the The Daily Telegraph.

"Cornucopia of Biotech Food Awaits Labeling" - "The international trade agreement reached this weekend to require labeling of genetically modified agricultural commodities is a boost to activists who are calling for an even more extensive scheme to slap labels on all food products that contain any trace of a biotech engineered ingredient. Yet, carried to that extreme, few foods on U.S. supermarket shelves would escape labeling," reports the Los Angeles Times.

"Farmers wonder about price of labeling genetically modified foods" - "Farmers like Antonio Wunsch know that consumers are worried about eating genetically modified foods. What he doesn't know is whether they are ready to pay for proof that they are eating foods with traditional ingredients," reports Agence France-Presse.

"Green groups applaud intl bio-safety trade pact" - "Environmental groups on Saturday applauded an agreement reached by international regulators in Montreal on regulating trade in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) used in food," reports Reuters.

"Greens and free-traders cheer GM crop deal" - "To the surprise even of many negotiatiors, more than 130 countries at the weekend agreed an international protocol regulating trade in genetically modified seeds and crops, the first treaty concluded under the 1992 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity," reports The Financial Times.

"EU welcomes international bio-safety trade pact" - "The European Union said on Saturday that it welcomed an agreement reached by international regulators in Montreal on regulating trade in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) used in food," reports Reuters.

"France welcomes U.N. bio-safety trade pact" - "French Environment Minister Dominique Voynet applauded on Saturday an agreement reached by international negotiators in Montreal on regulating trade in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) used in food," reports Reuters.

"Another controversy on genetically modified crops" - "Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. said it would not turn away genetically modified grains, four months after warning its grain suppliers to segregate the crops," reports The Times of India (Jan. 30).

"Govt compiles manual on non-GM foods" - "The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry has compiled a manual concerning the distribution of soybeans and corn that have not been genetically modified in addition to a new labeling system for food using genetically modified produce due to take effect in fiscal 2001, ministry sources said Saturday, "reports The Daily Yomiuri.

"Watchdog calls for freeze on genetic trade" - "Australia's genetic watchdog yesterday urged the Federal Government to freeze all exports and imports of genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) in response to a new international agreement on them," reports The Age.

"Europe ponders total US meat ban" - "The European Union is poised to begin a new and potentially damaging trade war with the United States. The dispute concerns the safety of US meat, and the belief in Europe that the Americans are unable to guarantee the purity of the meat they export," reports the BBC.

"Heat wipes out giant Antarctic ice shelf - "Nearly 300 square kilometres of a large ice shelf in Antarctica have disintegrated since October, caused by steadily warmer temperatures," reports The Independent.

"NASA staff joining North Pole ozone study" - "Thirteen scientists and technicians from the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., are participating in what organizers call the most comprehensive study of ozone losses over the North Pole," reports the AP.

"Environmentalism increasingly intermingled with religion" - "Over the past decade, religion and environmentalism have quietly discovered each other. This planet of ours may never be the same," reports Scripps Howard News Service.

"Pesticide wastes threaten health in Mali" - "Some 200 tons of discarded pesticide wastes have contaminated soil, water and wildlife in parts of northern Mali, a government study has shown. This waste poses a serious health threat, the study indicated," reports Agence France-Presse.

"France reports fourth mad cow case this month" - "Another case of mad cow disease (BSE) has been discovered in France, bringing to four the number of cattle found suffering with the deadly brain-wasting disorder since January 1, the government said on Monday," reports Reuters.

January 30, 2000

"U.S. Accepts Trade Agreement for Altered Food" - "The United States today accepted under pressure a new international trade agreement that could speed the labeling of genetically engineered foods on the world market, a move that puts new pressure on U.S. farmers to separate the increasingly controversial foods from the overall supply." reports The Washington Post. Other coverage: New York Times | BBC | Associated Press | Reuters | Australian Broadcasting Corp | Canadian Press | The Independent

COMMENTARY of the day I: "Protocol for a diminished future" - Terry Corcoran comments in The Financial Post, "As the sun set over Montreal last night, delegates and ministers from more than 130 nations at the Biosafety Protocol negotiations were busy hammering nails into the coffin of the biotech food industry. It may not be totally dead, but there's little doubt that any international agreement to regulate trade in genetically engineered crops and food products will severely curtail the great promise of increased production, safety and quality of the world's food supply."

COMMENTARY of the day II: "Misguided Truck Ratings" - The Detroit News comments, "Federal regulators are preparing new procedures to rate the rollover risk of light trucks and sport-utility vehicles. Consumers presumably will apply the data to purchase decisions, thereby improving public safety. But an anti-truck mentality has so skewed the process that drivers simply cannot trust the results."

"Bradley's Doctors Say He Is in Excellent Shape" - "In their first comprehensive interviews on the topic, Bill Bradley and his three cardiologists said the former senator was in excellent physical condition and his bouts of irregular heartbeat were not a serious hazard to his health, or to his ability to serve as president, despite their recent increased frequency," reports The New York Times. But what about Al Gore's ticking time-bomb?

"The heat is on" - From The News Unlimited: "Daffodils that bloom before Christmas, lawns that grow all year round, and the demise of white winters: it's not hard to spot the impact of global warming."

January 29, 2000

BEN & JERRY'S MOMENT of the day: "Rally against dioxin emissions planned at Dow, Shintech units" - "Environmentalists plan to stage a rally Friday at the Dow Chemical Co. plant and the Shintech Inc. polyvinyl chloride plant under construction near Plaquemine," reports The Advocate (Jan. 27).

If Lois Gibbs wants to have a rally about the dreaded dioxin in Louisiana, how about at the Ben & Jerry's at Jackson Square in New Orleans? I'll bet human exposure to dioxin is much greater at that Ben & Jerry's than at the Dow and Shintech plants.

'MUST READ' of the day: "Trial Lawyers On Trial: Lawsuit Fever Cheats Consumers, Taints Democratic Process" - From the January 2000 issue of Reader's Digest.

"Dental sealants pose no risk from leaking estrogen" - "Dental sealants do not appear to leech dangerous amounts of an estrogen-like compound, results of a recent study suggest," reports Reuters.

BIOTECH ROUNDUP:

"Gene modification talks wrap up in Montreal" - "In the final hours of international talks Friday on trade in genetically modified food and other products, negotiators found themselves knocking heads over the same issues that doomed an agreement nearly a year ago," reports the Associated Press.

"Frito-Lay Doesn't Want Bioengineered Corn" - "Snack food maker Frito-Lay Inc. has asked its hundreds of contract farmers to grow corn that has not been genetically modified in case U.S. consumers shun bioengineered products," reports The Los Angeles Times (Jan. 28).

"Canada accused of creating problems at bio-safety conference" - "Canada angered delegates at a UN conference on genetically modified foods Thursday when it demanded changes in several areas other countries say have already been dealt with," reports the CBC.

"China, India Lead Asia Race on GM Crops" - "The world's two most populous countries, China and India, are racing to develop genetically modified crops to feed their growing populations, an official of Monsanto Co said," reports Reuters.

HYPOCRISY of the day: "Feds promote smoking" - The Boston Herald comments, "No one ever accused the Clinton administration of consistency. But it has reached a new low by providing money to build stores that sell discount cigarettes while claiming that reducing teen smoking is a priority and seeking vast sums from tobacco companies in court."

JUNK COMMENTARY of the day: "Coal ash rules" - The Indianapolis Star-News -- usually wise to enviro shenanigans -- urges the precautionary principle in the face of fearmongering about coal ash residue in drinking water.

"Heart woe dogs battling Bradley" - "Democrat Bill Bradley yesterday was forced to make another belated admission of an irregular heartbeat flareup," reports The Boston Herald. But what about Al Gore's ticking time-bomb?

"EU to unveil stance on food safety and trade" - "The European Commission is expected next week to unveil its long-awaited policy paper on how to handle food safety issues in trade disputes affected by conflicting or insufficient scientific evidence," reports Reuters.

"U.S. Acknowledges Radiation Caused Cancers in Workers" - "After decades of denials, the government is conceding that since the dawn of the atomic age, workers making nuclear weapons have been exposed to radiation and chemicals that have produced cancer and early death," reports The New York Times.

"EU acts against Germany, Britain over environment" - "The European Commission took legal action on Friday against several European Union member countries for failing to adopt legislation aimed at protecting the environment," reports Reuters.

"Mystery cow illness in Belgium affects third farm" - "The Belgian Agriculture Ministry said on Friday that a mysterious illness which had caused the death of 10 cows at two farms had affected a third farm. A ministry spokeswoman said eight cows had died at the third farm, which was supplied with sugar beet pulp feed by a firm that had also supplied the other two affected farms," reports Reuters.

"OSHA Extends Comment Period on Ergonomics" - "The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that it has extended the comment period on its controversial ergonomics standard which would require 'jobs to be fitted to the workers,' a standard which would take businesses many years and billions of dollars to accomplish." Sen. Bond's media release

January 28, 2000

SHORT-LIVED MEMORY of the day: Science plugs Tulane web site on environmental estrogens - Science plugs a Tulane University web site on environmental estrogens in its NetWatch section this week. The site is run by John McLachlan who was forced to retract a controversial 1996 study published in (and trumpeted by) Science. I guess Science has already forgotten about this most embarrassing moment. E-mail your comments to Science at science_letters@aaas.org.

EPA GOOF of the day: EPA error risked halving India's rice harvest - E. S. R. Gopal of the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science catches the EPA with its science down (once again) in the Jan. 13 issue of Nature.

BIOTECH ROUNDUP:

"Talks on Biotech Food Turn on a Safety Principle" - "Around midnight last night, Juan Mayr, who is chairman of the global biosafety talks here, told delegates after a long day of negotiations to go back to their hotel rooms and 'dream about the precautionary approach.' It was a reference to one of the most important issues remaining in the effort to formulate the world's first treaty regulating trade in genetically modified products: Must a nation have scientific proof before it can ban a genetically engineered crop or animal? Or can it act even in the absence of scientific certainty?'," reports The New York Times.

"Some Differences Narrowed in Bio-Safety Talks" - "Negotiators working on an international agreement to regulate trade in genetically modified organisms have narrowed some differences, but much work remains to be done to finish by Friday, environmental diplomats said early on Thursday morning." reports Reuters.

"The Benefits And Politics Of Biotechnology" - Comments from Sen. "Kit" Bond in the Congressional Record.

"Do genetically modified foods affect human health?" - "The controversy over genetically modified (GM) foods was a deciding factor in the proposal for a European Food Agency. In the UK, a report on the health implications of GM foods (www.doh.gov.uk/gmfood.htm ) con cludes that 'there is no current evidence that GM technologies used to produce food are inherently harmful'; this is true, but one cannot conclude that all applications will be harmless," according to a letter in The Lancet.

"Latin America divided on trade rules for genetically altered products" - "Latin America would like to speak with one voice on the international stage, but at UN-sponsored talks here on global trade rules for genetically altered products, the region is sharply split. The differences are largely between the European Union, the developing world and the world's six major grain exporters. That alignment puts Argentina, Chile and Uruguay on the same team as Australia, Canada and the United States -- together known here as the Miami Group," reports Reuters.

"EU says time is ripe for biosafety agreement" - "After five years of negotiations, countries need to finish work this week on a United Nations biosafety pact to regulate trade in genetically modified seeds and commodities, European Union environmental ministers said on Thursday," reports Reuters. BBC coverage

"American Lung Association Requests Supreme Court Review of Air Quality Standards Cases" - "The American Lung Association today filed a request for review, known as a petition for certiorari, with the U.S. Supreme Court on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards cases (American Trucking Association v. U.S. EPA)."

A fat tax? - Extending value added tax (VAT) to foodstuffs which are high in saturated fat, could save between 900 and 1000 premature deaths a year in the UK, suggests Dr Tom Marshall from the University of Birmingham in this week's BMJ.

"A cold war in the sky " - The Independent blathers about ozone depletion. Click for sanity.

"No association found between prenatal ultrasound and childhood leukaemia" - "We could not detect any association between exposure to ultrasound during pregnancy and lymphatic or myeloid leukaemia, and the results of the study are therefore reassuring. The strengths of the study are its size, the exclusion of children with Down's syndrome, and the use of prospectively assembled exposure data," reports a new study in British Medical Journal.

"1 in 10 middle-schoolers smokes" - "Smoking among high schoolers dropped in 1999 for the first time since the government began keeping track at the start of the decade. But nearly one in 10 children are already smoking cigarettes in middle school," reports MSNBC. AP coverage | American Legacy Foundation media release | CTFK media release

"Satellite instruments reveal evidence the atmosphere has gotten warmer and wetter over the past decade " - "Frank Wentz, a physicist at Remote Sensing Systems in Santa Rosa, Calif., has confirmed that the atmosphere has gotten warmer and wetter over the last decade. The results of his research will appear in the January 27, issue of Nature."

"Scientists find that of tons of carbon dioxide get stored in the subtropical oceans" - "The cold Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica soaks up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere like a sponge, but scientists have discovered that the greenhouse gas doesn't stay there. Now researchers have found that the carbon dioxide actually ends up deep in the subtropical ocean and will reporttheir findings in the Jan. 28 issue of the journal Science."

"American Home, plaintiffs settle 'fen-phen' suit" - "American Home Products Corp. and the family of a woman who died after taking the popular diet drug cocktail 'fen-phen' have settled a civil lawsuit, a lawyer for AHP said on Thursday," reports Reuters.

"EU says Germany delays moves to lift UK beef ban" - "Germany has told the European Commission it will not consider lifting its ban on British beef until March 17, EU officials said," reports Reuters.

"France reports third mad cow case this month" - "France on Thursday reported its third case of mad cow disease (BSE) this month as the country prepared to begin testing its own cattle herds for the deadly brain-wasting disorder," reports Reuters.

"'Grim future' for Europe's wildlife" - "Many European species are under threat across the continent, says UK conservation group the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)," reports the BBC.

"BAT wants UK legal age to buy tobacco raised" - "British American Tobacco Plc on Thursday suggested raising the legal age for buying tobacco in Britain to 18 from the present 16 as part of its proposals to resolve conflict with the UK government and health lobbies," reports Reuters.

"Emissions trading plan agreed for 12 U.S. states" - "In an effort to reduce the dangerous effects of smog in northeastern states, a dozen states have agreed to let utilities and other industrial plants trade emissions credits, an advisory panel said on Thursday. 'This is just another bold step in our efforts to provide cleaner air for our citizens and protect our natural resources,' said John Cahill, chairman of the Ozone Transport Commission," reports Reuters.

January 27, 2000

CARTOON of the day: By Henry Payne

CONTEST of the day: "Name that nightmare" - From EVAG: "In an effort to foment public hysteria, Greenpeace have created this rather interesting- looking character... Consequently, we have opened the 'Name That Nightmare' line for reader suggestions on a name for the `peas' nightmare creation."

REPORT of the day I: "BSE: A Disaster of Biblical Proportions or A Disaster of British Science?" - From the Institute of Economic Affairs, everything you could possibly want to know about "mad cow" disease.

REPORT of the day II: "Genetically Modified Nonsense" - From the Institute on Economic Affairs, Tom De Gregori writes on genetically modified organisms.

COMMENTARY of the day I: "From Shakespeare to Defoe: Malaria in England in the Little Ice Age" - CDC's Paul Reiter writes in Emerging Infectious Diseases, "The history of the disease in England underscores the role of factors other than temperature in malaria transmission."

COMMENTARY of the day II: "Sensational science or science fiction?" - Marc Le Mageur comments in The National Post (Jan. 26), "Canada has a food safety process that is widely recognized as one of the best in the world. In fact, we have recently announced the establishment of an independent expert panel to help assess our future scientific requirements to meet the growing complexity of food biotechnology so that Canada's food regulatory system remains at the leading edge of these developments."

'LETTER TO THE EDITOR' of the day: "Don't listen to the doomsayers" - Philip Stott scores in today's San Jose Mercury News with a letter about this Paul Ehrlich-authored commentary.

"An open letter to food sellers" - In The National Post (Jan. 26): "The following open letter was issued to Canadian food companies and grocery retailers at the international conference in Montreal on trade in biotech foods. It is signed by Gord Surgeoner, president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies, Wilf Keller, leader of the Brassica Biotechnology Group and head of the transgenic centre at the Plant Biotechnology Institute, NRC, Saskatoon, and 150 other scientists."

Today's GORE-ING: "Gore: Dad’s Farm Taught Me How to Respect Environment..." - From the Republican National Committee: "An October 29th, 1992, Washington Times’ report exposed a large waste dump in a ditch on the Gore property. The dump - located dangerously close to the Caney Fork River - was full of pesticide and oil containers, aerosol cans, tires and piles of unrecycled cans and bottles. Among the items clearly visible: empty containers of a tobacco growth retardant, "Royal MH-30." According to previous statements from the Gore campaign, Gore’s father stopped farming tobacco in 1980, 12 years before pictures of the dump were taken. A spokesman for MH-30’s manufacturer, Uniroyal, said disposal of the pesticide in an open dump "would be inappropriate," and a federal E-P-A official confirmed state fines for improper dumping of a pesticide at the time began at $500 per incident, with federal penalties as high as $25,000."

"Optimism at Global Trade Talks on Genetically Modified Crops" - "Negotiators trying to forge the first global treaty regulating trade in genetically modified products have tentatively agreed to eliminate a proposal requiring exporters of genetically modified crops like corn and soybeans to obtain permission in advance from each importing country. Under the preliminarily agreement, information about such crops would be posted to a central clearinghouse. It would be up to each country to decide whether to ban the imports," reports The New York Times.

"Employers Won't Be Held Liable for Home Offices" - OSHA will regulate home manufacturing, reports The Washington Post.

"The seas rise, the glaciers disappear" - Philip Stott's "Ecohype of the Moment."

"Study Finds Strong Evidence Jefferson Fathered Slave Son" - "Daniel P. Jordan, the [Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation's] president, said at a news conference, 'Although paternity cannot be established with absolute certainty, our evaluation of the best evidence available suggests the strong likelihood that Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings had a relationship over time that led to the birth of one, and perhaps all, of the known children of Sally Hemings.'"

"Farmers label halon gas sale 'bizarre'" - "Queensland's biggest producer group, Agforce, says it is "bizarre" that the Federal Government plans to sell amost 250 tonnes of the ozone-depleting halon gas to the United States Defence Department. Under an international agreement, halon gas is being phased out of use, except for essential purposes," reports the ABC.

EMBARRASSMENT of the day: "New Study Conducted at Yale University Concludes that 'Bad Hair Days' Affect More Than Your Appearance" - I'm not quite sure who should be more embarassed -- Procter & Gamble or Yale University. AP coverage

PIG FIGHT AT THE TOBACCO TROUGH I: "Smokers Seek a Share" - "Victims of smoking, who received nothing under the 1998 $206 billion national tobacco settlement, have filed class action suits in six states," reports The Washington Post.

PIG FIGHT AT THE TOBACCO TROUGH II: "Pennsylvania Gov. Ridge Proposes to Invest PA's Tobacco Funds to Make Pennsylvanians Healthier" - "Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge today proposed investing Pennsylvania's multi-billion-dollar share of the national tobacco settlement in a broad range of initiatives to improve Pennsylvanians' health." Responses: Coalition for a Tobacco Free Pennsylvania | Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania

"Famers Declare Support For Biotechnology" - "Farmers from the United States and Canada today urged delegates attending the Biosafety Protocol to "look beyond the fearmongering" and study the facts about the biotechnology and its significant positive impact on farming and the environment."

"Obesity is target of 10-year government campaign" - "Blasting schools for cutting back physical education programs and warning that Americans are far too fat, the federal government Tuesday opened a 10-year campaign to improve the nation's health," reports Scripps McClatchy Western News Service.

"Pregnancy alcohol limits 'too high'" - "Even pregnant women who stick rigidly to government advice on how much is safe to drink may be damaging their unborn children, research has found," reports the BBC. The Indepedent coverage

"China triples its genetically modified crops" - "China has more than tripled its plantings of genetically modified crops, making it the fourth-largest planter of bioengineered crops, an industry watchdog group said today," reports The Age.

"Too many people and worse to come" - "The world's rate of population growth is unsustainable, and its present population of six billion people is about 30 per cent too high, says a New Zealand scientist and environmentalist," reports The New Zealand Herald.

January 26, 2000

lawsuit/eco-hypocrisy/Ben & Jerry's moment of the day: "Environmentalists sue Tosco over dioxin discharges" - "Two environmental groups have sued the Tosco Corp., alleging that its Avon, Calif., refinery discharges illegal amounts of the dangerous chemical dioxin into San Francisco Bay, a group spokesman said Tuesday. Communities for a Better Environment and San Francisco BayKeeper allege that Tosco violates the U.S. Clean Water Act by 'routinely' discharging some 20 times more dioxin than allowed by a state permit," reports Reuters.

You've got to love the eco-hypocrisy here. The EPA allows the Tosco refinery to discharge wastewater containing 0.14 trillionths of a gram of dioxin per liter. We measured 80 trillionths of a gram of dioxin in a serving of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. This level of dioxin was about 200 times greater than the level the EPA says is "safe." More to the point, a serving of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, according to our test, contains about 570 times more dioxin than a liter of Tosco refinery effluent.

Ben & Jerry's says, "The only safe level of exposure to dioxin is no exposure at all." Below are eight Ben & Jerry's "scoop shops" in San Francisco. Why don't they get sued? If dioxin is so dangerous, certainly direct human consumption is much worse than a little dioxin in San Francisco Bay? Oh I forgot... being "green" means never having to tell the truth!

Candlestick Park 650 Gilman Ave, San Francisco, CA 94124 Phone: 415-656-1376	Castro St. 451 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 Phone: 415-252-8181	Chestnut St. 2146 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA 94123 Phone: 415-474-8100
Fisherman's Wharf Pier 41, San Francisco, CA 94133 Phone: 415-249-4674	Haight Ashbury 1480 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 Phone: 415-249-4685	Jefferson St. 79 Jefferson Street, San Francisco, CA 94133 Phone: 415-249-2662
North Beach 543 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133 Phone: 415-249-4684	Powell Street 102 Powell Street, San Francisco, CA 94133 Phone: 415-249-2664

commentary of the day I: "The curse of global inequality" - Martin Wolf points out in The Financial Times, "Intellectually and morally, the arguments of those who propose the notions of zero growth or local self-sufficiency are devoid of merit. Yet it is not these arguments themselves that matter, but the passion that informs them."

commentary of the day II: "I marched against GMOs" - Terry Corcoran comments in The National Post on some antics of the anti-GMO mob.

commentary of the day III: "Stop Environmental Terrorism" - The Detroit News comments, "Protecting the environment is a wise and useful policy -- until it is carried to violent extremes."

commentary of the day IV: "Go Slow on Genetic Pact " - The Los Angeles Times editorializes that the biosafety protocol "... should not serve as a pretext for circumventing the World Trade Organization rules on trade."

biotech roundup:

• News from Montreal - Bits and Bites on Biosafety - Special bulletins from International Consumers for Civil Society and its NGOs in Montreal.

• "Mowlam tells UK biotech firms to defend products" - "Britain's biotechnology industry must step up the public relations battle on the safety and potential benefits of products like genetically modified foods, Cabinet Office Minister Mo Mowlam said on Tuesday," reports Reuters.

• "Canada under fire for stand on genetically modified food: Priority on trade; developing nations fear threat to crops" - "Canada's position on genetically modified food came under fire yesterday at an international trade conference," reports The National Post (Jan. 25).

• "ERMA Suggests Managed Release Of GM Organisms" - "The Environmental Risk Management Authority, ERMA, has suggested it be allowed to put controls on the commercial release of genetically modified crops or other organisms," reports NewsRoom.

"Belgium alerts vets over mystery cow disease" - "Belgium said on Tuesday it would warn veterinarians nationwide to watch out for symptoms of illness in cow herds after a mystery disease killed 10 cows at two dairy farms," reports Reuters.

"EU trade commissioner urges new trade talks" - "Pascal Lamy, the European Union's trade commissioner, announced on Tuesday bold plans for a new round of world trade talks before the end of this year. Mr Lamy acknowledged he was pursuing a high-risk strategy after last month's failure of the World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Seattle, but he told the European Parliament's environment committee the issue was too important to wait until after this year's US presidential elections," reports The Financial Times.

"Tap water may cause illness in elderly" - "Even where drinking water standards meet state and federal standards, the elderly may be at increased risk for waterborne gastrointestinal infections from tap water, results of a recent study suggest," reports Reuters Health.

"American Cancer Society Airs New Television Spot Highlighting Cancer As a Presidential Campaign Issue" - "This month, ACS unveiled its first-of-its kind grassroots campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire to educate and inform presidential candidates in the 2000 election about the importance Americans place on cancer as a presidential issue."

"Childhood poverty link to dementia" - "Children from large families run a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in later life, say researchers," reports the BBC.

"HRT threat to breast screening" - "Screening is more likely to miss breast cancer if the woman has been taking hormone replacement therapy, according to a study," reports the BBC. JAMA study

"Roper Starch Survey Shows Majority of Americans Opposed to Tobacco Tax Increase" - "A recent public opinion survey conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide shows that a majority of Americans do not support increasing taxes on cigarettes, even if the revenues would be used for Medicare coverage of prescription drugs. In the national survey conducted last month 53 percent of those polled said they are opposed to increasing tobacco taxes."

"Scientific harassment by pharmaceutical companies: time to stop" - David Hailey comments in The Canadian Medical Association Journal, "The timely and accurate synthesis of clinical trial results and of other information on new drugs and new devices is essential to informed decision-making on the appropriate use of these products. However, 2 alarming trends are already impeding such assessments. First, the results of applied medical research -- which, increasingly, is being funded by the private sector -- are being released only selectively to the public. Findings that support manufacturers' claims are widely disseminated, while others may be withheld. Second, some companies appear to be ready to stifle scientific discussion by turning to the courts, seeking injunctions to prevent the release of reports or threatening researchers with legal action." Doesn't this same reasoning apply to the politically correct nonsense funded by the government?

January 25, 2000

today's weather: The New York Times forecast: No blizzard today, but warmer next century? - As the Washington, D.C. area is being socked with a blizzard that may leave as much as 12 inches of snow on the ground, I had to chuckle upon reading today's New York Times forecast for Washington, D.C. and Baltimore: "Morning clouds yielding to sun..." To be fair, the blizzard wasn't forecast until about 12 hours ago -- too late for the Times' print editions. I guess that's why The New York Times has hopped on the global warming bandwagon so early -- it doesn't want to be wrong about that 2-degree temperature rise 100 years from now. But if the experts can't tell us about tomorrow's weather, how can they forecast the next century's? You may want to ask that question of William K. Stevens (stevens@nytimes.com), The New York Times' resident-hysteric on global warming.

endorsement of the day: "What is junk science?" - The Detroit News picks Junkscience.com as its "Hot Site of the Day" for Jan. 23 -- a nice birthday gift for the Junkman.

commentary of the day I: "FDA label rule lacks scientific basis" - My op-ed in today's Chicago Sun-Times. Find out why the FDA wants to scare you about margarine and crackers.

commentary of the day II: "The Presidency Can Be a Killer" - Robert E. Gilbert commentsd in The Wall Street Journal, "As voters prepare to elect a new president, candidates' health problems should give them pause. The presidency has been a debilitating, even deadly, job." So is Al Gore a candidate for President or a candiate for a heart attack?

biotech roundup:

• "Protests at GM food talks " - "Environmental groups have been staging protests outside negotiations over a proposed treaty to regulate the international trade in genetically-modified (GM) food," reports the BBC.

• "U.N. Biosafety Protocol talks begin in Montreal" - "Fresh talks aimed at getting an international deal on trade and safety for genetically modified crops and food products began on Monday as green groups staged loud but peaceful protests outside the meeting hall," reports Reuters.

• News from Montreal - Bits and Bites on Biosafety - Special bulletins from International Consumers for Civil Society and its NGOs in Montreal.

• "U.S. opposes effort to expand biosafety pact scope" - "The United States opposed efforts by developing countries to expand the scope of a proposed agreement to regulate trade in genetically modified organisms (GMOs), a U.S. official said on Monday," reports Reuters.

• "Licensing procedure for genetically modified organisms turns out to be fallible" - "The procedure used by Dutch, European and global authorities when granting licenses for genetically modified organisms is a flawed one. Although applicants are required to provide information about the dangers of the newly developed biotechnology to man and the environment, they themselves decide to some extent what information is relevant. This has been demonstrated by an analysis carried out by philosophers at Leiden University as part of a project funded by the NWO¹s Council for the Humanities. The applicant ­who is naturally an interested party­ is therefore in a position to influence the outcome of the approval procedure by deciding that certain information is irrelevant to the risk assessment."

• "Canola growers watching the biotechnology debate closely; many won't decide what to plant until spring" - "Although farmers know the advantages of biotechnology, the European public outcry has made them wary. As the debate moves to Montreal this week, where 130 countries will try to devise biosafety rules, canola growers are watching closely. Some won't decide what to plant until spring, while others have already made up their minds," reports The Canadian Press.

• "S.Africa Sees Genetically-Modified Food Policy Soon" - "The South African government said on Monday it was pushing ahead with plans to introduce regulations this year for the labeling of genetically modified food," reports Reuters.

• "Professor defends genetic research; Vandals torched office of MSU researcher working to boost output of nutritious food" - "A visiting Michigan State University associate professor whose office was the target of a fire set by radical environmentalists on New Year's Eve said Sunday that she heads a project aimed at increasing food production and making food more nutritious," reports The Detroit News.

"U.S. Health Officials Reject Plan to Report Medical Mistakes" - "Federal health officials say they are unwilling at this time to embrace the National Academy of Sciences' recent call for a new federal law requiring hospitals to report all mistakes that cause serious injury or death to patients," reports The New York Times.

"Study: commercial disinfectants effective, natural products less so" - "Tests of a variety of commercial household disinfectants show the products to be highly effective in killing disease-causing organisms, according to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers. Natural products, which might be more environmentally friendly, however, were less successful in killing the hazardous organisms and should not be relied on for that purpose."

"Health scare over milk" - "A bug found in pasteurised milk causes Crohn's disease, a leading medical researcher said today," reports The Independent.

"Heartburn Drug Linked To 70 Deaths; FDA Warning Outlines Dangers of Propulsid" - "The popular prescription nighttime heartburn drug Propulsid has been linked to 70 deaths and more than 270 significant negative reactions since 1993, the Food and Drug Administration warned yesterday... 'This is a serious problem, but in our view a rare problem,' said Florence Houn, the FDA's chief for gastrointestinal drugs. 'Doctors and patients need to understand and learn more about the risks and benefits of the drug.'... Some consumer advocates have criticized the FDA in recent years for approving drugs before they have been thoroughly studied, and for approving drugs with known risks and failing to monitor them carefully enough once they are on the market," reports The Washington Post.

"Coroners 'concealed' BSE deaths" - "The number of victims of the human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy could be higher than official figures suggest because coroners refused full inquests on some of them, it was claimed yesterday," reports The Daily Telegraph.

"Veterans of Gulf War welcome new DU tests" - "A team of scientists from The Royal Society is to carry out an independent investigation into the dangers of depleted uranium, amid growing evidence that use of the material in shells and missiles is a cause of Gulf War Syndrome and has led to an increase in cancers among those in close contact with the weapons," reports The Independent. BBC coverage

"UF research suggests widely used models may under predict pollution" - "New research by a University of Florida professor suggests the complex computer models underlying regulations on pollution from cars and other sources in many of the nation's largest cities may significantly underestimate pollution levels."

"The West is in the grip of an obesity epidemic" - "The West is in the grip of an obesity epidemic, finds a study from the Netherlands in Archives of Disease in Childhood. Similar to the picture seen in the UK over recent years, the numbers of obese children in the Netherlands have almost doubled."

"West warned on climate refugees" - "The Bangladeshi Environment Minister, Mrs Sajeeda Choudhury, has said that if climate change causes sea levels to rise in line with scientific predictions, her country will have millions of homeless people," reports the BBC.

"40% of bars ignore law on smoking, study finds" - "Forty percent of California's stand-alone bars are flouting an indoor smoking ban that went into effect two years ago, according to estimates by a health organization," reports the Associated Press.

"Even Quebec Gets Tough on Smoking" - "Quebecers' tolerance of smoking, and the presence here of three out of four of Canada's largest tobacco companies, translated into the nation's highest smoking rate, 32 percent of the teenage and adult population. Reflecting the enduring cultural divide between Canada's two founding peoples, 36 percent of French Canadian adults smoke, compared with 26 percent of English Canadian adults. But, one month ago, Quebec took its first steps to catch up with the rest of North America, imposing the province's first smoking segregation rules," reports The New York Times.

"Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Expresses Disappointment in HUD Grants to Support 'Smoke Shops'" - "The Campaign for Tobacco-Free today expressed disappointment in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's decision to award $4.2 million in community development grants to four American Indian tribes to build "smoke shops" that sell discounted cigarettes."

January 24, 2000

Al Gore health scare! Al Gore has high risk of heart attack, study indicates -
A Junkscience.com exclusive:

Is Al Gore a candidate for President or for a heart attack?

You may recall that within a few days of rival Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley's disclosure of cardiac arrhythmia -- a generally benign condition -- Gore released his own medical records in hopes of contrasting his supposedly "outstanding" health with that of Bradley.

But perhaps Gore shouldn't have been so hasty to exploit Bradley's condition.

A new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine (Jan. 24) says that men with Al Gore's type of male pattern balding (called vertex balding) and high cholesterol have a statistically significant 178 percent increase in risk of coronary heart disease. Gore's combination of risk factors -- male pattern balding and high cholesterol -- was the most dangerous according to this study of 22,071 U.S. male physicians conducted by Harvard researchers and funded by the National Institutes of Health.

"We found that the association between [male pattern baldness] and [coronary heart disease risk] was even stronger among men with hypertension or high cholesterol," reported the researchers.

According to medical records, Gore's cholesterol level is 231 (below 200 is "normal") and his LDL cholesterol (so-called "bad cholesterol") level is high at 157 (the target level is 130). Dr. Jonathan Steinberg, chief of cardiology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and associate professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical School, said Gore's LDL cholesterol level "needs to go down -- it's high at 157."

Men with mild vertex male pattern baldness, like Gore, had a statistically significant 46 percent increase in risk of nonfatal heart attack, according to the study.

The researchers noted their findings "agree with the results from recent large epidemiologic studies... A plausible explanation for an association between baldness and coronary heart disease may be elevated androgen levels. Men with severe baldness seem to have a greater number of androgen receptors in the scalp and higher levels of both serum total and free testosterone... High levels of androgens may directly contribute to both atherosclerosis and thrombosis, and may adversely influence risk factors such as hypertension and high cholesterol.

The researchers called early vertex balding a "nonmodifiable risk factor for coronary heart disease." But they said it may serve as a useful clinical marker to identify men at increased risk who may benefit from "primary prevention efforts" directed at other known modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease.

Speaking of "primary" and "prevention," voters may want to cast their ballots in the upcoming presidential election primaries so as to prevent a heart attack in the Oval Office.

Other study coverage: Associated Press | Reuters

commentary of the day: Changes in the Pacific Ocean: NASA joins the Multi-Decadal Club! - Oregon State climatologist George Taylor comments on last week's announcement by NASA that changes in the Pacific Ocean will be affecting winter weather for decades to come.

report of the day: News from Montreal - Bits and Bites on Biosafety - Special bulletins from International Consumers for Civil Society and its NGOs in Montreal.

"Talks to Open on Divisive Issue of Gene-Altered Foods" - "Delegates from 140 countries gather in Montreal this week to try to write a rule book to govern the world's ever-expanding trade in genetically altered organisms--grains, bacteria, farm animals--with life codes that have been rearranged in hopes of improving on nature's work," reports The Washington Post. New York Times coverage.

"In Japan, It's Back to Nature" - "Japan, the world's largest food importer, is in the midst of a struggle over how to treat genetically modified foods. The government has gone along with consumer demands for labels on such products starting next year. This has prompted a rush toward non-genetically modified tofu, beer and soy sauce in local markets, and a jump in import orders for non-genetically modified soybeans and corn from the United States, the source of most of Japan's food," reports The Washington Post.

junk commentary of the day I: "Candidates or ostriches?" - Paul and Anne Ehrlich write in The San Jose Mercury News, "Environmental problems cast a shadow over the human future, yet they are largely being ignored in the current presidential campaign." But have the Ehrlichs ever been right about anything? Click for Mike Fumento's "Doomsayer Paul Ehrlich Strikes Out Again." Send you comments to the San Jose Mercury News at letters@sjmercury.com.

junk commentary of the day II: "Decommissisoned But Dangerous? The nuclear industry starts a difficult new chapter." - Arjun Makhijani scares Washington Post readers about radiation. Send your comments to The Washington Post.

"Engineered crops face barren season" - "As [farmers] across the state buy bags of seed and ready their tractors for spring planting, many are turning away from genetically engineered plants for the first time since the crops stormed the market in 1995. They fear that the crops they sow might be hard to sell if controversy over genetically modified organisms grows over the summer along with their corn and soybeans," reports The Chicago Tribune.

"France to screen herds for mad cow disease" - "France said on Sunday it would set up a screening programme in the next few weeks to check that cattle ready for slaughter were not infected with mad cow disease," reports Reuters.

declaration of the day: "Scientists Release Declaration Defending Biotechnology" - "More than 600 scientists from around the world signed a 'Declaration in Support of Agricultural Biotechnology,' that was released today at a conference held to coincide with UN negotiations on a Biosafety Protocol. 'We in the scientific community felt it necessary to counteract the baseless attacks so often being made on biotechnology and genetically modified foods,' said C.S. Prakash, a biology professor at Tuskegee University in the United States, and organizer of the declaration. 'Biotechnology is a potent and valuable tool that can help make foods more productive and nutritious,' he added. 'And, contrary to anti-biotech activists, they can even advance environmental goals such as biodiversity.'"

"You aren't what you eat" - "Fresh Fields sells the myth of a better world, one overpriced vegetable at a time," reports the Washington City Paper.

"Ozone layer over northern hemisphere is being destroyed at 'unprecedented rate' " - "Scientists are witnessing an unprecedented destruction of the ozone layer over the northern hemisphere, which could result in public health warnings being issued about the risk of skin cancer. " reports The Independent. More on ozone depletion

"Network of massive waste incinerators planned for UK" - "Seventy towns and cities from Torquay to Sunderland have been earmarked as sites for a vast array of new municipal waste incinerators needed for England, according to Friends of the Earth," reports The Independent.

"Gulf war veterans link illness to chemical" - "Veterans seeking to convince the ministry of defence that they are suffering from Gulf war syndrome have produced new evidence that suggests the illness was caused by an injection with the illegal substance squalene," reports The Guardian.

January 23, 2000

"Agriculture Secretary Forms Panel To Advise on Crop Biotechnology" - "U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman is creating a 38-member committee to advise him on crop biotechnology policy. Mr. Glickman, who created a stir last year by calling on food companies to voluntarily label products that contain genetically modified ingredients, will unveil today the list of academics, biotechnology executives, farm leaders and anti-biotechnology activists he is naming to the committee. He named Dennis Eckart, an attorney at Baker & Hostetler LLP in Washington and a former Ohio congressman, as chairman of the committee. The committee is slated to hold its first meeting March 29. Among others, Mr. Glickman named to the committee prominent biotechnology critics such as Margaret G. Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Rebecca J. Goldburg of the Environmental Defense Fund. Officials of Monsanto Co., DuPont Co., Cargill Inc. and General Mills Inc. also were named to the committee." reports The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 22).

"Man seeks compensation from French Army for smoking habit" - "A 70-year-old French man is demanding damages from France's Defence Ministry, blaming the Army for giving him his smoking habit nearly half-a-century ago, " reports the ABC.

"Scientists launch new assault on Arctic ozone loss" - "Scientists from the United States, Europe and other countries have launched one of the largest projects ever aimed at studying ozone loss in the Arctic atmosphere and developing ways to counteract that problem," reports the AAP.

scare of the day: "Arctic ozone loss seen increasing cancer in Europe" - "Cold weather this winter is thinning the ozone layer over the Arctic, part of a worsening trend which will expose Europeans to skin cancer and other diseases, top scientists warned on Saturday," reports Reuters. More on ozone depletion

"The Great Windmill Scam" - From the Science and Environmental Policy Project: "This week, we bring you a European view that should be required reading for the White House and all those zealots of 'renewable energy.' Not all Scandinavians are enamored with wind energy. Here is our edited version of a stinging indictment by Iens Elliott Nyegaard, originally published in the Swedish journal Elbranchen (June 1999) and due for publication in the Danish Engineering Society weekly Ingenioren."

"Secret deal will bring a flood of GM" - "Leading European Union officials are trying to broker a secret deal which could result in Britain being flooded with imported GM foods," reports The Independent.

"Why the West must swallow gene foods " - "They're boycotted by British shoppers, and this week an international conference will decide if trade in GM organisms should be controlled. But many scientists believe they are the solution to starvation in the Third World," reports the News Unlimited.

"Tobacco is 'less risky than dope'" - "For decades, it has been been the retort of cannabis smokers: dope is not as bad for you as cigarettes or alcohol. But after years of ambiguous research, US scientists claim it is worse," reports the News Unlimited. The Boston Herald editorialized about this study last Dec. 18. Below is my unpublished letter to the editor:

Editor:

Your editorial "What's Gore Smokin" (Dec. 18) relies on a classic junk science formula -- the "one-study wonder."

You feature Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang's study supposedly linking long-term marijuana use with head and neck cancer.

But Zhang's study is the first to make such a connection. It is very small with only 20 cancer cases who smoked marijuana. Only 10 cases smoked marijuana for more than 5 years. Zhang's results were not statistically significant, meaning they could easily have occurred by chance.

Science is not a quick-and-dirty, one-study endeavor. The scientific method requires a thorough testing of ideas followed by independent replication of results.

Ironically, your use of the Zhang study to oppose medicinal marijuana is as unfounded as Al Gore's hitting the panic button about global warming.

Steven Milloy
Publisher, Junkscience.com

January 22, 2000

'WWBJD?' of the day: "New rules close loophole to polluters" - "The federal government has closed a major loophole that allowed some polluters to avoid releasing information on some of their most dangerous and toxic compounds. Environment Canada will require increased disclosure from industrial polluters of their use of mercury, wood-preserving chemicals, dioxins and furans. Under the new rules, facilities using five kilograms or more of mercury will have to disclose this information. Dioxins and furans are considered so dangerous that all production must be reported," reports The Globe and Mail. WWBJD? (What would Ben & Jerry's do?) We measured dioxin in Ben & Jerry's ice cream that was 200 times what the US EPA says is safe.

study of the day: "Study finds natural corn crops untainted by genetically engineered plants" - "Researchers hope a study showing very little cross-pollination between genetically engineered and natural corn plants will ease farmers' fears that altered crops could taint conventionally grown crops," reports the Associated Press.

"Bradley says soda may have caused heart beat" - "'I'd had Gatorade, orange soda and I went to cream soda ... Who knew that cream soda had caffeine in it?' Bradley said. 'Caffeine is one of the things that can set this off. It is possible that that happened. So I have curtailed my cream soda. It's only a hypothesis,' Bradley said," reports Reuters.

"Much Ado About Milk " - From the American Council on Science and Health: "One can't help but wonder why the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is acting in an apparently irresponsible manner by exaggerating the alleged hazards of milk. Why are they milking a very preliminary diabetes study for more than it's worth and frightening American parents in the process? The Committee is known for its strong support of total vegetarianism and its opposition to the exploitation of animals. Could these philosophical viewpoints have distorted the Committee's evaluation of the scientific evidence?"

"Your Cell Phone: Health Hazard or Helpful Gadget?" - From CNET: "Depending on who you ask, cell phones are useful tools, handy communication gadgets, potential lifesavers, menacing distractions, or even dangers to our health. We'll take a look at some of the science that supports and refutes those opinions and try to assess the real risks to your health and safety."

commentary of the day I: "Environmentalists Would Return Us To The Days Of Dickinson" - Philip Stott comments on Bridge News, "American environmentalism is founded on many myths of a utopian past, from those of the frontier and the wilderness to the famous environmentalist text, 'Silent Spring,' written by Rachel Carson in 1962. In contrast, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) of Amherst village in Massachusetts -- arguably America's greatest poet -- presents us with a reality of the past that is full of death and grieving. Today, many of her tearing bouts of pain would have been eased by the very science and development so often decried in the myths."

commentary of the day II: "Warning Signs" - Alan Caruba's weekly column.

commentary of the day III: "The science of global warming" - Betsy Hart comments, "... it's awfully hard to avoid the conclusion that many environmental alarmists are really clinging to the global warming scenario because for some reason, they want to give the cold-shoulder to human progress."

junk science in the making? "US to test antioxidants as prostate-cancer prevention" - "A government-sponsored trial, one of the largest ever conducted, will begin late this year to test whether commonly used antioxidants vitamin E and selenium can prevent prostate cancer, a researcher told Reuters," reports Reuters. Check out my comments on the most recent diet-prostate cancer study. (Scroll down to the Jan. 5 update).

"Golden Rice and Superbugs" - The Washington Post editorializes, "Faced with rising political opposition to biotechnology, backers often stress the immense promise the new technology holds for public health. That promise came a step closer to reality last week when the journal Science published evidence of substantial progress toward the creation of 'golden rice,' a vitamin-A-fortified strain of rice that could stave off progressive blindness from vitamin deficiency in as many as 250,000 poor children a year."

"Cell Towers Take Root on Farms" - "A certain rural contingent has begun to speak out against the towers. Opponents say they're unattractive and they fear the health risks to people and animals," reports Wired.com.

"Antibiotic resistance may be partly due to lack of new classes of antibacterials since 1960s" - "The rise in antibacterial resistance is partly because there have been no new classes of antibiotics introduced since the 1960s reports Professor Sebastion Amyes in an editorial this week's BMJ." BMJ editorial | BMJ report

"US threatens GM deal" - "A new clash over plans for an international treaty on the import of genetically-modified (GM) foods is looming, with the United States expected to block the proposals again," reports the BBC.

"EU health officials call for better labeling of genetically altered foods" - "Leading European health officials repeated appeals Friday for the labeling of genetically modified foods, saying measures need to be taken to gain public support on the sensitive food-safety issue," reports the Associated Press.

"EU ministers to examine beef labelling issue" - "A decision to opt for a generic EU label at the meeting in Brussels would be certain to upset Germany, which has refused to lift its ban on British beef over fears the meat may still be contaminated with mad cow disease, or BSE," reports Reuters.

"U.S. to meet EU label rules on GMOs" - "U.S. exporters are ready to meet the European Union's new one percent threshold on labelling food containing genetically modified organisms, although the system may actually heighten consumer fears, a top U.S. trade official said on Friday," reports Reuters.

"Nicotine patch doesn't deter teen smoking-US study" - "Few teen-aged smokers who tried wearing a nicotine patch quit the habit, indicating that the stop-smoking method that works for some adults may not work for adolescents, U.S. researchers said on Friday," reports Reuters.

"Agencies say gasoline additive is contaminating water nationwide" - " MTBE, a widely used gasoline additive that makes cars burn cleaner, has posed a cruel dilemma: It's making the air cleaner, but it's polluting the water," reports the Associated Press. Click for my related commentary in Investor's Business Daily.

"Another fen-phen suit filed in Mississippi" - "On the heels of a successful damage suit in Fayette against fen-phen maker American Home Products, attorneys are again turning to a Mississippi court with claims of health damage caused by the diet drug," reports the Associated Press. Click for my commentary in The Wall Street Journal.

"Sex drive warning to vegetarians and elderly" - "Elderly and vegetarian men are being warned about the effect of low protein diets on their sex lives in later years," reports the BBC.

January 21, 2000

commentary of the day I: "The biotech brawl in Montreal" - Terry Corocran writes in The Financial Post (Jan. 20), "The masters of agit-prop - Greenpeace, the Council of Canadians, CBC Radio's Bob Carty, assorted purveyors of junk science and fear -- are gearing up for a week-long assault on genetically modified food and biotechnology. It won't match the World Trade Organization extravaganza in Seattle, but the agitators hope the Biosafety Protocol negotiations in Montreal next week can be hyped up into a major anti-GM food fight worthy of global attention."

commentary of the day II: "With Gulf War Syndrome, No Disease Is No News" - Michael Fumento comments, "Call it "A Tale of Two Studies," one celebrated and one ignored. Both concerned Gulf War Syndrome (GWS). The first received tremendous media coverage, though it only involved a handful of vets, was privately funded by somebody with an agenda, was conducted by people on a research gravy train, and was merely announced at a meeting. The second was utterly ignored, though it involved a huge number of vets, was publicly-funded, involved myriad researchers from all over the country, and appeared in the prestigious, peer-reviewed American Journal of Epidemiology. Why the difference? "

studies of the day: Natural ozone depleters - Nature reports, "Methyl chloride and methyl bromide are the most common chlorine-containing and bromine-containing gases in the Earth's atmosphere and they are produced in good part from natural sources. While much attention has been focused on studying ozone-depleting gases produced by human activity (notably chlorofluorocarbons), the sources of methyl halides have received little attention until recently."

"Group files to block new U.S. dietary guidelines" - "Saying that the meat and dairy industries have had too much influence on new dietary guidelines for 2000, a health lobbying group said on Thursday it had asked a court for a preliminary injunction blocking their release. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which advocates a vegetarian diet, filed a motion in U.S. District Court on Wednesday night seeking to block the release of a government panel's recommendations on official dietary guidelines," reports Reuters.

"First wave of secondhand-smoke suits due in Florida" - "Anti-tobacco lawyers prepared to to file on Thursday a first wave of 300 individual secondhand-smoke lawsuits flowing from a landmark $350 million settlement of a class action brought by sick flight attendants," reports Reuters. Brown & Williamson media release

"Greenpeace to examine French oil spill" - "Greenpeace said on Thursday it planned to investigate the oil spilled by a tanker onto the French coast after birds caught up in the slick allegedly developed tumours and other unusual symptoms," reports Reuters.

"Biotech Products Face Major Rifts" - "What would happen if a genetically modified crop, such as corn made resistant to a certain pest, spread its seed through cross-pollination to mix with unaltered plants? Might such tampering with the building blocks of life disrupt nature's fragile food chain? Hasten the extinction of species? Unleash a biological time bomb? No one really knows the possible ramifications, and that is the problem facing hundreds of government ministers, environmentalists and other delegates converging on Montreal to try to agree on regulating trade of genetically engineered plants and animals," reports Reuters.

"USDA Funded Research Finds that Soy, Whey Proteins May Help Prevent Breast Cancer" - If only humans were like rats.

"Tobacco-Free Kids Statement on Canadian Government Announcement of New Tobacco Labeling Rules" - In what can only be characterized as a comical statement, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says, "Americans should have the same level of information about and protection from tobacco's dangers as our Canadian neighbors." Isn't the long-standing Surgeon General's warning sufficiently clear?

"Tobacco companies want more government cooperation" - "Tobacco companies want to cooperate more with the UK government and the public health authorities to develop what British American Tobacco (BAT) calls 'rational smoking and health policies based on a proper understanding of the science and the lessons to be drawn from the past.'" reports the British Medical Journal.

"Why mortality from heart disease is low in France" - A series of letters on the "French paradox" in the British Medical Journal.

Fluoridated water not associated with hip fracture - A study in this week's The Lancet reports that fluoridation of drinking water is unlikely to pose any important risk of hip fracture. Study | Commentary

January 20, 2000

commentary of the day I: "TH!NK Again About Eco-Cars" - Diane Katz and Henry Payne comment in The Wall Street Journal, "So why offer so many eco-cars? Because the auto industry isn't catering to consumers but to environmental bureaucrats, who blame the internal-combustion engine for global warming. Never mind that some 98% of auto emissions have been eliminated in the past three decades. Auto makers now face crippling fines unless they fulfill sales quotas of zero-emission vehicles in some of the nation's biggest markets, including California and New York. Even if the quotas are met, they will have negligible impact on carbon dioxide emissions--but they may well reduce driver safety by putting smaller (and hence less crashworthy) cars on the road."

commentary of the day II: "Saving Earth from environmentalists" - James Freeman writes in USA Today, "The smartest guy I know has just written a great book. So the first chance you get, buy a copy of Peter Huber’s Hard Green. The subject, "a conservative manifesto for the environment," may sound a little dry, but it’s an excellent read. Huber explains with clear logic what so many of us have felt in our guts."

"U.S. May Be Entering New Weather Era" - "If current temperature conditions in the Pacific Ocean persist, if an upstart theory of climate cycles proves correct, and if satellite data released yesterday reflect the start of a new era, America could be about to experience a meteorological replay of the 1950s and '60s." reports The Washington Post.

"Canada Proposes Scaring Smokers With Pictures on the Pack" - "Taking its war on smoking to a more graphic level, Canada's government proposed today that cigarette packs carry color photographs of diseased hearts and cancerous lungs and lips," reports The New York Times.

"Pacific Ocean Showing Signs of Major Shifts in the Climate" - "Changes in the Pacific Ocean are making it more likely that winter weather in much of the United States will exhibit unusual warmth alternating with sharp cold, scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., reported yesterday," reports The New York Times.

"Study finds Vitamin E won't help your heart" - "A new study of more than 9,000 high-risk patients suggests that daily vitamin E pills do not help ward off heart problems, contrary to popular belief," reports the Associated Press.

"http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/012000novartis-vasella.html" - "Even though life sciences was greeted with enthusiasm, it has become one of the drug industry's biggest misadventures. The world agricultural market sank severely last year. Commodities prices sank. The European food market struggled, amid consumer backlash over genetically engineered products. For most life sciences companies earnings growth was almost nil; stock prices suffered," reports The New York Tiumes.

"US national food safety plan due in July - panel" - "Consumer groups urged a White House panel on Wednesday to design a national food safety plan around a new federal agency dedicated to safeguarding meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and processed foods," reports Reuters.

"U.S. study confirms that indoor air worsens asthma" - "Cockroaches, dust mites, mold and second-hand smoke are definitely to blame for making asthma worse, especially in children, a report to be issued on Thursday finds," reports Reuters. Press release | Report summary

"Scientists see far lower CJD death toll in UK" - "Researchers have revised their estimates for the final death toll from the human equivalent of mad cow disease in Britain to thousands rather than millions," reports Reuters. Other coverage: BBC | New Scientist

"Canada opts for drooping cigarette to stop smokers" - "If Canadians have still not got the message about the dangers of smoking, then a depiction of a drooping, impotent cigarette or grotesque photos of diseased lungs on cigarette packs might do the trick," reports Reuters.

"Apples 'protect the lungs' " - "Those who ate apples had a lung capacity 138 millilitres higher than those who did not. Eating a lot of apples might simply reflect a healthy diet, suggest the authors," reports the BBC.

"Your Environment: nature’s bedroom" - MSNBC resident bonehead Francesca Lymann says you should avoid cotton bed linens because "it is grown using intensive agricultural methods with pesticides and fertilizers, whose residues can prove unhealthy as well as environmentally damaging."

"Freezing clouds threaten record Arctic ozone loss" - "Record low air temperatures high above the Arctic this winter are set to create the northern hemisphere's largest ever ozone hole. 'The system is primed for ozone destruction,' says Neil Harris, head of the European Ozone Research Coordinating Unit in Cambridge. 'If the cold temperatures persist into February we could see a record,'" reports The New Scientist.

"Deadly particles in air cannot be cut say ministers" - "The Government does not yet know how to solve the problem of particulates, the tiny specks of soot and other matter now regarded as the most life-threatening form of air pollution," reports The Independent.

"Swiss cabinet opts to keep liberal stand on GMOs" - "The Swiss cabinet completed work on Wednesday on draft amendments aimed at bringing the country's environmental laws into line with advances in biotechnology," reports Reuters.

"US says biosafety deal can be reached, despite differences with EU" - "US negotiators believe an international deal on exports of genetically modified organisms can be reached next week, despite differences between US and EU teams, a senior state department official said Wednesday," reports AFP.

January 19, 2000

today's Gore-ing: "Gore attacked over Colombia oil project" - "Environmentalists and human rights activists are accusing Al Gore, the US vice-president and candidate for the Democratic party presidential nomination, of hypocrisy over his shareholding in an oil company prospecting in Colombian rainforests," reports The Financial Times.

cartoon of the day: By Henry Payne - From The Detroit News.

commentary of the day: "Let federal agents visit bored at-home workers" - David Grimes writes in The Miami Herald, "I was hurt and a bit offended that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration backed off the idea of barging into the houses of people who work at home to make sure that they are complying with all federal health and safety standards... Call me an incurable romantic, but to me nothing breaks up the day like a beefy federal agent leading me away in handcuffs for having an insufficient-wattage bulb in my desk lamp."

report of the day: "Agent Orange Study Accuses Air Force of Blunders, Bias" - "The Pentagon's ongoing investigation into exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War has suffered from blunders, obstruction by the Air Force and Reagan administration, bias, secrecy and the release of misleading preliminary findings, according to a General Accounting Office report," reports The Chicago Tribune. Click for the GAO report. Note that the "most" the GAO said about the potential for human health effects from Agent Orange is "While there is scientific evidence of some associations between exposure to herbicides (or the dioxin they contain) and adverse human health conditions, the effect of this exposure on human health remains controversial."

"World Bank Sets Up Fund to Assist Pollution-Control Effort" - "The World Bank launched a new venture yesterday designed to help create a market for buying and selling reductions of emissions that have been blamed for global warming." reports The Washington Post.

"First, vitamins must do no harm" - The San Jose Mercury News contrasts the Federal Trade Commission's order that Bayer spend about $1 million telling Americans they shouldn't take aspirin regularly unless they first get a doctor's approval with the FDA's recent decision that makers of vitamins, herbs and dietary supplements can make practically any claim they want for their products without having to prove them effective or even safe."

EU report on fragrance allergy in consumers - The December 199 report from the Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products intended for Consumers concerning Fragrance Allergy in Consumers.

"Genetic food talks set for Montreal this week" - "Environmental trade negotiators from more than 120 countries will gather in Montreal this week in what is likely to resemble a smaller -- and, participants hope, quieter -- version of the Seattle talks that fell apart so spectacularly in December," reports The Financial Post.

"Britain claims flu epidemic came from outer space" - "University researchers in Cardiff have challenged the view that the outbreak is caused by the bug being passed from person to person at home or in the workplace," reports the ABC.

"Dr. Jeffrey Wigand and the American Cancer Society Implore Calif. Voters To Keep 50-Cent Tobacco Tax" - "Jeffrey Wigand, a former research director for Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. and the subject of the new Touchstone Pictures film, "The Insider," will endorse the Stop Big Tobacco -- No on Prop 28 campaign during a news conference with the American Cancer Society at Los Angeles Children's Hospital, Wednesday January 19th." Click for my review of "The Insider."

"Smokers get more tar, nicotine than thought-study" - "Smokers are making up for the allegedly lower tar and nicotine yields in so-called "light" cigarettes by inhaling harder and more frequently, researchers said on Tuesday," reports Reuters. CNN coverage | MSNBC coverage | Reuters Health

"Smoking in decline among U.S. women, study says" - "The percentage of American women who said they smoked declined from 1987 to 1996, with more pregnant women also abstaining from cigarettes or at least cutting down, a study released on Tuesday said," reports Reuters. JAMA study | BBC coverage | CNN coverage | AP coverage | MSNBC coverage

January 18, 2000

eco-crapola of the day: New Turning Point Project Ad: "Can industrial agriculture feed the world?" - Here's the latest New York Times ad from the Turning (My Stomach) Point Project. Can "industrial agriculture" feed the world? Who knows? Can you trust the Turning Point Project? Decide for yourself.

junk TV news of the day I: 60 Minutes does MTBE - The Television news program 60 Minutes reported on the MTBE controversy last Sunday night. There is no question the MTBE is a great example of "ready-fire-aim" environmental policy. But 60 Minutes wrongly gave the impression nothing is known about potential health risks from MTBE exposure. Though MTBE may foul drinking water pretty easily, environmental exposures to MTBE pose no health threat to humans. Click for my Investor's Business Daily op-ed on MTBE.

junk TV news of the day II: NBC Nightly News junks out on trans fats - NBC senior "science" correspondent Robert Bazell reported on trans fats Monday evening. But as is evidenced by this MSNBC version of Bazell's report, Bazell was way off base in scaring viewers that trans fats cause 30,000 premature deaths each year -- or that trans fats have been linked with any adverse health effects. Bazell's chief source on trans fats, Harvard's Walter Willet, is almost single-handedly responsible for pushing the trans fats scare. Click for my report on trans fats.

Ben & Jerry's moment of the day: Greenpeace erects a barrier to Ben & Jerry's in Russia? - The Russian news agancy Tass reports,

The first environmental marking introduced in Russia was presented at a press conference at the Russian Office of Greenpeace on Monday. The press conference was called in connection with the appearance on the Russian market of commodities marked No Chlorine. Greenpeace officials said the No Chlorine mark was designed by Greenpeace Russia and approved by the State Committee for Standards. This is the only such act in the world. It establishes the procedure for determining commodities in the production of which no chlorine and its compounds were used. The use of the No Chlorine mark enables consumers to make a conscientious choice in favour of a less environmentally hazardous commodity. This will reduce environmental contamination, including by strong poisons such as dioxins. Several producers have already started using the new mark for their products. They have said that 'even in Russia no serious company can hope for steady development if it ignores its environmental image'."

Ben & Jerry's first venture into the Russian market failed. Should Ben & Jerry's decide to go back to Russia, it looks like the company will have to forego the "No Chlorine" label since its ice cream, as tested by Junkscience.com, contains relatively high levels of chlorine-containing dioxin.

off-topic commentary of the day: "Pepperoni, cheese and whining" - My op-ed in today's Washington Times about the Pizza Hut vs. Papa John's squabble.

commentary of the day I: "Global Warming Is 300-Year-Old News" - Arthur Robinso and Noah Robinson write in The Wall Street Journal about the recent NRC report on global warming.

commentary of the day II: "Hot air for the millennium" - Pat Michaels comments in The Washington Times, "People who don't think the federal government sometimes exaggerates things a wee bit obviously did not survive the Y2K crisis. Or perhaps they merely sizzled away in the record heat endured by our fair republic, as recently reported by the Commerce Department, which has pronounced 1998-09 the warmest years for which we have adequate records - 1998 comes in as hottest and 1999 as second-warmest. One Y2K lesson is that what is said in Washington isn't necessarily what is, depending on what "is" means. In the case of the nation's or the globe's temperature, our government has chosen to trumpet one particular climate history out of several that are available. Not surprisingly, the government tells us about the hottest, while the rest are not remarkable at all. The heated pronouncement, which actually came from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), is not a result of cooking the books. Instead, it is a result of very selective reading..."

commentary of the day III: "Still not a crisis" - The Indianapolis Star-news comments, "The doomsayers are renewing calls for massive reductions in energy use. They're predicting killer storms, catastrophic droughts and ocean levels rising by several feet. It sounds scary. But here's something to keep in mind. The NASA satellites have been accurately recording temperature data for over 20 years. At the current rate of warming, the planet's average temperature will be higher by eight-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit in the year 2100. That's not a crisis."

commentary of the day IV: "EPA's Blind Eye" - With the MTBE controversy as the backdrop, USA Today editorializes, "This is hardly the first time the EPA has been caught pushing rules based on shoddy science. Independent reviews of its mandatory auto emissions inspection programs find them far less effective than the EPA boasts. And the agency's rule on recycling sewage sludge as fertilizer has come under fire for not being protective enough. The list goes on. The combined effect of all this is to call into serious question the EPA's authority on environmental matters."

commentary of the day V: "Genetically modified foods not only safe but necessary" - John Allred comments in The Columbus Dispatch, "It is estimated that the world's population will hit 9 billion within 50 years. Advances in biotechnology provide the best hope that enough food can be produced to feed an ever-expanding population. If the use of molecular biology is done with as much care as it has been up until now, our food supply should remain abundant and safe long into the future."

commentary of the day VI: "Forbidden Flushes" - The Wall Street Journal editorializes on "toilet totalitarianism" -- "the new, low-gal toilets [that] often end up clogging and overflowing because they don't produce enough momentum to get the job done on the first try."

commentary of the day VII: "Disregard our prior panic" - Dale McFeatters asks, "Was it only two years ago that we had the great killer asteroid scare?"

"Hurricanes set to grow fiercer" - "Scientists in the US believe hurricanes may become more powerful in the next few decades, and that the damage they cause will be much greater. Dr Chris Landsea, of the hurricane research division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told BBC Radio Four's environment programme Costing the Earth that global warming would not cause more frequent and intense hurricanes, but that a natural cycle could produce the same result," reports the BBC.

"Danger to health from traffic 'is overstated'" - "Government agencies have seriously exaggerated the health dangers posed by increasing road traffic, according to an unpublished study conducted for the Department of Health," reports the Daily Telegraph.

"Environmentalists, farmers support EPA's restrictions on biotech corn plantings" - "Both environmentalists and farmers are supporting the planting restrictions that the government is placing on genetically altered corn to prevent insects from becoming resistant to its toxin," reports the Associated Press.

"Canada hopeful on talks on gene-modified crops" - "Canadian officials said on Monday there was a chance the world's trading blocs could settle their deep differences at talks next week and forge a deal to protect biological diversity and regulate trade in genetically modified (GM) crops," reports Reuters.

"EU says GM safety agreement an 'absolute priority'" - "The European Union's top environmental official said on Monday it was an "absolute priority" to conclude a long-delayed deal to protect biological diversity and regulate trade in genetically modified crops," reports Reuters.

"France reports first mad cow case in 2000" - "France reported a fresh case of the mad cow disease on Monday, the first discovered this year," reports Reuters.

"ACTU calls for asbestos ban" - "The ACTU has called for a total ban on the use of sbestos in Australia by the end of this year," reports the Australian Broadcasting Corp. The EPA tried a similar ban in the late-1980s. The EPA ban was trashed by a federal court that determined the EPA, without basis, ignored its own scientific data contradicting the agency's final decision.

January 17, 2000

commentary of the day I: "Agency out of control" - Bill Kovac writes in The Washington Times, "EPA is retaliating against business for successfully filing suit and having EPA's new air regulations declared unconstitutional. Although it is disturbing when opponents criticize corporate citizens for exercising their constitutional right to petition their government, it is even more frightening when a government agency retaliates against citizens for securing their constitutional rights in court. EPA is an agency that has broadly overstepped its authority. It is an agency that refuses to inform the public as to the scientific basis for its mandates. It is an agency that is out of control."

commentary of the day II: "EPA for Honda" - The Washington Times editorializes, "One need not be a GM customer, shareholder or employee to wonder if the most dangerous emissions these days are the regulatory variety that spew from EPA."

junk commentary of the day: "More Hot News" - The Washington Post comments, "The latest data on global warming should thin the ranks of those who deny the evidence for climate change." But it's pretty clear Post editors didn't read the report -- which, by the way, failed its mission of attempting to reconcile the differences between surface and upper atmosphere temps. For more on why this report is no big deal, check out the comments (below) by climatologist George Taylor from last Friday. Related junk commentary from the San Jose Mercury News

"Clinton turning to regulations to plant his environmental legacy" - "As President Clinton tries to create an environmental legacy without the help of Congress, conservation proposals are falling like rain from the White House," reports the Associated Press.

"UK air quality 'worst ever'" - "The environmental campaign Friends of the Earth says air quality in the United Kingdom last year experienced the worst deterioration since modern records began," reports the BBC.

January 16, 2000

"EPA Restricts Gene-Altered Corn in Response to Concerns" - "The Environmental Protection Agency has placed new restrictions on the cultivation of genetically modified corn, a response to concerns that gene-altered crops may be causing ecological disruptions." reports The Washington Post. For background info:

• "Study eases gene-altered corn fears," Chicago Sun-Times, 11/4/99
  
• "Dressing up the butterflies," Washington Times,7/20/99

commentary of the day: "Global Warming?" - The Detroit News comments, "The National Research Council study indicating the Earth’s surface has warmed in the last two decades says nothing about the warming’s cause and therefore does not justify implementing the Kyoto Treaty."

"Alps face disaster over warming" - "But now engineers and geologists have discovered a new, alarming effect: air temperature increases are being magnified fivefold underground. A test borehole, dug in Murtel in southern Switzerland, has revealed that frozen sub-surface soils warmed by 1.2 degrees since 1990," reports The News Unlimited.

scare of the day: "Pollution set to rip giant hole in ozone layer" - "Scientists are warning that the biggest hole in the ozone layer over the northern hemisphere will appear this spring. It is likely to trigger public alerts against going out in the sun without protective clothing across Britain and the rest of Europe. " reports The Times.

Economically Viable Alternative Green - The altgreen site has been rennovated into a much leaner and meaner, no nonsense site. Check it out.

January 15, 2000

today's Gore-ing: Al Gore's 'concept car' - A cartoon from Larry Wright, in The Detroit News.

scare of the day: "Planet faces 'abrupt changes'" - "A US report says the world could be taken by surprise by unexpected environmental problems during the twenty-first century," reports the BBC. Philip Stott says:

Here we go again. More hand-wringing from the dreaded Worldwatch Institute, as reported by Alex Kirby for BBC Science Online: Please ask why BBC Online News reports uncritically the gloom of the Worldwatch Institute but not the more positive views expressed in Earth Report 2000: Revisiting the True State of the Planet" by using the Official BBC Online News Complaints Form (asking the complaint to be directed to Mr. Alex Kirby, Science/Technology). Thank you."

Earth Report 2000 may be purchased from the Junkscience.com store.

"EPA denies ethanol decision delayed to help Gore" - "The Environmental Protection Agency denied Friday that it is delaying a decision on whether to exempt California from rules requiring ethanol in gasoline blends to avoid hurting Vice President Al Gore in the Iowa caucuses," reports the Associated Press.

"Tamoxifen cost effective and worthy of insurance coverage" - "The drug tamoxifen is highly effective at preventing breast cancer in women at high risk and should be covered by insurance, results of a recent analysis conclude, " reports Reuters. Visit Consumerdistorts.com for more on the tamoxifen controversy.

"Byrne promises tighter rules on GM labelling" - "EU rules on labelling GM foods will be made stricter as soon as technology becomes available to detect smaller amounts of GM material in foods, according to the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Mr David Byrne," reports The Irish Times.

January 14, 2000

commentary of the day: George Taylor comments on new global warming report - Here are climatologist George Taylor's comments on the recent National Research Council report, "Reconciling Observations of Global Temperature Change." The report is being touted by the media and enviros as "confirming" global warming.

Comments on "Reconciling Observations of Global Temperature Change"

"Reconciling Observations of Global Temperature Change" describes how surface temperatures have warmed in the past 20 years, even though upper-atmosphere temperatures have remained stable. This "surface warming" is said to be due to "a combination of human activities and natural causes," and is reputed to be real evidence that the earth's temperature is rising.

While I agree with most of what appears in the press release, some additional comments are warranted. As a state climatologist, one whose job it is to examine data records for quality, I am very cautious about using data from individual stations to infer global trends. Local biases, particularly the "urban heat island" effect, can bias temperature measurements.

Tom Karl, Director of the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), has the same concerns. For that reason, Karl initiated the Historical Climatology Network (HCN) program a number of years ago. NCDC selected reliable long-term stations, those thought to be free of local biases (neglecting, for example, stations in growing urban areas). When HCN temperature trends are plotted for the last 105 years, there is a very slight warming, but the warmest period of the century occurred in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The December issues of Climate Variations Bulletin show the annual trends.

What this means is that the long-term trends in temperature in one of the largest countries in the world, using the finest available surface temperature data, do not show the warming that the global data sets indicate. Why not? As Tom Karl suggested in the March, 1989 Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, "all global temperature data sets are contaminated by a number of biases of varying magnitudes of which the most serious may be the global-warming bias." These statements, which were Karl's rationale for formulating the HCN, still ring true. My explanation for the difference between U.S. temperatures (which show almost no warming this century) and global data (which show a lot) is that the latter is of considerably lower quality, and much more biased, than the carefully-constructed HCN data set.

One of the best overviews on global climate changed I have seen was Pat Michaels' testimony before the Subcommittee on National Economic Growth, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs, of the U.S. Hou