November 30, 2000
HOT Story of the Day! Nature's
Political Science - "A prestigious science journal is again using
junk science to inappropriately insert itself into a political controversy.
The British journal Nature is rushing to release a study by Canadian
researchers reporting that the butterfly ballot used in Palm Beach County,
Florida in the recent presidential election "appears to cause systematic
errors in the casting of votes."
Worthy cause: "'Sign
On, Save Children's Lives from Malaria!' Urges New Global Health
Coalition" - "November 29 2000 -- Save Children from Malaria
Campaign has launched a worldwide Internet petition drive (http://www.fightingmalaria.org)
to help save children and pregnant women from the ravages of malaria through
the limited use of DDT. According to the World Health Organization, malaria
affects some 500 million people each year and kills up to 2.5 million
annually, amounting to one child every 30 seconds. "Malaria is surging
worldwide, killing children and their mothers in Africa, Asia and Latin
America in skyrocketing numbers," said Dr. Roger Bate, chairman of the
Save Children from Malaria Coalition. "We are asking that DDT continue to
be used in homes to drive out mosquitoes and protect innocent lives." (FightingMalaria.org)
"Greens vs.
the World's Poor" - "Limited use of DDT could save
millions from malaria. So why are environmentalists and the U.N. hellbent on
ending its production?" (Ronald Bailey, Reason)
"DDT
Still Has Role To Play In Fighting Malaria: WHO" - "DDT
still has an important role to play in saving lives and reducing the burden of
malaria in some of the world's poorest countries, states the World Health
Organisation (WHO) as the international community considers phasing it out.
More than 120 governments, inter-governmental and non-government agencies are
meeting next week (December 4-9) in Johannesburg, South Africa, to finalize an
international treaty to reduce and/or eliminate the production and use of 12
persistent organic pollutants, including DDT." (UniSci)
"Poor
nations take lesser of two evils: DDT over malaria" - "A
coalition of public health advocates is rallying on behalf of an unlikely
cause: DDT, an environmental nemesis they say is the most effective weapon
ever found in the war against malaria." (USA Today)
"Herbal
products recalled because of kidney damage risk" -
"WASHINGTON -- An Oregon company is recalling two brands of Chinese herbs
because they may pose a serious health hazard: They were contaminated with a
chemical that can destroy the kidneys. ... The Food and Drug Administration
had ordered dietary supplement manufacturers to test botanical products for
aristolochic acid, a highly toxic chemical that can be found in some Chinese
herbs." (AP)
"Mobiles
and cancer risk issue may never be resolved: expert" -
"Scientists may never be able to prove whether or not using mobile phones
can increase the risk of cancer, a public health expert said today. Southeast
Sydney Public Health Unit Cancer Control Program head Bernard Stewart said
evidence from studies around the world linking radiation from phones to cancer
in animals was weak. But he said changes to the way mobile phones were made to
restrict the amount of radiation they emitted was likely to come about as
manufacturers responded to public fears, regardless of research
findings." (AAP) [Churches
cash in on phone boom (Telegraph)]
"GE sues to overturn
Superfund law" - "WASHINGTON, Nov. 29
— The General Electric Co. asked a
federal court Tuesday to declare the Superfund toxic waste cleanup law
unconstitutional. An Environmental Protection Agency spokesman called the
action “exceedingly curious” because it comes as the company faces up to
$1 billion in cleanup costs for hazardous chemical spills along the Hudson
River." (AP)
"'Hidden
benefit' of stomach bacteria" - "Bacteria normally linked to
stomach ulcers and even cancer may turn out to actually protect children from
dangerous infections." (BBC Online)
"Group
links nail polish to birth defects" - "WASHINGTON -- An
environmental group Tuesday warned women of childbearing age to avoid using
nail polish that contains a chemical that has been shown to cause birth
defects in laboratory animals." (CNN)
Sigh... EWG (or is that 'Ee-ugh!'?) out to terrorise
people with nonsense again. What a surprise.
"EC
calls for new BSE safeguards" - "RISING continental
panic has produced a European Commission proposal that anti-BSE measures used
in Britain should apply throughout the European Union." (The Scotsman) (Reuters)
"Europe's
Mad Cow Fight May Lead to New Food Scare" - "LONDON -
European measures to combat the spread of mad cow disease could open the gates
to a new food scare if genetically-modified soymeal replaces ground carcasses
in animal feed, UK environmentalists said on Wednesday." (Reuters)
"The
beauty and the horror of science" - "At a recent
international biotechnology conference in Vancouver, an industry spokesperson
made reference to the hundreds of protesters outside and suggested that
biotechnologists had obviously done a poor job convincing the public about the
benefits and safety of their products. Thus, she trivialized the opponents'
concerns as based on ignorance and not deserving serious attention."
(David Suzuki, Canoe)
Hmm... given that most of these 'concerns' are founded
on activist misinformation rather than science, 'she' was largely correct
about concerns based in ignorance (or misinformation). People queue for
medication from doctors - but they have little or no understanding of the
product, the content, or, the underlying science. Some current medications
and many of the more promising pending ones are the product of biotechnology
but people do not demonstrate against them nor organise consumer boycotts of
the companies involved. What makes consumers leery of foodstuffs yet not of
medications ingested or even injected, where they may bypass many of our
bodies' defences? Certainly an illogical and irrational position and one
which seems driven purely by activism. That 'she' considered protestors'
concerns 'not deserving of serious attention' is moot - biotechnologists may
have been blindsided by rabid activists' anti-biotech campaigns but they are
fully aware of how vulnerable science is to irrational fear campaigns.
Suzuki wanders off into the opiate-fogged realms of
Mary Shelly and mentions an early electro-neurologic experiment (of
significance, incidentally, to the understanding and treatment of motor
neuron disease and injury) but what does he add to the current debate? Two
irrelevant horror stories, one by Shelly and one icky, nasty tale that the
soft-hearted will relate to the purring lap-moggy they lavish so much
attention upon. No mention of the 2-billion-odd humans in the rice belt who
stand to have their lives and health so enhanced by the single biotech
artifice of Golden Rice though. No mention of the potential to increase
agricultural productivity while reducing inputs that offers more to
impoverished Third World farmers than any other group or demography on the
planet. No mention either of the benefits to the natural environment of
reducing synthetic toxin application nor of the significant preservation of
wildlands and wildlife habitat inherent in agricultural productivity boosts
(from any source). Of particular concern to me is that the most obvious
benefit of 'transgenics', the production of affordable, transportable and
storable vaccines and medicines that can be grown in impoverished regions
and simply administered by say, giving a kid a piece of fruit, doesn't rate
a mention either.
Tell us again Dave, who is basing things in ignorance
and not rendering deserved attention?
"Live
recombinant vaccine protects against fungal disease" - "For
the first time, scientists have used recombinant DNA technology to create a
live vaccine that protects against a fungal infection in mice. This new
vaccine is safer than live vaccines made without recombinant technology and
more effective than "killed" vaccines. Many fungal diseases are on
the rise in the United States, and this recombinant live vaccine approach
could be used to protect against them." (NIH)
?!! "U.S.
panel weighs whether GM corn StarLink is safe for people" -
"WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators, now in the midst of the biggest
biotech food fight in U.S. history, should not reward Aventis SA for illegally
contaminating the nation's corn supply with a variety that may be linked to at
least 35 illnesses, environmental groups said on Tuesday." [UPDATE
- Japan seeks details on US StarLink illness cases] (Reuters)
11 reported cases may be related to food
allergies but just which food, if any, is unknown. Given the minuscule
trace of Cry9C that could have been present in the taco shells then the
probability is high that no cases are, or ever will be related to StarLink™
corn in the food supply.
"GM
seeds won't wither without water" - "New Delhi - Indian
scientists have developed genetically modified mustard seeds that can
withstand drought and require much less water than ordinary seeds, reports
said on Wednesday. Scientists of the National Research Institute on Plant
Biotechnology (NRIPB) have genetically modified mustard seeds by introducing a
gene from a weed with the botanical name of Arabidopsis Thanana, the Indian
Express newspaper reported." (Sapa-DPA)
"US
to Consider if Rule Needed to Separate Bio-Crops" -
"WASHINGTON - Amid the debate over the bio-corn contamination that
triggered the recall of hundreds of foods, the U.S. Agriculture Department
said on Wednesday it was mulling what new regulations might be needed to
separate and monitor gene-spliced crops." (Reuters)
"Engineered
potatoes said to fight off fungus" - "WASHINGTON - A
borrowed alfalfa gene has helped potatoes fight off a fungus that causes one
type of potato blight, researchers said yesterday. They said it was the first
time a single gene had been shown to protect a plant as well as herbicides do,
and said they hoped they had found a way to use genetic engineering to protect
against a range of diseases." (Reuters)
"Plan
for Use of Bioengineered Corn in Food Is Disputed" -
"WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 — Hoping to avoid further product recalls linked
to a bioengineered corn, representatives of food, agriculture and
biotechnology industries urged the Environmental Protection Agency today to
approve the corn temporarily for human consumption. But critics said such a
move would bail out the corn's developer and the food companies at consumers'
expense." (NY Times)
"Biotechnology
Global Update (November 2000)" (TKC)
"Govt
Move To Ease Hybrid Seed Rules To Benefit MNCs" - "In a move
that could boost multinational seed companies, the government is set to allow
these companies to grow and process hybrid seeds on land owned or leased by
them instead of entering into contracts with farmers and growers."
(Economic Times)
"Laboratory
Heralds Agricultural Revolution" (Summary) - "According to
the Financial Times (UK), A host of African crops stand to benefit from
biotechnology research now being undertaken at the University of Legon,
Ghana." (TKC)
CoP6 rumbles on and on...
"Gore’s
global warming ideas get thumped" - "... But the real
message from the Hague is that an international agreement on global warming is
probably doomed to the same fate as the late, unlamented Law of the Sea
Conference: lots of visionary gab but no willingness to undertake the
“wrenching changes” that Gore has demanded. It is long past time for a
reconsideration of the subject." (Thomas J Bray, Detroit News)
"Multilateral
thinking" - "After the failure of international nerve at the
Hague, it is surely time to set up new global institutions" (says Larry
Elliot in The Guardian)
"1,000
flee as sea begins to swallow up Pacific islands" - "As
the world's wealthiest nations bickered about carbon dioxide credits in The
Hague last weekend, the inhabitants of a remote group of coral atolls on the
other side of the planet were watching the Pacific Ocean advance inexorably
towards their homes. ... The islands, together with neighbouring atolls such
as Takuu, home to a small community of "singing" Polynesians, are
likely to be the first to be engulfed by the effects of global warming."
(Independent)
Oh good grief! What utter nonsense! PacNews, echoed by
at least the LA Times, ran the real reason last November. Under News Briefs,
11/11/99, sub-headed, "Sinking Islands", here's what the LA Times
printed:
A group of islands in New Guinea is sinking into the Pacific at the
rate of 4 to 6 inches a year, and a team of government scientists has
recommended that their 20,000 residents be quickly relocated to a larger
island. The Duke of York Islands
are sinking not because of rising sea levels, but because of seismic
activity. In 1994, two volcanoes on opposite sides of one of the
islands erupted for four months. When the activity ceased, evacuees moved
back, but the regional news service Pacnews now reports that further
subsidence is forcing officials to move the inhabitants to the Gazelle
Peninsula on New Britain. Many buildings on the islands are already under
water.
Situated at the south-western end of the Pacific
"Ring of Fire", these islands are
not geologically stable and certainly do not make suitable platforms
from which to measure mean sea level. Australia is geologically stable, has
a huge Pacific shore and, according to National Tidal Facility data,
struggles to find sea level change in the order of one-half of one inch per
century. Tuvalu, further to the east and frequent howler about "sea
level rise", displays
no trend at the Funafuti tide gauge.
"The Mercury’s
Rising" - "Dec. 4 issue — You might
assume that “global warming” means what it says, involving nothing more
complex than a rise in the world’s temperature. But notice the penguins.
Over the last several months, hundreds of Magellanic penguins have been
washing ashore near Rio de Janeiro, 2,000 miles north of their usual haunts.
The wayward birds may be signs of a massive climate shift in the South
Atlantic: warming may have altered ocean circulation so as to nudge the
cold-water currents (which the penguins follow for chow) thousands of miles
off course." (Newsweek)
Ah, the penguins are chillin' in Rio so we're going to
have an ice age - caused by global warming - figures...
Couldn't have anything to do with the bitter southern
winter just passed either eh? You might recall some mention of it - little
things like people freezing to death in South Africa, Chile, Argentina...
After enduring an Antarctic winter a few penguins drop by Rio for some sun
and surf - obviously, not all penguins are bird brains.
Sundries:
November 29, 2000
"Negotiators
Focus on 'Dirty Dozen' Pollutants" - "Industrialization and
modern insect control have improved the quality of life around the globe, but
they have also added some 100,000 chemical compounds that, some scientists
worry, could affect the health of people and wildlife. These persistent organic
pollutants, known as POP's, have gone virtually unregulated since they were
developed more than 50 years ago. But now efforts are being made to control some
of them. The final of five meetings to draft a global treaty to restrict
production and use of 12 POP's is scheduled for next month in
Johannesburg." (NY Times)
To a significant extent, most of the chemicals involved
are no longer in production or use and it is largely irrelevant that
anti-chemical zealots want them banned. The key exception, of course, is
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane - DDT
for short. Click here
to see the human cost of excessive restriction of this critically needed
compound.
"Study
finds pollution, death link" - "A study proving a strong link
between high air pollution and human mortality has been presented to an
international air quality conference in Sydney today. The landmark US study
tracked the lives of residents in six American cities over 15 years. (ABC News
Online)
There's quite a history to the infamous "six cities
study". See Show
me the data; Scientists
Challenge the Provision Opening Access to Research Data; Scientists
Reject Call for Full Disclosure of Health Data on Particulates; Pollution
Study Sparks Debate Over Secret Data; The
Right to the Research; Medical
Journals Give New Meaning To 'Political Science'; EPA's
Case of the Missing Data; EPA's
Peer-review Perversion; Clean
Air Skepticism; Letter
to the Lancet Editor
"Cancer
breakthrough" - "IN A world-first, Sydney researchers have
discovered a missing link in how cancer grows in the body. The research,
published in Nature Genetics December issue, represents a major step in
understanding how cancer cells avoid the normal controls on cell division. This
will then allow the development of an effective treatment." (Sydney Daily
Telegraph)
'Breakthrough' #54,791? Pardon my cynicism but we've been
down these 'miracle' paths before - with remarkably little result. The
majority of cancers are the natural result of aging and rates remain
stubbornly consistent. Inevitably, in my view, biotechnology will enable
humanity to overcome this affliction in time. Razzle-dazzle releases on
'breakthroughs' that 'will allow development of effective treatments',
however, habitually collapse into cruel false promises. This does nothing good
for either sufferers or science.
"'Fat-proof'
mice yield new anti-obesity drug target" - "HOUSTON—(Nov.
28, 2000)—Forget the fountain of youth. Scientists at Baylor College of
Medicine may have found something even more exciting--the secret to effortless
weight loss. The key is outsmarting perilipin, a protein that acts as a
“bodyguard” for fat cells." (BCM)
Another 'target'... so we can all now binge, confident in
a 'cure' that may one day become available? Terrific...
"Leading
Auto Insurer to Cut Rates for Drivers of Biggest Vehicles" -
"State Farm, the nation's biggest auto insurer, plans today to announce a
shift in its pricing policies that will cut rates for drivers of the biggest
cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles, based on claims data showing them to be
the safest for their occupants." (NY Times)
"Nicotine
linked to lung cancer" - "Nicotine, the chemical which causes
cigarette addiction, could be responsible for some lung cancers, suggest
researchers. While this may concern people using nicotine patches to wean
themselves off smoking, experts are keen to point out that the health benefits
of giving up would still vastly outweigh the risks - even if the link was
true." [emphasis added] (BBC Online)
"Oral
contraceptive use does not affect bone mass" - "Hershey, Pa.
--- New research from Penn State College of Medicine shows that oral
contraceptive pill (OCP) use by healthy teenage females does not affect their
peak bone mass, or their growth." (Penn State)
"Experts
at odds over iron in pregnancy" - "Pregnant women should not
be put off taking iron tablets, despite research linking high haemoglobin and
stillbirth, a leading UK doctor has maintained. Doctors in Sweden have found
that a high level of haemoglobin in early pregnancy may increase the risk of
stillbirth by up to four times, compared with women who have lower levels of
iron in their blood. But Dr Elizabeth Letsky, the UK's only consultant perinatal
haemotologist says the levels of haemogolobin the researchers described were so
high they would indicate that the mother had some underlying problem. "Most
women are fighting some degree of iron deficiency all their lives - the levels
described in this study are almost unheard of," she said." (BBC
Online)
"Lords
puncture myths of alternative medicine"
- "THERE is scant evidence to prove that alternative health remedies work,
a House of Lords report has found. Only osteopathy, chiropractic and acupuncture
are backed by scientific evidence, the report says. The evidence on herbal
medicine is mixed, and that on homoeopathy anecdotal." [Prince's
plea for 'new age' medicine] (The Times)
Bound to be popular with at least half the
population: "Have
Sex to Reduce Disease Risk, Researcher Says" - "SYDNEY - Men
can halve the risk of a major heart attack or stroke by having sex three or four
times a week, a specialist in cardiovascular disease said on Tuesday."
(Reuters)
"UNESCO
cleans house to invite the US back" - "One year into his term
as head of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), Koġchiro Matsuura has begun to turn the deficit- and
corruption-ridden agency around, but he is moving more slowly than his
supporters would like, according to diplomatic sources here." (CSM)
Given that IPCC and UNEP, two of the worst offending
anti-science organisations in the known world, operate under the UN umbrella,
why would the US consider returning to foot the bill for another bunch of
whackos?
"Country
moose, city moose" - "... What's more, a study examining the
levels of stress hormone in moose poop concluded that moose in Kincaid Park were
the most anxiety-ridden of three groups studied in Anchorage. The least
stressed, surprisingly, were the Midtown moose." (ADN) (Before
anyone asks, this one's here simply because I felt anyone trying to determine if
urban moose need prozac by examining stress hormone levels in moose poop
deserves the exposure)
"Why
"Frankenfood" Is Our Friend" - "Where's that talking
chihuahua when you need him? There was no one to calm, much less charm,
consumers when genetically altered corn approved for animals snuck into Taco
Bell taco shells. The fear that StarLink corn would cause us humans terrible
allergic reactions led to a major recall. So large grocery chains like Safeway,
Kroger, Albertson's and Food Lion made their corn products disappear."
(Michael Fumento, Forbes Magazine)
"Bio-Crop
Giant to Heed Critics" - "WASHINGTON - Agricultural
biotechnology giant Monsanto Co., accused of being tone deaf about the marketing
of its seeds, said Monday it supported more regulation of bio-crops and would
never put human genes into plants used as food. The ``New Monsanto Pledge'' was
unveiled by Hendrik Verfaillie, chief executive of Monsanto, an 85 percent owned
subsidiary of Pharmacia Corp. He said Monsanto was, ''knowingly and deliberately
taking a different path'' than in the past." (Reuters)
"Biotech
Questions Lead Monsanto To Delay One Crop" -
"WASHINGTON--Amid growing uneasiness about genetically engineered crops, a
major biotechnology company announced Monday it would restrict plantings next
year of a type of gene-altered corn and delay commercialization of another
variety until 2002." (AP)
"Companies
Seek Looser Rules on Labeling Genetically Altered Seed" -
"WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 — In wake of the latest incident of genetic crop
contamination, American seed companies are renewing a push to establish
standards that would allow a small amount of genetically engineered material in
bags of seeds and still have those seeds considered free of modification."
(NY Times)
"U.S.
Panel Probes StarLink Bio-Corn on Allergies" -
"WASHINGTON - A panel of independent physicians, biologists and other
scientists was set to wade into the biggest biotech food fight in U.S. history
on Tuesday and decide whether StarLink bio-corn is safe enough to allow in the
human food supply." (Reuters)
"EPA
Accused Of Rushing To Judgment On Biotech Corn Safety" -
"WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency is rushing its judgment
on whether a biotechnically engineered corn variety is safe for human
consumption, a coalition of consumer groups charged Tuesday." (DJN)
"44
Americans claim StarLink corn made them ill" -
"WASHINGTON, Nov 28 - Forty-four Americans have complained that they became
ill after eating foods containing StarLink bio-corn, but investigators may never
be able to pinpoint whether the genetically modified maize was to blame, federal
officials said on Tuesday." (Reuters)
"StarLink
Critic Chides Farmers and Eager GM Marketers" - Exclusive
coverage of the Farm Journal Forum for AgWeb.com
"Survey:
U.S. Food Consumption Unaffected by StarLink Fiasco" - "A new
survey conducted by a North Carolina State University sociologist concludes the
StarLink corn fiasco – including numerous food recalls – has done little to
change the way Americans choose their food. In fact, the author of the study
says the more the public becomes aware of ag biotechnology, the fewer concerns
they have." (AgWeb.com)
"UPDATE
- Korea to require prior ok on GMO imports" - "SEOUL - South
Korea would require importers of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and
processed foods containing them to receive prior government approval, the
state-run Regulatory Reform Committee said yesterday." (Reuters)
"France
to Allow Human Embryo Research" - "PARIS - French Prime
Minister Lionel Jospin said Tuesday his government was drawing up legislation to
allow research on human embryos to help correct genetic birth defects and fight
diseases." (Reuters)
Still we can't get clear of CoP6 ruminations and
enhanced greenhouse hot air - some rational pieces appearing though:
"Forget
Kyoto" - "THE HAGUE -- It was no surprise that negotiations
broke down Saturday at the son-of-Kyoto conference on climate change, and it is
just as well that they did. The evidence that the global warming recorded since
the mid-1970s is anything more than cyclical and natural (rather than worsening
and human-caused) remains inconclusive." (TCS)
"Sun's
warming influence 'under-estimated'" - "Scientists at Armagh
Observatory claim a unique weather record could show that the Sun has been the
main contributor to global warming over the past two centuries. The weather
observations, made almost daily since 1795, comprise the longest climate archive
available for a single site in Ireland." (BBC Online)
"Cooling
on warming" - "The latest international conference on global
warming, held in The Hague, broke down on the weekend as diplomats bickered over
who should bear the economic burden of cutting energy use. This impasse is good
news for the world economy, and particularly good for energy-hungry countries,
such as Canada, which, being both cold and big, has a greater need to burn
fossil fuels than most others." (National Post)
"The
good news on global warming" - "On Saturday, some good news
finally arrived: The "global warming" talks in The Hague collapsed
after bureaucrats working on enforcement mechanisms for the 1998 Kyoto Protocol
found themselves unable to reach agreement on the means by which the United
States and other countries would curtail their output of carbon dioxide and
other so-called "greenhouse" gasses." (Washington Times)
"NO
DEAL ON GLOBAL WARMING" - "Environmental activists
called last weekend's failure to reach a binding treaty on global warming a
tragedy. If so, it was one of their own making." (Chicago Tribune)
"Climate
control goes down the sink" - "The collapse of the United
Nation's climate change negotiations in The Hague is obviously a deep setback
for the global warming crusade. Insults are flying, nations are being vilified,
politicians are under attack. "The David Suzuki Foundation condemned Canada
today for its role in the breakdown of talks," said a typical news release
from Mr. Suzuki's organization. Britain blamed France, France blamed the United
States, environmentalists blamed everybody but themselves." (Terence
Corcoran, National Post)
"Norway
to approve more CO2 from gas-fired power - reports"
- "OSLO - Norway will approve construction on Wednesday of a new gas-fired
power plant, putting Norway behind many nations in a drive to curb greenhouse
gases, Norwegian media said on Tuesday." (Reuters)
November 28, 2000
"Updated
Report: Scientific Evidence Fails to Halt Silicone Breast Implant
Controversy" - "New York, NY—November 2000. The number of
epidemiological studies that provide scientific evidence supporting the safety
of silicone-gel breast implants continues to mount. Nevertheless, the Food and
Drug Administration's moratorium has been in effect since 1992, prohibiting the
sale and use of silicone-gel breast implants. The science has been ignored,
however, according to the American Council on Science and Health." (ACSH)
"Fickle
precaution" - "Ironically, perhaps, it is the Precautionary
Principle itself which should come with a health warning - a large sticker which
declares "This principle may set back the course of scientific progress to
the extent that lives will be endangered, medical innovations will be postponed
and reduction of famine word-wide will be delayed significantly." (Social
Issues Research Centre)
"Radioactive
"seed" treatment no threat to others" - "CHICAGO,
Illinois -- Radioactive "seeds" used to treat prostate cancer in men
pose no radiation risk to their wives or families, who would absorb more
radiation simply living in the high-altitude city of Denver, researchers said
Monday." (Reuters)
"Controversial
Poison To Be Used Against Mossies In Mpumalanga" - "A
controversial poison will be sprayed in rural homes in Mpumalanga this summer in
a bid to kill the mosquito that transmits malaria, according to deputy director
for vector-borne diseases in the national health department, Dr Rajendra Maharaj,
on Monday. He said dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT)
was effective in killing the malaria-carrying mosquito, Anopheles Funestus,
which transmits the disease all year round." (AENS) [100
Things You Should Know About DDT (Junkscience.com)] [African
Scientists Meet on Malaria, Seek Vaccine (Reuters)]
Uh-oh! "Volunteers
ingest pollutant for water study" - "SAN BERNARDINO,
California -- Volunteers in a drinking water study are being paid $1,000 each to
take pills containing an industrial pollutant found in rocket fuel. The
experiment, designed to determine if a pollutant called perchlorate interferes
with thyroid glands, will develop data that could influence the setting of
national and state drinking-water standards, the Los Angeles Times reported
Monday. Perchlorate is frequently found in drinking water." (AP)
EPA won't like this. They much prefer to throw out actual
human data on the grounds the studies are 'unethical' (besides, it's so much
more fun to beat up scares on the basis of extrapolated data from MTD [Maximum
Tolerated Dose] rodent studies).
"Gulf
War syndrome symptoms linked to brain damage" - "CHICAGO,
Illinois -- Symptoms such as memory loss and dizziness suffered by U.S. veterans
with Gulf War syndrome can be correlated to specific areas of the brain where
cells have died, probably from chemical exposure, researchers said on
Monday." (Reuters)
With all due respect to those who serve their countries,
and I do respect them, GWS just doesn't cut it for me. Doubtless these people
are suffering medical conditions but so do the rest of the population. The
distinction between rates suffered by Gulf veterans and personnel who never
set foot in the Gulf is simply not compelling. Mike Fumento has been following
the issue for years, here's a
list of his articles.
"A Hidden Health
Hazard" - "Sneezing and sniffling? Maybe the problem
isn’t a cold but mold. It’s more dangerous than you think." (Newsweek)
"West
Nile Side Effect: A Wealth of Data on Wildlife Death" - "...
But what the examinations did not turn up is probably as revealing as what they
did: in all the huge volume of specimens this year, relatively few animals, the
lab found, died from accidental pesticide exposure." (NY times)
Parenthetically, the vast majority of 'evidence' of
problems from synthetic pesticides is apocryphal and the bulk of the rest
anecdotal. For sure there have been accidental (and deliberate) wildlife
poisonings, human too, but nothing close to justifying Rachel Carson's bizarre
"fable of tomorrow" about which she waxed so lyrical in Silent
Spring. This is the first time we have really had significant
wildlife mortality data and poisonings are relatively rare. In the past,
wildlife toxicology has largely concentrated on mass poisonings in specific
locales and has almost always proven to be either misapplication (contrary to
manufacturers specification) or deliberate misuse (applied specifically at
toxic levels) to curtail perceived threat from burgeoning wildlife
competition. Quaint isn't it - so many laws, so much hysteria over 4 decades
and now we are gathering some useful data on wildlife mortality.
Must be coming up Christmas: "Sound
check in Toyland" - "WASHINGTON -- They beep, buzz and bleat.
They chatter, chirp and chime. They rattle and ring. And now, reports say, when
it comes to noise, many toys have way too much zing." (CNN)
PETA's
latest wacky claim: "Feeding
family burgers 'constitutes child abuse' - claim" -
"Feeding burgers to young family members is equivalent to child abuse,
animal rights campaigners have claimed." (Ananova)
"Air
pollution victims win suit" - "NAGOYA-The Nagoya District
Court this morning ordered 10 companies and the central government to pay a
total of 308 million yen to residents suffering from diseases, including
bronchial asthma, as a result of factory and vehicle emissions." (Asahi
News)
"Clean
Power: Measuring Costs" - "The utility industry was jolted
recently by news of a $1.2 billion clean-up agreement negotiated between a
Virginia power company and the Environmental Protection Agency. The settlement
intensifies pressure on utilities in Michigan and other Midwest states. But for
the sake of both ratepayers and shareholders, the utilities must balance costs
as well as benefits as they confront regulators’ demands." (Detroit News)
"Low
IQ 'linked to later dementia'" - "Lower childhood IQ may be
linked to development of dementia later in life, Scottish researchers believe. A
study based on school records of children born in 1921 has found that those with
the lowest scores in intelligence tests are significantly more likely to develop
dementia." (BBC Online)
"Who
people trust - by profession" - "A new poll suggests that
people esteem those seen to place others' needs above their own interests."
(CSM)
Check out the least-trusted list - newspaper reporters
are less-trusted than lawyers. Makes you wonder why people allow themselves to
be manipulated by all the B.S. scares (e.g. 'global warming') doesn't it?
"A Matter
Of Life Or Starvation" - "To ignore modern biotechnology as a
possible solution to pressing food security challenges would be most
unwise" (Bangkok Post)
"Biotech
booming as world food source" - "WASHINGTON -- From a
taco shell controversy to caterpillar experiments, genetically altered crops are
under fire. The government, meanwhile, is increasing its spending on
biotechnology -- not for food on American grocery store shelves or crops in
American fields, but for battling hunger in developing nations." (AP)
"Monsanto
Takes The Offensive In Addressing Biotechnology" - "ST.
LOUIS -- Monsanto Co. (MON) has the science of agricultural biotechnology down
pat and now the company is turning its attention to better explaining that
technology and its benefits through its own initiatives and working with others,
said Monsanto President and Chief Executive Hendrik A. Verfaillie." (DJN) [Monsanto
Chief Says Company Fully Committed to Biotech (AgWeb.com)]
"More
Firms Seen Adopting Bio-Food Labels" - "WASHINGTON -
Regardless of how the StarLink bio-corn safety debate plays out, more U.S.
foodmakers will likely begin voluntarily labeling products with gene-spliced
ingredients to give consumers more information, Agriculture Secretary Dan
Glickman said on Monday." (Reuters)
"Greenpeace
Ready to Rally Against StarLink" - "Nov 27 - Tomorrow,
in protest against Aventis’ request to approve StarLink corn for human
consumption, Greenpeace is calling on activists to join together. The rally is
planned from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn Hotel, in
Arlington, Virginia." (AgWeb.com)
"Globalisation:
it's all or nothing" - "The green lobby wants to curb the
World Bank and the IMF yet expects the Hague climate summit to come up with
solutions. You can't have it both ways, says economics editor Larry
Elliott" (Guardian)
"Revival
hopes for threatened bird species" - "The
population of rare bird species resident in the UK has almost doubled over the
last 30 years largely thanks to milder winters... " (Ananova)
So... it's not all doom when the world's not quite so
cold?
Fallout from The Hague ... :
"A Collapse in The Hague"
- "The U.N. conference on climate collapsed this weekend at The Hague because the ecological zealots who hold the
French and German governments hostage rejected a desperate concession by the Clinton Administration. The world can breathe a deep
sigh of relief." (WSJ)
"Climate
Treaty Deadlock Shows Lack of Consensus and Common Sense" -
"... From the start, the U.N.’s Sixth Session of the Conference of the
Parties in The Hague was mostly about trying to make the United States look bad.
For reasons of both politics and economics, not environment, Europe pursued
remedies to the perceived risk of global warming that it knew from the start the
United States was bound to reject." (TCS)
"Judge
weighs jurisdiction over 'global warming' suit" - "CASPER, Wyo.
- As a U.N. climate conference in the Netherlands collapsed without an agreement
Saturday, a federal judge in Wyoming weighed whether he has jurisdiction over a
lawsuit that could put the global warming issue on trial in the United
States." (AP)
"Nuclear
power? Yes, please" - "... Environmentalism is not about
solving problems; it is about preaching problems from the pulpit. A failed
summit enables everybody to go away and do a lot more posturing about the end of
the world being nigh, and humankind's (especially America's) greed and arrogance
being responsible. A done deal would have been a disaster for Europe's
environment ministers." (Matt Ridley, The Daily Telegraph)
"Group’s
summary overheats warming threat" - "... But the reported jump
in predicted temperatures only appeared in the summary, not the underlying
Assessment Report, and it only appeared in the last six months, long after the
scientific review ended. Since the climate itself didn’t change radically in
the last six months, what accounts for the sudden increase in the
forecast?" (Ken Green, Detroit News)
"Rain
until Christmas, but it is not global warming" - "RAIN until
Christmas was forecast yesterday as experts declared this the wettest autumn
since records began nearly 350 years ago. Even with temperatures expected to
reach 63F (17C) today in some parts, the highest since 1979, a Meteorological
Office spokesman said no one should blame global warming. He said: "Weather
variations like this have never been uncommon. Records going right back, and
anecdotal evidence before that, show there are extremes from time to time."
(Telegraph)
Whoops! "South
Pacific battered by global warming" - "South Pacific island
nations have suffered more than US $1 billion in damages in the past 10 years
from rising sea levels and tropical storms, the World Bank said in a report on
the impact of global warming." (Reuters)
See 'The
Little Nation That Cried "Wolf!"' or perhaps:
"Dr Wolfgang Scherer, director of the National Tidal Facility (NTF) of
Flinders University, South Australia, which undertook the review, told BBC
News Online that the much larger increases in global sea level predicted by
some climate models were not apparent in their regional data. "There is
no acceleration in sea level rise - none that we can discern, at all," he
said." (BBC
Online)
?!! "Leave
US out of deal, propose greens" - "The complete collapse of
climate talks at The Hague sent shock waves round the world yesterday and left
all 160 nations which took part wondering how best to proceed when the only fact
on which they appear united is that climate change remains the most serious
threat facing mankind."
If "climate change remains the most serious
threat facing mankind" then all is indeed right with the world. We
are faced with two choices: adapt, as we have always done, to whatever climate
we get, or; cease adapting to the world's restless climate, in which case
we'll die. The one choice we most assuredly DO NOT HAVE is to change the
climate.
and sundries:
November 27, 2000
"Expert
witnesses 'pressured to change evidence'"
- "One in 10 expert witnesses has been pressured by
a lawyer into changing evidence before a case has gone to court, a survey has
revealed. The finding supports what many people have suspected for a long time
– that doctors, accountants and other professionals come under enormous duress
to alter their opinions to help the side that is paying for them."
(Independent)
"Experts
gather in Perth to discuss impotence" - "International experts
have predicted that in less than 50 years, more than $100 billion a year could
be spent worldwide to treat an epidemic of male impotence." (ABC News
Online)
"Tobacco
settlement hasn't had the expected impact" - "Two years after
states and tobacco companies reached the largest legal settlement in history,
health advocates give the deal a decidedly mixed report card, expressing
disappointment that it has not more radically changed cigarette marketing. ...
"The settlement has made a difference, and its full impact hasn't been felt
yet," says Matthew Myers, president of the National Center for Tobacco-Free
Kids. "But it's had nowhere near the impact that was hoped for."
(Baltimore Sun)
"Computers
'could disable children'" - "Children learning to use
computers are being put at risk of permanent injury, some health experts are
warning. They say thousands of children have already been damaged by medical
problems associated with computer use. These problems - neck, back and
repetitive strain injuries (RSI) - have long been recognised as being linked to
prolonged computer use and incorrect posture in adults." (BBC Online)
Hmm... funny how Australia's RSI 'epidemic' disappeared
as soon as employers were found not liable for it.
"Epidemic
feared as measles jab rate drops" - "London
is facing a measles epidemic that could strike at any time because of the low
level of immunisation among children in the capital." (Independent)
Never short of a scare, The
Independent moves smoothly from global warming to "Mobile
phones to carry government health warning"
- "Mobile phones sold in the run-up to Christmas
will carry a government health warning – despite the lack of definitive
evidence that they are harmful. Officials confirmed yesterday that they were
finalising a leaflet that would warn buyers about uncertainty over mobile
phones' potential health risks." [No
evidence of risk doesn't mean phones are safe] [Teenagers
hooked by bright covers and 'texting' craze] [Lend
an ear to government warnings on mobile phones] (Independent)
"Mad
cow disease makes its way to Germany" - "A wave of anger hit
Germany today over the arrival of mad cow disease, which political leaders and
farm experts had long said could not spread across its borders." [EU
Says Germany Made Mistakes on Mad Cow Disease] (Reuters)
"Pressure
mounts for beef ban" - "Food safety experts will decide
whether Britain should impose a ban on imports of French beef, Agriculture
Minister Nick Brown has said." [Warning
over BSE concessions] (BBC Online) [French
butchers battle mad-cow fears (AP)]
"Public
fears over genetic information" - "British people are keen to
see genetic breakthroughs that will benefit health but do not want their
employers or insurers to use the information against them." (BBC Online)
I want all the advantages (at minimal or no cost) but
none of this downside stuff though... Good grief.
"Biotech
Firm's Finger Joint in Landmark Transplant" - "FRANKFURT,
Germany - Germany's BioTissue Technologies AG said Sunday that Freiburg
University surgeons conducted the first ever finger-joint transplantation using
a complete joint engineered by the biotech company. BioTissue, which seeks to
list on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt for growth stocks on December 1, said the
operation followed the four-week reproduction of cells taken from a patient's
rib cartilage and hipbone." (Reuters)
"UNNECESSARY
SETBACK FOR BIOTECH CORN" - "Why did the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency offer any approval at all for StarLink corn if
it thought the genetically engineered corn might trigger allergies? The
potential for the corn to leak into human consumption was too great. It was a
regulatory bungle." (Dennis T Avery, Bridge News)
"Tacogate:
There Is Barely A Kernel of Truth" - "... With all the
hue and cry, you`d think a dangerous, if not deadly, ingredient had been
introduced into the U.S. and international food supply. But what`s the startling
discovery the alarm-raisers have made? Hold onto your seats, folks: Our corn, it
seems, has been contaminated by--corn!" (Washington Post)
"The
"Golden Rice" Tale" - "Golden Rice" is, to
date, a popular case – supported by the scientific community, the agbiotech
industry, the media, the public, the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), official
developmental aid institutions, etc., but equally strongly opposed by the
opponents of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)." (Turning Point
Article)
"China
Establishes Stem Cell Genetic Engineering Center"
- "Work on a State stem cell genetic engineering center has begun recently
in Tianjin,
a municipality in north China. This is part of the country's effort to promote
the genetic engineering industry." (People's Daily)
CoP6 recriminations, angst and the odd rational comment:
"Despite
stalemate at Hague, talks no futile exercise" - "Climate talks
wrapped up on Saturday without an agreement. But momentum builds for individual
action." (CSM)
Now this is naïve. Even amongst those who pretend to
believe the enhanced greenhouse hype, all jockeying is for political and
commercial advantage. The EU, far too small and with too little available land
for carbon credit schemes, is adamantly against their use because others
profitably can. The US, Canada, Australia and Japan, on the other hand, either
have sufficient room or can afford to buy them elsewhere and recognise that
this would usefully disadvantage competing industrialised regions while
minimising damage to their own industry base.
It is not because there is no physical problem extant but
rather because no industrialised group will yield manufacturing and trade
advantage to any other group that there will never be agreement on this
foolish and redundant protocol. We all know it, so why continue the pantomime?
"France
firm on no climate deal with US" - "THE French minister blamed
by John Prescott for the failure of a compromise on trying to curb climate
change said yesterday that offering America concessions would have been a
mistake. Dominique Voynet, environment minister, the
Green Party's sole representative in the socialist-led coalition cabinet,
criticised the proposed agreement on harmful emissions, brokered by Britain, as
"environmentally unacceptable". In an interview with Le Journal du
Dimanche, she backed the decision to offer no concessions to America as one of
the few successes of The Hague environment summit." (Telegraph)
Right Ms Voynet - but for all the wrong reasons.
Humanity's restoration of previously sequestered carbon to the atmosphere is a
significant net benefit to the biosphere - it is the Kyoto Protocol
that endangers humanity and the environment.
"Try
again on greenhouse" - "Enough heat to raise the global
temperature another notch or two, but after a couple of hundred (highly
polluting) jet plane journeys, dozens of hours of arguments and countless reams
of paper, virtually no light has been shed on the most serious environmental
problem facing the planet." (The Age editorial)
The Age still can't tell editorialising from
proselyting. Enhanced greenhouse is an article of faith, not science. 'All
science is numbers' and the numbers don't add up for the enhanced greenhouse
hypothesis. The environmental risk comes not from enhanced greenhouse but from
politician's belief that a problem exists or perhaps their pretence
that it does in order to garner votes.
"Prescott's
race to save deal on climate change" - "BRITAIN will make a
desperate final attempt to salvage an international deal on climate change
before President Clinton leaves office at the end of January. Amid
recriminations yesterday about responsibility for the collapse of the talks in
The Hague and the failure of a compromise brokered
by John Prescott, there was speculation that the Deputy Prime Minister's
position in Cabinet had been undermined. But Downing Street defended Mr
Prescott. Michael Meacher, the environment minister, said that the talks ran out
of time when ministers had been "inches away from a deal. It's all a muddle
and a tragedy, but we will recover. The world's got to have a deal, the storms
and floods are going to go on happening." (Telegraph)
Indeed, 'storms and floods are going to go on happening'
- that has nothing to do with the enhanced greenhouse hypothesis though.
"A
load of hot air" - "IT is, we are told, a disaster of
global proportions. We have condemned our children's children to death by
drowning, or possibly suffocation. The world's newspapers have almost all
concluded that the failure of talks in The Hague threatens, as The Independent
on Sunday reported, "a catastrophic change in the world's climate".
Before we get too carried away, it is worth looking at the scope of the
discussions." (Telegraph)
"Industry
breathes easier, for now"
- "Greens are calling it a disaster, but Australian resource and energy
industries won a significant reprieve at COP6, the UN climate change conference.
On the other hand, brokers and financial services companies will have to wait
longer for their carbon-trading bonanza to materialise." (AFR)
"The
Tree Trap: Envoys Could Not Agree on Value of Forests to World Environment"
- "THE HAGUE, Nov. 25 — In the end, the negotiators got lost in the
trees. After 11 days of draining and unwieldy bargaining by 170 countries over
the rules for a proposed treaty to fight global warming, by this morning all the
issues had been narrowed to just this one: How much credit should big forested
countries get for all that photosynthesis?" (NY Times)
"Industry
off hook as EU hardliners sink talks" - "Australian
industry has won a reprieve against hard-line green demands at the UN climate
change conference that would have added huge compliance costs over greenhouse
emissions. "This is a major victory for Australia," said an industry
observer as the conference broke up in acrimony after efforts to negotiate a
deal on emission control collapsed. "The European Union's attempts to
redefine the Kyoto Protocol have been rejected," said an Australian
negotiator." (AFR)
Hmm... "Market
warms to idea of global lead" - "WITH a plethora of
newspapers pumping out forests-worth of newsprint on the perils of global
warming, poll-watching politicians are keen to play up their green credentials
these days. Summiteers working into the night at The Hague last week in search
of a deal to agree a global plan to tackle the menace, clearly wanted to let the
voters know they were taking the problem seriously. There were few obvious
departures from the standard script in which smoke-belching businesses are seen
as despoilers of an innocent planet." (The Scotsman)
Uh-huh... "Firm
hopes drivers willing to pay to offset own greenhouse-gas emissions"
- "VANCOUVER -- B.C. motorists, already steamed at the prospect of a new
transit levy and possibly hefty gas-guzzler taxes, are being asked to
voluntarily tax themselves to combat global warming." (CP)
"Britain's
cars to get toughest MoT" - "MINISTERS are planning to
introduce what could be the world's toughest MoT test for all new cars as part
of the British commitment to reducing global warming gases" (The Sunday
Times)
"GLOBAL-WARMING
MEETING FAILS AFTER LAST-MINUTE DEAL CRUMBLES" - "...
Shell-shocked delegates to the 180-nation United Nations World Climate Change
Conference, many of whom have devoted years of work to the issue, agreed to try
again to reach an accord when they meet at Bonn in May as scheduled."
(Chicago Tribune)
November 26, 2000
"Scientist
Raises New Mobile Phone Fears" - "LONDON - Children who use
mobile phones risk suffering memory loss, sleeping disorders and headaches,
according to research published in the medical journal The Lancet."
(Reuters) [The Lancet: Physics
and biology of mobile telephony; Epidemiological
evidence on health risks of cellular telephones; Mobile
phones and the illusory pursuit of safety; Mobile
phones: blessing or curse?] [Disney
dumps kids' mobiles (SMH)]
"Lawyers
want to limit secret settlements" - "Spurred by reports that
Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. spent years negotiating secret settlements to
wrongful-death lawsuits while its tires continued to cause fatal accidents, a
national lawyers' group is pushing a new Massachusetts law banning legal
confidentiality agreements in cases involving dangerous products, business
practices, and other ''public hazards.'' (Boston Globe)
"HIV
in 1700s is the missing ape-man link" - "Brussels - A
predecessor of HIV may have been around in humans as early as the 17th
century, according to international researchers. (Reuters)
"Germany
sets emergency measures to fight BSE" - "German officials
have agreed on emergency measures to fight mad cow disease, including an
immediate ban on the use of meat and bone meal in all animal feed. The quick
agreement came after the first two German-born cows tested positive this week
for the disease. (Irish Times)
"EU
Refuses to Take Blame for BSE in Germany" - "BRUSSELS - The
European Union's health chief rejected accusations on Saturday that the EU was
to blame for the spread of mad cow disease in Germany and countered that
Berlin had been lax in adopting safety measures." (Reuters)
"French
farmers under siege as BSE fears grip continent" - "Evidence
that cows may have contracted BSE after controls to halt the disease were
imposed has fuelled a growing sense of panic" (Observer)
"Brain
Ages Well with Wine, Japan Research Says" - "TOKYO - Wisdom
comes with age but the odd glass of wine may also give senior citizens a boost
in brain power." (Reuters)
"Maryland
Village Endorses a Ban on Outdoor Smoking" - "CHEVY CHASE,
Md., Nov. 22 — Smoking outdoors will soon be outlawed in a small corner of
Maryland, except on private property, if the local Village Council gets its
way. In Friendship Heights, a neighborhood of about 5,000 residents in
Chevy Chase, just outside Washington, the Council is seeking county approval
for a ban on smoking in all public spaces that are maintained by the village.
Under the ban, smoking on sidewalks, streets, patches of grass or any other
area owned by the village would be punished with a $100 fine. Anyone
discarding tobacco products in those areas would also be subject to the
fine." (NY Times)
"BNFL
plans new nuclear power plants" - "British Nuclear Fuels is
lobbying for permission to build a new generation of nuclear power stations
which, it claims, would help fight climate change and cut the UK's plutonium
stockpile." (Observer)
"Britain's
flooding 'not caused by global warming', say scientists" -
"CLAIMS by Government ministers and the media that Britain's recent spate
of bad weather is caused by global warming will be dismissed as scientific
nonsense this week by leading climate experts. An international conference of
experts on the European climate will be told that the heavy rainfall and
flooding of recent months is entirely consistent with a well-known weather
system, and shows no signs of being linked to global warming."
(Telegraph)
CoP6 wrap - crashed and burned:
The Kyoto Protocol is as dead as a Monte Python parrot:
It's not pinin'! It's passed on! This protocol is no more! It has
ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! It's a stiff! Bereft
of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to the trees it'd be
pushing up the daisies! Its metabolic processes are now 'istory! It's off
the twig! It's kicked the bucket, it's shuffled off its mortal coil, run
down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN
EX-PROTOCOL!! (With apologies to the Monte Python team)
"Hubris
and nemesis" - "THE Hague conference on climate change,
which broke up yesterday in disarray, was surely this year's most elaborate
expression of both the vanity of politics and the hubris of science." (The
Sunday Telegraph)
"Climate
conference falls short of goal" - "THE HAGUE, Netherlands --
Resigned to failure in reaching a detailed deal to stem global warming,
delegates at a U.N. conference closed themselves in a room overnight to
negotiate a broad statement instead. Two weeks of talks fell far short of
agreement on a document setting the guidelines on how nations may reach targets
they accepted three years ago for reducing emissions of the greenhouse
gases." (AP)
Oops! "Climate
conference reaches greenhouse gas deal" - "A deal to cut
greenhouse gases causing global warming has been reached at the international
conference at The Hague, Environment Minister Michael Meacher says." (Ananova)
[Independent]
"Climate
talks collapse without a deal" - "International talks to save
the planet from the threat of climate change collapsed when European Union
ministers failed to reach a deal with the US." (Ananova)
'A
Realistic Definition of “Success”' - "Statement by Eileen
Claussen, President, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Netherlands Congress
Center, The Hague" (Pe-ugh! Center for Generating Climate Claptrap)
Trying for job security Eileen? Ever wonder how that
sits with the people whose lives and livelihoods you are trying to
destroy with this nonsense or have you no shame at all?
Oh no! Not this rubbish again!
"Takuu's
singing islanders pay the price for global warming" -
"The 400 inhabitants of the atoll off the coast of Papua New Guinea are
likely to be the first people in the world to lose their homeland to global
warming. The sea is inexorably rising around them, the gardens where they grow
their food are being flooded, and their sand dunes are being swept away."
(Independent)
See Tectonic
Setting and Volcanoes of Papua New Guinea, New Britain, and the Solomon
Islands for the real reason these islands are sinking,
providing the illusion that sea levels are rising.
"Parties
blame each other for failure of climate talks" - "THE HAGUE --
Two weeks of international talks on how to cut pollution that is warming the
planet ended in failure Saturday, leaving some environmental lobbyists in tears
and delegates promising to continue their work. Disappointed negotiators pledged
to meet again. But deep divisions between the two main bargaining blocs -- the
United States, Canada and Japan and the European Union -- cast doubt on the
prospects for a later agreement." (AP-CP)
"Climate
summit delegates support conference resumption in 2001" - "The
Hague--Nov. 25--Delegates at the U.N. global climate summit on Saturday
supported conference president Jan Pronk's suggestion that the negotiation round
at The Hague should be considered suspended rather than ended. Delegates
commended Pronk on his chairmanship and said they hoped he would continue to
chair the conference in its next session, which will likely take place in
May-June 2001 in Bonn, Germany." (Bridge News)
"Science
takes a back seat" - "If you'd been wanting to learn more
about the science of climate change, then The Hague this last week was certainly
not the place to be." (BBC Online's Alex "Global Warming" Kirby,
so expect an advocacy bent)
Sundries:
November 25, 2000
"So much for the
precautionary principle?" - "Speed limits 'threaten rail
safety'. Safety measures taken since the Hatfield train crash have
actually made rail travel more dangerous, it has been claimed. Government
ministers have been advised that speed restrictions imposed since the 17
October crash have disrupted drivers' routines and made errors more likely,
according to The Economist.
BBC."
(Social Issues Research Centre) [Independent]
- "ALBANY, N.Y.
- Environmentalists offered a ''reward'' Friday for the first person to reveal
the identity of groups behind a suit challenging restrictions imposed by New
York on where some pollution credits can be sold." (AP)
"New
curbs on mobile masts" - "Plans have been announced to
tighten the regulations on siting mobile phone masts in Scotland." (BBC
Online) [Tighter
mast controls (The Times)]
"Easy
to treat now, but not in 1900" - "... There is a
simmering international debate about whether GPs should prescribe antibiotics
for otitis media (the medical term for an infection behind the ear
drum). ... Although better hygiene and nutrition may have played a part in
eradicating chronic ear infections and their complications, it is also likely
that the treatment of middle-ear infections with antibiotics had a big
impact." (Independent)
"Rude
health is found to be in very bad taste" - "MANY foods that
taste bitter, acrid or astringent are good for you. Sprouts, grapefruit,
cabbage, kale, greens, spinach, dark chocolates and red wine contain dietary
"phyto-nutrients" linked with cancer prevention and other health
benefits, according to a review published yesterday. However, because of the
off-putting taste of these beneficial substances, the food industry has
devoted much effort to removing them, said Prof Adam Drewnowski, director of
the University of Washington Nutritional Sciences Programme in Seattle."
(Telegraph)
"Fat
lot of use, says food industry"
- "Australia's food manufacturers will be required to reveal the
percentage of the main ingredient and details of saturated fats and sugars in
their products under new laws agreed to by Australian and New Zealand health
ministers on Friday. The adoption of the new food labelling regime drew
concern from the Federal Government, with the Parliamentary Secretary for
Health, Senator Grant Tambling, claiming the new rules would impose an
"unjustified cost on industry"." (AFR) [Dow
Jones] [The
Australian]
"BSE
panic spreads across Europe" - "First cases reported in
Germany and Spain amid calls for UK ban on French beef" (Guardian) [Germans
panic over cases of BSE and CJD (Telegraph)] [Germany
hit by first CJD cases (The Times)]
"Blindness
among Indian children often avoidable" - "DELHI: A large
percentage of blindness among children attending schools for the blind in
India are due to avoidable causes, according to a study from the province of
Andhra Pradesh. ... Vitamin A deficiency was the major preventable cause,
occurring in 19 per cent, while cataract and glaucoma were the most common
treatable causes." (Times of India)
Odd that our 'caring and sharing' so-called
environmentalists are so adamantly opposed to biotech-enhanced Golden Rice
for example, which could do so much to address this tragedy.
"Biotech
Foods Can Help Defeat World Hunger - US Official" -
"ROME--If carefully regulated, the use of biotechnology and genetically
modified organisms can help defeat world hunger, A U.S. agriculture official
said Friday." (AP)
"GE
inquiry told of mistrust" - "Failure to tell people that
they were eating genetically modified food has resulted in a high degree of
mistrust and that attitude will be difficult to change, says a visiting
consumer scientist. Dr Lynn Frewer, a psychologist who heads the consumer
science division of Britain's Institute for Food Research, gave evidence
before the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification in Wellington." (NZ
Herald)
"Study
Says Bugs Don`t Develop Resistance to Insect-Proof Cotton" -
"In a study sure to rekindle debate on genetically modified crops,
University of Arizona researchers found that bugs didn`t develop widespread
resistance to the biotechnology industry`s insect-proof cotton. The research,
published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
was good news for the biotechnology industry because it proves wrong earlier
projections that the genetically engineered plants might quickly become
obsolete." (WSJ)
"Germany
meets biotech firms on restricting GM food" - "BERLIN,
Nov 24 - The German government held a second day of talks with senior
biotechnology industry officials on Friday, hoping to forge an agreement on
the planting of genetically modified (GM) crops until 2003, sources
said." (Reuters)
"Company
Says Tracing Problem Corn May Take Weeks" - "It might take
weeks to figure out how the insect-killing trait in genetically altered
StarLink corn migrated into a variety of corn that was not supposed to be
genetically modified, according to the Garst Seed Company, the producer of the
corn." (NY Times)
"The
Coming Electric Power Crisis" - "Recent events, particularly
in California, have made it all too clear that the U.S. power generating
system is short of the reserve capacity needed to prevent blackouts, and
perhaps more importantly, to provide for stable electricity prices under free
market conditions. My estimate is that an increase in the reserve margin of at
least 5 % is needed very badly." (W Kenneth Davis, former US Deputy
Secretary of Energy)
"The Week That
Was November 25, 2000 brought to you by SEPP" - "REBIRTH OF
NUCLEAR POWER; ENVIRONMENTALISTS FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY; PETITION; AN APPEAL"
(SEPP)
"Everest
is emigrating to China, say experts" - "Beijing - The
world's tallest peak is moving into China at a speed of six to seven
centimetres per year from its position on the Nepal-China border, Chinese
scientists have found." (Sapa-DPA)
Perhaps not too surprising given that the Himalayas are
the result of tectonic movement. Do you suppose this rather than claimed
global warming might be responsible for the claimed slight change in total
height of Mt Everest?
"Weirdest
UK weather since 1766" -
"London - Britain has been suffering the most abnormal weather since
rainfall records began more than 200 years ago, the Met Office said on
Thursday. A spokesman for the national forecasting body said the heavy rain
that has caused the worst floods for 50 years was expected to lash the country
into next week." (Reuters)
So the weather is changing like the, uh... weather? If
these are the worst floods for 50 years but records go back roughly 250
years they've experienced these events before then? Notably, before
significant use of fossil fuels could have changed atmospheric CO2
constituents? Can't point the finger at enhanced greenhouse then can we.
Interested in 'unusual' weather events? Try this
link.
CoP6 & enhanced greenhouse wrap-up (hopefully):
"Global
warming: the greens have the numbers" - "... COP6 has
been a battleground between those who see climate change as an environmental
problem with major economic implications, and those who see it as an
opportunity to entrench green influence at the heart of "global
governance", as the French President, Jacques Chirac, put it in his
address to COP6 on Monday." (AFR)
"Viewpoint:
The Sun and climate change" - "Natural processes involving
changes in the Sun could have at least as powerful an effect on global
temperature as increased emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2)." (BBC Online)
"Global
warming becomes storm in 229m teacups" - "TEA and coffee
drinkers joined the Government's list of those responsible for global warming
yesterday." (Telegraph)
"Tuvalu
puts Fiji land purchase on hold" - "The plan to buy freehold
land in Fiji was based on concerns about the impact of adverse climate change
in Tuvalu and in particular, rising sea levels." (Radio Australia)
The stated reason is due to political instability in
Fiji. A more likely reason is that claims of dramatic sea level rise have
proven to be false. At the tidal facility in Funafuti no change can be
discerned beyond ENSO variation (positive and negative). Nor have the IPCC's
own contributing scientists been able to discern any acceleration in the
normal, and very slow, rise in sea levels due to ongoing retreat of the last
great glaciation. For a tiny country whose major income is derived from
leasing their .tv internet domain suffix to television stations and porn
sites, the capital cost of purchasing sufficient land to accommodate their
8,000-odd population elsewhere is an onerous burden on the national
treasury.
"No
Compromise on Warming" - "EU Delegates Say U.S. Compromise
Would Subvert Integrity" (AP)
Uh-huh... "Firms
Become 'Green' Advocates" - "THE HAGUE, Nov. 23 –– Many
American corporations say they are now persuaded by the perils of greenhouse
gases and have emerged as strong advocates of market-based solutions to cleanse
the atmosphere of pollutants that trap heat and raise the Earth's
temperature." (Washington Post)
"Negotiators
mull energy compromise" - "THE HAGUE — Negotiators from 180
nations worked overnight to piece together an agreement on global warming with
far-reaching consequences for the U.S. economy and environment. Any agreement
coming out of the U.N. negotiations here, which are slated to end today, could
require Americans to cut their energy use and emissions by as much as one-third
by 2012." (Washington Times)
"Green
light to increase emissions" - "AUSTRALIA'S alignment with the
US in this week's climate change talks appeared to have reaped rewards last
night after a draft agreement allowed a marginal increase in greenhouse gas
emissions." (The Australian)
"Global
warming bogeyman" - "European legends abound with tales of
"changelings" wherein trolls and other mythical beings secretly steal
newborn human offspring, exchanging them for misshapen, mentally inferior
creatures. Now this ancient curse is afflicting our scientific and public policy
processes, as political trolls replace careful analysis with grotesque, inferior
substitutes. Four years ago, a single author secretly altered a peer-reviewed
scientific summary by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He
deleted important conclusions and added a baseless claim that there had been a
"discernible human influence" on global climate." (Washington
Times)
Additional coverage: