The anti-fracking movement scored a great victory when Lancashire councillors refused planning permission for two fracking wells, writes Damien Short. But dig deeper and the triumph was all the greater, as it overcame not just Cuadrilla, but a morass of pro-fracking bias and legal and scientific misrepresentation from those meant to be providing impartial advice.
Lancashire's fracking victory was even greater than we knew Damien Short | 21st July 2015 News Fracking Energy Politics Human Rights Law Science camp-frack-cut.jpg The anti-fracking movement scored a …
A key paper that's been widely cited to justify the use of GM 'Golden rice' to boost vitamin A nutrition has been withdrawn due to ethical breaches, with no proof of consent by parents of the children taking part in trials. But that's not the only objection.
Golden rice GMO paper retracted after judge rules for journal Retraction Watch | 31st July 2015 News GMOs Food Science China Media golden_rice-cut.jpg A key paper that's been widely cited to justify …
A broad community of independent scientific researchers and scholars challenges claims of a 'consensus' that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are 'safe' to grow and eat. The claims - which continue to be widely and often uncritically aired - are a false and artificial construct that have been misleadingly perpetuated through diverse media.
There is no scientific consensus on GMO safety Angelika Hilbeck colleagues | 23rd February 2015 News GMOs Food Farming Health Science corn-storm-iowa-cut.jpg Are GMO crops safe? We don't know. …
It was 28 years ago today that Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine ruptured and ignited, sending a massive plume of radiation across Europe. Jim Green assesses the scientific evidence for how many people died as a result of the catastrophe.
… UNSCEAR itself co-authored a report which cites an estimate from an international expert …
Investigative reporters working for Greenpeace UK's Energydesk have uncovered a nexus of senior academics willing to accept large sums of money from fossil fuel companies to write reports and newspaper articles published under their own names and university affiliations, without declaring the funding. Lawrence Carter & Maeve McClenaghan spill the beans ...
Climate 'academics for hire' conceal fossil fuel funding Lawrence Carter Maeve McClenaghan Greenpeace Energydesk | 9th December 2015 News Fossil Fuels Climate Change Science UK US ted-cruz-cut.jpg …
The Precautionary Principle must mean, above all, avoiding the risk of ruinous outcomes for people or the wider environment, write Rupert Read & David Burnham. When the Philippines Supreme Court applied that test to GMOs, they found they had to ban them - not as a moral choice but pragmatically, to avoid potentially devastating consequences.
Philippines GMO ban is the Precautionary Principle in action Rupert Read David Burnham | 16th December 2015 Comment Science GMOs Law Regulation Philippines triffids-cut.jpg The Precautionary …
Three in one: EFSA set to re-licence glyphosate based on secret industry studies; Monsanto moves against IARC verdict that glyphosate is a 'probable carcinogen'; and new science shows that FDA principle of GMO 'substantial equivalence' is bunk.
GMO and glyphosate wars rage Oliver Tickell | 16th July 2015 News Corporations GMOs Health Toxics Regulation EU USA Science …
Jem Bendell's popular self-published paper has been platformed by Extinction Rebellion, but relies on pseudoscience to come to inaccurate and harmful conclusions.
Is Deep Adaptation flawed science? Thomas Nicholas Galen Hall Colleen Schmidt | 15th July 2020 News Science And Systems Systems Deep Adaptation Editor’s Picks Science Listen to the Science Jem …
Just as climate change deniers leap from scientific uncertainty over the precise impacts of greenhouse gas emissions to certainty of little or no impact at all, so 'pro-nuclear environmentalists' conflate uncertainty of the mortality arising from Chernobyl and other nuclear disasters to certainty of few if any deaths, writes Jim Green. Their position is equally indefensible.
Radiation harm deniers? Pro-nuclear environmentalists and the Chernobyl death toll Dr Jim Green | 7th April 2016 News Nuclear Health Science Radiation WMD Ukraine Belarus doll.jpg Just as climate …
Thirty years ago, there was no evidence that badgers spread bovine TB among cattle, writes Lesley Docksey. Nor is there now. Yet badgers are still being slaughtered in a futile attempt to control the disease. This timely republication of Richard Meyer's 1986 book reveals the belligerent ignorance of the officials, politicians and farmers driving the failed policy.
… by Professor Wyn Grant, in which Grant cites several pronouncements by government …
The chemical industry and the European Food Safety Authority are refusing to disclose key scientific evidence about glyphosate's risks, citing 'trade secrets' protection, writes Corporate Europe Observatory. They must be compelled to publish the 'mysterious three' scientific studies EFSA used to assess glyphosate as 'unlikely' to cause cancer to humans - contradicting the IARC's view.
Key evidence in EU's risk assessment of glyphosate must not remain 'trade secret' Corporate Europe Observatory | 22nd February 2016 News Health Law Regulation Corporations EU Science Toxics Farming …
In early March author Steven Druker challenged the Royal Society to justify its outspoken and partisan support of GMO crops, writes Colin Todhunter, and to correct any errors of fact in his book 'Altered Genes,Twisted Truths'. Three months later, the Royal Society remains silent. Is it frightened of genuine scientific debate?
GMOs: the Royal Society's deafening silence Colin Todhunter | 3rd June 2015 Comment GMOs Science UK Health royal-society-cut.jpg Behind its palatial Nash facade onto London's St James's Park, the …
Last time the Earth was this warm, 130,000 years ago, England's Thames Valley was home to hippos and elephants, write Emma Stone & Alex Farnsworth. But the closest climate analogue is actually the Miocene Climate Optimum, 11 million years ago, when CO2 levels were similar to today's. As for the ice age that's due, scientists believe it will be postponed for at least 100,000 years.
The last time Earth was this hot, Britain was a land of hippos and elephants Emma Stone Alex Farnsworth | 22nd January 2016 Comment Climate Change Science elephants-bully-hippos-cut.jpg Last time the …
The US's Nuclear Regulatory Commission just cancelled its study into cancer near nuclear plants citing the 'excessive cost' of $8 million, writes Chris Busby. Of course that's rubbish - similar studies in the UK have been carried out for as little as £600 per site, and in any case $8 million is small change for the NRC. The real reason is to suppress the unavoidable conclusion: nuclear power kills.
Nuclear power kills! The real reason the NRC cancelled its nuclear site cancer study Chris Busby | 19th September 2015 News Nuclear Health Energy Regulation USA UK Science millstone-nuclear-cut.jpg …
A six-month investigation finds that the revolving door between government and the chemical industry has led the EPA to rely on easily manipulated toxicology research carried out entirely on computers - and this 'in silico' science often trumps both biology and epidemiology when it comes to regulatory action, or lack of it. The result? Toxic substances remain in everyday products.
Triumph of digital toxicology: why the US won't regulate deadly chemicals Valerie Brown Elizabeth Grossman | 27th November 2015 News Science Toxics Regulation USA Health computer-cut.jpg A six-month …
The 'brutal savage' meme has enjoyed a resurgence in popular culture and establishment narratives, writes Stephen Corry, despite abundant evidence that it's fundamentally wrong. But it suits today's dominant mindset of conquest, conflict and colonialism all too well, and serves to justify the ongoing genocide and expropriation of surviving Indigenous Peoples today.
The myth of the 'brutal savage' and the mindset of conquest Stephen Corry | 21st April 2016 Comment Indigenous Peoples Science Society War Books yanomami-cut.jpg The 'brutal savage' meme has enjoyed …
Science is humanity’s way of discovering truth. And yet science is increasingly in the crosshairs of populist governments.
Bid to rebuild trust in science Hugh Hunt | 19th July 2018 Comment Science Int science council launch paris Science is humanity’s way of discovering truth. And yet science is increasingly in the …
Wild bee decline is closely associated with the advance of intensive farming and habitat loss, a new study shows. It follows an earlier paper that linked 'delayed action' decline of wild bees to exposure to pesticides including fungicides - previously considered 'bee-safe'.
Farm expansion driving US native bee declines Beyond Pesticides | 28th December 2015 News Farming Health Toxics Science Bees Biodiversity USA agapostemon-oregon-cut.jpg Wild bee decline is closely …
Forensic analysis of DNA in ivory seized by police and customs officials reveals where it comes from, writes Samuel Wasser, giving valuable information to law enforcers. But this powerful tool is only as effective as the national authorities, and Tanzania, a major ivory hotspot, has been very slow to respond to warnings.
… on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) unanimously passed Decision 16.83 , … collaborating with ICCWC (INTERPOL, UNODC, CITES, World Customs Organization, World Bank) …
England is about to extend its badger cull policy to five new areas of the country, proving that only that science is a dead letter to May's conservative government as it was to Cameron's. While bovine TB infections in cattle rise in the existing cull areas, Wales has just achieved a cull-free 14% reduction.
England's £100m badger cull extensions condemned The Ecologist | 23rd August 2016 News Badgers Natural World Science Politics Health Food Farming England Wales UK badger-cut.jpg England is about to …
Golden rice was once hailed as the wonder crop that 'could save a million kids year', writes Glenn Stone. But in the 15 years since that bold prediction, the carotene enhanced GMO has been held back by persistent 'yield drag' and inconclusive nutrition outcomes. It now appears unlikely ever to fulfill its early promise.
Golden rice: the 'GM superfood' that fell to Earth Glenn Stone | 2nd September 2015 Comment GMOs Technology Science Health Nutrition Philippines rice-philippines-cut.jpg Golden rice was once hailed …
Scientists must be ready to help people understand the interconnected causes of this pandemic.
Ask a scientist Dr Tom Woodroof | 19th May 2020 Comment Extinction Rebellion Science Scientists Climate Breakdown Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic screenshot_2020-05-18_at_16.34.08.png Scientists must …
The Royal Society has form on GM crops, writes the Soil Association - consistently Gung-ho! for the last 20 years, while refusing to engage with critics of the technology or even accept the existence of any problems. Its latest effort represents more of the same, while exposing this once August body to ridicule for its egregious scientific howlers.
Scientific error, omission and misrepresentation: the Royal Society on GM crops Soil Association | 27th May 2016 Comment GMOs Science Media UK Farming Health milharal_novo_avare_021205_refon-cut.jpg …