As a service to those of you with slow dial-up internet service, these subsections have moved to their own pages.  Slow internet service may not be a widespread problem any more, but it's best to leave these specific topics isolated.

The Great Apple Scare: Alar 20 Years Later.  A cancer scare in early 1989 caused millions of consumers throughout the country to stop buying and eating apples and apple products.  The fear was that apples were being sprayed with a cancer-causing chemical.  Children, in particular, were thought to be at especially high risk. [...] Now, on the twentieth anniversary of "The Great Apple Scare," the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) means to recall the events that led up to the mass hysteria over apples and explore some of its many ramifications in hopes of preventing another fabricated crisis from fooling a too-gullible public in the future.

The Media Is Obsessed With Bad News.  Years ago, the Natural Resources Defense Council claimed the chemical Alar, which helps keep apples from rotting, killed kids.  When "60 Minutes" ran the story, I believed it.  So did lots of people.  Schools across America banned apples.  Moms poured out apple juice.  Apple growers lost billions.  But the scare was bunk.  Apples, even apples with Alar, are good for you.  Since banning Alar meant apples decay more quickly, apples become slightly more expensive, and that meant some kids ate less healthy food.

Arsenic found in bottled water sold at Whole Foods, Walmart, Target.  When you pay premium prices, you expect a premium product — but that's not necessarily the case with bottled water.  California nonprofit Center for Environmental Health has revealed that water bottle brands Peñafiel, owned by Keurig Dr. Pepper, and Starkey, owned by Whole Foods, contain levels of highly toxic arsenic that are above the legal limit. [...] Other symptoms of arsenic poisoning include stomach pain and nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, numbness, even paralysis or blindness.

The Editor says...
This is nothing but alarmism, brought to you by an environmental activist group and gladly passed along by the New York Post.  There's not enough arsenic in bottled water to give anyone arsenic poisoning.  The "legal limit" for arsenic content in bottled water is probably so low that it's easy to exceed that limit.

Legal Newsline scores big win for asbestos transparency.  Garlock Sealing Technologies, founded in 1887, originally produced seals for rods in locomotive steam engines.  Over the years, it used asbestos in gaskets and valves.  When the age of asbestos lawsuits began, it was deluged with nearly a million claims.  Although Garlock defended such cases for years — at times successfully — the company succumbed in 2010 and entered bankruptcy with 100,000 asbestos and 4,000 mesothelioma claims pending.

Judge finds pervasive fraud by trial lawyers in asbestos litigation.  Fresh evidence of the efficacy of transparency in public affairs recently came from an unexpected source — class-action litigation on behalf of people who claim to have developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos.  An estimated $37 billion has been set aside to compensate such victims since the litigation became common in state and federal courts in the 1980s.  Among the 100 or so companies that have been shut down at least in part by mesothelioma litigation is the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Garlock Sealing Technologies.  Multiple trial lawyer firms have filed claims with the trust established to compensate Garlock victims.

Politician with cancer smoked for 40 years, sues over asbestos.  Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's law firm has filed a class-action suit on behalf of Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, accusing more than 70 companies of potentially causing the Long Island congresswoman to develop lung cancer from asbestos.  But the bizarre Weitz & Luxenberg suit fails to mention that the 69-year-old Democrat smoked heavily for 40 years — and that she never actually worked with the cancer-causing substance.

The EPA: The Worst Of Many Rogue Federal Agencies.  The EPA has ignored epidemiological evidence to foment false alarms about the dangers of ozone, radon, Alar (used in apple orchards), dioxins, and asbestos.  The asbestos story is illustrative.  Not only did the EPA, in 1989, decree an eight-year phase-out of asbestos despite studies from Oxford, Harvard, the Canadian Royal commission, New Jersey, etc. that the health risks posed by asbestos-lined buildings were miniscule, EPA's administrators even ignored the EPA's own scientific panel, which denounced the study used to justify the ban on asbestos as "unconvincing," "scientifically unappealing," and "absurd."

Climate alarmists follow acid rain scare playbook.  There is nothing coincidental about common déjà vu features of a CO2 climate crisis-premised war on fossil fuels and a hysterically-hyped sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission acid rain environmental calamity a half-century ago.  Both scams have claimed to be based upon dire computer model-based predictions calling for costly interventions.  Both also involved the same sorts of crony constituencies:  alarmist "scientific authorities," deep-pocket NGO promoters, and headline-hungry politicians eagerly rewarded by swarms of credulous media reporters.

Climate Change:  The Poetry of Dreams and the Prose of Reality.  In the mid-1970s, the majority supported global cooling with the same vigor and urgency as they support global warming today. [...] There was also the "scientific" theory of "acid rain" propagated during the 1970s and 1980s that was supposed to be destroying the forests and poisoning our lakes and rivers unless we closed down coal-fired power plants.  Acid rain was also blamed on CO2. [...] However, what "the majority" of the climate scientists so authoritatively predicted and the media so loudly blared in the 1970s 1980s never came to pass and proved to be a hoax.

The New York Times and Lies about 'Acid Rain'.  [Scroll down]  However, as scientists took measurements and assessed the streams, lakes and forests that supposedly were being ravaged by acid rain, they found out a number of things.  First, lake and stream acidity had very little relationship to the pH factor of local rainfall.  Instead, the acidity of the vegetation in the watersheds of these aquatic bodies was the significant factor, with the science firmly established by the time that Edward Krug and Charles Frink published a paper in a 1983 edition of Science.

Are They Manufacturing The Bird Flu Pandemic?  Alarming pronouncements from prominent figures have sparked public concern about a potential bird flu pandemic.  Media coverage intensifies the anxieties, while government actions like testing mandates and unclear responses from officials further fuel public suspicion.  The coverage of Bird Flu is becoming increasingly pervasive, making it challenging to keep up with the numerous hot takes and chilling insights.  The best place to stay informed is right here, where similar articles in various papers are thoroughly examined, all discussing the imminent danger of a pandemic.  In the last bird flu update, it was highlighted that the reported "bird flu death" in Mexico was likely misreported, mirroring the approach used during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Following this, the head of Mexico's Health Ministry criticized the WHO for labeling it as a bird flu death. [...] These tales are all about "flying blind," "gathering data," and the necessity of "prevention." And that's all just code for "testing," basically.  Nearly all of the articles emphasize the necessity of doing more testing on both humans and animals.  However, since 2020, those who have paid attention have known that PCR tests create data rather than collect it.  These are "case-generating" machines.  They can be used to create pandemics, far from stopping them.

What's the Purpose of All the Bird Flu Fearmongering?  We dropped a sponsor recently.  It wasn't what they offered; their products are generally good.  It was the fact that they were practically cheering for Bird Flu to get worse and for the predictions by government and media fearmongers to come true.  Is Bird Flu the next Plandemic?  Is it "Disease X"?  Has it been selected to help sway the election, launch new lockdowns, and reaffirm control for the Globalist Elite Cabal?  There's no way to know for sure, but one thing is certain:  The fearmongering is a clear sign that something is coming.

Human "Bird Flu" Death in Mexico Turns Out to be #FakeNews.  A man in Mexico had died of a new strain of avian influenza.  ["]A new strain of bird flu has jumped to humans in an event that has 'potential for high public health impact', the World Health Organization has warned. [...] ["]  I suspected that there would be a comorbidity associated with this death.  It turns out I was half right:  There were actually three.  The patient has suffered from chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and arterial hypertension over the past 14 years.  ["]A man who contracted bird flu in Mexico died due to chronic diseases and not the virus, Mexico's health ministry said on Friday. [...] ["]  This is significant.  International and American public health officials have been chomping at the bit to take the policy reigns again through pandemic response measures.  For example, "Scarf Lady" and former White House Coronavirus advisor Dr. Deborah Birx was recently sounding the alarm about bird flu. [...] And most of us remember vividly that covid death counts were manipulated, as comorbidities were discounted if someone died of covid with another adverse health condition.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  We cannot afford to be fooled again by narrative "science" being used to push fake news, which is then used to drive destructive policies that put more power in the hands of globalist bureaucrats.

Man in Mexico dies with first human case of H5N2 bird flu.  A 59-year-old man in Mexico has died with a type of bird flu — H5N2 — never recorded in people before now.  There is no risk to the wider public, say authorities, and none of the man's close contacts have caught the virus.  It is unclear how he got it, although there have been cases in some poultry farms in Mexico.  Infections like this can sometime pass from animals to humans.  The man had other underlying health issues that likely made him vulnerable.

The Editor says...
[#1] It's Mexico.  He's probably never been to a doctor.  [#2] He was sick already.  [#3] If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.

The Latest "Bird Flu" Death is "Covid" All Over Again.  Yesterday, the mainstream media widely reported that a new strain of Bird Flu had claimed its first victim, a 59-year-old man from Mexico.  The big news here is that the strain allegedly responsible, H5N2, had allegedly never before been detected in humans.  Everyone from CNN to the BBC to Sky News to ABC went with a headline along these lines:  ["]First confirmed human case of bird flu H5N2 has died, says World Health Organisation["]  The UK's I newspaper skipped straight to asking the important questions: "Is bird flu present in the UK and should I be worried?"  Of course, none of the MSM interrogated the situation any further than copy-pasting WHO press releases.  But, for anyone who followed the early development of the Covid "pandemic", the details of the supposed "bird flu" death sound eerily familiar.  For example, the patient was already seriously ill with kidney disease and type-2 diabetes.  In fact he had been bedridden for three weeks prior to the onset of his "acute symptoms" of bird flu.

The over-hyped H5N1 avian bird flu fraud.  H5N1 avian bird flu fraud (maybe using Gain of Function fake pandemic): They are trying hard to bring it; they say it's not over, and they won't let it be!  We will not let you free!  We are not done; we have an election to steal November 2024, power to accumulate, freedoms & liberties to squash, populations to kill, and a world to rule 'AS WE SEE IT & DECIDE!'  COVID failed and did not achieve ALL it sought!  Yes, they will AGAIN use the over-cycled largely 'false-positive' RT-PCR 'process' (that is ONLY to be used to amplify DNA for research, etc.) to MANUFACTURE a fake fraud non-H5N1 pandemic & will tell you about asymptomatic transmission AGAIN and will then tell you that MODERNA & Pfizer, using the Malone, Kariko, Weissman, et al. mRNA technology, have brought an mRNA gene-based vaccine that will code for the surface antigens of the H5N1 virus and will move to mandate.  Yes, they will move again to steal an election and blow away the election process and legality.  They are in our faces, devising and creating a BIRD FLU pandemic that is and will not be a pandemic.

More Than 4 Million Chickens Will Be Culled at Iowa Farm Where Bird Flu Was Found.  More than 4 million chickens will be slaughtered to prevent the spread of bird flu after the virus was detected at a commercial egg-laying facility in Iowa, the state announced on May 28.  The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said in a statement that a coordinated effort with the U.S. Department of Agriculture led to the detection of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) case of the H5N1 strain, also known as bird flu, at a large farm in Sioux County.  It was the first avian influenza case detected in a large commercial flock of chickens in the Hawkeye State this year.

USDA Tests Find No Bird Flu in Properly Cooked Burgers.  U.S. researchers found no bird flu in ground beef inoculated with influenza and cooked to medium or well-done levels, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on May 16.  USDA scientists took a surrogate of the highly pathogenic avian influenza A strain H5N1 and injected it into ground beef patties.  They then cooked the patties to varying temperatures.  The testing identified no virus in burgers cooked to 145 degrees or 160 degrees Fahrenheit.  Those temperatures represent medium and well-done burgers.

From Bird Flu to Climate Snakes.  Seasoned veterinarians and livestock producers alike have been scratching their heads trying to understand the media's response to the avian flu.  Headlines across every major news outlet warn of humans becoming infected with the "deadly" bird flu after one reported case of pink-eye in a human.  The entire narrative is predicated upon a long-disputed claim that Covid-19 was the result of a zoonotic jump — the famed Wuhan bat wet-market theory. [...] Meanwhile, the last vestiges of America's food freedom and decentralized food sources are quietly being targeted by the full force of the federal government.  The once voluntary APHIS System is poised to become the mandatory APHIS-15, which among many other changes, "the system will be renamed Animal Health, Disease, and Pest Surveillance and Management System, USDA/APHIS-15.  This system is used by APHIS to collect, manage, and evaluate animal health data for disease and pest control and surveillance programs."

'A Dangerous Vaccine for a Nothing Disease': U.S. Stockpiling Bird Flu Vaccines.  With the recent spread of H5N1 bird flu to dairy cows in eight states — and the infection of a Texas dairy worker marking the second known human case in the country — public health officials are raising concerns over the adequacy and safety of stockpiled vaccines meant to protect against a potential pandemic, according to Barron's.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains bird flu is a low risk to humans — the infected dairy worker only contracted a case of conjunctivitis (pink eye) — and that there is currently no known mechanism for human-to-human transmission.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), avian flu is responsible for 463 deaths worldwide over the past 20 years.  The CDC reports only two U.S. cases of bird flu, and both were mild.  No Americans have died from the virus.  Still, government agencies and Big Pharma manufacturers are building their capacity for bird flu vaccine production.

The Editor says...
If they say it's a bird flu vaccine, how do you know that's what you're getting?  How can you beleve anything the CDC says?

Generating the "national will" to give up our civil and human rights on the altar of pandemic safety.  Avian flu is said to have caused 463 deaths total in the entire world over the past 20 years, according to the WHO.  Only 2 Americans have been identified as having an illness associated with avian flu, and both were very minor.  Not a single American has died from avian flu.  The recent case of conjunctivitis is recovering.  The CDC and mainstream media claim that avian flu has killed over 100 million chickens.  It has not.  USDA rules have forced growers to cull over 100 million chickens.  When one chicken has a positive PCR test for bird flu, every chicken in the chicken house (and sometimes all those on the farm) must be killed.  Was that test even accurate?  But expansive claims like these are what gets the public going, and putting up with incursions on their freedoms.

Flashback: Senator Obama rips Bush for being unprepared for avian flu epidemic.  A nice catch from our friends at Grabien, who got it from Ace [update] and who had to go all the way back to 2005 to find this nugget and the contemporaneous coverage at the NYT.  At the time, the US prepared for a predicted epidemic of the avian flu, also known as H5N1, of global proportions.  The virus had been identified for 18 years by that time, but by the end of 2004 had only resulted in 36 deaths and 50 known cases over the prior two years, according to WHO data.  In 2005, the number of cases would jump to 98 and deaths to 43, and the prevention of a pandemic became a high priority.  At that time, then-Senator Barack Obama scolded the Bush administration on the Senate floor, and quarterbacked a protest letter from his fellow Democrats over the slow response and lack of preparedness by the White House: [...]

Mother claims flu shot is responsible for death of teenage son.  A Utah mother is claiming that a flu shot is responsible for the recent death of her 19-year-old son.  Chandler Webb received the shot on October 15 during a routine physical, after he had decided to go on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The day after the exam, Chandler became extremely ill — suffering from vomiting and headaches.  A little more than a week later, Chandler slipped into a coma and spent nearly a month on life support at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah.  While at the hospital, Chandler underwent a variety tests, but his doctors couldn't confirm what had caused his illness.

The Editor says...
Here in Dallas, the County government has been aggressively promoting and marketing flu shots for several years.  As for me, I'd rather take my chances with the germs than the government, because the people who are lining up for flu shots don't really know what's in it!  After making flu shots a matter of routine for several years, the government may someday add some extra ingredients.

Caffeine addicts are less likely to develop dementia.  Caffeine is associated with reduced odds of developing dementia and cognitive impairment in women, according to a study published in The Journals of Gerontology.  The research, by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, reveals that women over 65 who report caffeine consumption of more than 261 mg per day are 36 percent less likely to develop dementia over 10 years.  This is equivalent to two to three cups of coffee a day, five to six cups of black tea, or seven to eight cans of Coke.

This topic is now on another page.

You're probably too young to remember when soft drinks contained cyclamates, but I remember noticing that such products tasted a lot better before cyclamates were banned in the U.S.  That happened on October 18, 1969*, for the same reason as saccharin, that is, the development of bladder cancer in rats who were given massive doses of the stuff.  But it is still in use in many other seemingly civilized countries, including Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.*

Are Artificial Sweeteners Really That Bad for You?  Too much sugar will make you fat, but too much artificial sweetener will ... do what exactly?  Kill you?  Make you thinner?  Or have absolutely no effect at all?  This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration's decision to ban cyclamate, the first artificial sweetener prohibited in the U.S., and yet scientists still haven't reached a consensus about how safe (or harmful) artificial sweeteners may be.

How Madness Rules Our Age.  Hyper-strict EPA requirements, Global Warming restrictions, and the Kyoto protocols all defy empirical science.  Who can forget those lab results from feeding mice twenty and thirty times their weight in tested substances to detect cancer, and how the government removed wonderful food additives from the shelves?  Does anyone remember the sweetener cyclamate?  Banned in the USA, but still allowed in fifty five other countries.

The Power-Mad EPA.  Recently the EPA ruled that New York City had to replace 1,300 fire hydrants because of their lead content.  The ruling was based on the Drinking Water Act passed by Congress in 2011.  As Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) pointed out while lambasting the agency, "I don't know a single New Yorker who goes out to their fire hydrants every morning, turns it on, and brushes their teeth using the water from these hydrants.  It makes no sense whatsoever."  Reportedly, the Senate is poised to consider legislation exempting fire hydrants if the EPA does not revise its ruling.  The EPA is not about making sense.  It is about over-interpreting laws passed by Congress in ways that now continually lead to cases before the Supreme Court.

EPA Pushes Gun Control Through Green Ammo Mandate.  The Herculaneum smelter, according to the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, is the only one in the U.S. that can produce lead bullion from raw lead ore and the components for traditional lead ammunition.  The only alternatives, the institute says, will be to import the ammo components or use EPA-approved "green" ammunition.  The Arms Trade Treaty may be unratified, but it provides the administration with a justification for restricting U.S. imports of ammunition and components.

End of the line for the lead bullet? Regulations, bans force switch to 'green' ammo.  When the last bullet-producing lead smelter closes its doors on Dec. 31, it will mark a major victory for those who say lead-based ammunition pollutes the environment, but others warn 'green' bullets will cost more, drive up copper prices and do little to help conservation.  The bid to ban lead bullets, seen by some as harmful to the environment, started slowly more than a decade ago.

Backdoor gun control is here: no lead means no bullets.  The closedown [of the Doe Run Lead Smelter] is due to new extremely tight air quality restrictions placed on this specific plant.  President Obama and his EPA raised the regulations by 10 fold and it would have cost the plant $100 million to comply.  In response to the Doe Run lead smelter shutdown, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the Doe Run Company "made a business decision" to shut down the smelter instead of installing pollution control technologies needed to reduce sulfur dioxide and lead emissions as required by the Clean Air Act.  Of course this is why we need serious regulatory reform that precludes executive agency fiat, especially regulation implementation that exceeds a certain adverse financial impact to a private sector business.

California poised to become first state to impose full ban on lead bullets.  California is on the verge of becoming the first state to impose a full ban on hunting with lead bullets — with environmentalists and gun-rights advocates squaring off as Gov. Jerry Brown decides whether to sign the legislation.  The state already has a ban on lead-bullet hunting in eight counties with an endangered condor population.  But the new proposal, overwhelmingly approved this month [September 2013] by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly, would impose a statewide ban on all hunting.

The Growing Tyranny of the Political Elite.  For hundreds of years, human beings have used lead for many purposes, and life on earth has not exactly come to an end.  Now we are told that the lead used in hunting and fishing is harming animals and fish, and it may just have to stop.  The scary thing is that one individual, an appointed bureaucrat directing the Environmental Protection Agency, has the power to impose such a ban. [...] And the EPA believes that it has the authority not just to police hunting and fishing supplies, but to regulate carbon dioxide, a natural product of the act of breathing.  The preferred modus operandi, in fact, is to appoint a single individual with the power to control some large part of American life.

The EPA's RRP Rule isn't About Safety.  On April 22, 2010 an EPA regulation governing renovation, repair, and painting (RRP) took effect.  The regulation governs any activity that will disturb paint containing lead and applies to all homes built before 1978 and "child-occupied facilities". [...] But combating lead poisoning is not a proper function of government.  And RRP is going to do little, if anything, to combat it.  It will however, grant the government greater control over the lives of contractors and cost consumers a lot of money.

This is an original compilation, Copyright © 2024 by Andrew K. Dart

1,200 students kept at school overnight after mercury found.  Concerned parents directed sometimes angry questions at school and federal officials after the discovery of a small amount of mercury prompted officials to keep more than a thousand students for up to 17 hours at a Las Vegas middle school to screen them for exposure to the neurotoxin.

The Editor says...
Mercury in very small quantities isn't something to be alarmed about, in my opinion.  In the early and middle 20th century, some people used to rub mercury on pennies to make them look like dimes.  We used to roll blobs of mercury in our hands, just to play with it — and occasionally we would drop it (accidentally) on the carpet or in the grass, where it would be lost forever.  In 1966, when I was in the 8th grade, our science teacher constructed a mercury barometer in our classroom, using supplies found in the cabinet in the back of the room — which included several pounds of mercury.  Unforgettable!  (He also experimented with small slices of sodium metal in the classroom.)  Ahhh, the good old days — when teachers and school administrators weren't afraid of their own shadows — or afraid of the lawyers.  Oh, and speaking of lawyers, any action you take based on anything you read on this web site are entirely your own responsibility.  My point is that it isn't necessary to detain 1,200 people overnight because they were in the same building with a "small amount" of mercury.

FDA Taking Another Look at Mercury in Seafood.  For most people, accumulating mercury from eating seafood isn't a health risk.

The Power-Mad EPA.  The claims about mercury are baseless, in a 2011 commentary published in The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Willie Soon, a geoscientist at Harvard and expert on mercury and public health issues was joined by Paul Driesson, a senior policy advisor for the Committee For a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), rebuts the claims about mercury that have been part of the environmental lies put forth for years.  "There is no factual basis for these assertions.  To build its case against mercury, the EPA systematically ignored evidence and clinical studies that contradict its regulatory agenda, which is the punish hydrocarbon use."  "Mercury has always existed naturally in the Earth's environment... Mercury is found in air, water, rocks, soil and tries, which absorb it from the environment.  This is why our bodies evolved with proteins and antioxidants that help protect us from this and other potential contaminants."

The Top Ten Unfounded Health Scares of 2010.  [#10] Mercury in Fish:  [T]he study cited by Consumer Reports didn't find that the canned tuna they tested rose above levels that the FDA or EPA said were of concern — and those levels were based upon the risks posed by consuming tuna every day for seventy years, not occasionally.  Tuna is the only fish many Americans eat, and it's reasonably inexpensive." [...] Bottom Line:  The nutritional benefits of eating the recommended amount of fish servings far outweighs any potential health risks that canned tuna may pose.  Adequate fish consumption is important for the health of developing fetuses and growing children.

Pregnant women should avoid tuna, report says.  In a new review of seafood safety, Consumer Reports is advising that pregnant women avoid eating tuna due to concerns about mercury exposure.  "We're particularly concerned about canned tuna, which is second only to shrimp as the most commonly eaten seafood in the United States.  We encourage pregnant women to avoid all tuna," Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives for Consumers Union, the advocacy division of Consumer Reports, said in a news release from the group.  While pregnant women and children are at greatest risk from mercury in seafood, anyone can be at risk if they eat too much seafood with high mercury levels, Consumer Reports noted.

Diet Pepsi dropping aspartame on customer concerns.  PepsiCo says it's dropping aspartame from Diet Pepsi in response to customer feedback and replacing it with sucralose, another artificial sweetener commonly known as Splenda.

California man first in US charged with smuggling greenhouse gases.  A California man has become the first person in the United States charged with illegally smuggling greenhouse gases into the country, officials said Monday.  Michael Hart of San Diego was arrested under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020, which prohibits the importation of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) without proper permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  HFCs are potent greenhouse gases commonly found in refrigerators and air conditioners, building insulation, fire extinguishing systems, and aerosols.  They can be hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, exacerbating the climate crisis.

The Editor says...
Andrew Breitbart himself would never have published such claptrap.  There is no climate crisis.  Neither carbon dioxide nor the dreaded HFCs can trap heat in the atmosphere nearly as well as water vapor, which comes from the oceans and can never be stopped.  A few cans of freon aren't going to hurt anybody, and a permit from the EPA isn't going to affect global warming.

Record Ozone 'Holes' Discovered Despite 35-Year Ban on CFCs.  Not the Cause, Then!.  The discovery of a hole in the ozone layer high above Antarctica in the 1980s turned into one of the first great climate and environmental scares.  Blame was placed on the effect of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) which were used extensively at the time in refrigerators and aerosols, and their use was banned by the Montreal Protocol from 1989.  Climate activists learnt the lesson from this example and have been whipping up global fear ever since.  Over the years, constant war has been waged on numerous industrial and agricultural products and processes with calls to ban some of the food we eat to demands we restrict our movements.  But at least we saved the ozone layer.  Actually, we didn't.  Since 2002 there has been a significant ozone reduction amounting to a 26% loss in the core of the ozone hole.  A recently published science paper by three New Zealand-based physicists notes that the three years 2020-22 have witnessed the re-emergence of large, long-lived holes over Antarctica.

Hole in the ozone is now the smallest it has been on record since it was discovered in 1982, NASA confirms.  The hole in the ozone layer has shrunk to its smallest size since scientists began monitoring it in 1982 because of unusual weather patterns in the upper atmosphere over Antarctica, according to NASA.  The hole fluctuates in size annually and is usually largest during the coldest months in the southern hemisphere, from late September to early October.

Ozone:  The Earth's protective shield is repairing.  The ozone layer, which protects us from ultraviolet light, looks to be successfully healing after gaping holes were discovered in the 1980s.  The Northern Hemisphere could be fully fixed by the 2030s and Antarctica by the 2060s.

Mystery ozone-damaging emissions are coming from China, scientists discover.  Mysterious emissions which are preventing the hole in the ozone layer from closing are coming from China, scientists have discovered.  Researchers from the University of Bristol have found significant ongoing fumes of a potent ozone-depleting substance have their origin eastern China.  The compound, carbon tetrachloride, contributes to the destruction of the Earth's ozone layer, which protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation.  As a result, the production of carbon tetrachloride has been banned throughout the world since 2010 for uses that will result in its release to the atmosphere.

Kerry: Climate 'Solution... Turned Out Not To Be The Solution'.  Just a few weeks ago, Secretary of State John Kerry admitted that "one of the most successful environmental agreements in history" was actually now a huge driver of climate change.  Late last week, Kerry went further, saying that "HFCs [hydrofluorocarbons], which was supposed to be the solution, turned out not to be the solution," but can actually be "thousands of times more damaging than carbon dioxide." Now, 170 countries, including the U.S., have agreed to cut the use of HFCs, used in many cooling and refrigeration system.  The Montreal Protocol in 1987 phased out CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which were blamed for ozone depletion and causing the infamous "hole" in the ozone layer of the earth's atmosphere.  Kerry credits the introduction of HFCs with saving the ozone layer, but acknowledges there were unintended consequences.

New climate deal could make it harder to keep cool.  The Obama administration signed onto a deal over the weekend with nearly 200 countries to combat global warming by phasing out the refrigeration chemicals used in air-conditioners, even as industry scrambles to find replacement chemicals needed to keep homes cool and food fresh.  Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, who was key in securing the deal, said the chemicals represent potent greenhouse gas emissions, called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, that are causing harmful man-made climate change, and are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Bright spot: Antarctica's ozone hole is starting to heal.  In a triumph of international cooperation over a man-made environmental problem, research from the United States and the United Kingdom shows that the September-October ozone hole is getting smaller and forming later in the year.

Did We Really Save the Ozone Layer?  Another year has passed and that stubborn Ozone Hole over Antarctica refuses to go away.  Data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows that the Ozone Hole for the fall maximum season grew 22 percent from 2014 to 2015.  World consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances has been reduced to zero over the last three decades, but the Ozone Hole is as large as ever.  Did humans really save the ozone layer?

Pope Francis' Eco-Encyclical: Marriage Between Green Tech and Economic Growth?  One sign that Pope Francis' encyclical on climate change may be creating a small storm of controversy within the Vatican is that high level officials are now explaining why it is needed. [...] Interestingly, Pope Francis is not the first one to address the ecology.  Pope John Paul II in 1990, warned in a speech about the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect because of "industrial growth, massive urban concentrations and vastly increased energy needs."  Twenty-five years later, NASA decrees that the ozone layer is cured!  I suspect it's less of a miracle than it is that the dire warnings about the ozone hole were also fallacious.  I hope that the Pope annuls this proposed marriage between politicized science and his goals for helping the poor.

30 years after the hole in the ozone layer was found, NASA says it is 'cured'.  The discovery of 'holes' in the layer of ozone gas above Earth's poles became one of the most high-profile environmental issues of the Eighties.  People feared that the holes would lead to increases in skin cancer, cataracts and sunburn around the world — and posed a large-scale risk to human health.  Governments agreed on the Montreal Protocol in 1987, limiting the use of gas propellants such as CFCs (used in aerosols, among other things).  This month, NASA announced that the hole is shrinking rapidly — and will be extinct by the end of the century.

The Top Ten Unfounded Health Scares of 2006.  [#6] Teflon Contains a Cancer-Causing Chemical (PFOA):  Research has shown that very high doses of PFOA can cause harm to animals, but the amount of PFOA to which the general population is exposed is much lower.  While further research is needed in order to more fully understand how PFOA acts in the body, the current data indicate that we can expect no risk to human health associated with the levels of PFOA exposure found in the general population.

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Hess CEO States [the] Obvious on CNBC: Oil and Gas [will be] 'Needed for Decades to Come'.  Corporate America has fomented a culture that's so drunk on environmental, social and governance standards that a CEO stating the obvious on CNBC about the ongoing necessity of oil and gas actually seems profound.  Hess Corporation CEO John Hess wasted no time in pointing out that "oil and gas are going to be needed for decades to come" during the Mar. 7 edition of CNBC's Squawk Box.  Hess even stated that "oil and gas are key" in order to achieve an "affordable, just and secure" energy "transition."  Talk about irony.  Hess noted that "most people don't realize that oil and gas are a strategic industry for the United States."  Hess's comments come just as President Joe Biden is set to allow a program that was engineered to enable oil and gas development on the U.S. outer continental shelf to expire.  According to Forbes magazine, "the expiration of the program is troubling as it signals to oil and gas producers — and ultimately consumers — that the government has an antagonistic attitude towards more domestic energy production."

The irrefutable case for a Fossil Future.  If we want a world in which all 8 billion of us have the opportunity to flourish — to live long, healthy, prosperous, fulfilling lives — we need to use more, not less, fossil fuel going forward.  I explain this comprehensively in my book Fossil Future. [...] Despite 100+ years of aggressive competition, fossil fuels provide 80%+ of the world's energy and they are still growing fast — especially in the countries most concerned with cost-effective energy.  E.g., China.  Fossil fuels are uniquely able to provide energy that's low-cost, reliable, and versatile on a scale of billions of people.  This is due to fossil fuels' combo of remarkable attributes — fossil fuels are naturally stored, concentrated, and abundant energy — and generations of innovation by industry.  There is currently only one energy tech that can match (actually exceed) fossil fuels' combo of naturally stored, concentrated, abundant energy:  nuclear.

There's a low-cost way for the oil companies to respond to anti-petro Biden.  I like fossil fuels.  I like that everything from coal to clean natural gas has raised most of humanity out of abject misery in my lifetime.  I like that parts of the world that seemed to have nothing to offer only had to look down to find a gift that has blessed us all.  I'm glad that some form of the dinosaurs continues to roam the earth if only as a part of the car I drive around.  And I'm glad that we can grow our food, cook our meals, drink clean water, heat our homes, have satisfying careers, and raise our children in relative comfort compared to my great-grandparents' generation.  Thank you, Oil Companies.  All of us depend every day on what you have done and continue to do.  It must be a staggering shock to be told — in the face of all evidence to the contrary — that your services will no longer be required in a few years.  Everyone knows it's a lie, but a hurtful one.  Especially coming from some of the most listened-to voices at the highest levels of our government.

Now the "decarbonization" people will see what life is like without gasoline, and it won't be pretty.
Sri Lanka Runs Out of Fuel, Says it Faces 'Most Difficult' Summer.  Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe announced on Monday that his nation had "run out" of petroleum-based fuel during a national address in which he predicted that the next two months will be "the most difficult ones of our lives," Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.  "We have run out of petrol. ... At the moment, we only have petrol stocks for a single day," Wickremesinghe said on May 16.

Two weeks of War undoes thirty years of energy propaganda:  Everyone wants fossil fuels.  There is pandemonium on the markets and suddenly many nations want to be energy sufficient.  It's perhaps not The Great Reset than the collective-types were expecting?  The gas flows from Russia to the EU are sporadically tightening, and the Yamal-Europe line has been cut off.  Gas in Europe is now trading at €340/MWh which is fully 22 times the long term average.  Newcastle coal normally trades around $60 per ton, but now is over $400 USD.  A few days ago the former head of MI6 in the UK called for an immediate lifting of the frakking ban which was set to see concrete poured down the only two shale gas wells in England by March 15th.  Thirty-five Tory MPs and four peers sent a letter to Boris demanding the same thing.  Now even Boris Johnson is suggesting the Green targets could be relaxed, not just for Britain, but for all the West.

Oil spills into the environment are normal and may even be beneficial.  I don't understand the commotion over oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from drilling operations after Hurricane Ida.  Oil has always oozed out of the ground to foul land, lakes, and oceans.  That's how people first discovered the stuff.  In nature, some oil on the surface evaporates off as naphtha (probably the basis of the ancient Greek fire).  Other oil is digested by bacteria, converting it into simple organic compounds that other organisms feast on, leading to localized exuberant biodiversity.  The heavier components of oil remain as lumps called bitumen or asphalt.  The Dead Sea was called Lake Asphaltites because of the gooey pebbles that floated onto the surface from underwater seeps.  This asphalt was used on Egyptian mummies.  Oil found floating on lakes or in puddles was used by Indians to caulk canoes and as medicines.  In California's úber-environmentalist Santa Barbara County, an estimated 11 to 160 barrels of oil seep into the ocean daily and have for countless centuries.

Feeding the Fat Green Pigs.  In the era before coal, oil and electricity, the environment suffered greatly.  Whales were slaughtered for lamp oil; forests were cleared for firewood, mine props, building materials, roofing shingles and sailing masts; London ("The Big Smoke") and Pittsburgh ("The Smoky City") were smothered in smog from open fires, charcoal kilns and iron smelters; horses powered public and military transport and city streets were layered with horse manure.  Then came the hydro-carbon revolution.  Kerosene lamps saved the whales and coal-powered steam engines delivered electricity (clean-coal-by-wire) to the cities — and much of the sulphurous smogs disappeared.  Coke from coal replaced wood charcoal to make iron and steel.  Steel and concrete saved the forests and trucks and railways allowed the farmland, which once fed millions of horses, to produce food for humans.

Another great idea from the tree-hugging hippies who brought you 1.6-gallon toilets:
No more fire in the kitchen:  Cities are banning natural gas in homes to save the planet.  Fix global warming or cook dinner on a gas stove?  That's the choice for people in 13 cities and one county in California that have enacted new zoning codes encouraging or requiring all-electric new construction.  The codes, most of them passed since June, are meant to keep builders from running natural gas lines to new homes and apartments, with an eye toward creating fewer legacy gas hookups as the nation shifts to carbon-neutral energy sources.  For proponents, it's a change that must be made to fight climate change.  For natural gas companies, it's a threat to their existence.  And for some cooks who love to prepare food with flame, it's an unthinkable loss.

Flashback: Jimmy Carter Predicts We Run Out of Oil By 2011.  We still have oil, Jimmy.  Whether it is that we are going to run out of oil or that we should have already been buried underwater, it seems that all of these dire predictions never come true.

Proving a Negative.  [A]t some point in the future, alternative, non-carbon-based fuels will indeed become the norm. [...] But those fuels are not here now.  So in the short term, we need oil.  And we've got it, and that makes us independent of having to depend on other countries for our oil.  The popular phrase in the recent past of proponents of the U.S. oil industry was, "Drill, baby, drill!"  We did and we've got it.  That is why those recent terrorist events perpetrated against the oil market had virtually no effect on world oil pricing.  In years past, those attacks would have sent shockwaves of panic throughout the world's energy sector.

Green Dream to End Fossil Fuels Also Means Going without Plastics.  The current crop of Democratic Party presidential wannabees have drunk the Green New Deal (GND) Kool-Aid.  Stop fracking!  Stop oil and gas production on federal lands!  Ban offshore oil and gas production!  Most of these "rocket scientists" come from states that import their refined products for transportation fuels and heating oil.  They do not want any of those stinking oil refineries in their backyards but please continue to import the gasoline and diesel from refineries in the Virgin Islands or from Venezuelan-owned refineries.  So where do we get plastics if oil and gas production ceases?

AOC would make a great poster child for Russia.  The United States has established itself as the greatest oil producer in the world ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia.  There is a power dynamic from being oil independent that cannot be ignored.  Putin knows this.  The Saudis know this.  The 184 countries that signed the Paris Accord know this and are aware they need to align themselves with an energy giant.  Traditionally that giant was the U.S., but the gild is coming off the lily.  Russia has traditionally been painted as the bad guy.  Prosperity around the world from deep earth minerals/fuels is now being weaponized against the West since the oil, natural gas and particularly coal prosperity has led to reduced infant mortality, extended lifespans, and allowed the movement of goods and people anywhere in the world via the diesel engine and jet turbine.  Both have done more for the cause of globalization than anything else; and both get their fuels from oil.

The Social Benefits of Fossil Fuels Far Outweigh the Costs.  First, fossil fuels are lifting billions of people out of poverty, and in turn improving health.  "The most fundamental attribute of modern society is simply this," writes historian Vaclav Smil in his 2003 book on energy:  "Ours is a high energy civilization based largely on combustion of fossil fuels."  Fossil fuels, and coal in particular, provided the energy that powered the Industrial Revolution.  Today, coal plants still produce most of the electricity that powers high-tech manufacturing equipment and charges mobile computing devices.  The alternative energy sources environmental activists favor are generally more expensive.  Energy economists Thomas Stacey and George Taylor calculate that wind power costs nearly three times as much as existing coal generation and 2.3 times as much as combined-cycle gas.  There is a negative correlation between energy prices and economic activity.

The Social Benefits of Fossil Fuels.  Humankind's historic and ongoing use of fossil fuels has resulted in huge benefits for people, wildlife, and ecosystems.  Five of those benefits are documented here.

Microorganisms and phytoplankton appear to thrive in the waters around naturally occurring oil seeps on the Gulf floor.  Researcher Ajit Subramaniam, an oceanographer at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth analyzed the effects natural oil seeps on microorganisms in the Gulf of Mexico, and found that microorganisms called phytoplankton were twice as concentrated in areas where oil was seeping naturally than clearer waters, in a paper published online Monday [1/25/2016] in the journal Nature Geoscience.  "This is the beginning of evidence that some microbes in the Gulf may be preconditioned to survive with oil, at least at lower concentrations," said Professor Subramaniam in a press release.  "In this case, we clearly see these phytoplankton are not negatively affected at low concentrations of oil, and there is an accompanying process that helps them thrive.  This does not mean that exposure to oil at all concentrations for prolonged lengths of time is good for phytoplankton."

A useful pipeline spill in Arkansas.  The environmentalists who were waging a losing war against the proposed Keystone pipeline woke up to the news of a small pipeline leak in Arkansas and thought it was Christmas morning.  If environmentalists were the praying kind, they would say the Arkansas leak was an answer to their prayers.  They think it ends the debate over the Keystone pipeline.

The Editor says...
Sometimes pipes leak, but railroad cars leak more often.  The ocean floor leaks oil continuously.

Peak Oil Cult Is Proved Spectacularly Wrong.  In December, U.S. oil exports hit a record of 3.6 million barrels per day, thanks in part to soaring domestic petroleum production.  Last year, domestic natural gas production averaged 69 billion cubic feet per day, a record, and a 33% increase over the levels achieved back in 2005.  That year, Lee Raymond, the famously combative former CEO of ExxonMobil, declared that "gas production has peaked in North America."

How Fossil Fuels Saved Humanity from Nature and Nature from Humanity.  Nothing can be made, transported, or used without energy, and fossil fuels provide 80 percent of mankind's energy and 60 percent of its food and clothing.  Thus, absent fossil fuels, global cropland would have to increase by 150 percent to meet current food demand, but conversion of habitat to cropland is already the greatest threat to biodiversity.  By lowering humanity's reliance on living nature, fossil fuels not only saved humanity from nature's whims, but nature from humanity's demands.

Five Characters in Search of a Reason for New Orleans's Smoking Ban.  [Scroll down]  A recent study, for example, detailed in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, followed 76,000 women and ultimately showed "no statistically significant relationship between lung cancer and exposure to passive smoke."  That's a pretty unambiguous and confident conclusion.  But old lies die hard, and never harder than old lies that the government has been fully invested in perpetuating and disseminating for decades.  The Centers for Disease Control, a government agency, still reports that nearly 3,400 people die each year from lung cancer due to secondhand smoke exposure. [...] This is all about coerced behavior change and conformity to a government-approved lifestyle which is to be decided upon by our betters.

Two stories in one: No link found between secondhand smoke and lung cancer; and no one seems to care.  Although numerous studies seeking to find strong (or any) evidence of a link between SHS (secondhand smoke, or "passive smoking") and lung cancer have failed to find such, the popular wisdom (shared by most scientists) is that SHS is indeed a cause of lung cancer.  One reason for this widespread mythology is the failure of news media — both general and scientific — to take note of these studies.

Passive smoking — another of the Nanny State's big lies.  Between 1959 and 1989 two American researchers named James Enstrom and Geoffrey Kabat surveyed no few than 118,094 Californians.  Fierce anti-smoking campaigners themselves, they began the research because they wanted to prove once and for all what a pernicious, socially damaging habit smoking was. [...] Much to their surprise, Kabat and Enstrom discovered that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ie passive smoking), no matter how intense or prolonged, creates no significantly increased risk of heart disease or lung cancer.

A look at the evidence behind outdoor smoking bans.  Prohibition on smoking in parks and on beaches has three justifications, according to two Columbia University researchers, Ronald Bayer and Kathleen Bachynski.  Those are:  risk of secondhand smoke, pollution caused by cigarette butts and the risky role models smokers are to children.  "Our analysis of the evidence for these claims found it far from definitive and in some cases weak," the researchers wrote.  What they conclude is that what's behind the bans is an effort to "denormalize" smoking as part of an overall public health campaign.

Why Are Farmers Defying Bans to Cultivate GM Crops?  Conditions for food crops around the world are the best in all of human history.  Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and warmer temperatures have greened the earth since the end of the Little Ice Age in the 17th century.  GM crop varieties are proven to be disease resistant, drought tolerant, and high yielding.  This means more efficient farming and more food, at lower prices, for the world.  GM crops also protect poor farmers against crop loss or excessive financial expenditure in purchasing pesticides and insecticides.  However, accessing these crop varieties is very difficult for farmers, as countries are still very slow in allowing their commercial cultivation.  Today the world produces more food crops than ever before.  But we must not get complacent.  Utilizing scientifically advanced GM food crop varieties will ensure global food security in the coming decades, helping us maximize the advantage of existing global climatic conditions — but only if governments permit them.

The plot against fracking:  How cheap energy was killed by Green lies and Russian propaganda.  [Scroll down]  But these days the anti-innovation forces have deep pockets and few scruples and have won some big battles.  We now know that the opposition to genetically modified crops in Europe has resulted in more pesticide use than would otherwise have been the case, yet that opposition was very profitable for the big green pressure groups.  They fanned the flames of opposition, coining terms such as "Frankenfood", and nimbly hopped from one fear to the next as each myth was busted: biotechnology was going to poison people, damage ecosystems, cause allergies, impoverish small farmers, boost corporate profits, and so on.  They turned Monsanto into a pantomime villain and forced it to contemplate a strategy (making plants that could not breed true so the plants could not spread in the wild) that activists then criticised as a "terminator technology" designed to prevent small farmers saving seed, thus forcing them to rely on Monsanto.  Eventually, the issue lost its ability to yield donations and media interest, so the green business blob moved on.

Opposing viewpoint:
GM corn set to stop man spreading his seed.  Scientists have created the ultimate GM crop: contraceptive corn.  Waiving fields of maize may one day save the world from overpopulation.  The pregnancy prevention plants are the handiwork of the San Diego biotechnology company Epicyte, where researchers have discovered a rare class of human antibodies that attack sperm.  By isolating the genes that regulate the manufacture of these antibodies, and by putting them in corn plants, the company has created tiny horticultural factories that make contraceptives.  'We have a hothouse filled with corn plants that make anti-sperm antibodies,' said Epicyte president Mitch Hein.

Patrick Moore and the Agenda of Fear.  Politically motivated climate alarmists are using fear to gain control of human behavior and environmental resources and undermine free, prosperous societies. [...] [Dr. Patrick] Moore calls the brouhaha over genetically modified food the most serious environmental hoax.  Genetic modification has contributed immensely to agricultural productivity, and there's not a single verified case of harm caused by it.  Besides, gene flow between species is not unnatural; it is the stuff of evolution, producing hardy, competitive, and viable species.  He reports that almost every major scientific, medical, and nutritional organization says genetically modified food is as safe as, or safer than, conventional food.

Financing Poverty, Malnutrition and Death — Part 2.  It's easy to farm organically in the wealthy EU and USA, where consumers can afford to demand much more expensive organic meats, eggs, fruits and vegetables.  It's much harder if you have to deal with the insects and crop diseases that plague African farmers on constant massive levels and locusts that bring true catastrophes every few decades — and then sell your meager crop yields to impoverished families.  That modern pesticides might save billions of dollars of crops every year and stop locusts before they can swarm by the tens of billions — or that bioengineered crops might feed more people, from less land, with less water, with greater resistance to insects, with less need for chemical pesticides (natural or manmade) — never seems to occur, or matter, to those who demand nothing but organic for Africa.

Are you anti-GMO? Then you're anti-science, too.  In keeping with our era of ideological boycotts, I will no longer be purchasing Kind bars.  Or Barilla pasta.  Or Triscuit crackers.  Or Del Monte diced tomatoes.  Or Nutro dog food.  A one-person boycott, of course, is really just a change in your shopping list.  But the companies that produce these brands are guilty of crimes against rationality.  All advertise on their packaging, in one way or another, that they don't contain GMOs — genetically modified organisms.  Walking down the aisle of my supermarket, I could have picked many other examples.  Some food companies seem to be saying that GMO ingredients are not even fit for your dog.  My boycott is rooted in the fact that there is no reputable scientific evidence that direct genetic modification — instead of slower genetic modification through selective breeding — has any health effects of any kind.  None.

The Parade of Impending Catastrophes.  Genetic modification of plants, often considered an impending catastrophe for various exaggerated reasons, has produced wonderful products — for example, herbicide-resistant corn that enables no-till planting.  Rather than plowing under last year's corn crop to prevent weeds, the new crop is simply planted through the refuse from last year's crop, and any weeds that emerge with the corn are killed with an herbicide, to which the corn plant is resistant.  This saves a vast amount energy and prevents topsoil erosion from plowing.  The resulting corn is perfectly good.  Almost every Midwest farmer is now doing no-till corn.  But genetically modified corn is subjected to hysterical attacks.

Genetically optimized corn is more nutritious, could revolutionize agriculture.  Scientists at Rutgers University in New Jersey and Chinas Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences have come up with a way to improve the nutritional value of corn using smart gene-editing technology.  By adding a single E. coli gene, the corn grows with an essential amino acid that is otherwise available in meat only.  The resulting foodstuff could help transform nutrition for people in developing countries, and dramatically reduce worldwide animal feed costs.  The amino acid, methionine, is crucial for things like growth and tissue repair, while the sulfur found in methionine also protects cells from pollutants and slows the cells aging process.  Because of its importance, a synthetic form of methionine is therefore added to field corn seed in a highly expensive process.

The Unholy Alliance Between Big Biz And Big Alarmism.  Cargill, one of America's biggest food and agriculture companies, recently announced its partnership with the Non GMO Project, an organization focused on misinforming consumers about GMO safety, and, as the organization's name implies, ridding the American marketplace of GMOs. [...] Cargill claims this move comes in response to their customers demanding GMO-free products.  If this is true, Cargill is smart to provide products and services that please their customers.  Yet, Cargill could have provided this verification independently and without aligning with a radical anti-GMO activist organization that tries to stoke public fear about GMOs.

Purdue Researchers Find GMO Ban Would Result in Higher Food Prices and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.  Using economic modelling to assess the global economic and greenhouse gas emissions impacts of banning genetically modified (GMO) crops, a recent study in the Journal of Environmental Protection finds banning GMO foods would result in higher food prices around the world than would otherwise be experienced if GMO crop use was continued or expanded.  The research, from scientists at Purdue University found food prices would be between 0.27 percent and 2.2 percent higher, depending on the region, absent the use of GMO crops.  According to the study, higher food prices from a GMO ban would result in a total welfare loss conservatively calculated $9.75 billion.

The Death Cult of Environmentalism.  As The Washington Post reports, 107 Nobel laureates have signed a letter blasting Greenpeace for opposing the deployment of a GMO rice which would help fix a dreaded condition, vitamin A deficiency.

Look Who's 'Anti-Science' Now.  It takes a lot of gall to accuse people of being anti-science dunderheads while ignoring science yourself.  Yet that's precisely what Greenpeace is doing when it comes to the safety of "genetically modified" foods.

Scientists Developing Climate-Adapted GMO Rice.  A team of scientists from eight countries at the International Rice Research Institute in Los Banos, Philippines is genetically modifying certain strains of rice to reduce the amount of water required to grow the rice.  Rice is a staple food crop in many countries around the world.  Rice crop failures have led to malnutrition, disease, and death for millions of people over the past 10,000 years.  Rice plants grow through a chemical process known as C3 photosynthesis, which wastes a great deal of water and reduces plant's food-making efficiency.  It also makes C3 plants vulnerable to the extremely warm weather often experienced in many rice-growing regions of the world.

Tiny Vermont brings food industry to its knees on GMO labels.  General Mills' announcement on Friday [3/18/2016] that it will start labeling products that contain genetically modified ingredients to comply with a Vermont law shows food companies might be throwing in the towel, even as they hold out hope Congress will find a national solution.

The War on GMOs: Coming Soon to a Kitchen Near You?  Leave it to Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders' home state of Vermont to demonstrate another case of government ineptitude.  Beginning July 1, the state will "require labels on all genetically modified foods produced or sold within the state," notes a Wall Street Journal editorial.  And for what?  Despite there being thousands of positive studies on GMOs, "consumers who see a 'No GMO' label near a 'No TransFat' mark might think there is reason to avoid GMOs, though no evidence supports that conclusion," adds the Journal. [...] Like every regulation, the cost is actually passed down to consumers.  Companies may decide to ditch GMOs completely, which means resorting to pricier ingredients.  That in turn results in higher costs at the grocery store.

Anti-Golden Rice Activists Want To 'Save The Whales' But Let Children Go Blind.  Ordinary rice — which itself has been extensively genetically modified over centuries — produces β-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the leaves but not in the grains, where the biosynthetic pathway is turned off during plant development.  In "Golden Rice" (GR) — called that because of its golden color — two genes (one from corn, the other from a bacterium) have been inserted into the rice genome by precise molecular techniques of genetic engineering.  That modification enables the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway to produce and accumulate β-carotene in the rice grains.

The Beginning of the End of Anti-GMO Hysteria?  The GMO-labeling movement — the latest cause célèbre of liberal elites — was dealt a major blow last week when Congress passed HR 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act. [...] Forty-five Democrats voted in favor of the bill — including Marcia Fudge, Sheila Jackson Lee, and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus — over concerns that labeling would mean higher costs to their constituents.  The bill now needs a Democratic co-sponsor in the Senate.

The Anti-Science Left.  Many on the left — including a few of my fellow libertarians — are paranoid about genetically modified organisms.  These are crops that have DNA altered to make them grow faster or be more pest-resistant.  The left calls that "playing with nature" and worries that eating GMO food will cause infertility, premature aging and a host of other problems.  The fear makes little scientific sense.  There is no reason to think that precise changes in a plant's genes are more dangerous than, say, the cross-breeding of corn done by American Indians centuries ago or a new type of tomato arising in someone's organic garden.  Nature makes wilder and more unpredictable changes in plant DNA all the time.  Yet the left's fear of GMOs led activists to destroy fields of experimental crops in Europe and, most tragically, bans on GMO foods that might help prevent hunger and malnutrition in African and Asian nations.

How Neil Young, Greenpeace work to starve the world's poor.  Today, 6,000 children will die from Vitamin A deficiency.  Each year, 500,000 people, mostly children, lose their sight; half of them will die within a year of becoming blind.  Altogether, over 2 million people every year are victims of Vitamin A deficiency.  Many of those lives could be saved if Golden Rice were in their diets.  But the ongoing opposition of anti-GMO activist groups and their lavish scare campaign with its combined global war chest estimated to exceed $500 million a year have kept Golden Rice off the global market.  Deploying highly sophisticated PR and un-scientific scaremongering, Greenpeace has led that opposition.  But it hasn't acted alone.

Chipotle to Stop Serving Genetically Altered Food.  In a first for a major restaurant chain, Chipotle Mexican Grill on Monday [4/27/2015] will begin preparing only food that is free of genetically engineered ingredients.  "This is another step toward the visions we have of changing the way people think about and eat fast food," said Steve Ells, founder and co-chief executive of Chipotle.

Five Ways Liberals Ignore Science.  Undermining the future of genetically modified crops — a process, that in one form or another, humans have been engaged in for around 10,000 years — probably hurts society (the poor, in particular) more than any global warming denial ever could.  Across the world, almost every respected scientific organization that's taken a look at independent studies has found that GMOs are just as safe as any other food.  There is no discernable health difference between conventional or organic food.  There is a difference, though, in productivity, in environment impact and the in ability of the world's poor to enjoy healthier, high-caloric diets for a lot less money.

U.S. approves first genetically modified potato for commercial planting.  The Agriculture Department on Friday [11/7/2014] approved the first genetically modified potato for commercial planting in the United States, a move likely to draw the ire of groups opposed to artificial manipulation of foods.  The Innate potato, developed by the J.R. Simplot Co., is engineered to contain less of a suspected human carcinogen that occurs when a conventional potato is fried, and is also less prone to bruising during transport.  Boise, Idaho-based Simplot is a major supplier of frozen french fries to fast-food giant McDonald's.

Death Threats From Anti-GMO Nuts.  A new "Monsanto Collaborators" website created by millionaire organic activist Mike "the Health Ranger" Adams charges that hundreds of thousands of deaths have been caused by GMO crops, and that people who support genetically-modified organisms, like myself, Fox News's John Stossel and the former ABC Newsman Jon Entine, are guilty of mass genocide, and hence deserving of a punishment that befits our crime.  "Every 30 minutes, a farmer commits suicide due to GMO crop failures," Adams claims, blissfully unaware, apparently, that stories of mass suicide by farmers in India, perpetuated by another millionaire organic activist, Vandana Shiva, have been thoroughly debunked.  The suicide rate among Indian farmers began to increase years before GMO crops were introduced, and the rate of farmer suicides has remained constant since GMOs were introduced even as adoption of GMO crops across the Indian subcontinent has steadily increased.  Pesticide usage has decreased 40 percent, while yields and profits have increased.

Anti-GMO Activists Are Pro-Death Activists.  India's intelligence agency is targeting anti-GMO activists as a threat to the economy.  But officials in America remain willing to hold "dialogue" with the enemies of progress, hoping to arrive at a "consensus." [...] [H]aving never experienced mass starvation as Indian policy makers have, American policy makers are rushing to negotiate with the same food terrorists who banned DDT in 1972, the only effective means of controlling mosquitoes that spread malaria, a regulatory coup that resulted in more deaths than both world wars.

We Need G.M.O. Wheat.  Three crops — corn, soybeans and wheat — account for a vast majority of the value of America's agricultural crop output.  But wheat is different in one important respect.  While more than 90 percent of the nation's corn and soybean acres are now planted with seeds genetically engineered to resist insects, herbicides or both, there is not a single acre of genetically engineered wheat being grown commercially in the United States.

Study Linking Genetically Modified Corn to Rat Tumors Is Retracted.  Bowing to scientists' near-universal scorn, the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology today [11/29/2013] fulfilled its threat to retract a controversial paper claiming that a genetically modified (GM) maize causes serious disease in rats, after the authors refused to withdraw it.

Does Environmentalism Cause Amnesia?.  [Scroll down]  What does hurt people is bad public policy.  Exhibit A is the U.S. ethanol mandate — justified in part as a response to global warming — which diverted the corn crop to fuel production and sent global food prices soaring in 2008.  Exhibit B is the cult of organic farming and knee-jerk opposition to [genetically modified crops], which risk depriving farmers in poor countries of high-yield, nutrient-rich crops.  Exhibit C was the effort to ban DDT without adequate substitutes to stop the spread of malaria, which kills nearly 900,000 people, mostly children, in sub-Saharan Africa alone with each passing year.  The list goes on and on.

The Irrational Fear of GM Food.  Farmers can now produce more crops in an environmentally sustainable way at a lower cost thanks to the efforts of hundreds of scientists over the past half-century.  Seeds are developed in a laboratory and then field tested to enhance nutritional value or resistance to drought, disease and herbicides.  Genetically modified crops are now planted on nearly a quarter of the world's farm land by some 17.3 million farmers.  More than 90% of those farmers are smallholders who harvest a few acres in developing countries.

In Search of Frankencorn in Hawaii.  Hawaii is the epicenter of a ferocious anti-biotech campaign that aims to shut down such biotech seed production farms.  I was there to see for myself the Frankencorn that haunts the activists' choleric imaginations.  Anti-biotech signs and literature are festooned across the Hawaiian Islands.  The Crystals and Gems Gallery in Hanalei, for example, displayed several protest posters and offered fliers urging a ban on biotech crops.

Existing cropland could feed four billion more.  The world's croplands could feed 4 billion more people than they do now just by shifting from producing animal feed and biofuels to producing exclusively food for human consumption, according to new research from the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota.  Even a smaller, partial shift from crop-intensive livestock such as feedlot beef to food animals such as chicken or pork could increase agricultural efficiency and provide food for millions, the study says.

Top French court lifts ban on growing Monsanto GM corn.  In the second legal setback to French restrictions on MON810 corn in five years, the Council of State court said a moratorium imposed on the product since March 2012 failed to uphold European Union law.  Under EU rules, such a ban "can only be taken by a member state in case of an emergency or if a situation poses a major risk" to people, animals or the environment, it said.

Golden rice: Anti-GMO extremists refuse to let you decide.  What if one of the biggest problems in the developing world was a lack of vitamin A?  And what if you could engineer a crop that was a staple in most of that world that would provide sufficient vitamin A to prevent certain diseases, conditions and death: [...] You'd be a hero right?  You'd be hailed as someone who has vastly improved the lives and chances for millions.  Unless you ask Greenpeace.

The inconvenient truth about GM.  [Scroll down]  Early indications are that this could increase wheat yields by a dramatic 30 per cent.  The National Farmers' Union president, Peter Kendall, describes the potential as "just enormous".  And it is indeed the sort of breakthrough we desperately need, since — in little more than 35 years — the world will have to increase food production by a challenging 70 per cent if it is to feed its growing population.

Creation of new 'superwheat' grain hailed as biggest advance in farming in a generation.  A 'superwheat' created by British scientists could increase crop yields by up to a third.  In one of the biggest potential advances for farming in a generation, researchers have cross-bred modern wheat seed with ancient wild grass species to produce a more resilient, productive crop.  Researchers at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) said the new 'superwheat' could be combined with current varieties to boost drought tolerance, disease resistance, as well as their yield.

Benefits of Bt corn go beyond rootworm resistance.  Engineered to produce the bacterial toxin, Bt, "Bt corn" resists attack by corn rootworm, a pest that feeds on roots and can cause annual losses of up to $1 billion.  But besides merely protecting against these losses, the Bt trait has also boosted corn yields, in some cases beyond normal expectations.

A Golden Rice Opportunity.  Finally, after 12 years of delay caused by opponents of genetically modified (GM) foods, so-called "golden rice" with vitamin A will be grown in the Philippines.  Over those 12 years, about eight million children worldwide died from vitamin A deficiency.  Are anti-GM advocates not partly responsible?

Environmentalism and Human Sacrifice.  "Golden rice" contains vitamin A, making it by far the most effective and cheapest way to get vitamin A into Third World children.  So who would oppose something that could save millions of children's lives and millions of other children from blindness?  The answer is people who are more devoted to nature than to human life.  And who might such people be?  They are called environmentalists.

The Deadly Opposition to Genetically Modified Food.  Finally, after a 12-year delay caused by opponents of genetically modified foods, so-called "golden rice" with vitamin A will be grown in the Philippines.  Over those 12 years, about 8 million children worldwide died from vitamin A deficiency.  Are anti-GM advocates not partly responsible?

The Media Is Obsessed With Bad News.  GM means "genetically modified," which means scientists add genes, altering the plant's DNA, in this case to make the crop resistant to pests.  Last week, Poland joined seven other European countries in banning cultivation of GM foods.  The politicians acted because headlines screamed about how GM foods caused huge tumors in rats. [...] What the headlines don't tell you, though, is that the female Sprague-Dawley rats used in the test usually develop tumors — 87 to 96 percent of the time.

An environmentalist's confession — I was wrong about genetically modified crops.  For the record, here and upfront, I apologize for having spent several years ripping up [genetically modified] GM crops.  I am also sorry that I helped to start the anti-GM movement back in the mid 1990s, and that I thereby assisted in demonizing an important technological option which can be used to benefit the environment.  As an environmentalist, and someone who believes that everyone in this world has a right to a healthy and nutritious diet of their choosing, I could not have chosen a more counter-productive path.  I now regret it completely.

Save the Whales, Forget the Children.  Greenpeace's war on Golden Rice ignores science in the name of misguided activism.

EPA and sound science validate biotech corn benefits.  Sound science has debunked yet another purported biotech scare, as the EPA on October 16 [2001] declared biotech corn perfectly safe for monarch butterfly consumption.  A 1999 study reported in the journal Nature claimed a high death rate among monarch caterpillar larvae fed milkweed leaves dusted with high doses of pollen from genetically modified corn.  The story was quickly trumpeted by the anti-technology lobby and the mainstream media as a stark warning against animal and human consumption of "Frankenfoods."

The Editor asks...
If your family is hungry, do you care about caterpillars?  When some leftist, tree-hugging, earth-worshipping hippie tells you that biotech corn endangers butterflies, the correct response is, "So what?"  There is no shortage of butterflies!

Spud growers face a decision.  Willing or not, U.S. potato growers are about to be joining corn, cotton, soybean and dairy producers in the biotech fray.  They have thus far avoided the fight only because they have refused to use the pest-resistant and high-starch GM varieties that have been available since 1999.  Processors, unwilling to subject their fast food customers to the "frankenfood" fruitcakes, refused to buy them.

New technology fights old pests, feeds more people.  When I started farming 30 years ago, I never dreamed of how technological progress would revolutionize agriculture.  We still can't control the weather.  Yet recent innovations in biotechnology have improved agriculture beyond anything I ever thought was possible.  We may even be on the verge of making another eternal scourge of farmers permanently obsolete.  I'm talking about pests.

GM Corn Protest Based on Bio-Fraud:  Environmental and consumer groups staged protests and held news conferences across the country in April [2002] to call attention to their claim, as one news release put it, that "the genetic contamination of Mexican native corn varieties threatens not only the genetic integrity of corn, one of the world's most important basic crops, but the food security for millions in the Americas."  The statement is false …and even its author knew it was false at the time it was written.  It is an example of bio-fraud, an all-too-common tactic of radical environmental groups.

U.S. Blames "Green Groups" for Food Shortage.  Environmental groups and biotech companies are accusing each other of exploiting starvation in much of southern Africa for political gain as countries in the region try to determine whether it is safe to use genetically engineered crops to relieve famine.

As the world begins to starve it's time to take GM seriously.  [Scroll down] It is a point stressed by crop experts such as Professor Chris Pollack of the University of Wales.  'To stop widespread starvation, we will either have to plough up the planet's last wild places to grow more food or improve crop yields.  GM technology allows farmers to do the latter — without digging up rainforests.  It is therefore perverse to rule out that technology for no good reason.  Yet it still seems some people are willing to do so.

German universities bow to public pressure over GM crops.  Scientists have decried the decision by two German universities to pull the plug on field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops, calling it a "disgraceful" interference with scientists' freedom to research.

GM crops needed in Britain, says minister.  Ministers are preparing to open the way for genetically modified crops to be grown in Britain on the grounds they could help combat the global food crisis.  Ministers have told The Independent that rocketing food prices and food shortages in the world's poorest countries mean the time is right to relax Britain's policy on use of GM crops.

GM crops:  not against nature.  The Prince of Wales is a man of social conscience who acts with complete propriety in intervening in public debate.  And his concern for the environment is scrupulously politically disinterested.  Unfortunately, his apocalyptic predictions of the effect of genetically modified crops do not enhance public debate, but degrade it.  He maintains that GM crops augur environmental catastrophe.

Green activists 'are keeping Africa poor'.  Western do-gooders are impoverishing Africa by promoting traditional farming at the expense of modern scientific agriculture, according to Britain's former chief scientist.  Anti-science attitudes among aid agencies, poverty campaigners and green activists are denying the continent access to technology that could improve millions of lives, Professor Sir David King will say today.

GM Grapes Raise Hopes for Midwest Wine Industry.  One of the most effective, widely used herbicides in the United States — known as 2, 4-D — has a serious drawback:  It devastates grapes.  That makes it very difficult to raise grapes in the Midwest, because 2, 4-D is widely used on popular staple food crops including corn and wheat, and it can harm grapes up to two miles away from its point of application.  Scientists, however, report a minor genetic modification of Midwestern grapes can make them resistant to 2, 4-D.

Germany to ban US biotech giant's genetically modified corn strain.  Germany has decided to ban genetically modified corn, Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner announced Tuesday [4/14/2009], amid concerns over its environmental and economical impact.

Biotech could save world wheat crops.  Norman Borlaug is the most decorated civilian in history — largely because he was able to cross-breed a super-wheat that fended off the stem rust fungus, which had historically stolen one-fourth of the world's wheat crops. ... Borlaug's wheat breeding success made him "the Father of the Green Revolution."  He and his fellow high-yield farming scientists saved 1 billion people from famine in the 1970s.

A Real Humanitarian.  Though [Norman] Borlaug has passed away, his Green Revolution needn't die.  Aggressive advancements in the research and use of genetically modified foods, which he supported, would carry on the good work he has done.  That would actually be the most fitting tribute to a man whose life was far more important than the legion of lesser lights who garnered much more attention.

Greens:  Apologize to High-Yield Farmers!  Studies show that modern farming techniques — reviled by environmentalists — not only saved billions from starvation, but are tremendously more eco-friendly than "organic" farming practices.

Somewhat related...
Congress bans FDA from approving genetically modified fish.  Genetically modified salmon will not go on sale in the U.S.  The House of Congress has voted to ban the Food and Drug Administration from passing the fish fit for human consumption.  The FDA had said last year that they thought the fish, which grows twice as fast as normal salmon, appeared to be safe.


Urban sprawl, landfill space, overpopulation, and finite natural resources:

The World's — and the Pacific Rim's — Disastrous Population Implosion.  Will the world be better off with fewer people?  For years that has been a hypothetical question posed to suggest an affirmative answer.  Fewer people, it was claimed, would mean less depredation of natural resources, less urban overcrowding, more room for other species to stretch their (actual or metaphorical) legs.  Mankind was a parasite, a blight, and overpopulation a disease.  Fewer people would mean a better Earth.  Not everyone has agreed.  More people, argued the late economist Julian Simon, means more inventors, more innovators, more creators.  Benjamin Franklin was the 15th of his father's 17 children.  Would America, and the world, have been better off if his father had stopped at 14?  More people also means more consumers and taxpayers.  More consumers to pay for the goods and services of private-sector workers.  More taxpayers to pay for, among other things, benefits for the elderly and infirm.  Whatever you think, whether the world be better off with fewer people is no longer a hypothetical or rhetorical question.

The Population Explosion Disaster That Never Happened.  The book The Population Bomb was published in 1968 by Stanford University's Paul and Anne Ehrlich.  They wrote that hundreds of millions of people would soon die because of hunger in the next decade and there was nothing we could do about it.  There were just too many people.  The first Earth Day was held in April 1970 in honor of the earth.  We were told we were ruining the earth.  We were overpopulated.  And we were going to die.  Back then they told us that we were causing a new ice age.  Of course, all of the inflammatory predictions of the Ehrlichs' bestselling book did not come to pass.  Just like "peak oil" never came to pass.  Just like all the current predictions are not panning out and must regularly be changed to keep people fixated on the issue.  The problem with the people who make such predictions is that they worship the earth and want to keep it for themselves and don't want to share it with others.  They really want to reduce or eliminate people.  They do not care about people or science.  Most concerned people have been fooled into these peoples' agenda.  The current crop of depopulationists hide under the cloak of "climate change."  Such people as Bill Gates, Senator John Kerry, Greta Thunberg, and Klaus Schwab tell us to be terrified of "climate change."

Study: World Population Close to Peak and Steep Decline — No 'Population Bomb' on the Horizon.  A study commissioned by the Club of Rome and published on Monday [3/27/2023] found that the world population is approaching its peak and will begin declining swiftly after the middle of the 21st Century, averting the "population bomb" scenario in which longer lifespans, more abundant food, and better medical treatments cause the human race to overwhelm the capacity of the Earth to sustain it.  The "population bomb" thesis derives its name from the sensationalistic, and later thoroughly discredited, 1968 book by Stanford University entomologist Paul Ehrlich.  Ehrlich's fanciful book touched off a worldwide overpopulation panic, presenting grim scenarios of imminent mass starvation and resource shortages that did not come to pass.  He was also a pioneer of the junk science movement, which used flimsy research and sensationalistic hypotheses to stampede public policy changes.

Limits to Growth Revisited.  [Scroll down]  To make it worse, a book published a few years earlier, The Population Bomb, a NYT best-seller by Paul Ehrlich, really sealed our doom.  According to Ehrlich, the planet was already past its "carrying capacity" which in 1970 was 3.5 billion.  If we had any hope of surviving, we needed strict, draconian global government coercion to reverse the population explosion.  Governments had to seize control of the means of reproduction.  How?  To impose mandatory birth control, encourage abortion as good for the planet, convince people to be sterilized and make it anathema to have more than one child.  Countries such as overpopulated India would have to be "cut off," and left to starve.  Population had to be cut from billions to just 500 million if we were to survive.  There were hints as well, that a nice global pandemic just might be the answer.  And one other thing:  Ehrlich clearly saw that the oceans would be dead from overfishing and pollution by the 1980s.

Here's Why Climate Alarmists Are Ignoring All-Time Record Crop Production in India.  All-time record crop production in India belies the doomsday narrative of climate alarmists.  To no great surprise, the U.N. and media ignore the remarkable achievement of this country of 1.4 billion people because it contradicts a political agenda pursued with religious fervor.  Even as the world's largest democracy enhances global food security, the media spread news of the U.N.'s "code red" for humanity over August's specious report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that rising temperatures threaten the earth.  In fact, India's record food production contradicts claims about adverse climatic effects on crops. [...] Also important to note is that this remarkable success in food production would not have been possible without an environment favorable to crops.  What the media call a curse — increased levels of carbon dioxide and greater warmth — has been a blessing to farmers and consumers.  Yields of food crops — in India and worldwide — have benefited from the fertilization effect of carbon dioxide and the longer growing seasons resulting from natural increases in temperature.  Overall, agriculture certainly has not been hurt by weather; otherwise, such record harvests likely would have been impossible.

30 of The Biggest Lies & Hoaxes Perpetrated on The American People.  [#9] The Overpopulation Myth:  This is perhaps one of the most appalling hoaxes they've leveraged.  They've had countless "population control" organization setup for decades, to monitor and control populations.  Thousands of couples heeded their advice and opted not to have children based on their purported concerns.  The reality is, the world has been in a population growth decline for a long time and the US is at an 80-year low.  The lies these people have perpetrated, and the lengths they've gone to control the population through abortions, war, manufactured diseases, GMOs, geoengineering, and quite possibly via vaccines, is reprehensible.

Why Has the Overpopulation Myth Remained So Persistent When It's So Easily Disproven?  [Thomas] Malthus could never have imagined the "dizzying capacity for innovation" that human beings have shown in modern times, as Art Caden observes at Forbes.  There were fewer than a billion people on the planet in 1800.  The Earth is now nearing 8 billion people, and that population is far better fed today than they were in 1800.  That population growth, the likes of which Malthus would have believed unimaginable, has been met, and even exceeded, by food production — to the extent that our government now subsidizes American farmers, to the tune of billions each year, in order to incentivize them to not grow excess food on their lands.  These efforts exist as a measure to keep prices at "profitable" levels for farmers, in our government's vainglorious efforts to fix prices in a free market.  But government price-fixing aside, shouldn't it be easy to conclude that any assertion that an increasing population invariably leads to famine is extremely illogical, or at the very least, quite simply an incorrect hypothesis?

The Rise of the New Left Urbanists.  In recent years, a new faction has emerged in city politics: what one might call the new Left urbanists.  These activists believe that local governments must rebuild the urban environment — housing, transit, roads, and tolls — to produce a new era of city flourishing, characterized by social and racial justice and a net-zero carbon footprint.  The urbanists rally around provocative slogans like "ban all cars," "raze the suburbs," and "single-family housing is white supremacy" — ironically, since they're generally white, affluent, and educated themselves.  They're often employed in public or semipublic roles in urban planning, housing development, and social advocacy.  They treat public housing, mass transit, and bicycle lanes as a kind of holy trinity — and they want to impose their religion on you.

This unfinished Arizona 'futuristic hippie commune' has a problem.  In the middle of Arizona's desert lies something unexpected:  a rather strange, unfinished "city of the future." [...] A nonprofit group called the Cosanti Foundation has been working for decades to create a city that would inspire the future of urban design by incorporating a range of environmentally-friendly features to reduce sprawl and minimize the need for cars while harnessing solar power and natural vegetation to energy reduce costs. [...] Construction began in 1970, but a new building has not been completed since 1989, Vice reports.

Overpopulation is nonsense.  [Scroll down]  I decided to give them one last shot.  I wrote, "I had this discussion in high school in 1972 and I argued that population will take care of itself.  It has.  Birth rates are down from 5 in 1950 to 2.5 in 2015.  "The death rate has fallen faster which make it appear as if we are having too many babies.  Babies are an increasingly smaller share of the population.  "The idea that we are crowding out other animals is not true.  The polar bear population has quintupled since the 1950s.  Gray whales number about 21,000, an estimate that matches pre-whaling days.  Man is a pretty good steward of the planet.  In fact, oil saved the whale!  Rockefeller sold kerosene cheaper than whale oil.  "In my state, the bear population was 500 in 1979.  It now tops 10,000.  Deer top a million.  Elsewhere, wild turkeys roam the streets of suburban New Jersey.

Climate Change Alarmism Is The World's Leading Cause Of Hot Gas.  Sorry, but by now, this rhetoric is familiar.  You can go back to 1970, when Harvard biologist George Wald, riding a wave of popular environmental panic during the decade, estimated that "civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind."  Or you can go back to 1977, when President Barack Obama's future science "tsar" John Holdren co-authored a book with Paul R. Ehrlich predicting that global warming could lead to the deaths of 1 billion starving people by 2020.  (The authors theorized that "population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution.")

Resources Are Almost 5 Times as Abundant as They Were in 1980.  Humanity is enjoying a world of increasingly cheap and ever more abundant mineral, argicultural, forestry and energy resources reports a brilliant new study, the Simon Abundance Index.  This analysis by Marian Tupy, editor of Human Progress at the Cato Institute, and Professor Gale Pooley from Brigham Young University — Hawaii uses data on 50 different commodities to track their price trajectories over the past 37 years from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.  They find in real price terms their basket of commodities decreased by an average of 36.3 percent between 1980 and 2017.  That's great, but their breakthrough insight is that, since 1980, global real hourly income rate per capita has grown by more than 80 percent, which means that the commodities that took 60 minutes of work to buy in 1980 now take only 21 minutes of labor to buy in 2017.  As a result, the "time-price" of their basket of commodities has fallen by 64.7 percent.

Debunking the overpopulation alarmists.  Population Bombed:  Exploding the link Between Overpopulation and Climate Change, [is] an extensively researched, well-written and concise new book published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation.  The book comes out exactly 50 years after Paul R. Ehrlich published The Population Bomb, in which the Stanford University biology professor famously claimed that population growth would result in resource depletion and the starvation of hundreds of millions of people.  The authors of Population Bombed, Pierre Desrochers, who is an associate professor of geography at the University of Toronto, and Joanna Szurmak, who is a doctoral candidate in the graduate program in Science and Technology Studies at York University, Toronto, take stock of past scholarship on "depletionism" and provide a cheerful rejoinder to the doomsayers.

Whatever Happened to the "Population Bomb"?  That's the question the New York Times asks in its latest "Retro Report," a series that looks back and updates prominent stories from the past.  "The Unrealized Horrors of Population Explosion" is fairly devastating to the leading figure of that famous apocalypse, Paul Ehrlich, author of the monster best-selling book The Population Bomb. [...] Fun footnote to this:  At the urging of the Rockefeller clan, Nixon established a special commission on population growth, with an eye to proposing a population control policy for the U.S.  But at one early meeting, someone made the obvious point that any policy that targeted the birthrate would disproportionately affect blacks and other minorities who had the highest birthrates in the U.S.  The commission was never heard from again.

The Unrealized Horrors of Population Explosion.  The second half of the 1960s was a boom time for nightmarish visions of what lay ahead for humankind.  In 1966, for example, a writer named Harry Harrison came out with a science fiction novel titled "Make Room! Make Room!"  Sketching a dystopian world in which too many people scrambled for too few resources, the book became the basis for a 1973 film about a hellish future, "Soylent Green."  In 1969, the pop duo Zager and Evans reached the top of the charts with a number called "In the Year 2525," which postulated that humans were on a clear path to doom.

The World's Resources Aren't Running Out.  How many times have you heard that we humans are "using up" the world's resources, "running out" of oil, "reaching the limits" of the atmosphere's capacity to cope with pollution or "approaching the carrying capacity" of the land's ability to support a greater population?  The assumption behind all such statements is that there is a fixed amount of stuff — metals, oil, clean air, land — and that we risk exhausting it through our consumption. [...] But here's a peculiar feature of human history:  We burst through such limits again and again.  After all, as a Saudi oil minister once said, the Stone Age didn't end for lack of stone.

Does Environmentalism Cause Amnesia?.  [Scroll down]  In case you're wondering what happened with that battle to feed humanity, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization has some useful figures on its website.  In 1968, the year Mr. Ehrlich's book [The Population Bomb] first appeared, Asia produced 46,321,114 tons of maize and 439,579,934 of cereals.  By 2011, the respective figures had risen to 270,316,205, up 484%, and 1,289,633,254, up 193%.  It's the same story nearly everywhere else one looks.  In Africa, maize production was up 247% between 1968 and 2011, while production of so-called primary vegetables has risen 319%; in South America, it's 308% and 199%.  Meanwhile, the world's population rose to just under seven billion from about 3.7 billion, an increase of about 90%.  It is predicted to rise by another 33% by 2050.

EPA: Green Gone Wild.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to vastly expand its power.  Last year, the agency paid nearly $700,000 to the National Academy of Sciences to draft the document "Sustainability and the U.S. EPA."  This manifesto rationalizes why the EPA has the right to regulate every business, community and ecosystem in the country.  The key to the EPA's regulatory control is "sustainability," an illusive and ill-defined term even more broadly applicable than the interstate commerce clause.

National Heritage Sites and Agenda 21.  In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, how many single-family homes damaged by the storm surge will be rebuilt as high density dwellings?  This is after all, the Smart Growth trend across the country — destroy traditional homes in the suburbs because they are "unsustainable" and build high rises in inner cities.

Dorian Shoves the Amazon Fires off the Climate Alarmist Radar.  As is always the case with climate alarmist campaigns designed to frighten the public, the images used in the campaign's messaging are as fake as many of the messages.  When French President Emanuel Macron issued a tweet falsely claiming, "The Amazon rain forest — the lungs which produce 20% of our planet's oxygen — is on fire," the photo he used to accompany the false message was of a fire that occurred during the 1990s.  That 20% claim was echoed throughout the climate alarmist virtue-signaling community, with Usual Suspects like Leonardo DiCaprio, soccer star Christian Renaldo and many others cutting-and-pasting it. [...] As reported by Michael Shellenberger in Forbes, that 20% claim is utter nonsense.

The myth of ecocide.  It is hard to think of any other global event this year that has been as awash with misinformation as the rainforest fires.  We've been told these fires are a calamity, an act of 'ecocide'; they're proof of humanity's contempt for the environment; they will blacken and possibly even destroy 'the lungs of the world', as the rainforests are referred to, given they produce 20 percent of the world's oxygen.  It's all untrue.

The Facts You Need to Know About the Amazon Rainforest Fires.  [Scroll down]  This "lungs of the earth" moniker that the Amazon has received over the past several days and weeks is just flat out wrong.  Most biologists and environmentalists have said that they don't really know where this phrase came from.  Even the 20% number, say it produces 20% of the world's oxygen, is not correct because there's a lot of respiration that occurs in the Amazon rainforest — with the decay that comes from older trees decomposing and the wildlife, the bugs and the beetles and the animals, it's not just that they're producing oxygen, but they're producing the oxygen and taking in oxygen.  So, even if we were to completely eliminate the Amazon rainforest, which is not what I'm advocating for, that's certainly not what we should do, there's still plenty of oxygen on the planet.  That's not a crisis, nor will it ever be a crisis anytime soon.

Alarmists Fanned the Flames Of Amazon Fires Only to Get Burned.  The world was at a standstill last week when news broke out over fires engulfing the Amazon Rainforest in and around Brazil.  Guess who was first blamed for the blaze?  The newly-elected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro — who media have dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics." Is that any surprise?  It turns out, however, farmers were responsible for starting the fires.

Earth is greener today than it was 20 years ago thanks to 'human activity,' counterintuitive NASA study shows.  A new findings from NASA revealed that the planet has seen an overall increase in greening over the last 20 years, due mainly in part to "ambitious tree planting programs."  The research published on Feb. 11 found that the greening of earth over the course of the last two decades has shown an overall increase by 5 percent, equal to more than two million square miles of extra green leaf area per year compared to the early 2000s.

Turns Out Those Stats About Our Destroying the World's Forests [are] Totally Fake.  "After searching for evidence to support Tabart's claim, the closest source I could find is an article from GreenActionNews, which claims that 80 percent of the earth's forests have been destroyed," he explained.  "The problem with that claim is that according to the United Nations, there are 4 billion hectares of forest remaining worldwide.  To put that in perspective, the entire world has 14.8 billion hectares of land."  "For 80 percent of the forest area to have already been destroyed and for 4 billion hectares to remain, 135 percent of the planet's surface must have once been covered in forests," Hammond pointed out.

Earth's forests grew 9% in a new satellite survey.  Past estimates of how much of the world's drylands are covered in forests have run into lots of problems:  For instance, the satellite images used to measure them are often so low-resolution that it's hard to figure out the difference between a tree, a shadow, or even a patch of dirt.  To correct for that, an international team of researchers performed the first global study using a new set of ultra-high-resolution Google Earth images — in which each pixel represents a patch of ground less than a meter wide, as opposed to tens of meters.  Hundreds of scientists and students then combed through 210,000 images and found that the world's drylands host 40% more forests than thought, the team writes today [5/11/2017] in Science.  That's more than a 9% bump in total global forest coverage, or two-thirds the size of the Amazon.

Study counts 3 trillion trees on Earth, seven times more than thought.  More than 3 trillion trees now grow on Earth, seven times more than scientists previously thought.

World Has More Trees Than We Thought: Crank Those Chain Saws.  Researchers have found that Earth has trillions, not billions, of trees.  Good news, right?  Not for those in the scientific community who are always looking for a way to cast man and human activity as scourges of the planet.  As reported Tuesday [9/1/2015] in the Washington Post, "A team of 38 scientists finds that the planet is home to 3.04 trillion trees, blowing away the previously estimate of 400 billion.  That means, the researchers say, that there are 422 trees for every person on Earth."  That's a healthy ratio. [...] But rather than joy, there's defeat.  "In no way do the researchers consider this good news," writes Post reporter Chris Mooney.  "The study also finds that there are 46% fewer trees on Earth than there were before humans started the lengthy, but recently accelerating, process of deforestation.  Looked at another way, we were doing OK when we thought there were only 400 billion trees, but now that we know there are 3 trillion, things are miserable.

Let's ditch the doom and gloom and celebrate our improving environment.  From an early age children are taught to recycle paper as a way of saving trees.  The first reason this is a myth is that paper is produced mainly from plantation forests planted to be harvested and planted again.  While those trees are growing, they are sequestering carbon, which, when converted into paper and disposed of in a landfill, sequesters that carbon for a long time.  The same is true for houses made mainly from lumber.  The fact is that forest cover in the United States has remained constant despite concerns of urban sprawl thought to "pave paradise and put in a parking lot," as sung by Joni Mitchell.  For the past decade, forest cover has been approximately 33 percent, slightly above the global average of 31 percent.

Killing Animals to Save Animals: A Conundrum.  In the 1990s, E. O. Wilson [...] popularized various numbers ranging from 4,000 to 100,000 species a year being lost, and these numbers were repeated over and over again in environmental groups' fund raising literature, in congressional testimony, and in speeches by Al Gore (who in 1993 said that 'one-half of all species' could disappear in our lifetime), apparently an extrapolation of Wilson's pronouncement, reports Stephen Budiansky.  Yet, after more than 90 percent of the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil were cut down, mostly in the 19th century, the actual number of animal extinctions has been zero, even though many of the Brazilian species are highly endemic, found nowhere else in the world.

Utah Supreme Court To Hear Youts Climate Scam Suit.  I sure hope one of the questions asked is whether the youts have given up their own use of fossil fuels and made their lives carbon neutral[.] [...] Will this turn out the way they hope?  Probably not.  But, anything can happen.  Sadly, judges and opposing attorneys never seem to ask the questions they should.  Are they practicing what they preach?  Who's funding this?  Are the youts traveling around to take all their selfies and vids, eating meat, using a ton of energy, buying fast fashion?

Utah Supreme Court agrees to hear teens' climate change lawsuit.  The Utah Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit brought by a group of teens challenging the state's fossil fuel policies that they say harm their health and exacerbate climate change.  The state's top court could revive a legal challenge that was dismissed in 2022 by a lower court judge.  While he declared the teens "have a valid concern" about climate change and the impacts of the state's fossil fuel policies, the judge dismissed their lawsuit, declaring that the issues fell within the realm of the legislative branch of government.  [Advertisement]  The teens appealed and the Court agreed to take up the case, setting arguments for Sept. 4. A notation in the docket indicates Associate Chief Justice John Pearce has recused himself from hearing the case.  Prior to joining the Court, he was legal counsel for then-Governor Gary Herbert.  "We are hopeful that the Court will set this case back on the path towards trial, where it belongs.  With each passing day that Utah's statutory policy to maximize fossil fuel development remains in place, Utah's government continues to increase the state's dangerous air pollution and worsen the climate crisis, directly harming the health and safety of these brave young plaintiffs," the teens' attorney, Andrew Welle, said.

The Editor says...
If there is one place in the world that does not have "dangerous air pollution," it's Utah.

The Global War on Food.  The battle starts with how food is cooked.  We're all familiar with the government's war on gas stoves, one of the most popular methods for cooking food.  Knowing full well that outright bans won't work, the Biden administration is rolling out increased "efficiency" standards for new models that are effectively impossible to achieve.  The push is to electrify everything, despite the increased strain this agenda places on an already fragile grid.  Now it's being hinted that cooking food itself is bad.  According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a quarter of all air pollution comes from cooking food.  "If you can smell it, there's a good chance it's impacting air quality," we're told.  At fault are "primarily oxygenated VOCs, or volatile organic compounds."  It's not far-fetched to conclude that if a government agency says something is impacting air quality, then soon it will be under tighter regulation.

The Latest On The Federal War Against Internal Combustion Vehicles.  I'm old enough to remember a time when there were serious environmental concerns with internal combustion engine vehicles.  NOx and SOx emissions caused a thick layer of brown smog in the atmosphere during calm weather spells in summer and winter; and a layer of black soot would cover the snow along the roadside in the winter.  But gradually that all got cleaned up.  Today the bona fide serious environmental concerns about internal combustion engines are far in the past.  But the war to eliminate them — supposedly on environmental grounds — is just ramping up.

Trudeau's bungled wildfire response made Canada most polluted country on continent: critics.  A new air quality report found that Canada had the most polluted air of any North American country in 2023, as critics say the Trudeau government's scattered response to the disaster likely made matters worse.  "2023 marks the first time in our report's history that Canada had such high levels of PM2.5," Natasha Ganes, Public Relations Manager for IQAir North America, told Fox News Digital.  "Wildfires in the summer of 2023 devastated air quality throughout not only Canada, but also the United States as well due to transboundary haze and air pollution that drifted across borders."  "During May of 2023, PM2.5 levels in Alberta surged almost ninefold compared to the same period in 2022," Ganes added.  "In fact, most of the 10 most polluted cities in Canada in 2023 were in Alberta due to those fires."

The Editor says...
Photos from space show that the fires started in multiple places at the same time.  That means they were intentionally set.  Who would benefit the most?  The people who want to blame the fires on global warming, or the people who want to spend money on "air quality" problems.

NYC burns pizzerias with new rule cutting smoky pollutants by 75%.  New York City has quietly approved a controversial green plan to require pizzerias and matzah bakeries using decades-old wood- and coal-fired stoves to cut their smoky pollutants by 75%.  Mayor Eric Adams' Department of Environmental Protection said the fresh edict takes effect April 27, with some city businesses having already coughed up more than $600,000 for new smoke-eating systems in anticipation of the expected mandate.  "You are going after pizza?  Glorious New York pizza?" groused Mike Dabin in a recent online comment to the city DEP.  "Can't you go after Diesel Trucks instead of pizza ovens?"

EPA finalizes air pollution standards that critics say will cost jobs and hurt the economy.  The EPA finalized air pollution standards that create more stringent limits for soot exposure, as it is called.  This despite a 42% decrease in the national average over the last 22 years, according to the agency's own data.  "It's going to hurt economies.  It's going to hurt manufacturing.  It's a real problem," Daren Bakst, senior fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), told Just The News.  The Clean Air Act requires the EPA every five years to do a complete review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six common pollutants, which includes particulate matter.  The NAAQS for particulate matter, sometimes referred to as PM 2.5, deal with solid particles and liquid droplets that are a fraction of the width of a human hair and are suspended in the air.  These particles are emitted from construction sites, unpaved roads, agriculture fields, smokestacks and fires.

The Editor says...
Dust from unpaved roads and wide-open pastures never hurt anybody.  Every smokestack in the U.S. has been closely monitored for at least 40 years.  Fires happen, but they are sporadic and mostly accidental — not something to be outlawed.  In other words, the EPA is solving problems that don't exist, to perpetuate its own existence.

Research finds air pollution is worse inside your home compared with outside due to common household products.  Air pollution was worse inside British homes than it was outside for 11 months of the year in 2022, according to a global study by tech company Dyson.  Data from more than 2.5 million Dyson air purifiers around the world was collected in the research for its first Global Connected Air Quality study.  It focused on levels of two types of pollutant:  PM2.5s — particles 1/25th the diameter of a typical human hair — and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The Problem with Lies.  Nowadays, we have a plethora of lies that are told knowingly and openly and without shame. [...] Another example is that we are led to believe America is a major polluter.  We supposedly waste power, spew CO2 and pollution more than anyone — we are the biggest environmental problem in the world.  There is zero evidence to support this.  We've done far more than most anyone to reduce pollution and energy waste.  India and China are far greater polluters and do not have to do anything to reduce their pollution or energy waste.  I stood on a main street in Lahore, Pakistan several years ago and watched the traffic.  A cloud of pollution, smoke, and dust traveled with traffic.  The cloud moved with traffic, in two directions, depending on which lane.  I have a friend who saw the same thing in China.  They are building coal-burning power plants by the score.  America is responsible for a small portion of energy waste and pollution.

Climate Change Is Not Threatening Human Health.  [Scroll down]  Air pollution is next; the WHO asserts that outdoor air pollution driven by fossil fuel emissions kills millions, particularly in the form of particulate matter.  This figure is refuted by real world data.  Worse still for the claim, they admit that deaths from air pollution have fallen over time, even as fossil fuel use increased.  Even the U.N.'s climate body does not connect global warming to "air pollution weather," or temperature inversion conditions that may cause ground level ozone.

Putting oil spills into perspective.  I am 70 years old.  My electricity has been provided by a coal-fired power plant my entire life.  I have been privileged to have AC for around 60 years.  My heat has been provided by natural gas almost all my life.  I have lived within one mile of the coal plant, with scrubbers, for 44 years.  I raised three children in this close proximity.  Not once, that I can remember, did I worry about the air quality or worry about opening the doors and windows.  We are all very healthy.  Our current power plant was updated in 2005, at the cost of several hundred million.  It passed all environmental standards yet now, Democrats want to put it out of existence to claim they can change the climate.  It is a shame they care so little about the poor and middle classes that still have to pay off the plant, and now a replacement.

Heart conditions and death due to air pollution have risen 30% since 1990, study says.  Air pollution, especially its tiniest particles, has contributed to a 30% global rise in heart-related disabilities and death since 1990, a new study has found.  The pollution connection affected men more than women, while poorer regions of the world were hit harder that wealthier areas, researchers said in the study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The Editor says...
Here's a little detail that seems to be absent from the article above:  They're not talking about air quality in the U.S.  Poor people in undeveloped countries live short and dirty lives.  There's nothing wrong with the air quality in the U.S., especially when compared to the air in the 1960s.

Preferably drones made in China by slaves.
The New York Times thinks we should replace 4th of July fireworks shows with drone shows cuz climate change.  The climate wackos at the New York Times think it's time to let firework shows on the 4th of July fade into the past.  They probably want us to swear fealty to the Crown again too. [...] But the NYT wants you to know that safe is better than fun; safe is better than freedom!  There's the climate:  ["]Fireworks cause a spike in a form of air pollution called particulate matter, the same type of pollution that is elevated from wildfire smoke.["]

The Editor says...
[#1] "Particulate matter" is also known as "dust and smoke," which can come from any number of sources.  [#2] Almost all of the smoke from a fireworks display is at least a hundred feet above ground, and quickly drifts away and is forgotten in a matter of minutes.

These are the same people who oppose natural gas appliances.
NYC to Crack Down on Wood-Fired Pizza Joints to Reduce Carbon Emissions by Up to 75%.  New York City will be cracking down on wood-fired pizza joints to reduce carbon emissions by up to 75%.  "All New Yorkers deserve to breathe healthy air and wood and coal-fired stoves are among the largest contributors of harmful pollutants in neighborhoods with poor air quality," Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Ted Timbers said in a statement to the New York Post on Sunday.  "This common-sense rule, developed with restaurant and environmental justice groups, requires a professional review of whether installing emission controls is feasible."

The Editor says...
[#1] It isn't a "common-sense rule."  The tail is wagging the dog, as usual.  The "environmental justice groups" are anti-capitalist troublemakers, solving problems that nobody has.  Making pizza in a wood-fired oven is not an "environmental [in]justice," whatever that is.  [#2] While all this nit-picking is underway in New York, China and India are building coal-fired power plants as if carbon dioxide is not a problem.  Because it isn't!  [#3] The air in an overcrowded city may not be entirely fresh, but it's not necessarily unhealthy, and if you don't like the air in a big city, you're free to move!

The Truth About Ozone.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines ozone as "a highly reactive gas composed of three oxygen atoms.  It is both a natural and a man-made product that occurs in the Earth's upper atmosphere, where it blocks UV radiation, and at ground level."  The EPA also provides further insight into how ozone is formed, stating, "Ground-level ozone — what we breathe — is formed primarily from photochemical reactions between two major classes of air pollutants, volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)."  Oil and gas don't emit ozone.  Industry — along with cars, trucks, power plants, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, water heaters, and even pine trees — emits VOCs and NOx that may form ozone.  How much ozone forms, and when and where, depends on the weather.

PM2.5: Mass Killer or Mass Fraud?  What is PM2.5 and does it kill people? [...] PM2.5 is so dangerous that no one noticed it until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started trying to regulate it in the early 1990s.  PM2.5 kills, in fact, no one.  A point that is easily demonstrated and will be done so here.  That we still must talk about PM2.5 is a testimony to the stubborn commitment of regulatory agencies to science fraud.

"Some of the Worst" News Media.  About 15 years ago I co-authored a book about air pollution and the Clean Air Act.  I know — you'll just have to contain your excitement.  One of the things we found was an example of what might be called the reverse Lake Wobegone Effect, i.e., according to local media every local area had "some of the worst" air pollution in the whole country!  Every metro area was below average!  Of course, if every place has "some of the worst" of anything, then no place really does (as the government's air quality data bear out*). [...] Actual EPA data shreds these claims, but environmental advocacy groups (especially the American Lung Association's annual "state of the air" report) produce cookie-cutter press releases claiming that each local area suffers "some of the worst" pollution in America, and the media dutifully repeats these claims.  This is why most environmental "reporters" are really just stenographers for environmentalists.  This ought to be embarrassing for any serious editor or publisher, but there aren't many serious editors or publishers any more.

London mayor to impose daily fines on motorists.  Sadiq Khan, current Mayor of London and WEF member, is set to impose £12.50 daily fines to all motorists who enter or commute through the greater city of London.  The Mayor has announced that the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will be expanded across all London boroughs from August 2023, as per the Greater London Authority website.  London commuters and residents who drive 'non-compliant' vehicles will be dinged daily.  Khan described the decision as "one of the toughest decisions" he's taken as mayor, but insisted millions from the bustling city will benefit from the cleaner air.  The Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ for short, was introduced in 2019 as a means to ensure that vehicles meet emission standards set for the city, lest their drivers pay a daily surcharge.  Though pollution levels have decreased since the introduction of ULEZ, Khan claims that there is still "far too much toxic air pollution permanently damaging the health of young Londoners and leading to thousands of early deaths every year."

The Editor says...
Is the air in London really that bad, or is this just a way to skim money from nearly everybody?  This decree might be about control, or money, or electric cars, but I doubt if it's really about air quality.

The Flawed EPA Theory That Won't Go Away.  The Lancet response (Letters, Nov. 12) to Bjorn Lomborg's op-ed (Nov. 5) states, "A zero-carbon future brings many health benefits.  Our conservative estimates suggest 1.2 million deaths annually could be prevented with no exposure to fossil-fuel-derived small-particulate-matter air pollution."  I conservatively call that claim false. [...] The EPA's claim that particulate matter kills, parroted by the Lancet, was never credible.  Rigging the peer review hasn't helped.

China has caused more pollution in 8-years than Britain has in the last 220, report claims.  China is responsible for 14 percent of all emissions throughout history, making it the second biggest polluter in the world, while the USA is in first place as it is responsible for 25 percent of all emissions.  In comparison, the UK has emitted just 4.6 percent of all emissions, which is the fifth highest in the world.  The Telegraph has reported that China has caused more pollution since 2013 than Britain has since the Industrial Revolution first began.  It comes at a time former Labour leader Ed Miliband recently suggested Britain should pay to help developing countries recover for "loss and damage" from climate change.

OUT: Ozone; IN: Particulate Matter.  It's the go-to solution when you need to complain about air pollution:  particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in aerodynamic diameter, aka Fine Particles aka PM-2.5.  It's dangerous!  It's deadly!  Removing it from the air will usher in previously unforeseen levels of economic prosperity!  We know this to be true because the academic elite and the ruling class assure us it is so. [...] Oddly, PM-2.5 didn't always have the starring role in the nation's air pollution drama that it enjoys today.  Shoot, for the first twenty-six years of the Clean Air Act it wasn't even officially on stage.  The star of the air pollution world for the first thirty or so years was urban ozone, sometimes called smog.

Particulate Matter in Indoor/Outdoor Air Does NOT Cause Death.  Since 1996, EPA has claimed that PM_2.5 causes death. [...] EPA claims that manmade PM_2.5 causes as many as 500,000 deaths annually — i.e., about one in five deaths in the U.S.

The air quality in North America is spectacular, compared to the air quality in India and China.
Air pollution:  Thermal plants closed, trucks can't enter Delhi.  The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas ordered a slew of measures on Tuesday [11/16/2021] to deal with the air emergency in the capital.  These include shutting down all except five thermal power plants within a 300km radius of Delhi till November 30; stopping entry of trucks in Delhi except for those carrying essential commodities; keeping diesel and petrol vehicles more than 10 and 15 years old, respectively, in NCR off the road and banning construction and demolition activities in NCR till November 21, except for some government and infrastructure projects.  All educational institutions in NCR will remain closed till further orders with only online mode allowed.  At least 50% of the government staff across NCR will work from home and private establishments will be encouraged to do so till November 21.  Among other measures announced by the commission are banning of DG sets in entire NCR, except for emergency services, and ensuring that all industries in NCR with gas connections are run only on gas, failing which they are to be shut down.  The ones using unapproved fuels shall be closed by the respective governments with immediate effect, and wherever gas is available, they will be shifted to that mode of fuel.

World's dirtiest cities list raises issue:  Why don't politicians call out China?  A new tally of global cities' emissions finds that the top 25 are responsible for 52% of the planet's urban greenhouse gas emissions.  Twenty-three of those are in China.  New York City is the first American city to appear, at No. 26.  Out of the top 75, just four other American cities are listed — San Diego, Houston, Chicago and Los Angeles — all of them ranked 41 or higher.  In other words, the U.S. — including each of our major cities — is outperforming the world when it comes to emissions.  All this data begs a question of our elected leaders who say we have to do more for our environment, banking on the fact that many Americans hear "environment" and think only locally, as in their state or nation.  The fact is that the environment — including carbon emission — is global, so what we do here matters but what happens globally matters as much, if not more.

New York City/New Jersey subway PM2.5 levels 77 times greater than EPA standards; No bodies found.  A new study reports on PM2.5 (soot/dust) levels in subway stations.  The New York City and New Jersey PATH system had a mean level of 779 micrograms per cubic meter — 65 times higher than the EPA's outdoor air standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter.  The highest level measured (1,499 micrograms per cubic meter) is almost 50% higher than the worst air in any Chinese city that we know about.  Onboard air quality PM 2.5 measurements were lower but still on average 30 times higher than EPA standards.  In 2018, PATH carried 81.7 million passengers, about 280,000 per week day.  Keeping in mind that the EPA says that any exposure to PM 2.5 can kill you within hours, where are the bodies?  Why aren't governments calling for an immediate shutdown of subway service?

The Coronavirus Lockdown Has Not Made the Air Cleaner.  Just about every day, someone claims that the air is cleaner.  That, we are told, is a small benefit of the coronavirus-induced economic lockdowns.  By reducing traffic on our roads, we are polluting the air less, providing a visible example of the supposed benefits of imposing more environmental regulation.  In my hometown of Seattle, one environmental activist told the local paper that people can "physically see that difference in the cleaner air."  The air-quality data tell a different story.  According to the EPA's air-quality monitors, levels of particulate matter — known as PM 2.5 — are not lower now and have, in fact, been higher recently than the median level of the last five years.  Consisting of particles smaller than 2.5 microns, PM 2.5 includes natural sources such as smoke or sea salt, as well as human-caused pollution from combustion.  In Philadelphia, a city health commissioner said, "I would expect our air pollution levels will probably go down because the number of vehicles in the streets are less."  Recent particulate-matter levels, however, have been close to the five-year average.  In Dallas, the levels of PM 2.5 are higher than average.

The air quality in the United States is excellent, compared to most other countries.
Air pollution in Delhi spikes as deadly smog envelops city.  Air pollution levels in India's capital remained at near record levels, forcing schools to shut down through mid week and keeping residents indoors as the nation grapples for solutions.  The air quality index, or AQI, reached as high as 858 at some areas in New Delhi at 6.30 a.m. Monday [11/4/2019] after breaching 1,000 over the weekend, according to website AirVisual, which monitors air pollution around the world.  Readings above 300 are considered hazardous; anything below 50 is safe. [...] "A child born yesterday in Delhi would have smoked the equivalent of 40 to 50 cigarettes on the first day of his or her life," said Arvind Kumar, a lung surgeon at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi and founder of the Lung Care Foundation.

Cities are banning drive-thrus to improve Americans' health — but will it work?  A growing number of local legislatures in cities across the country want to put an end to drive-thru windows.  In August, Minneapolis became the latest city to pass an ordinance banning the construction of new restaurant drive-thrus.  Officials say the ban will help curb pollution, make the city more walkable and improve health problems pertaining to obesity.  Other places that have enacted similar measures say they are aiming to combat traffic, cut carbon monoxide emissions and litter.  But fear not, Chick-fil-A fiends, the zoning changes currently in effect only affect new construction.  Thus far, cities in California, Missouri and New Jersey have implemented similar bans.

The Editor says...
This is the first time I've heard a claim that drive-through windows increase carbon monoxide emissions.  But you see, the customers at a drive-through window are outdoors, and the occupants of the next car in line are exposed to carbon monoxide anyway, just by driving to the restaurant, or anywhere else.  (Incidentally, the natural concentration of carbon monoxide in air is around 0.2 parts per million (ppm), and that amount is not harmful to humans.[*])

Deconstructing Climate Hysteria — Part 2.  [Scroll down]  We certainly have cleaned up a lot of the air problems in the United States, in Europe.  That's certainly not happening in China.  It's certainly not happening in Africa, and it was our increasing affluence that gave us the ability to enforce environmental protection.  With regard to carbon dioxide emissions, of all the industrialized nations on earth since 2005, the United States has cut its emissions more than any other country.  Did you hear that?  We've cut our emissions more than any other country.  That's why we don't need the Paris Accord — it's just a paper tiger.  It allows the Chinese to continue to increase their emissions.  They say that they will try to hold them constant around the year 2030.

The Phony Case For Electric Cars.  The truth is that every city in America has made massive improvements in air quality over the past several decades — progress that was made without any help from electric buses, cars or taxis, and while "gas guzzlers" continued to dominate domestic car sales.  Air quality in most places today is above, or well above, the government's standards for safety.  Don't believe it?  Then go to the official government source for such information:  The Environmental Protection Agency.  It's been tracking pollution levels for decades, whether it's smog, carbon monoxide, or dust.  Even in California, smog levels have declined sharply over the years.

America is the world leader in clean air.  Over the last 50 years, harmful air pollution known as particulate matter has plummeted.  Toxic pollutants like lead, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide are now nearly nonexistent in our air.  Ozone is down dramatically.  We're the only highly populated nation in the world to meet the World Health Organization's standards for particulate matter and by a long shot.  In fact, our standards are among the strictest in the world.  These radical air quality gains occurred at the same time our population, energy consumption, vehicle miles traveled, and gross domestic product also grew dramatically.

Study: White People Responsible for Blacks' and Latinos' Higher Exposure to Pollution.  A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences claims that white people contribute more to pollution than black and Latino people, but the latter suffer from it more than the white polluters.  "The air that Americans breathe isn't equal," USA Today says in its report on the study.  "Blacks and Hispanics disproportionately breathe air that's been polluted by non-Hispanic whites, according to a study," USA Today says.  "This new research quantifies for the first time the racial gap between who causes air pollution — and who breathes it."

Rebuttal:
Who Declared this to Be Crazy Week?  There are so many things stupidly wrong with this whole story that I don't even know where to begin.  First, this study, and many others like it, anchor their alarm on the supposed fact that particulate pollution causes about 42,000 premature deaths in the U.S. every year.  Though the EPA relies on this figure, the epidemiology behind it is very weak.  But without this scary statistic, a lot of regulations would fail even the most generous cost-benefit test.  Second, particulate levels have been falling fast for the last 25 years, and will continue to fall in the future.  Most studies such as this one are relying on obsolete data.  What this means is that most black and Hispanic Americans, even in the places that still have the highest air pollution levels like the Los Angeles basin, are breathing air today that is lower in ambient pollution than white people inhaled 20 years ago.  Don't expect NPR or anyone else to put it in perspective this way.  They've got an agenda and a narrative that needs to be kept up.

American Air Is Clean And Getting Cleaner.  [A]ir quality is very good pretty much everywhere in the United States.  This fact stands in stark contrast to utterly absurd claims in the media, such as blaming air pollution for killing 155,000 Americans.  Why is there such a disconnect between reality and what the media say?  Because bad news is intrinsically more interesting than good news.  It's the same reason that murder and violence grab top headlines, even though both are near historic lows. [...] Air pollution is not a problem in the United States.  It is a problem in Europe, and it is a monumental problem in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

The Left Favors Global Warming.  China — one of those "developing world" countries [John] Kerry alluded to — is actually the biggest problem.  If man-caused warming is real — a big if, to be sure, to any clear-thinking, logical minded person — it's more China's fault than anyone's, due to their huge economy and unrestricted use of coal-fired power plants without pollution filters or any such modification.  They spew an enormous amount of pollution into the atmosphere every day and no one in the Democratic Party, the environmentalist movement, or the liberal mainstream media ever criticizes them.  Instead, their criticism is always directed at Republican businessmen.  President Obama played right into this — wittingly or unwittingly — when he completed an agreement with China that requires even further American emissions reductions while not requiring China to begin making significant cuts until 2030.

Who's the Cleanest of Them All.  Take a wild guess what country is reducing its greenhouse gas emissions the most? [...] The answer to that question is the U.S. of A.  Wow!  How can that be?  This must be a misprint.  Fake news.  America never ratified the Kyoto Treaty some two decades ago.  We never enacted a carbon tax.  We don't have a cap-and-trade carbon emission program.  That environmental villain Donald Trump pulled America out of the Paris climate accord that was signed by almost the entire rest of the civilized world.  Yet the latest world climate report from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy finds that in 2017, America reduced its carbon emissions by 0.5 percent, the most of all major countries.

The Editor says...
So what?  Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant.  It's plant food.

EPA: Key Air Pollutants Drop 73 Percent Since 1970.  Americans who value clean air and robust economic growth do not need to make an either-or choice, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's new annual report on air quality.  The EPA report released Tuesday [7/31/2018] finds that between 1970 and 2017, the combined emissions of six main kinds of pollutants decreased by 73 percent even as the U.S. economy grew substantially over the 47 years.

The EPA's work is finished.
Why they demonize carbon dioxide:  The Environmental Protection Agency reported that pollution is down 73% since EPA's founding in 1970.  "Through federal and state implementation of the Clean Air Act and technological advances in the private sector, America has achieved one of the great public-private successes of our time — dramatically improving air quality and public health while simultaneously growing the nation's population and economy," said Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler.  "This report details a remarkable achievement that should be recognized, celebrated, and replicated around the world.  A 73 percent reduction in any other social ill, such as crime, disease, or drug addiction, would lead the evening news."  The numbers are astounding:
  •   Sulfur dioxide (1-hour)  ↓  88 percent
  •   Lead (3-month average)  ↓  80 percent
  •   Carbon monoxide (8-hour)  ↓  77 percent
  •   Nitrogen dioxide (annual)  ↓  56 percent
  •   Fine Particulate Matter (24-hour)  ↓  40 percent
  •   Coarse Particulate Matter (24-hour)  ↓  34 percent and
  •   Ground-level ozone (8-hour)  ↓  22 percent
And the numbers explain why the EPA treats a nutrient, carbon dioxide, as a pollutant.  Having reduced real pollution, the Captain Planets at the EPA need a new villain to battle.

Northeast states sue EPA over air pollution from Midwest.  Eight northeastern states said on Tuesday [12/26/2017] they sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force it to impose more stringent controls on a group of mostly Midwestern states whose air pollution they claim is being blown in their direction.

Medical Journal Perpetrates the Noble Lie that American Air Quality Kills.  The iconic academic journal of American medicine, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), published since 1812, has committed itself to a Noble Lie, that ambient (natural) air quality in America kills hundreds of thousands annually.  Jeffrey Drazen, MD, lung specialist, Editor in Chief of the NEJM since 2000, Distinguished Parker B. Francis Professor of Medicine at the Harvard School of Medicine, professor in the Department of Environmental health at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, is in his 17th year of tenure as editor of the NEJM and in that time he has approved publication of false claims about air quality lethality, resulting in the NEJM become a partisan news outlet that promotes the US EPA political agenda and onerous burdensome air regulations that chase a phantom air quality scare.  Air quality in America isn't killing anyone.

The air in the United States is extremely clean, compared to the air in other countries.
India's Air Pollution 18 Times the Healthy Limit.  Air pollution in New Delhi hit 18 times the healthy limit Friday under a thick, toxic haze after a night of fireworks to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali, despite a court-ordered ban on their sales.  Residents of the sprawling Indian capital, which ranks among the world's most polluted cities, complained of eyes watering and aggravated coughs as levels of PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter that reaches deep into the lungs, rose alarmingly.  Air quality usually worsens in New Delhi ahead of Diwali, the festival of lights, and the Supreme Court temporarily banned the sale of firecrackers, aiming to lessen the risk to health.

Surprising Pollution From Trees.  Research from the metropolis of Berlin shows that green spaces, from forests to public parks can intensify ozone pollution in cities, an effect that is pronounced during heat waves.  During a bad hot spell in 2006, plants in Berlin contributed to as much as 60% of the observed ozone pollution, with potential risks for the health of city-dwellers.  The problem is caused by a class of chemicals called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.  Plant leaves pump out VOCs naturally but some of these gases can also create chemical reactions in the air that form ground level ozone — a pollutant harmful to people, especially those with preexisting respiratory disease.  Summer is a big concern because plants increase the amount of VOCs they emit during hot weather.  In Oregon, about 22 million metric tons of emissions are released a year as the states trees die.  That's the equivalent of nearly all annual statewide emissions derived from the transportation and power generation sectors combined reports Catherine Mater.  Jay Lehr asks the question, what do you get when you go into the North Woods, a great, beautiful unspoiled area where there is no industry for miles?  The answer is you inhale the pine odor.  Guess what?  Pine odor is made up of polycyclic aromatics, which are carcinogens, in the cleanest air we supposedly have in this country.

Dirty bird carcasses tell the story of how air pollution has improved in the last 100 years.  Horned Larks are cute little songbirds with white bellies and yellow chins — at least, now they are.  A hundred years ago, at the height of urban smoke pollution in the US, their pale feathers were stained dark gray by the soot in the atmosphere.  A new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that the discoloration of birds in museum collections can be used to trace the amount of black carbon in the air over time and the effects of environmental policy upon pollution.

Book Exposes EPA Scare Tactics Behind Air Quality Rule.  Most of the American public is unaware the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with the help of the American Lung Association and radical environmental groups, has nearly succeeded in an attempted takeover of absolutely all industry in the United States.  How could EPA accomplish such a grand scheme?  By claiming exposure to particles in the air as small as 2.5 millionths of a meter can cause death in a matter of minutes, hours, or days.  It is called the PM2.5 rule, and the best scientific research shows these particles are ubiquitous and, contrary to EPA's claims, are harmless.

Inconvenient Truths The Earth Day 'March for Science' Protesters Ignore.  The fact is that by any important measure, the environment is cleaner and healthier today than it was 60 years ago, 40 years ago, or even 20 years ago.  For example, data from the Environmental Protection Agency show that, from 1995-2015, levels of every air pollutant it monitors saw steady declines, to the point where they are at or below national standards.  Carbon monoxide levels plunged 72% over those years; nitrogen dioxide fell 45%; ozone, 24%; soot, 37%; sulfur dioxide, 73%; and lead declined 93%.  The sharp reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions "significantly reduced damage to water quality in lakes and streams, and improved the health of ecosystems and forests," according to the EPA.  The share of children tested who showed high levels of lead in their blood dropped from close to 8% in 1995 to just 0.5% by 2015.  Water quality overall has improved, with once severely polluted lakes, rivers and streams clearing up.  Per-capita water use has declined 30% since 1975, notes the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Misuse of Asthma as a Justifaction for EPA Rules.  If the drastic reduction in real air pollution hasn't reversed the trend in asthma, how can the regulation of a non-pollutant, CO2 have any effect on asthma?  Unless the goal is to lower atmospheric CO2 to about 150 ppm and wipe out ragweed and other allergen-producing plants, the EPA's Clean Power Plan, like all previous rules, will have no demonstrable effect on asthma.  Anyone who clicked the "ragweed" link is probably asking the same question I did, "Why do the alarmists claim that CO2 and AGW will kill all the good plants and enable ragweed to thrive"?

Five Charts That Blow Apart EPA's Asthma Claims.  In an attempt to garner support for the Environmental Protection Agency's controversial regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, President Obama and EPA officials have taken to linking climate change to an issue that hits most Americans close to home: asthma.  The problem is that carbon dioxide — which the rule regulates — does not cause asthma.  According to the EPA, one in ten American children suffers from asthma. [...] The EPA is relying on dubious asthma claims because its climate rule has no discernible impact on climate change.

EPA's Dangerous Regulatory Pollution.  EPA whitewashed the toxic flash flood it caused in Colorado.  But it says particulate matter smaller than 10 microns (PM10) is risky and worries incessantly about 2.5-micron particles.  (A human hair is 50-70 microns; dust, pollen and mold are around 10; combustion exhaust particles are 2.5 microns or smaller.)  The tinier specks, EPA asserts, "can get deep into your lungs, and some may even get into your bloodstream."  Eliminating all such particles in our air is absolutely essential to human health, longevity and well-being, the agency insists.  There is no threshold below which there is no risk, its advisors say.

The Editor says...
The elimination of all smoke from the atmosphere is a thinly-disguised attempt to outlaw the use of hydrocarbons as fuel, by portraying the issue as a threat to public health.

EPA wants new regs on states for national parks.  Hikers climbing up Shenandoah National Park's Old Rag might find their view of the Blue Ridge Mountains obscured by smog as the summer tourism season kicks into gear.  Many national parks have had problems with ozone for years, but the Environmental Protection Agency is working on stricter regulations that officials hope will keep air pollution from clouding the views from mountaintops and hurting the lungs of park visitors.  Despite those areas being owned by the federal government, the states are responsible for the air quality in national parks and federal wilderness areas, said Jeffrey Olson, a public affairs officer at the National Park Service.

The Editor says...
One does not generally go mountain climbing in a National Park (or elsewhere) if one has difficulty breathing.  As usual, the federal government is solving problems that nobody has, either to grab additional power or justify the existence of useless agencies and bureaus.

Wood-fired pizza is bad for the environment, according to science.  If you love wood-fired pizza or wood-smoked barbecue, then go outside right now and peel that "Go Green" bumper sticker off your Prius.  Science says your favorite foods may be major causes of environment pollution.  A study conducted by 10 air pollution experts from seven universities has found that burning wood to cook [food] is polluting the air we breathe.  The collaborative study, whose findings have been published in the journal Atmospheric Environment, was conducted in the fifth largest metropolitan area in the world:  Sao Paulo, Brazil, home to 21 million people, 7 million road vehicles and one very dangerous air pollution problem.

You Are $13,000 Poorer Because of Federal Regulations.  Given the great reductions in U.S. ambient air pollution that have already been achieved, epidemiologists are not all agreed that deeper cuts will bring commensurate benefits.  A March 2015 study in the Annals of Epidemiology asks, "Has reducing fine particulate matter and ozone caused reduced mortality rates in the United States?"  The researchers looked at trends in nearly 500 counties between 2000 and 2010 and found that "predicted substantial human longevity benefits resulting from reducing PM2.5 [particulate matter] and O3 [ozone] may not occur or may be smaller than previously estimated."  A May 2014 study in Epidemiology also found no meaningful increase in cardiovascular risk among Europeans who experienced long term exposure to current levels of air pollutants.

Black lungs matter!
Clinton Promises Al Sharpton A Task Force To Fight 'Environmental Racism'.  Hillary Clinton will empower the Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency to fight against "environmental racism" through "stronger enforcement" of environmental regulations, she announced on Wednesday [4/13/2016].  "Across America, the burdens of air pollution, water pollution, and toxic hazards are borne disproportionately by low-income communities and communities of color," states a memo on the climate justice initiative released by Clinton's campaign.

The Editor says...
The air in every large American city is cleaner now than it was 50 years ago.  And unless you live in Democrat-controlled Flint, Michigan, the quality of the water supply is more than adequate all over the country.  Big government is far more dangerous than environmental hazards.

Three Cheers for Holiday Lighting!  World oil reserves are over 20 times greater now than they were when record-keeping began in the 1940s; world gas reserves are almost four times greater than they were in the 1960s; world coal reserves have risen fourfold since 1950.  Political events can drive supply down and prices up, but the raw mineral resource base is prolific — and expanding in economic terms thanks to an inexhaustible supply of human ingenuity and exploratory capital.  Record energy consumption has been accompanied by improving air quality.  Urban air quality is significantly better today than in the 1970s in the United States.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that air emissions of the criteria pollutants declined by 60 percent from 1970, while energy usage increased by a third.

New Climate Regulations Will Save Lots of Imaginary People.  The Environmental Protection Agency, an aggressive arm of the nanny government, has just issued new air quality standards that mandate that the new "safe" level of ozone in the air we breathe shall be lowered from the current 75 parts per billion to 70 ppb.  I feel better already, perhaps.  I also feel better for all the theoretical lives that will be saved, according to EPA sponsored studies [...] However, my joy is tempered by the realization that those are not real lives saved — rather, they are "estimated deaths saved," as in "We applied health impact assessment methodology to estimate numbers of deaths and other adverse health outcomes that would have been avoided during 2005, 2006, and 2007 if the current (or lower) NAAQS ozone standards had been met.  Estimated reductions in ozone concentrations were interpolated according to geographic area and year, and concentration — response functions were obtained or derived from the epidemiological literature."

Dispelling the deadly air pollution myth.  [Scroll down]  It is easily demonstrated that particulate matter doesn't kill anyone.  The particulate matter at issue is soot that is about one-twentieth the width of a human hair.  The EPA has essentially claimed particulate matter to be the most toxic substance known to man.  The agency's scientific documents say there is no safe exposure to particulate matter — i.e., any inhalation of it can cause death, both in the short-term (hours or days) or in the long-term (decades of exposures).  This claim has been repeated numerous times by EPA officials. [...] The epidemiology studies are controversial.  All rely on exceedingly weak correlations between dubious air-monitoring data and death rates.  All were funded by the EPA and then rubber-stamped as science by the very same EPA-paid researchers.  The agency has refused congressional requests to produce the studies' underlying data for independent review.  The EPA also ignores studies with contrary results.

Why Does Washington Want to Hide Science Data from the Public?  The EPA claims that the mercury air and toxics rule would produce $53 billion to $140 billion in annual health and environmental benefits.  But the agency vastly overstates the environmental benefits by including estimated benefits from reducing particulates already covered by existing regulations.  Not including these particulates lowers the projected benefit to only $6 million, at most.  In other words, these co-benefits account for 99.996 percent of the agency's estimated benefits — much of that being PM2.5 co-benefits.  Here's where the secret science comes in.  The two studies that represent the scientific foundation for 1997 ozone and PM 2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards are highly questionable and the data concealed, even though the studies were paid for by federal taxpayers and thus should be public property.

If only EPA stood for 'Enough Protection Already'.  The air we breathe is also cleaner than it's been for 60 years.  In a rational world, environmental bureaucrats would now say, "Mission accomplished.  We set tough standards, so we don't need to keep doing more.

De Blasio wants to ban new wood fireplaces.  Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated Earth Day on Tuesday by proposing more regulations — including a ban on new wood-burning fireplaces.  The mayor made the proposal, along with those for other sweeping regulations that he said would update emission standards and help curb air pollution.  Instead of wood-burning fireplaces, de Blasio wants to allow only cleaner-burning units, such as those that use natural gas.

The Editor says...
It snows in New York.  Don't people have a right to stay warm in their own homes?

EPA Bans Most Wood Burning Stoves In a Corrupt Scheme, Fireplaces Next.  As of January 3rd, the EPA banned about 80% of the wood-burning stoves and fireplace inserts in the United States.  Stoves which are used to heat 12% of the homes in America and are especially needed in outlying rural areas.  Fireplaces are also being looked at.  The EPA is attempting to reduce particle pollution with new rules.  Instead of limiting fine airborne particulate emissions to 15 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³) of air, the change will impose a maximum 12 µg/m³ limit. [...] The draconian EPA regulations will be spread out, one will take place in March and the next in five to eight years.  Stoves currently in use will not be affected but obviously, getting them repaired will become more and more difficult.

The Power-Mad EPA.  A federal appeals court recently heard a case about the EPA's interpretation of the 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Rule, yet another effort in the "war on coal" that would shut down more coal-fired plants that provide the bulk of the electricity the nation requires.  The EPA is asserting that the rule would annually prevent 11,000 premature deaths, nearly 5,000 heart attacks, and 130,000 asthma attacks.  Moreover it asserts that it would help avoid more than 540,000 missed work days, and protect babies and children.  These statistics are plucked from various studies published in journals and are typical of the way the EPA operates to justify its rulings.

Never Cleaner.  By any demonstrable measure, the environment in the U.S. has never been cleaner in our lifetimes than now. [...] As a measure of the quality of air in our country, the EPA maintains data and statistics that quantify air quality from 1980 to the present.  Based on the EPA's own data, the national ambient air quality standards for certain target pollutants have all steadily and dramatically reduced.  As a national average:
  •   Carbon monoxide has been reduced 82%
  •   Ozone has been reduced 28%
  •   Lead has been reduced 89%
  •   Nitrogen oxides have been reduced 52%
  •   Particulate matter as PM10 has been reduced 38%, and fine particulate matter as PM2.5 has been reduced 27%
  •   Sulfur dioxide has been reduced 83%

China smog emergency shuts city of 11 million people.  An index measuring PM2.5, or particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), reached a reading of 1,000 in some parts of Harbin, the gritty capital of northeastern Heilongjiang province and home to some 11 million people.  A level above 300 is considered hazardous, while the World Health Organisation recommends a daily level of no more than 20.

The Editor says...
The EPA standard is 12 micrograms per cubic meter, and "As a practical matter, the average level of PM2.5 in U.S. air is about 10 micrograms per cubic meter," according to Steve Milloy.  The level that is "considered hazardous" is 30 times the U.S. average.  In other words, the EPA's work is finished.  The air here is as clean as it has ever been.

The Epidemiologist Fallacy Strikes Again. EPA, CARB, And Air Pollution.  Jerrett and his fellow authors published an immense work (under CARB contract) which suffered fatally from the epidemiologist fallacy.  This is when an epidemiologist says, "X causes Y" but who never — not once — measures X. [...] Jerrett et alia said that small particles in the atmosphere — no! ozone — no! nitrogen dioxide — caused early deaths.  X caused Y.  Problem is, they never measured, not even once, the actual exposure of any individual to dust, O3, or NO2.  X went missing.  In essence, they looked back into public records and found addresses of people who may or may not still live in California and discovered how far these people lived from a highway.  The (statistical) distance from the highway was said to equal the amount of exposure to pollutants.  That's the proxy.

Ozone, Mo'Zone and NoZone.  The Environmental Protection Agency's war on economic growth, jobs, poor families, modern living standards, and people's health and welfare is about to get a lot more damaging.  The Clean Air Act says EPA must set standards for ozone and other pollutants — and periodically review existing standards, to determine whether they are adequately protecting public health, or need to be tightened further.

The EPA's work is finished.
Tier 3 Tyranny.  [Scroll down]  The latest example involves a third layer (or tier) of rules the agency says will clean the nation's air and save lives by forcing refineries to remove more sulfur and other impurities from gasoline.  EPA and refiners call the proposal Tier 3 rulemaking.  Tier 3 tyranny is more accurate, as the rules would cost billions of dollars while bringing infinitesimal benefits, and will likely be imposed regardless.  Since 1970, automakers have eliminated some 99 percent of pollutants that once came out of the tailpipes of the nation's cars.  "Today's cars are essentially zero-emission vehicles, compared to 1970 models," says air pollution expert Joel Schwartz, coauthor of the book Air Quality in America.

Stricter EPA Ozone Rules Could Put 'Entire Country' Out of Business, Industry Group Warns.  American Petroleum Institute Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Howard Feldman warned that new ozone regulations currently under review by the Obama administration and the Environmental Protection Agency could put "nearly the entire country" out of business.  "Such strict standards are not justified from a health perspective and are not needed to continue air quality progress," Feldman said Thursday on a conference call with reporters.

The Steady March Toward Cleaner Air.  Air quality in the United States is getting cleaner, but sadly many Americans believe the opposite.  In order to explain the reality of America's improving environmental quality, Steven Hayward has spent years compiling environmental data with his Almanac of Environmental Trends. [...] Hayward writes:  Virtually the entire nation has achieved clean air standards for four of the six main pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and lead).  The only pollutant where the clean air standard is still widely exceeded is ozone.  In the case of ozone and particulates, the areas of the nation with the highest pollution levels have shown the greatest magnitude of improvement.

Earth Day Lesson: Environment is not Climate.  In China the demand for electricity is so great that coal is burned very inefficiently, without any controls, and the air makes Los Angeles of the 1950s look good.  Of the ten most air-polluted cities in the world, eight are in China.  India likewise needs to clean up.  It's easy for Americans to criticize, but they're sacrificing air quality to get faster economic growth.

The EPA can no longer justify its existence.
EPA: Hiding One's Light Under a Bushel.  In 1970 [when the EPA was created,] 31 million tons of sulphur dioxide, a prime contributor to smog, was emitted into the atmosphere.  In 2008 it was 11 million tons.  In 1970 34 million tons of volatile organic compounds were emitted.  In 2008 it was 16 million.  In 1970 204 million tons of carbon monoxide; in 2008 it was 72 million.  The EPA recently declared carbon dioxide a pollutant (which means we pollute the atmosphere every time we exhale).  And the only major country in the world where carbon dioxide emissions are declining?  The United States.  We emitted less CO2 in 2012 than in 1992.  Water pollution has similarly abated.  Unhealthy air days in major U.S. cities these days are a rarity.  Even Los Angeles had only 18 in all of 2011.  Manhattan had exactly none.

Oil industry, lawmakers say EPA fuel rule would hike prices at the pump.  The proposal, released Friday morning [3/29/2013], aims to reduce sulfur in gasoline by more than 60 percent in 2017.  The agency claimed the change would save lives and cut down significantly on respiratory ailments by making the air cleaner.  But critics questioned those claims, and said the plan would impose higher gas prices on hard-hit families.

The Editor says...
The amount of sulphur dioxide in the air is about one third of the levels experienced in 1970 — when there were less than half as many vehicles on the road.*  In 2011, there were 244,778,179 vehicle registrations.*  In 1970, there were 108,407,306 vehicles on the roads in the U.S.*  It is therefore safe to conclude that sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere isn't killing anybody — and thus any claims that the new EPA regulations "would save lives" are specious.  The purpose of this new regulation is to justify the EPA's existence and to turn the screws a little tighter on "big oil."

Chinese air episode exposes EPA fraud on PM 2.5 levels.  According to EPA risk estimates, the day the PM2.5 level spiked to 886 micrograms per cubic meter, the daily death toll should have increased to about 518 deaths — that is, if what the EPA says about PM2.5 is true.  Thus far, however, there is no evidence from China that the EPA's claims about PM2.5 are anywhere close to being true.  The Chinese media have reported on four deaths related to the current air pollution crisis.  Two Chinese boys were reportedly killed in a train accident caused by visibility problems.  Two other people were apparently killed in a car accident, again caused by visibility problems.  Yet there are no reports of a spike in deaths caused by breathing the heavily polluted air.

An Imaginary Dustup? The Incalculable Harm of Regulation.  [Scroll down]  If you operate a grain elevator in St. Joseph, Missouri, or a fertilizer business in my home town, what incentive do you have to grow, to expand, to invest?  You're on notice that you are dangerous, that your activities are a threat to others.  If you are that fertilizer dealer, you've also learned something else.  You've learned to be extremely cynical about the whole enterprise.

China air pollution "beyond index".  According to the government monitoring, levels of PM2.5 particles were above 700 micrograms per cubic meter on Saturday [2/9/2013], and declined by Monday to levels around 350 micrograms — but still way above the World Health Organization's safety levels of 25.

The Cost of Obama's Regulatory Explosion.  [Scroll down]  Of course, the Obama White House fancifully contends that, in addition to costing colossal sums of money, its regulations also save colossal sums of money.  But only the truly credulous could believe this is true — or that there's any accurate way to quantify the "savings" that would ensue from, say, cleaner air (to the extent that these regulations even legitimately advance such goals).

China's bad air puts the lie to EPA scare tactics.  In scientific documents, the EPA has repeatedly concluded that any exposure to PM2.5 can kill, and it can kill people within hours or days of inhalation.  The EPA has estimated that every 10 microgram-per-cubic-meter increase in PM2.5 increases daily death rates by about 1 percent.  That rate is asserted to be higher for vulnerable subpopulations like the elderly or sick.  What should all this mean for China?  On the worst day so far of the ongoing Chinese air pollution event, Beijing's PM2.5 levels peaked at 886 micrograms per cubic meter — an incredible 89 times greater than the U.S. daily average.  Based on EPA risk estimates, we should expect the daily death toll in Beijing to have skyrocketed by 89 percent on a same-day and next-day basis.  Remember that PM2.5 essentially causes "sudden death," according to the EPA.

Obama's Second Term Regulations That Will Destroy America.  Although President Obama previously admitted that the "regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty" of tightening an existing ozone standard would harm jobs and the economy, he still pointed to the fact that it will be reconsidered in 2013.  EPA itself estimated that this would cost $90 billion a year.  Other studies project that the rule could cost upwards of a trillion dollars and destroy 7.4 million jobs, and put 650 additional counties into a category of "non-attainment".  This is the equivalent of posting a "closed for business" sign on communities which will suffer from severe business and job losses resulting from large numbers of plant closures.

EPA's statistics not science, but nonsense.  The scientific and medical reality is that ambient air pollution — even as grimy, stinky, eye-watering and ugly as it is in China — does not kill or hasten death.  Fine particulate matter was such a public health problem, in fact, that no one knew about it until EPA-funded researchers invented it in 1993 — 30 years after the Clean Air Act was enacted.  Since the Clinton administration, the agency has been using its invention to impose billions and billions of dollars of costs on our economy in return for the entirely imaginary benefit of tens of thousands of lives saved annually.

What's EPA smoking?  As reported in an October 2003 study published in the American Medical Association's Archives of Internal Medicine, the risk of sudden death among those who smoked as long as 10 years was zero.  If you can smoke for 10 years and have zero chance of sudden death, you can breathe average U.S. air for thousands of years with zero risk of sudden death.  Given that the "worst" U.S. air has, perhaps, twice the level of PM2.5 as average U.S. air, you even could breathe the "worst" U.S. air for thousands of years with zero risk of sudden death.  Therefore, the EPA's claim that PM2.5 is killing people and the nation stands to reap billion of dollars' worth of health benefits from its new rule are without merit.

EPA Sued Over Heinous Experiments on Humans.  After accumulating evidence via the Freedom of Information Act that showed the Environmental Protection Agency conducted disturbing experiments that exposed humans to inhalable particulates the agency has said are deadly, sound science advocate Steven Milloy has sued the federal government.

"There is no area of our lives the leftists won't invade."
Progressives Want to Ban Barbecue Aromas And So Much More.  The city council in Austin, Tex. took up "the smell of barbecue and a proposal to control it," the New York Times reported in April, "in response to some citizen complaints."  They plan to order the restaurants to control the odors because it is a "public nuisance."  Austin is known for its barbecue restaurants and food trucks.  Most would close, perhaps all.  "A public nuisance is an activity that threatens the public health, safety or welfare, or does damage to community resources."  The city of Austin wants to take a handful of citizen complaints and make them into a public health hazard.  We won't ban illegal immigration but we will ban the aromas from restaurant barbecues.

The Editor says...
This problem is easily solved.  Let the left-wing liberal authoritarians shut down all the barbecue joints in Austin.  Better yet, all the restaurants that emit any discernable aroma.  Then sit back and wait for the outcry from the low-information voters who haven't been paying attention.  The restaurants will be back open in a few days, and the experience may make Libertarians out of a lot of hungry citizens.

Florida council official caught on camera telling resident the smoke from his barbecue 'cannot leave the property'.  A bizarre video has emerged out of Florida showing a man who says he is a council official telling a resident that the smoke from their barbecue is not allowed to leave the property.  The video, which went viral over the weekend, shows the male resident arguing with the apparent official and not believing what he is being told.  'I'm only here because of the odor, I'm only here because of the smoke,' the official says the clip.  [Video clip]

Who Is Greener?  In Pittsburgh, coal-fired steel mills in the 1940s and '50s belched so much smoke that lawyers and bankers working indoors had to go home at noon for lunch and a change of shirts.  Ohio's Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969.  That event sparked passage of the Clean Water Act.  America cleaned up air and water. [...] Even our own very liberal Enviromental Protection Agency acknowledges that "emissions from a new car purchased today are well over 90 percent cleaner than a new vehicle purchased in 1970."

Great news: the EPA's new smog rules will only cost 40 times as much as they said.  So we'll be sucking well over $50B a year out of the economy to achieve a reduction in ozone levels from 75 parts per billion to... 70 parts per billion.  That's a pretty steep price for what is likely barely measurable change.  Trying to determine the effectiveness of such a change, even if it's achieved is a challenge.  The EPA's own information on the subject doesn't go much further than saying that more ground level ozone is bad and less is better.

EPA's Smog Regulation Will Cost 40x More Than It Predicted.  The Environmental Protection Agency estimated its stricter smog limits would only cost Americans $1.4 billion a year, but a new report argues the total cost to the economy is likely 40 times higher than agency estimates.  The right-leaning American Action Forum says EPA's updated smog, or ground-level ozone, rule could cost $56.5 billion in lost wages based on economic losses from counties that couldn't comply with the agency's 2008 rule.

China smog around 50 times WHO recommendations.  A swathe of China was blanketed with dangerous acrid smog Monday (Nov 8) after levels of the most dangerous particulates reached around 50 times World Health Organization maximums, with energy use for heating blamed as winter sets in.  Pictures showed smog so thick that buildings in Changchun, the capital of Jilin province in the northeast, were rendered invisible.

The Editor says...
If dirty air was as toxic as the EPA claims, nobody in Changchun would be alive today.

Climate Alarmist War On Nitrous Oxide Threatens The Global Food Supply.  In November 2022, four eminent scientists issued a theoretical physics paper, "Nitrous Oxide and Climate."  It proves that the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s "war on nitrous oxide" to achieve Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2050 threatens to cause a significant collapse in the world's food supply.  The article's four authors are eminent men in their field, so their analysis and opinion deserve to be taken very seriously: [...] All four are staunch critics of the IPCC war to expand the hysterical climate attack on carbon dioxide (CO2) to include demonizing nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4), which are classed as "minor greenhouse gases."  The report concludes with a compelling truth:  "It is not possible to maintain highly productive agriculture without nitrogen fertilizer."  It's a genuinely frightening thought that the neo-Marxists at the heart of today's climate hysteria have chosen to attack N2O because millions will die if governments ban nitrogen fertilizers.  The neo-Marxist ideologues are willing to manipulate existential climate fear in their insane willingness to kill millions if that's what is required to negate capitalism.

Netherlands moves to limit farmers to TWO cows per acre to curb emissions: report.  The Dutch government continues its war on the country's farmers and has proposed new regulations that would roughly limit two cows per acre in order to reach the European Union's climate change targets by 2030, The Telegraph reports.  The proposal, which has not yet been approved by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, would limit "0.35 hectares of grassland per livestock unit" in an attempt to tackle nitrogen emissions by reducing methane gas, which will place an even greater strain between the country's farmers and Dutch government.

European farmers fed up with climate policies shock [the] political establishment.  A young Dutch political party seeking to push back on the government's climate agenda achieved a stunning victory Wednesday as it won the most seats for a single party in the Dutch Senate.  "This isn't normal, but actually it is!  It's all normal citizens who voted," party leader Caroline van der Plas said.  "But today people have shown they can't stay at home any longer.  We won't be ignored anymore."  The Farmer-Citizen Movement Party, known as BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) in Dutch, built its victory on the back of protests against the government's environmental policies, which aim to slash nitrogen emissions by dramatically cutting back on livestock numbers and buying out thousands of farms.  Nitrate and ammonia pollution significantly impacts biodiversity, particularly air and water quality.

Bureaucracies [are] Utterly Incapable of Making Reasonable Tradeoffs.  You don't go into a career as an environmental bureaucrat if you think that your concern for the environment is something that can or should be compromised.  In the U.S., battle is currently joined on multiple fronts as to whether unaccountable bureaucracies get to declare the non-toxic beneficial gas CO2 a "danger" to human health and welfare and thereby claim the ability to shut down the entire fossil fuel energy economy and force a multi-trillion dollar (and probably impossible and impoverishing) energy transition on the people. [...] But consider for a moment how it works in the different governance model of the EU, where bureaucrats answer to no one and are virtually unconstrained.  This consideration is relevant to the U.S. situation, because the EU governance model of the unconstrained bureaucratic state, at least as to environmental issues, is the one favored by Democrats in our Congress and by the "liberal" justices on the Supreme Court.  Over in the EU, they have decided that nitrogen — or maybe it is "reactive nitrogen" — is a pollutant.  And pollutants are bad, and therefore they should be reduced or, better, eliminated.  And the bureaucracies have been empowered toward this goal.  Well, here's the problem.  Nitrogen is an essential building block of life, including human life, without which we all starve to death.  Every protein is made up of amino acids, and every amino acid has at least one atom of nitrogen in it.

Those Attacks on Gas Stoves Aren't Really about Health.  Earlier this month, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that indoor gas stoves emitted harmful pollution.  Several studies claim that the use of gas can cause respiratory illness.  The CPSC is considering restrictions on gas stoves, including possible bans in new residential construction.  But attacks on gas stoves are based on questionable science and are largely driven by concerns not related to health.  The CPSC has reportedly been considering actions on gas stoves since October.  Richard Trumpka, Jr., a CPSC commissioner, stated "This is a hidden hazard.  Any option is on the table.  Products that can't be made safe can be banned."  Two recent studies figure prominently in agency concerns.  The first, published in January last year by Eric Lebel and others, found that gas stoves and ovens emit hazardous levels of methane and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).  The second, published in December last year by Talor Gruenwald and others, estimated that 12.7 percent of childhood asthma cases in the US were due to gas stove use.  Nitrous oxide (NO) is produced at combustion temperatures above 1,600°C by breaking down nitrogen molecules in air.  Modern stove burner flames reach temperatures above 1,600°C, producing NO.  The nitrous oxide then combines with oxygen to form nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant.  But the amount of NO2 generated by stoves is very small, only parts per billion (ppb) levels.

Fertilizer Shortage Puts World On Verge of Food Crisis.  The world is facing a long list of troubles often isolated to specific regions.  Still, one issue experts warn is just on the horizon is a global food shortage that is likely to threaten every country.  Farmers everywhere are already noting there is a shortage of fertilizers needed to keep crop yields at their highest levels to feed the nearly 8 billion people of the world.  Last year, for instance, U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and author Michael Yon [says] that all of the 26 major plants in Europe that produce nitrogen-based fertilizers are either closed down or on the verge of closing.  This will lead to famine. [...]"

Report: The Real Agenda for Taking Over 3,000 Dutch Farms.  As the Dutch government insists it must shut down 3,000 farms and kill off one-third to half of the farm animals to meet EU nitrogen guidelines, farmers and their many allies in The Netherlands continue to protest. [...]There is no evidence that wind and solar can replace fossil fuels.  The opposite is true.  Storage from wind and solar can't work at the present time.  Mainstream media has portrayed farmers as anti-environmentalist and conspiracy theorists.  It's not true.  It's propaganda.  [Tweet]

Belgium's Energy Suicide?  Belgium's situation is dramatic.  While our neighbors have taken and are taking measures to cushion the energy crisis, maintain their budgetary health and guarantee their energy supply, Belgium is in a situation of clear and obvious failure on all three counts.  I will only deal here with the energy misery, which is entirely avoidable and caused by the anti-nuclear tendencies of two environmentalist political parties, Ecolo and The Greens.  Security of energy supply seems, for some officials, to be an abstract concept.  It is anything but.  In practice, when energy security is not guaranteed, it means load-shedding, blackouts and an explosion in energy costs, as well as, for many, having to choose between "heat or eat".

Nitrous Oxide and Climate.  Nitrous oxide (N20) has now joined carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in the climate alarm proponents' pantheon of anthropogenic "demon" gases.  In their view, increasing concentrations of these molecules are leading to unusual and unprecedented warming and will, in turn, lead to catastrophic consequences for both our ecosystems and humanity.  Countries around the world are in the process of greatly reducing or eliminating the use of nitrogen fertilizers based on heretofore poorly understood properties of nitrous oxide.  Reductions of N2O emissions are being proposed in Canada by 40 to 45 percent and in the Netherlands by up to 50 percent.  Sri Lanka's complete ban on fertilizer in 2021 led to the total collapse of their primarily agricultural economy.  To provide critically needed information on N2O, the CO2 Coalition has published an important and timely paper evaluating the warming effect of the gas and its role in the nitrogen cycle.  Armed with this vital information, policymakers can now proceed to make informed decisions about the costs and benefits of mandated reductions of this beneficial molecule.

Climate War on Nitrous Oxide Threatens Starvation.  A climate-inspired war on nitrous oxide (N2O) is threatening the global food supply.  At risk are the viability of modern agricultural businesses and the very lives of the people who consume their plant and animal products.  Fanned by climate alarmists, fears that nitrous oxide — a greenhouse gas — is contributing to global warming are driving some world leaders to promote restrictions on its emission from croplands, livestock pastures and greenhouses.  Nitrogen-based fertilizers make up 56 percent of global fertilizer consumption, thus playing an essential role in enriching soil fertility to increase yields and maintaining food security.  Experts project that just over half of the planet's population could be sustained without nitrogen fertilizer.  In other words, almost half of the world's people would starve without it.

Going Hungry Under Green Policies.  United Nations officials now tell politicians that the climate "crisis" demands countries make all sorts of sacrifices, like cutting nitrogen waste.  Much of that waste comes from synthetic fertilizer, so activists applauded when Sri Lanka's government decided to become the first country to really take their advice.  Sri Lanka banned all synthetic fertilizers.  Oops.  Suddenly, the same farms produced much less food.  Food prices rose 80%.  One result: riots.  As my new video shows, thousands swarmed the president's mansion.  Some had a cookout on his lawn.  The president resigned and fled the country.  It turns out that we need chemical fertilizers.

Netherlands farmers, fisherman revolt against government greenie impositions.  Greenie policies have destroyed Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and they destroy pretty much any economy wherever they go.  The revolt has now hit the Netherlands. [...] The government passed a greenie law to cut nitrogen and carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and then blandly declared that, yah, yah, "the honest message ... is that not all farmers can continue their business."  So for the Dutch farmers, who are among the world's most productive, who feed a continent and beyond from their tiny artificially created landscape, with, yes, cows, which are all about creating this newly created problem of nitrogen as well as cow-[emission] carbon, are suddenly the target.  They've got to quit producing and die.  Pay no attention to the fact that not every nation can sustain cows but would like to buy beef and leather and gelatin and milk and all the other things cows produce.  They all will now see shortages at the supermarkets and, worse still, shortages of cow "byproducts," which are sold as crop-saving fertilizer around the world.  Pay no attention to the unintended consequences the Dutch farmers are warning about.  The tsentral planners have spoken, and now the cows must die.  Too bad about the farms and farmers and consumers.

Is 'Nitrogen Pollution' the Next Insane Environmental Extremist Cause?  For years, environmental extremist bureaucrats have created economy-crushing rules by claiming life-essential carbon dioxide is a pollutant.  Mercifully, the Supreme Court slammed a flaming stake into the heart of Biden's plans to use the Environmental Protection Agency to enact the "Green New Deal" without going through the proper legislative process.  However, there is troubling news from the Netherlands about another life-essential chemical being smeared:  Nitrogen.  Thousands of farmers were gathering in a village near the centre of the Netherlands on Wednesday to protest a government plan to curb nitrogen pollution, many travelling by tractor from all corners of the country and snarling traffic.

The Non-Crisis Nitrogen "Crisis" In The Netherlands.  On the Fourth of July, a group of angry Dutch farmers and fishermen, presumably dressed as colorful Frisians, and in the grip of angry exuberance, burnt bales of hay on roads, and blocked up highways with tractors and farm equipment, shutting down traffic throughout the country.  Ports and borders were stopped up. [...] This was all in protest of the government's declaration that nitrogen is a "crisis", and so threatening to confiscate farms to "solve" the "crisis."  Prediction:  Later, it will be said to be a coincidence when the government eventually disposes of the confiscated farms by selling them to rich people.

Dutch Farmers Become Ungovernable After 'Climate Change' Agreement.  You won't see it on any of the alphabet networks, but a protest movement is exploding in the Netherlands after the government moved to shut down farms in order to "fight" climate change.  The contentious move, pushed by the World Economic Forum, was enacted as part of an EU agreement that seeks to limit the release of nitrogen.  This is what becoming ungovernable looks like.  [Tweets]  Of all the aspects of the green agenda, none is more damaging and suicidal than putting in arbitrary provisions that limit the production of food across the globe.  I'm not in support of targeting anything to "lower emissions" because I believe it's spitting into the wind to make wealthy elites feel better about their lifestyles.  Yet, even if I did support that agenda, the last place that should be targeted is the food sector.

Dutch Farmers in Mass Revolt Against Green Fascism.  Thousands of Dutch farmers descended on the Netherlands capital to protest against onerous environmental restrictions that threaten their livelihoods.  The demonstrations were sparked after the coalition government proposed that "Dutch livestock farming should be slashed to meet commitments on reducing nitrogen emissions," reports Dutch News NL.  Farmers traveled to the Hague in their tractors, causing tailbacks in excess of 620 miles and huge traffic jams around and in the city.

Tractor Trail Of Protesting Dutch Farmers Snarls Traffic for Hundreds Of Miles.  Thousands of Dutch farmers rolled their tractors over highways to The Hague to protest a possible crackdown on nitrogen emissions from livestock and farming operations.  The angry farmers snarled traffic for hundreds of miles in what has been called the Netherlands' busiest morning rush hour.  Brightly colored rows of the tractors rolled slowly down main roads all morning on Tuesday.  The Dutch automobile association ANWB says it recorded more than 700 miles of traffic jams at the peak of rush hour, mostly due to the protest.

The Editor says...
Nitrogen is not a pollutant.  More than 78 percent of the atmosphere is nitrogen already.  Just like carbon dioxide, nitrogen is plant food.  It's about as harmless as a gas can be, without being completely inert.  I see truckloads of liquid nitrogen on the highway every day.  Wherever those trucks deliver their payloads, the nitrogen will eventually return to the atmosphere.  The radical left is trying to outlaw the emission of everything but oxygen — although that might be next — by anyone engaged in agriculture, industry, or daily life.  They are doing this to obstruct capitalism and obtain leverage and power where they currently have none.

About-Face on Preventing Peanut Allergies.  A diet that includes peanuts in the first year of life may greatly reduce the chance of developing peanut allergies in children at risk for getting them, according to a highly anticipated new study.  The findings appear to be the most definitive evidence yet to discount the medical community's longtime recommendation that parents avoid giving peanut products to young children.  That practice has failed to stem the growing rate of peanut allergies.  Some doctors now suggest that not eating peanuts may actually have helped spur more allergies.

Early exposure 'cuts peanut allergy'.  Eating peanut products as a baby dramatically cuts the risk of allergy, a study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests.  Trials on 628 babies prone to developing peanut allergy found the risk was cut by over 80%.

Gov't: Food allergies may be disability under law.  The Justice Department said in a recent settlement with a Massachusetts college that severe food allergies can be considered a disability under the law.

Popular Athletic Clothing Brands Have High Levels of Hormone-Disrupting Chemical BPA: Watchdog Group.  Sports bras and athletic shirts made by some of the major global sports brands were found to contain dangerous levels of the estrogen-mimicking chemical bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, posing a considerable risk to people's health, according to legal notices sent by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH).  BPA — an endocrine disrupting chemical that upsets the body's functioning through blocking or mimicking hormones — is linked to developmental and health problems mostly for young children.  For adults, studies have found that high levels of the chemical results in heart problems, while experts have connected BPA to obesity, diabetes, ADHD, and other ailments, with more research pending for definitive conclusions.

Obama to sign into law new EPA power over toxic chemicals.  President Obama signed into law Wednesday [6/22/2016] sweeping new power for the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate thousands of toxic substances found in everyday products from household cleaners to toys and furniture. [...] The law sets safety standards for a host of toxic substances, including asbestos, formaldehyde and Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA.

Taxpayer-funded anti-BPA activism is the real danger.  Alarmist claims about the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) have reached an absurd level. [...] BPA has been used safely for more than five decades to make hard clear plastics (polycarbonate plastics) and epoxy resins that line the inside of steel and aluminum cans.  There are no verified cases of anyone suffering ill effects from BPA exposure from consumer products, and numerous comprehensive scientific reviews have found BPA safe at current typical exposure levels.

Ignoring Science, 97% of Stories Hype BPA as Health Threat.  Fear of chemicals and "toxins" is rampant among the so-called "environmental" left.  Unfortunately, that phobia infects national media coverage as well.  For more than a decade, the left has been on the attack against BPA, a chemical that is commonly found in plastics and other products.  Anti-chemical groups such as the Breast Cancer Fund and some scientists have crusaded against BPA (known formally as bisphenol A), connecting it to cancer and reproductive problems and claiming that it is "a threat to human health," despite government agencies that have declared it "harmless" even in baby bottles.  Much of the national media have bought in spreading fear of the chemical in ordinary canned goods, on cash register receipts, in dental sealants and more.  In just the past two years, the three broadcast networks and top five national newspapers have continued to report on the "hidden danger" of BPA, labeling it "carcinogenic" and "toxic" often with small or flawed reports from activists.

FDA Confirms BPA Poses No Realistic Health Risk.  The FDA just commented on a new peer-reviewed study which found no health impact from low doses of bisphenol-A.  BPA is a plasticizer often found at low doses in things like foods, children's milk bottles, and toys.  Anti-chemical activists responded by sending out waves of demands to parents that this useful chemical be banned from the shelves.  The FDA said, "The study reported no effects of BPA at any dose except at the very highest levels, and is consistent with the FDA's current position that BPA is safe at the very low amounts that occur in some foods."  The FDA found BPA's "low dose" safety range is huge:  from 2.5 to 2700 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day.

The Top 10 Unfounded Health Scares of 2012.  [#10] BPA and receipts: [BPA] has been used to harden certain plastics and resins and can be found in water bottles, baby bottles, cups, toys and other consumer goods, as well as in the coating used inside metal food containers in order to prevent spoilage and food-borne illness.  Some research has indicated that BPA can seep into food or beverages from containers made with BPA and now apparently BPA can leach into your body from a store receipt. [...] According to Justin Teeguarden, a toxicologist and senior research scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Research Lab in Washington, BPA poses no danger to humans because it is rapidly metabolized and excreted in the urine.  A person would have to consume hundreds of thousands of times more than the amount they do now, in order to even measure significant levels in the blood.

BPA Replacement Faces the Same Attacks as BPA.  Anti-chemical activists claim Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical providing strength and flexibility to plastic products, poses threats to human health.  The activists point to studies showing rats develop health complications when continuously fed mega-doses of BPA.  Scientists report, however, that humans do not ingest nearly enough BPA to pose a threat to human health.  Clinical tests and observational studies confirm the scientists' reports.

The Deadly Obama Virus.  In the beginning of the 2009 flu season, Barack Obama declared the H1N1 swine flu a national emergency.  By October of that year 1,000 people had already died, and according to the president there was the threat of a pandemic. [...] Speaking of pigs, according to the CDC, after the swine flu scare was over, in a country that typically sees 36,000 deaths from the flu annually, that year 12,000 Americans died of the swine flu.

More than a decade later, SARS offers lessons on Ebola.  It was a novel virus whose early symptoms could easily be mistaken for a dozen other common afflictions.  With no treatment or vaccine in hand, it bubbled up — and quickly mushroomed — in a group of poor, populous countries.  Healthcare workers who treated the infected died by the hundreds.  Eventually, the virus boarded airplanes and crisscrossed the globe, infecting thousands in the span of several months.  Millions more came down with a paralyzing fear of the deadly and mysterious pathogen:  severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Here's a rule of thumb about diseases:  The rarer and less likely they are to kill you, the more hype they get.  The New York Times ran more than 2,000 articles on SARS, which ultimately killed zero Americans.

The Fear Equation.  In early March of 2003, when SARS swept into Hong Kong from Southern China, the streets of one of the world's most densely populated areas were practically deserted.  Venders in kiosks sold face masks and hand sanitizer to anyone brave, or foolish, enough to leave home.  The fear of a new highly contagious disease is understandable, and, with no effective treatment or vaccine for SARS, it was difficult to know what to do.  The World Health Organization recommended that officials in the countries most affected warn people with a fever to stay off international flights.  Hong Kong went further, using infrared scanners and thermometers to take the temperature of more than thirty-six million passengers as they arrived.  Nineteen hundred and twenty-one of them had a fever, and forty were admitted to the hospital.  None developed SARS.  (Canada and Singapore also scanned arriving passengers.  Neither country found anyone with SARS.)

Baltimore to battle violent crime by banning styrofoam?  The city is one of the most dangerous in America, and, not surprisingly, one of the most violent, so what are the central planners going to do about the spike in violence?  Not much it seems[.]

NYC resurrects ban on foam containers.  The New York City Council first banned foam takeout containers in 2013.  The law went into effect in 2015 but was quickly overturned after a group that included a restaurant trade organization and a major foam manufacturer sued the city.  The city's Department of Sanitation has issued a second report maintaining that Styrofoam and other foodservice foams are not recyclable and wants it banned again.  Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia told Fox 5 that New York City wants to be at the forefront of the environmental movement.  She said Styrofoam tends to fall apart easily, pollutes waterways, and is not recyclable.

Styrofoam ban begins Friday in D.C.  Officials with the Department of Energy and Environment will launch undercover spot checks to ensure no businesses use the foam containers.  Establishments not in compliance will be issued a warning and given 30 days to follow the new law.

New York City ban on foam cups and containers begins July 1.  New York Mayor Bill de Blasio fulfilled a campaign promise on Thursday [1/8/2015] by announcing a ban on serving food and drinks in polystyrene foam containers, a measure hailed by environmentalists but long opposed by the food service industry.

Another foamy excuse.  Mayor de Blasio has just targeted an old Bloomberg bogeyman:  styrofoam.  By July 1, single-use polystyrene foam products — plates, cups, bowls, takeout containers and so forth — will be banned.  By next year, the city will impose fines.

Bloomberg's Last Crusade: Banning Styrofoam Cups.  With the sun finally setting on the Bloomberg empire, New York City's fastidious mayor attempts to seal his legacy by tackling the most dangerous threat facing America's largest city:  styrofoam cups?

Mayor Bloomberg wants to ban Styrofoam.  At the request of the mayor, the City Council's Sanitation Committee is holding a hearing Monday [11/25/2013] on a bill to prohibit the use and sale of plastic foam cups and plates that have long been ubiquitous in delis, bodegas and even school cafeterias.  Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway will testify on behalf of the administration, which first proposed the ban in the summer and is now rushing to get it enacted into law.

NYC Bill Would Ban Styrofoam Containers.  The New York City Council is considering a bill to ban the sale of food served in polystyrene foam containers.  Mayor Michael Bloomberg and at least 11 Council members publicly support the proposed ban, but consumers and small business owners are rallying against it.  The Bloomberg administration claims the many years it takes polystyrene to break down in local landfills justifies the product ban.  According to the American Chemistry Council, however, polystyrene foam containers comprise less than 1 percent of landfill waste.

New York City's Imperial Mayor Bloomberg Bans Again.  Still pulsing with the power from outlawing big servings of sweet drinks, Michael Bloomberg now wants to run Styrofoam out of his city.  Clearly, he believes that everyone has to live exactly as he wants them to live.  During Thursday's State of the City address, New York Mayor Bloomberg called for a ban on Styrofoam food packaging.  It's all a part of his crusade to eliminate smoking, sugary drinks, salt and other items he doesn't like — and, hence, thinks no one else should have.

NYC Mayor Bloomberg Calling For Styrofoam Ban.  When I sit here lamenting living in the blue state of New York, I take a little solace in knowing that at least I don't live in New York City and I don't have to put up with that tyrant of a Mayor, Michael Bloomberg.  Not only is he telling people what they can eat and drink, now he's going after food and beverage containers.

City considers ban on Styrofoam cups and containers.  First he dictated the size of our cups — now he wants to ban what they're made of.  The Bloomberg administration is considering banning Styrofoam cups and containers — popular at thousands of delis and food carts across the city — as it prepares to roll out a major recycling announcement in the coming weeks, a Sanitation Department official said yesterday [2/6/2013].

World Health Organization: 'Millions' Will Die From Eating Too Much Salt Without Government Intervention.  Needless to say, I don't often write about such things as healthy diets and lifestyles — which is not to say I don't adhere to both — but when the World Health Organization calls on member governments to pass strict limitations on what I can eat and how much of it, it gets my attention — and should get yours, as well.  Again, my stance, particularly in this case, shouldn't be confused with opposition to the current culprit in the spotlight:  salt.  Specifically, excessive consumption of salt.  While I agree in principle with the notion, I don't agree that it's the job of the federal government to look after me and take steps to force me to eat less salt.

FDA Announces Plan to Heavily Reduce Salt in Prepared Foods.  Food companies are coming under renewed pressure to use less salt after U.S. regulators spelled out long-awaited guidelines aimed at reducing sodium levels in dozens of foods including condiments, cereals, french fries and potato chips.  The voluntary goals finalized Wednesday [10/13/2021] for 163 foods are intended to help lower the amount of salt people eat.  A majority of the sodium in U.S. diets comes from packaged or restaurant foods — not the salt added to meals at home — making it hard for people to make changes on their own.

FDA wants to radically reduce salt in the nation's food supply.  Health officials are urging food manufacturers and services to take drastic action against America's insatiable appetite for salt.  The Food and Drug Administration has asked food-producing companies to slash the amount of salt in their products by at least 12%, giving businesses 2½ years to hit the mark, according to a statement made Wednesday [10/13/2021].  "What we'd like to see is the food industry gradually lower the sodium content," Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock told NBC News, targeting conventionally purchased foods and groceries — namely, processed and prepackaged foods, such as condiments, snacks and frozen dinners, as well as dishes from chain restaurants.

Salt Awareness Week 2019: Is it really as bad as we're led to believe?  How much salt do you consume every day?  Government guidelines say we should limit our intake to no more than 6g per day, but if you're like me, that doesn't mean a lot.  So I got out my kitchen scales and weighed it.  Turns out 6g is the equivalent of 1 teaspoon.  I looked at the small pile of white crystals, and imagined sprinkling salt over my fried eggs in the morning or whisking some into a vinaigrette or seasoning a steak before grilling.  Suddenly 6g didn't seem like a lot.  But Action on Salt — the group behind Salt Awareness Week, which runs from 4 to 10 March — wants us to meet that 6g target and more.  We average around 8.1g a day, so we're looking at just over a 25 percent reduction.

Why Everything We Know About Salt May Be Wrong.  New studies of Russian cosmonauts, held in isolation to simulate space travel, show that eating more salt made them less thirsty but somehow hungrier.  Subsequent experiments found that mice burned more calories when they got more salt, eating 25 percent more just to maintain their weight.  The research, published recently in two dense papers in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, contradicts much of the conventional wisdom about how the body handles salt and suggests that high levels may play a role in weight loss.

The FDA's Foolish War on Salt.  Earlier this month, as I touched on briefly in a recent column, the FDA issued a "voluntary" sodium "guidance" for the food industry.  The agency is seeking to pressure companies to reduce the salt content of their foods.  It establishes and applies to 150 categories of food.  It also creates two- and 10-year salt-reduction goals, with an eye to allowing time for "American palates to adapt to new tastes and manufacturers to reformulate products."  The FDA claims the guidance is "intended to address the excessive intake of sodium in the current population and promote improvements in public health."  But the plan, I wrote, has "faced sharp criticism."  So what's wrong with this voluntary guidance?  Many things.  Here are three.  First, it's not based on scientific consensus. [...]

The 'War On Salt' Is Bad Policy Based on Bad Science.  The Center for Science in the Public Interest, one of the few openly authoritarian organizations functioning in the United States, once sued the Food and Drug Administration for refusing to regulate Americans' salt intake.  No worries.  This week, the Obama administration finally embraced CSPI's junk science and allowed the FDA to set new "guidelines" to "nudge" companies into treating a perfectly harmless ingredient as if it were a dangerous chemical.

Government Nannies Say New Salt Guidelines [are] Imminent.  The Obama administration plans to continue its war on food and food manufacturers with proposed guidelines for sodium consumption.  According to Politico, new sodium guidelines are set to be released as early as this summer...although the science behind the regulation is confused.  The government effort to get Americans to lower their sodium consumption has stalled on several fronts due to recent studies that contradict the conventional wisdom that sodium is a "pressing health threat."  A new lawsuit filed by the left-wing Center for Science in the Public Interest should fast-track the voluntary guidelines that were written two years ago but never released, the FDA says.  The suit alleges that the government violated the law by not forcing companies to label certain products with high-sodium warnings.

Obama's latest food crackdown: Salt.  Reducing salt consumption has long been part of the administration's push to get Americans to eat healthier.  But a plan to nudge food companies to take steps to voluntarily reduce sodium in their products, launched seven years ago, has been stalled amid concerns about political blowback and new studies questioning whether salt is actually a pressing health threat.

New York City brings in salt warnings on menus to tackle heart disease.  A symbol of a tiny salt shaker warning that certain meals are high in sodium will appear on menus in chain restaurants in New York City from this week.  The move makes New York the first US city to use salt labelling in an effort to combat heart disease and stroke.  Any menu item containing more than one teaspoon of salt must display the emblem of a salt shaker in a black triangle.

Uncle Sam's 'science'.  First it was high cholesterol, which the nation's top nutrition panel recently declared is no longer a "nutrient of concern" — reversing 40 years of official warnings.  Now, reports The Washington Post, the scientific consensus on whether Americans eat too much salt is shifting.  "There is no longer any valid basis for the current salt guidelines" that recommend no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, warns one researcher on a landmark study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine.  "So why," she asks, "are we still scaring people about salt?"

The FDA's Science-Free Anti-Salt Crusade.  It seems that Michael Jacobson, watch commander of the food police and executive director of the anti-corporate Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), hates food.  On any given day, he is battling with berries, clams, fat free and fat laden foods.  A strict vegetarian, Jacobson has made a lucrative career of attacking America's nutritional products and scaring hungry consumers.  In its last IRS filing, CSPI claimed a budget of nearly $20 million, not including Jacobson's speaking, writing, and appearance fees.  Their latest target is salt, and his agenda-driven scare tactics have influenced government bureaucrats who share his vendetta against U.S. corporate food producers.  This is especially true of the FDA.

Seven foods that were supposed to be incredibly unhealthy — but are actually anything but.  [#4] Salt — Old Wisdom:  Salt kills.  It raises blood pressures, causes hypertension and increases the risk of premature death.  New Wisdom:  Salt is essential to health.  Too little salt can actually lead to premature death.  The new wisdom is actually older than the old wisdom.  Long before it became the number-one evildoer in the Department of Agriculture's hit list, worse than fats, sugar and booze, salt was considered so valuable to body and soul that it was literally used as currency.

Killer salt and other 'scientific' disasters.  Some of you probably missed it, but the Centers for Disease Control announced earlier this month that consuming reasonable amounts of salt is not dangerous at all, despite decades of "science" claiming that salting up your steak and potatoes was tantamount to a death sentence. [...] In fact, the CDC has concluded that everyone ought to be eating between 1½ and 3 teaspoons of salt per day.  If you have been eating less than a teaspoon of salt a day, you may in fact be harming yourself.

Great news: Government salt intake guidelines useless, may even be dangerous.  After years of government warnings that Americans must lower sodium levels in their diet to avoid heart disease and strokes, a new study commissioned by the CDC finds that the 1500-mg level long championed by policymakers is not just wrong, but so low as to potentially cause health problems.

New study shows lowering salt intake doesn't help.  Say it loud, say it proud:  please pass the salt.  All those people hectoring me all those years to cut back on salt have been pushing phony advice, according to a major new study.

NYC Health Department proposes high-sodium warning on menus.  New York City's Health Department wants all chain restaurants to warn customers about products that are high in salt.

Now Feds assail salt: No pizza, chips, Mexican food, chicken tenders, sandwiches.  First fatty foods, then sugary drinks, now President Obama's food police are gunning for salt in their effort to upend the typical kiddy diet.  The latest evidence came Tuesday [9/9/2014] when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report that school-aged children are eating a mountain of salt.  The intake is so high, that the CDC is recommending a 50 percent cut within eight years.

The "guidelines" will be "voluntary" unless you don't comply.
The Obama Administration Wants Americans To Stop Eating So Much Salt.  The FDA, perhaps still smarting from the recent artisanal cheese kerfuffle, is setting its sights on a bigger target:  salt.  "The current level of [sodium] consumption is really higher than it should be," said FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg.  That's why they're preparing "voluntary guidelines" for the food industry encouraging them to stay below certain salt levels.  While the guidelines will initially be voluntary, health groups are lobbying for mandatory standards — lobbying that will only grow more intense if businesses refuse to comply once the standards are released.

Food Nannies Won't Be Stopped By Shoddy Science.  The Food and Drug Administration has begun to look at regulating the amount of salt in "processed" foods, and they're being cheered on by progressives.  ThinkProgress' health reporter Sy Mukherjee asked "why can't the FDA do more to crack down on these additives?", and lamented that foods generally recognized as safe cannot be so easily controlled by regulatory fiat.  Media Matters noted the "positive effects" from diets with reduced salt and said that those who disagreed with FDA regulations are waging a "war on health."

Bloomberg Cajoles 21 Companies to Remove Salt from Products.  On Monday, February 11, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he had succeeded in cajoling 21 companies to remove more salt from some food products.  Companies such as Butterball, Heinz, Starbucks, Oscar Mayer, and Kraft Foods have committed to taking more sodium out of products ranging from popcorn, to cold cuts, to breakfast sandwiches.  Bloomberg announced that 21 companies out of 24 agreed to the changes.

Top health-policy doc says city's war on salt is misguided.  City health czar Dr. Thomas Farley is warring with a noted scientist over sodium in the same medical journal where Farley trumpeted the city's war on salt.  "We cannot extrapolate that lowering sodium consumption would reduce cardiovascular risk or premature death," declared Dr. Sean C. Lucan of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in this month's American Journal of Public Health.

War on Salt Heats Up.  Salt is not only the world's most popular seasoning, but an essential nutrient.  If experience is any guide, the mostly voluntary measures to stop us from consuming it will soon give way to more coercive tactics.  Now might be a good time to start stocking up, unless you want to pay black market prices for something you literally cannot live without.

Federal Effort to Commandeer the Nation's Salt Shakers Is Based on Bad Science.  Salt has always been prized as a culinary marvel — perking up flavors, masking bitter elements and preventing spoilage.  Soup without salt is excellent for nourishing your garden, but unfit to eat.  Any number of dishes taste better with a dash or two.  But many experts and public health organizations see salt as a killer, which in excess amounts causes high blood pressure and heart disease.  They think we would all be better off eating less, and they want the government to make sure we do.

Food cops have sour prescription for our diets.  There are two things that will make finger-wagging food cops go ballistic: sugar and salt. ... In May, research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that, among 3,700 subjects studied over time, the cardiovascular death rate was highest among those who ate less salt.  And in July, a review determined that even a 50 percent salt reduction is not associated with a significant decrease in heart disease.

The Coming War on Bacon.  Having dramatically expanded the role of the government in your doctor's office and your bank this year, the Obama administration is turning its attention to your kitchen.  Sara Burrows, a reporter for the Carolina Journal, reported on the ramifications of the Obama administration's war on salt, announced recently as a nationwide decade long program by the FDA.

Tobacco Tyrants Turn Their Attention To Salt.  Why do food processors put a certain quantity of salt in their products?  The answer is the people who buy their product like it, and they earn profits by pleasing customers.  The FDA has taken the position that what the American buying public wants is irrelevant.  They know what's best and if you disagree, they will fine, jail or put you out of business.

It's A Gateway Spice:  FDA Wants To Regulate Salt.  The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to gradually reduce the salt consumed each day by Americans, saying that less sodium in everything from soup to nuts would prevent thousands of deaths from hypertension and heart disease.  The initiative, to be launched this year, would eventually lead to the first legal limits on the amount of salt allowed in food products.

The Editor says...
I'd rather take my chances with too much salt than with too much government.

FDA Plans to Force a National Salt Cutback.  To use one of the president's favorite words, this expansion of the Nanny State is unprecedented.  The federal agency believes that, without further authorization from Congress, it can go ahead and take charge of our palates. ... Alas, now that the government has taken an even larger stake in the health-care industry, it will now busy itself finding inexorably more intrusive ways to govern our personal health.

Chefs Call Proposed New York Salt Ban 'Absurd'.  Some New York City chefs and restaurant owners are taking aim at a bill introduced in the New York Legislature that, if passed, would ban the use of salt in restaurant cooking.

A Matter of Bad Taste.  Earlier this year, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled the National Salt Reduction Initiative, a set of "voluntary" guidelines to cut the amount of sodium in processed and restaurant foods by 20 percent over the next five years. ... In order to make 308 million lives worth living, a mayor is telling a country how to consume grilled cheeses and frankfurters.

Pol:  Ban all salt from restaurant cooking.  Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has introduced legislation to eliminate the use of salt "in any form" in preparing food in every restaurant in the state — a move similar to Mayor Bloomberg's efforts to change people's eating habits, including reducing salt intake.  Ortiz['s] bill calls for a ban on salt.

Desalinizing America.  Public health groups want Uncle Sam to start separating us from salt for our own good — along with saturated fat and sugar.  Uncle Sam is listening — and doing. Call it the blanding of America.  Or call it another blow by the nanny state for freedom — freedom from our undisciplined appetites.  Freedom from personal responsibility.  Freedom from choice.  Why, even freedom from freedom.  Look, freedom from freedom works for zoo animals, doesn't it?

Federal War on Salt Could Spoil Country Hams.  If the food police get their way, North Carolinians can kiss their country hams, bacon, and fresh Bright Leaf hot dogs goodbye.  These Southern specialties might not disappear altogether, but, if the health agency's crusade against salt is successful, they never would taste the same again.

The next Obamacare target:  Your bacon sandwich.  Are you prepared to go from the supermarket to the black market for your bacon?  The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to lower the boom on sodium content in American food.  And companies are scrambling to lower the salt levels in their products in advance of the new rules.

FDA Is Urged To Toughen Rules on Salt.  A consumer group prodded the Food and Drug Administration yesterday to regulate salt as a food additive, arguing that excessive salt consumption by Americans may be responsible for more than 100,000 deaths a year.  The government has long placed salt in a "generally recognized as safe" or GRAS category, which grandfathers in a huge list of familiar food ingredients.  But in an FDA hearing yesterday [11/29/2007], the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) urged the agency to enforce tougher regulations for sodium.

The Beepocalypse Has Been Canceled.  The beepocalypse was always a manufactured panic, although a rather profitable one for a small slice of the population who "consulted" on how to save the bees.  Environmentalists loved the story because it provided another angle to attack industrial agriculture.  And, of course, for the media, which regularly push false narratives to keep us excited.  The Washington Post presents a fascinating observation: never before in American history have there been more bee colonies.  This intriguing trend, like many others, is a product of economic forces.  Back in the aughts, you couldn't get away from the beepocalypse story, and in certain circles it continues to be pushed.  Environmentalists testify at legislatures with scare stories about the lack of pollinators and the coming collapse of agriculture.  And tax breaks for planting flowers at solar farms popped up.  Bees dying provided jobs and fodder for lobbying.  None of it was true.

There are plenty of bees.
Truck drops 5 million angry bees in the middle of Canadian highway, locals told to close windows.  This story from Ontario is creating quite the buzz after a pickup truck carrying a trailer filled with beehives lost a big chunk of his load, spilling millions of bees out on the highway. [...] Honey bees aren't aggressive unless they are defending their hive, but authorities said these bees were very riled up and people should keep their distance.  There can be up to 80,000 bees in one hive or colony, meaning there were at least 60 colonies that fell off that truck!

Death of Honey Bees From Ethanol Plant Prompts Call for Focus on Chemical Overloading.  Every year, honey bee colonies placed in multiple locations across the 9,600-acre University of Nebraska-Lincoln research center were dying — as it turns out, from widespread pollution originating from an ethanol facility located a few miles upstream.

60,000 bees stolen from a grocery store's headquarters.  A grocery store in Pennsylvania got a not-so-sweet deal when nearly 60,000 bees were stolen from one of its pollinator farms.  The Giant Company has alerted beekeepers in the area after three beehives and their colonies were stolen from the company headquarters in Harrisburg Pike between Jan. 28-30.  "Bees are an essential part of our food supply chain and having these beehives were one way we were helping to address the declining bee population here in our hometown community," said Community Impact Manager Jessica Groves in a press release obtained by the Associated Press.

What really harms the bees?  Some myths have the tendency of never going away.  Lightning does, in fact, strike at the same place twice, your zodiac sign doesn't mean anything, and a penny dropped from the Empire State Building wouldn't kill a person.  More elaborate myths have benefited from popular supporters and even made their way into parliaments and governments, one of which being the infamous "Beepocalypse."  The idea that bee populations are on the decline has been debunked for more than half a decade, most notably through reporting in the Washington Post, which pointed out that contrary to popular belief, bee populations are at record highs.  In fact, only 2% of wild species provide 80% of crop pollination, and those 2% are thriving.  However, legislators and activist organizations are still using "bee decline" as a common reference to support or enact legislation to ban neonicotinoid insecticides in the European Union.

Saving pollinators from an imaginary bee-pocalypse.  A torrent of media stories from 2013-2014 presented frightening tales of "unprecedented" colony collapse disorder (CCD) among honeybees, conjuring up visions of a "bee-pocalypse" and "a world without bees," a world in which flowers and agriculture would be decimated.  Many articles blamed neonicotinoid pesticides, while others added climate change and biotech (GMO) crops as likely culprits.  Some mentioned Varroa destructor mites and various viruses and diseases as possible causes.  Virtually none suggested that organic food industry chemicals could also be implicated in bee deaths.  The overall tone was "deep concern," bordering on hysteria.  But it sold papers and air time.  Over the next few years, the number of US honey-producing bee colonies (hives) generally and gradually increased, though with bumps in the road.  There were 100,000 more hives in 2014 than in 2013, and numbers went on a slight roller coaster in subsequent years, up and down in the same range as 1993-2012.

Climate Change is Not Decimating Bees.  Several media outlets — namely National Public Radio — are touting a tall tale that climate change is decimating bee populations throughout North America.  The (false) alarm is based on a February 7 study published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  The study, however, is deeply flawed and does not change the very low likelihood of climate change seriously impacting bee populations.  After examining the study, titled "Climate change contributes to widespread declines among bumble bees across continents" — one immediately notices that there is a key issue missing that is not discussed in the paper at all:  Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).  In non-scientific jargon, CCD occurs when entire hives suddenly experience population crashes.  CCD has been called the honeybee's biggest enemy by scientific researchers. [...] Neither the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency nor the International Union for Conservation of Nature believe a climate-caused bee crisis is on the horizon.

No, There's No Wild Bee-pocalypse, Either!  [Scroll down]  Once again, disingenuous activists intent on banning neonics are wrong on the facts and, therefore, also on the policy.  Claims that wild bee populations are in peril and declining — specifically, due to the widespread use of neonics — have emerged over the last several years, as "progress" toward a ban on neonics, which seemed to be moving ahead in the European Union, stalled.  The two-year "partial ban" adopted by the EU in 2013, though still in place despite its ostensibly temporary nature, had still not yielded the definitive, permanent prohibition sought by the activists.  The anti-neonic crowd had hinged its initial condemnation of neonics on their supposed dire threat to honeybees, but that presented a host of problems.

Honeybees, in decline for decades, finding new homes in unusual places.  Between the rumblings of rolling suitcases and idling aircraft engines, some travelers may miss the new buzzing sound at the world's busiest airport.  Through a partnership with Bee Downtown — a start-up that introduces beehives to companies in cities — Delta is the first U.S. airline to integrate honeybees into its world headquarters, which straddles Atlanta International Airport.

Million killer bees threaten Texas neighborhood: 'It was like a horror movie'.  One million aggressive bees have swarmed a Texas neighborhood and residents are unsure of what to do.  The bees have set up shop in an east El Paso home for about three years, but homeowners said the insects have lately become more aggressive.  The couple told KFOX14 that they are worried about people who walk by the home and the children who go to school nearby.  Bee specialist Pyong Livingston went to the home to remove the hive but the bees became agitated during extraction.  Rudy Reyes, a KFOX14 photographer, reported that he was stung eight times while shooting video of the bees.

Thousands of bees killed and $60G in damage done by vandals in Iowa, police say.  Vandals destroyed 50 beehives and did $60,000 in damage to a local honey business in Iowa on Thursday [12/28/2017], police said.  The owners of Wild Hill Honey in Sioux City discovered the destruction, which also resulted in thousands of bees being killed, when they went to clear snow off them Thursday morning [12/28/2017].

The Editor says...
If this was an act of eco-terrorism (and why else would somebody attack fifty beehives?), I can understand why the environmentalists would be totally silent about it.  You can't complain about a shortage of bees while someone's intentionally wrecking beehives, especially if it was done as some kind of animal rights statement.

Dad dies after getting attacked by bees in yard.  Family and friends are mourning the loss of a Massachusetts father who died of what is believed to be a heart attack after he was swarmed by bees while blowing leaves from his lawn.  Eric Dahl, 48, was said to be in excellent health and had no prior incidents involving bees, his wife, Alison, told The Sun Chronicle.

No shortage of bees here:
'Gigantic mob' of bees attack in California, six people hospitalized.  Six people were hospitalized after a swarm of bees attacked people on the outskirts of Los Angeles on Saturday [9/16/2017], forcing authorities to cordon off the area.  Firefighters were called to the incident shortly before 5pm on Saturday following reports that people were being stung by bees in the parking lot of a grocery store in Monterey Park, a city in the suburbs of LA.

Bees Are Bouncing Back From Colony Collapse Disorder.  The number of U.S. honeybees, a critical component to agricultural production, rose in 2017 from a year earlier, and deaths of the insects attributed to a mysterious malady that's affected hives in North America and Europe declined, according a U.S. Department of Agriculture honeybee health survey released Tuesday [8/1/2017].  The number of commercial U.S. honeybee colonies rose 3 percent to 2.89 million as of April 1, 2017 compared with a year earlier, the Agriculture Department reported.  The number of hives lost to Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomenon of disappearing bees that has raised concerns among farmers and scientists for a decade, was 84,430 in this year's first quarter, down 27 percent from a year earlier.  Year-over-year losses declined by the same percentage in April through June, the most recent data in the survey.

We're better at tracking the deaths of bees than people who die in police custody.  As with deaths in custody, the issue of honeybee deaths is not new.  Colony collapse disorder — the generic term for mass exodus of adult worker bees from a given colony — is nearly vernacular, and wonks routinely debate the scale of the problem and its long-term consequences.  Such debates hinge on quantitative modeling, on forecasts that correlate honeybee population against crop yields or ecosystem resilience.  Ask any beekeeper:  the only way to know how many bees are around is to count them.

Not to Worry.  The Bees are Just Fine.  I don't know if it has always been so, but the current age seems to have a deep belief in catastrophe waiting right around the corner.  And things like "Colony Collapse Disorder" are more comfortable to worry about than problems like ISIS, or corrupt federal agencies like the IRS, or a lack of economic recovery because the current occupant of the White House can't stop regulating, and controlling, and spending in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Honey Bees Healthy, Taxpayers Stung.  One year and $82 million after the Obama administration launched its Pollinator Health Task Force, honey bee colonies are doing great — just as they were one year before the advent of Obama's costly initiative.  In fact, 2014 witnessed a 20-year high in numbers of managed honey-producing colonies, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  So why do we need a Pollinator Health Task Force?  Obama's excuse is that honeybees are dying in record numbers, jeopardizing both honey production and $15 billion worth of pollinated food crops. [...] Nevertheless, U.S. honey farmers have maintained fairly steady hive totals over the past two decades.  Honey-producing colonies numbered 2.77 million in 1994, 2.56 million in 2004, and 2.74 million in 2014.  How have they managed it?  Quite simply, seasonal dieoffs are nothing new, and beekeepers know how to deal with them.

Bee-pocalypse Now? Nope.  You've probably heard by now that bees are mysteriously dying. In 2006, commercial beekeepers began to witness unusually high rates of honeybee die-offs over the winter — increasing from an average of 15 percent to more than 30 percent.  Everything from genetically modified crops to pesticides (even cell phones) has been blamed.  The phenomenon was soon given a name:  colony collapse disorder.  Ever since, the media has warned us of a "beemaggedon" or "beepocalypse" posing a "threat to our food supply."  By 2013, NPR declared that bee declines may cause "a crisis point for crops," and the cover of Time magazine foretold of a "world without bees."  This spring, there was more bad news.  Beekeepers reported losing 42.1 percent of their colonies over the last year, prompting more worrisome headlines.  Based on such reports, you might believe that honeybees are nearly gone by now.

Obama announces plan to save honey bees.  Honey bees pollinate fruit, nuts and vegetables, and are crucial for the nation's food industry.  They have declined sharply in recent years due to various factors, including pesticides, mite infestations and loss of genetic diversity, the White House said Friday [5/15/2015].

The Editor says...
By now you should instinctively know that just because "the White House says" something, it's not necessarily true, especially on environmental matters that may not be a problem at all, on which the White House wants to spend tens of millions of dollars (from what source?) without putting the matter to a vote in the Congress, where we have elected representatives.

Obama's 'Federal Strategy' to Protect Bees Includes DoD, National Security Council.  In a presidential memorandum issued on Friday [6/27/2014], President Barack Obama announced a "federal strategy to promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators" with the help of agencies including the Defense Department and the National Security Council.  Pollinators such as honey bees and butterflies contribute to the economy through benefits to agricultural crops, but their numbers are declining because of a "combination of stressors," including nutrition, habitat, parasites, diseases, pesticides and a lack of genetic diversity, the memo stated.

Bees doing just fine, finds EU, but continues to ban the pesticide which didn't harm them.  [Scroll down]  "Honeybee decline is less dramatic than first thought," the survey admits.  What it also shows is that bee colonies are mainly being wiped out in winter not summer — which is the opposite of what would happen if neonicotinoid pesticides were responsible for their deaths.  The real killer, it turns out, was the harsh winter of 2012/2013 — as shown by the fact that the majority of the affected hives were in the colder countries of Northern Europe, rather than the southern ones.

Bees are in Danger? Another Environmental Lie Exposed.  I cannot say it strong enough.  Do not believe the lies that environmental groups, particularly those that receive millions from liberal foundations and from members who never question the "science" they claim to justify massive scare campaigns.  One such organization is Friends of the Earth (FOE) and its latest claim is that bees are dying all over the world as the result of the use of pesticides in agriculture and by people protecting their gardens.  It is a lie.

Bee Deaths May Stem From Virus, Study Says.  The mysterious mass die-offs of honeybees that have wiped out roughly a third of commercial colonies each year since 2006 may be linked to a rapidly mutating virus that jumped from tobacco plants to soy plants to bees, according to a new study.

Science, Belief and Policy.  [S]ometimes, in the world of realpolitik, a decision to take temporary action becomes by default a mandate for permanent change.  For example, the use of neonicotinoid insecticides in the EU has been temporarily banned as a precautionary measure because of possible (but unproven) links to steep declines in bee populations.  Because it will probably be no clearer in two years' time which are the important factors affecting bee health, it is quite likely this ban will be extended, even if bee populations have failed to increase.  No real attention is likely to be given to the overall balance of costs and benefits to farming, the food supply, the countryside or consumers, simply the hypothetical possibility of harm to bees.  Ratcheting up of restrictions on pesticides is a sign of a highly risk-averse society.

How green bullying, junk science and EU lies killed off yet another successful industry.  [Scroll down]  The Greenies had them in their sights and there was an end to it:  on went the bee costumes, up went the placards, out came Vivienne Westwood and Stephen Fry, and really, if the only place you got your information was the mainstream media that would have been all you would have ever heard of it.  You'd have known — simply because you did:  it was a known fact — that neonicotinoids were killing bees and had to be banned.  Except a) it wasn't true and b) the story gets murkier and murkier.  We now know that the EU ban on neonicotinoids in May this year was enacted not on the basis of any hard scientific evidence, but rather as a result of manoeuvrings by a socialist French ex-MEP [...]

There is no bee crisis.  Contrary to what you may have heard, there is no "bee-pocalypse."  There is lots of alarmist talk about colony collapse disorder, people are blaming pesticides and talking about hundreds of billions of dollars at risk.  But a closer look tells a very different story.  Yes, honeybees are dying in above-average numbers, but the most likely cause is the varroa mite and associated viruses.  Moreover, if you look at the actual numbers, they undermine much of the catastrophic rhetoric.

Washington Ag Department Rejects Asserted Pesticide Link to Bee Decline.  The Washington State Department of Agriculture rejected a request to ban a garden pesticide that environmental activist groups have unsuccessfully attempted to link to declines in the honeybee population.  Responding to environmental activists' assertions, Thurston County commissioners asked the Washington Department of Agriculture to ban homeowners from purchasing neonicotinoid pesticides.  Neonicotinoid pesticides are commonly used to kill aphids and other insects that attack home garden plants.

Texas farmer killed by swarm of bees.  A Texas farmer who disturbed an underground bee colony while plowing a field died after he was stung hundreds of times by a swarm that attacked him, a fire official said on Monday [6/29/2015].

International Dark Sky Week 2023 begins today to combat the light pollution crisis.  Light pollution from a variety of sources, both on the ground and in orbit, is threatening the night sky at an alarming rate.  According to one recent study, the world is currently seeing an average increase of 9.6% in the brightness of the sky.  This means that whereas 18 years ago, skywatchers would see an average of 250 stars in the night sky; today, only 100 would be visible.  The International Dark Sky Association hopes to raise awareness about the growing light pollution crisis with International Dark Sky Week 2023.

The Editor says...
There is no light pollution crisis.  Cities in every industrialized country (which excludes Cuba, North Korea, and most of Africa) are well lit because they have plentiful electricity.  Running a power plant is far more beneficial to society than staring at distant stars.  If you must live under dark nighttime skies, move to rural New Mexico, or Chile.

China plans to launch world's first "artificial moon" over city to light up night sky.  The world's first artificial moon could be launched by 2020, China Daily reports.  China's space industry is preparing to put an artificial moon into orbit over the city of Chengdu.  The fake moon is expected to be launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China's Sichuan province.  The artificial moon will act as a nightlight.  Similar to the real moon, the artificial one will have a reflective coating that deflects sunlight to the Earth — only it will shine eight times brighter than the real moon, scientists say, according to China Daily.

China Plans To Launch Multiple Artificial Moons Into Orbit By 2022.  In a move that could save hundreds of millions of dollars in annual electricity costs, the Chinese government is planning to launch a "fake moon" into space in 2020.  The moon, according to China Daily, is actually an "illumination satellite" featuring reflective panels.  These panels will catch and release light from the sun just as the moon does, although Wu Chunfeng, head of Tian Fu New Area Science Society in Chengdu, says the satellite has the potential to be approximately eight times as bright as the natural celestial reflector.  The satellite will allegedly be able to adjust its brightness, aim light in different directions (a possible aid in times of disaster), and limit or expand its ground coverage, which could range from 6 to 50 miles in diameter.

The Editor says...
Why would China do this?  Is it really a project that will keep a night-light on for the entire country as "a possible aid in times of disaster," or is it a way to keep farmers and slaves working all night?  Presumably these reflectors would be controlled so that they light up only Chinese territory.  What happens when the Chinese lose control of the satellites, and they start pointing reflected sunlight in other directions?  Where are the "light pollution" activists now?  Are there no astronomers in China?  They can't be happy about this idea.

The following article reeks with bias and misinformation:
Earth Is Lit, And That's A Problem.  The ever-widening use of artificial lights is making the nighttime Earth glow increasingly brighter, with the amount of global light growing about 2 percent each year.  That worries advocates for the protection of dark skies, who say that artificial night glow can affect wildlife like migrating birds and keeps people from connecting to the stars.  What's more, they say, all that wasted light sent out into space is effectively wasted money.  The findings are in a new study in the journal Science Advances that used five years of data from a satellite launched in 2011.  This satellite has an instrument that gives scientists a more reliable way to measure nighttime light than they've had in the past.

The Editor says...
It is impossible to keep the excess light from street lights and automobile headlights from reflecting off the ground, and out into space, without turning off the lights altogether.  When excess light escapes into space, that is not "effectively wasted money."  In any event, widespread prosperity and the well-being of mankind is far more important than occasionally disoriented birds and a handful of disappointed back yard astronomers.  One cannot set up a telescope in an urban environment and reasonably expect to see faint stars anyway.  And another thing — who paid for that satellite?  And how many more satellites are being built to solve problems we don't really have?

Some cities are taking another look at LED lighting after AMA warning.  The American Medical Association issued a warning in June that high-intensity LED streetlights — such as those in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Houston and elsewhere — emit unseen blue light that can disturb sleep rhythms and possibly increase the risk of serious health conditions, including cancer and cardiovascular disease.  The AMA also cautioned that those light-emitting-diode lights can impair nighttime driving vision.  Similar concerns have been raised over the past few years, but the AMA report adds credence to the issue and is likely to prompt cities and states to reevaluate the intensity of LED lights they install.

MA Warns of Harmful Health Effects of New Environmentally Correct Streetlights.  As a rule of thumb, if it has been imposed by our moonbat rulers for ideological reasons, it is probably harmful.

Doctors issue warning about LED streetlights.  [Scroll down]  An incandescent bulb has a color temperature of 2400K, which means it contains far less blue and far more yellow and red wavelengths.  Before electric light, we burned wood and candles at night; this artificial light has a CT of about 1800K, quite yellow/red and almost no blue.  What we have now is very different.  The new "white" LED street lighting which is rapidly being retrofitted in cities throughout the country has two problems, according to the AMA.  The first is discomfort and glare.

The Editor says...
The article immediately above is nothing but liberal propaganda.  Incandescent bulbs haven't been used for street lighting in at least 40 years.  LED lights are being used now because [#1] environmentalists complain about "light pollution," and [#2] environmentalists complain about the electricity consumed by street lights.  "Problem" #1 isn't a problem at all:  well-lit urban areas are a deterrent to crime, and surveillance cameras work better with lots of light.  The street lights are pointing down (for your benefit), and the high-intensity headlights of the oncoming cars are pointed right at you.  Many are arc lamps, and some are LEDs.  "Problem" #2 wouldn't be a problem at all if the left-wing earth-worshiping tree-huggers would cease their opposition to coal-fired power plants and nuclear energy.  As far as the allegedly damaging effects of higher color temperatures and shorter light wavelengths, street lights don't emit anything as harsh and intense as ordinary sunlight, which has a high ultraviolet content.  Moreover, the majority of those who are all worked up about the color temperature of streetlights are also staring at a computer screen or a television most of their waking hours.  How many minutes per day are they outdoors?

Now EPA Looking to Regulate 'Light Pollution'.  For thousands of years, man has sought to ward off the dark by using light to illuminate the night.  Now, EPA chief Gina McCarthy and celebrity astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson want to take us back a few thousand years by giving the agency the ability to deal with "light pollution."  The only way to deal with light pollution is to, well, turn off the lights.  This will be a boon to astronomers like Tyson who will be able to see the stars and planets a lot better.  But for the rest of us, not so good.  Crime will rise, accidents will increase, and more people will die just so that Tyson can study the heavens.

The Editor says...
How many astronomers are there in the U.S.?  There are 12,436 Individual Members in the International Astronomical Union, worldwide, and 2,796 National Members in the U.S.  There are also backyard amateur stargazers who enjoy astronomy as a very expensive hobby.  Not all of them are affected by extraneous light, because many serious professional astronomers work at isolated observatories (for example, Fort Davis, Texas) where the locals are very careful about outdoor lighting at night.  What would be gained by shutting off all light sources in the United States, for the benefit of a few thousand members of this "special interest group" who, by and large, have only one long-term goal, and that is to disprove the first chapter of the Bible and come up with their own theories about the origin of the universe.  So-called light pollution is a problem that almost nobody cares about, but any "solution" enacted by the EPA would add huge costs to the construction and operation of every highway, office building, factory and refinery.  There is an abundance of light at night only in prosperous, productive, and free countries.  Places like North Korea and Cuba don't have such "problems," although their citizens would probably enjoy it.  Times Square in New York City is as well-illuminated as a football field, every night of the year, because of all the self-luminous advertising on the walls of the urban canyon.  There's a big crowd of tourists there every night.  That's capitalism at work — and capitalism is what the America-hating tyrant Barack H. Obama and his heavily-politicized EPA abhor most.

EPA chief: Light pollution 'in our portfolio'.  Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy [...], who has led the EPA in its recent campaigns to put strict regulations on power plants and U.S. waterways, was asked by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson if he could suggest a new mission for the agency.  "So is there a day, is there some occasion, where I can add light pollution to your portfolio," he asked McCarthy during a segment released for Sunday's [1/3/2016] episode of "Star Talk," a weekly late-night talk show he hosts on National Geographic.  "Well, this is another thing that's been called to our attention for satellites," McCarthy answered.  "The imagery of the United States at night shows all those flares from oil and gas in places that are in the middle of nowhere.  It is startling to me, to see the change in the night sky."

The Courts against Proposition 65.  Around 1.8 million tons of glyphosate has been used across the U.S. since 1974.  Such a commonly used chemical has obviously demanded a rigorous health and safety assessment.  It has repeatedly been certified as non-threatening to humans from regulatory bodies all over the world, including in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.  The controversy over the substance arose when IARC — a semi-autonomous branch of the World Health Organization (WHO) based in Lyon, France, which was recently slammed by House Science Committee members for its "manipulation of scientific data" and "shoddy work" — found it "probably carcinogenic" to humans.  Despite the fact that this remains the only major study to reach such a conclusion, IARC's ruling meant that glyphosate was automatically added to California's Proposition 65 list, a lengthy catalogue of supposed carcinogens.

Government Scientist Withheld Evidence Popular Herbicide Doesn't Cause Cancer.  The Reuters news agency uncovered evidence a study by a World Health Organization scientist concluding the popular herbicide Roundup is a probable carcinogen is wrong.  Reuters' investigation found the lead scientist involved in the research withheld key data indicating the weed killer is safe, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and European Food Safety Authority concluded in the 1970s when they approved Roundup for use.  The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a division of the World Health Organization, declared glyphosate (Roundup) a probable carcinogen in December 2015.  Since then, citing the IARC's findings as evidence, hundreds of plaintiffs have filed suit against Monsanto, Roundup's manufacturer, saying the company failed to warn them about the risks from Roundup or that it caused their cancers.

Another Left-Wing Science Scandal.  Glyphosate is the active ingredient in RoundUp, the most widely used herbicide in the world.  Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, meaning it will kill just about any plant.  Since it would kill the crop as well as the weeds, for quite a few years it couldn't be used over the top of an emerging crop.  Instead, its use was restricted to lower-value burndown situations, where weeds in a field would be killed prior to planting, or, e.g., to keep down weeds on railroad rights of way.

Regulation of Monsanto's 'Roundup' Called Into Question.  The European Chemicals Agency on Wednesday said glyphosate, the key chemical in Monsanto Co.'s flagship herbicide, doesn't cause cancer, but the agricultural giant is facing new questions over the safety of the weedkiller. [...] Glyphosate, which Monsanto invented and has marketed since 1974 under the brand "Roundup," is the world's most widely used herbicide.  Its use proliferated with the advent of corn and soybeans genetically engineered to survive the spray.  It has been deployed to destroy everything from illegal coca crops in Colombia to weeds sprouting among railroad tracks.  Monsanto generated $3.5 billion in sales last year from its agricultural-productivity division, which largely reflects its Roundup business.

Cancer-stricken farmers sue Monsanto over Roundup.  Three cancer-stricken Nebraska farmers and an agronomist are suing Monsanto, alleging that the company misled consumers about the safety of Roundup, the most widely used herbicide around the globe.  The World Health Organization labeled glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, as a likely carcinogen last year.  The four Nebraskans suing all have non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, one of the types of cancer glyphosate is most associated with, the Lincoln Journal-Star reports.

EPA immediately yanks study showing weed killer doesn't cause cancer.  Before jumping into this rather odd story, one quick question: is the EPA really the appropriate agency to oversee a study on whether or not some product causes cancer?  I mean, if the Center for Disease Control wants to be in the business of studying gun violence instead of the Department of Justice in general or the FBI in particular, I suppose it fits in with the "logic" of the federal government, but their main mission seems to be rather far afield from medical work.  We'll leave that mystery for another day and get on to the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency recently did, in fact, release a study which shows that glyphosate — the primary ingredient in general purpose week killers like Roundup — is not carcinogenic.

Opposing viewpoint:
EPA in bed with Monsanto / Bayer, burying studies that show glyphosate causes cancer.  With so much scientific evidence supporting the fact that glyphosate causes cancer, how can anyone still believe that weed killers that contain it, like Monsanto's Roundup — now part of Bayer — are somehow safe?  The answer is simple:  The company has the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its pocket, and they're all too willing to help them cover up damning evidence that their products are toxic.  The EPA is a government agency, and Monsanto knows that lots of people trust authoritative groups supposedly tasked with "protecting" us.  It's been a mutually beneficial relationship over the years, with a recent piece in Bloomberg Businessweek — hardly part of the "alternative media" — breaking down the dirty details of their dealings over the years.

The Left's Beef With Beef.  New York State Attorney General Letitia James has a beef with beef.  This week James sued the JBS USA Food Company, the U.S. subsidiary of the world's largest beef producer, accusing it of "fraudulent and illegal business activities" and demanding "disgorgement of all profits and ill-gotten gains."  Disregard the inflammatory language.  James's lawsuit is frivolous — a mere publicity stunt.  She is using the state's legal apparatus to punish individuals and industries unpopular with the Left — sacrificing the rule of law in the process.  If she can make the Empire State unlivable for beef producers, she can do the same to any other industry.  Her politically motivated legal attacks will scare companies away from New York.  Your business or job could be next.  Already, James has used the powers of her office to go after Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association.  Now she's targeting a beef producer.

New Study Bucks Previous Research, Says Red Meat [is] Not Linked to Heart Disease.  A new study bucks recent trends in health research that say people who eat a lot of red or processed meat face an increased risk of heart disease.  A research team looked at UK Biobank data from over 1.8 million people: roughly 460,000 who ate processed meat, pork, beef, and mutton, respectively.  Anyone with a history of cardiovascular disease was omitted from the study.  The team found that eating red or processed meat was not linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.  All odds ratios (ORs) of a person developing cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, or atrial fibrillation were insignificant.  An odds ratio of 1.00 means there is no significant difference between eating meat, for instance, or not eating meat.  An OR higher than 1.00 indicates the person is more at risk, and an OR below 1.00 means one is less at risk or that the intervention has a protective effect.

Letitia James vs. Beef:  The War on Food.  New York Attorney General Letitia James, of Trump prosecution fame, has turned her lawfare sights on one of the country's, and in fact one of the world's, largest meat producers.

U.S. Cattle Inventory [is at the] Lowest Levels Recorded in 73 years.  We have been monitoring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its intention to begin regulations focused on methane.  This is out of concern that the organization is poised to join the globalist "War on Meat."  And while rules will start with the "evil" fossil-fuel industry, agriculture is the major emitter of methane.  Because of the bovine digestive system, cattle ranches and dairy farms produce significant amounts of this gas.  And while methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, the American plans were once filled with buffalo herds... and the planet remained quite habitable.  However, while those rules have yet to be implemented, ranchers must make hard decisions based on current realities.  The cattle inventory is currently down to the lowest levels recorded in 73 years.

WHO Demands Global Meat Consumption Ban by 2025.  The World Health Organization has just upped the ante with its globalist "Net Zero" agenda by demanding that the general public must be banned from consuming meat and dairy products by 2025 globally.  The head of the United Nations "health" agency, Tedros Adhanom, declared in a statement that citizens around the world must begin the shift to plant and insect-based "foods" in order to "save the planet" from "global warming." [...] He estimates that eight million lives could be saved each year with this one change.  Although shifting away from red meat has been recommended for many years for health reasons, his motivation here appears to be purely environmental, with a context note on a video of him declaring the war on meat noting that climate change "refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, mainly caused by human activities."

The Editor says...
Since when is the WHO or the UN in a position to "demand" anything?

The Distortion of Science To Support the Globalists' Climate Change Agenda.  Starting in the mid-20th century, companies began distorting and manpulating science to favor specific commercial interests. [...] No longer satisfied with oppressing climate change scientists, climate change narrative enforcers have moved into the nutritional sciences.  This trend of crossing disciplines portends death for the overall independence of any scientific endeavors.  A creeping corruption into adjacent disciplines.  Because climate change activists, world leaders, research institutions, universities and governments are distorting another branch of science outside of climate science.  They are using the bio-sciences, specifically nutrition science, to support the climate change agenda.  It is another whole-of-government response to the crisis, just like with COVID-19.  Just like with the tobacco industry's scientific disinformation campaign, they are distorting health research to make the case that eating meat is dangerous to humans.  Normal standards for publication have been set aside.  The propaganda is thick and easily spotted.

United Nations set to call on Americans to reduce meat consumption.  A lead United Nations agency overseeing food and agriculture policy is expected to issue a road map in the coming weeks which will call on the West, including America, to dramatically reduce its meat consumption.  The UN's Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) will publish its so-called global food systems' road map during the upcoming COP28 climate summit in Dubai which will kick off on Thursday and extend nearly two weeks until mid-December.  FAO's first-of-its-kind document will recommend nations that "over-consume meat" to limit their consumption as part of a broader effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Bloomberg reported.  "The failure of leading meat and dairy companies to reduce emissions underlines the urgent need for more policy focus on the food and agriculture sector," Jeremy Coller, the chair and founder of the FAIRR Initiative, an investor network that works with financial institutions to promote climate-friendly agriculture worldwide, said in a recent statement.

WEF 'Great Reset' forecast looks gloomy as 'demand for vegan food plunges'.  After what the global political class just did to us, it should come as no surprise that we don't trust anything they have to say about health and safety, and there's a silver lining to the systemic corruption that exploded into visibility once COVID hit the scenes; [...] [L]ike I said at the outset, this is a rejection of Klaus Schwab's Great Reset, and the prospect of an enslaved bug-eating world appears to be rapidly diminishing, because the people are waking up.

Beef burgers are back on the menu as demand for vegan food plunges.  Plant-based brand Beyond Meat last week revealed its revenue had dropped by 9 per cent as demand for its animal alternatives stalled.  The company said it would cut around a fifth of its workforce in response to its performance.  Overall industry sales of meat alternatives are down 13.6 percent over the last year, with an expert analyst Carol RatCliffe saying:  "After many years of strong growth, meat alternatives have fallen into decline."  It comes after Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons slashed their vegan ranges by 10 percent, according to the Grocer, and Pret A Manger axed 75 percent of its vegetarian-only stores in December.  There were also "notably fewer" patrons at the UK's biggest indoor vegan event, Vegan Fest, last year, the BBC reported.  Meanwhile, UK meat consumption is on the up.

The American Beef Industry Is Disappearing.  As the far left insists we cut down on our beef eating, they're getting their wish by chance.  A real boon for them.  The cattle are disappearing as a result of inflation, drought, and a farm bill that gets very little of the sales money back to farmers and ranchers.  Now farmers are aging out, and we are on the precipice of losing our industry, one of the world's best.  According to Reuters, the United States is importing record amounts of beef this year and exporting less after ranchers slashed the nation's cattle herd to its lowest level in decades, tightening margins for meat companies like Tyson Foods.  Cattle numbers have declined after drought sent the beef prices soaring.  Higher prices encourage companies to import cheaper beef from Japan, China and Egypt.

Cigarette-style Warnings on Meat to Prevent Climate Change.  Get out your cricket flour and vegetarian meat substitutes, the war on meat continues.  A research team at Durham University in the UK has come up with a new way to guilt people out of eating meat:  slap graphic warning labels on meat products warning that consuming them will harm the planet.  [Tweet]  According to this study, putting warning labels on meat products does change behavior, and in a real twist, it turns out that warning people about the effects of meat consumption on poor Gaia had a larger impact than health-related warnings on cigarette packaging.  In the UK the warnings are extremely graphic, but apparently don't change behavior that much.

A meat tax is a horrendous idea.  Before prime minister Rishi Sunak announced plans to water down the UK's Net Zero policies last week, there had been an implicit agreement between the major parties not to discuss Net Zero in any detail.  They were happy to endorse Britain's quest to decarbonise the economy by 2050, which would let them pretend to be 'saving the planet', knowing they could leave a future generation of politicians to deal with the practicalities and costs.  In reality, both Labour and the Conservatives have always been aware that, as the 2050 deadline nears, they would have to adopt increasingly punitive climate policies.  And they've always known these would heap enormous costs on to households.  So it was beneficial for both parties to sweep the costs of Net Zero under the carpet for as long as possible.  But now Sunak has broken this entente.  Regardless of his motives, he has done us all a great service by forcing environmentalists of all stripes to confront the true costs of their Net Zero escapades.  The policies abandoned, postponed or ruled out by Sunak would have forced thousands of people to shell out on heat pumps and electric cars, and would have levied new taxes on flights and on meat.

Eat steak and save the planet.  When was the last time you ate meat?  Or an egg?  Or cheese, or butter, or milk?  Not long ago, probably.  Despite breathless sensationalist media coverage, the vegan movement (or, to call it by its trendy new name, 'going plant-based') has still captured only a tiny proportion of the population.  Just 4 percent have made the plunge and given up animal food products.  Almost half Britain's vegans are under the age of 34.  Despite the underwhelming numbers, the vigour and vitriol with which the vegan movement preaches its gospel continues unabated.  Going vegan, according to Greenpeace and countless other environmental groups, is vital to 'save the planet'.  Veganism's proponents point to methane emissions from cattle farming and other greenhouse gases involved in meat supply chains.  While bovine flatulence does indeed emit methane in substantial quantities, environmentalists make a huge logical jump to demonise anyone who dares to eat a steak in 2023 as a wilful planet-burner.

Irish Farmers Outraged as Government Moves to Cull 200,000 Healthy Cows to Meet Climate Goals.  Farmers in Ireland are expressing outrage over the globalist Irish government's decision to cull 200,000 of the nation's healthy cows to meet the green agenda's climate goals.  The government is moving to reduce national cattle numbers over claims they contribute to "climate change" due to "carbon emissions."  A report by the Irish Department of Agriculture outlined how 200,000 cows could be killed over the next three years to meet carbon targets.

The Editor says...
[#1] Please stop saying "carbon emissions" when you're talking about carbon dioxide.  [#2] I thought the leftists were concerned about methane from cows, not CO2.  [#3] The weather cannot be controlled by legislation.  [#4] The only reason to intentionally kill cows is to make steaks and hamburgers.  [#5] Global warming is a problem that exists only in computer models and projections.  There is no climate emergency.  [#6] Starvation is a bigger problem than warm weather.

Conservatives must lead on climate — with cows!  Nothing exposes the folly of fake climate alarmism more clearly than efforts to exterminate cows.  John Kerry and AOC want to help the climate by reducing cow herds much as PETA wants to protect animals:  by killing them.  But killing cows would accelerate climate damage.  The attacks on cows are premised on a series of falsehoods (lies) that are easily exposed and countered.

Meat is in the climate crosshairs.  America and the rest of the world are headed for food shortages if policymakers enact laws based on climate change.  The effort to "decarbonize" or to achieve "net zero" carbon emissions has led to deliberate policies to reduce consumption of fossil fuel energy, that is, oil, natural gas and coal.  It also is leading to policies to reduce livestock, namely cows since they emit methane, and nitrogen gas, which is essential to produce fertilizer for farming and food production.  The climate industrial complex comprised of non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, the Biden administration, government-funded scientists, activists, and virtue-signaling billionaires are relentless about wielding power and control over the global population, especially in the United States.  The ostensible purpose for their tyrannical impulse is to address a supposed "climate emergency" affecting the planet they claim is inexorably turning warmer to the point of an "existential threat" to human life itself.  The climate alarmists' delusional idea of controlling Earth's climate means controlling Earth's inhabitants, including what kind of energy we can use and what we can eat.

New York City to Track Personal Food Choices Using Credit Card Data.  Remember the crazy right-wing conspiracy theory alleging that our food purchases will be tracked to reduce our CO2 consumption?  That one is turning out to be true!  Yesterday, New York City announced its plan to track the "food choices" of New Yorkers using credit card data from individual store purchases.  According to the mayor, tracking individual food choices is a step towards "reducing the CO2 output" of New Yorkers. [...] You would think such a plan would only be made after a conversation with New Yorkers, right?  After all, the mayor of New York is supposed to serve New Yorkers, not the other way around.  However, the reality is that there was no consultation and no "conversation" because New York's mayor Eric Adams is sure that people do not even want to have a "conversation" about interrogating their food choices.

NYC's Vegan Mayor Eric Adams to Limit Amount of Meat People Can Eat to Combat Climate Change.  New York City's vegan mayor Eric Adams wants to limit the amount of meat people can eat in an effort to combat climate change.  Adams wants to reduce food-based gas emissions by 33% in the next 7 years.  "Food is the third-biggest source of cities' emissions right after buildings and transportation.  But all food is not created equal.  The vast majority of food that is contributing to our emission crises lies in meat and dairy products," Adams said.  "According to new data released by the city, 20% of the Big Apple's greenhouse gas emissions come from food production and consumption.  The mayor is now vowing to reduce the city's food-based emissions at agencies by 33% in the next seven years and challenging the private sector to follow suit."

The Editor says...
[#1] That's okay, the tourism industry in New York is dead already.  [#2]  Since the mayor is opposed to eating, because it's wrecking the earth, would he prefer to oversee a city with no restaurants?

Animal Fat Might Not Be Bad for You.  We have been led to believe that consuming saturated fat increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, but is this really the case?  There is another harmful fat hidden in many delicious foods, but it is usually overlooked.  Saturated fats from lard and coconut oil are believed to increase cholesterol levels, leading to cardiovascular diseases.  Therefore, some guidelines recommend that people cut back on foods that contain saturated fat, such as red meat, cakes, and biscuits.

Davos Speaker Calls For 'A Billion' People To 'Stop Eating Meat'.  A speaker at the World Economic Forum (WEF) called for one "billion" people to "stop eating meat" Wednesday, saying it would have a "big impact" on the "current food system" and help reduce carbon emissions.  "If a billion people stop eating meat, I tell you, it has a big impact.  Not only does it have a big impact on the current food system, but it will also inspire innovation of food systems," Jim Hagemann Snabe, chairman of the Germany-based conglomerate Siemens AG, said during a panel called "Mobilizing for Climate."  The WEF's conference in Davos, Switzerland, attended by many world leaders and top business executives, started Monday and runs through Friday.

Red meat is not a health risk.  New study slams years of shoddy research.  Studies have been linking red meat consumption to health problems like heart disease, stroke, and cancer for years.  But nestled in the recesses of those published papers are notable limitations.  Nearly all the research is observational, unable to tease out causation convincingly.  Most are plagued by confounding variables.  For example, perhaps meat eaters simply eat fewer vegetables, or tend to smoke more, or exercise less?  Moreover, many are based on self-reported consumption.  The simple fact is that people can't remember what they eat with any accuracy.  And lastly, the reported effect sizes in these scientific papers are often small.  Is a supposed 15% greater risk of cancer really worth worrying about?

The Dangers of Climate Change Activists.  What is it about people who are successful in one field and believe that gives them credence to serve as an expert in a totally unrelated field?  Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and reportedly the fourth-richest person on the planet, now self-identifies as a climate expert, and not only an expert, but a fervent disciple of the latest religion for the non-religious, which would be "climate change."  In a new book, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," Gates takes the rhetoric to a new and hysterical level when he claims the battle against changing climate is "an all-out effort, like a world war, but it's us against greenhouse gases."  As all statists do, he urges "regulation to force people to eat synthetic meat."  Gates invests in a synthetic meat company called Beyond Burgers.  Anyone else see a potential conflict of interest?  He's not alone.  Al Gore, the original "Chicken Little" of climate panic, has lobbied for climate policies that limit meat while his firm invests $200 million in meat substitutes.

Don't eat the bug burger.  Don't eat the soy burger.  Eat beef.  [Thread reader]  When [people] say, "American cuisine is McD's," there's a grain of truth.  Most people don't exactly know the truth, so they don't exactly know the lie, either, so they just take it, or sputter helplessly.  Most Americans don't know the expression, "Beef and Liberty!"  They should.  "Beef and Liberty!" sounds like hipster irony, but it's not.  It was a fairly common expression of English patriotism in the 18th century.  It was even the motto of one of London's most prestigious beef-steak clubs (back then, men belonged to steakhouses like country clubs).  But why?  What makes eating beef so British that one of the (many) French epithets for Brits is les rosbifs?  Because it's expensive.  Cows require so much more food and space than other animals, that domesticating them in large numbers was historically a gentleman's endeavor.  A European peasant of the pre-industrial age could hardly afford beef, let alone go into the beef business.

More about insects as food.

At What Point Do We Realize Bill Gates Is Dangerous[]?  Bill Gates is [...] willing to put untold sums of money toward making the insane things he believes a reality — and all of those insane things hurt people.  The most recent idiocy?  Impossible Burgers for all the white people. [...] This isn't even the scariest idea-biscuit Gates has floated. [...] He's an unelected software developer with no medical training; nothing about him suggests he's qualified to make public policy on healthcare for an entire planet, no matter how heavily he wants to buy his way in.  What this comes down to, though, is that Bill Gates has been so rich for so long that he's spent the bulk of his adult life without anyone telling him he's wrong.  That has the same corrosive effect on character and sanity that you see in the case of kings and dictators.

'Climate expert' Bill Gates' synthetic beef folly.  What is it about people who are successful in one field and believe that gives them credence to serve as an expert in a totally unrelated field?  Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and reportedly the fourth-richest person on the planet, now self-identifies as a climate expert, and not only an expert, but a fervent disciple of the latest religion for the non-religious, which would be "climate change."  In a new book, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," Mr. Gates takes the rhetoric to a new and hysterical level when he claims the battle against changing climate is "an all-out effort, like a world war, but it's us against greenhouse gases."

Why Is Bill Gates Telling You What You Should Eat?  Microsoft founder Bill Gates made news to start the week by suggesting that Americans should no longer eat beef for the sake of the environment.  [Paywall]

Bill Gates's Fake Steak is Reverse 'Jack and the Beanstalk', The Rich are Stealing From the Poor Again.  Just when you thought it might be unsafe to venture out for food in the new Utopian leftist America and make your own choices about eating, the HeMan of the Universe Bill Gates himself, fresh off of a tour of redesigning education and healthcare, has now gotten into the plastic bean steak business.  "Bill Gates wants wealthier nations around the globe to ditch eating beef and instead switch to lab-grown or plant-based alternative "meats" in an effort to combat climate change," Breck Dumas wrote in an article for The Blaze.  Yes, Gates wants people to eat "synthetic steak".  For people who make a living off of tell Gates, "yes," this sounds like a brilliant idea.  For the rest of humanity, the idea falls a little flat.

Bill Gates: 'All rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef'.  Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said in a new interview that all rich countries should transition to 100% synthetic beef in order to significantly curb the greenhouse-gas emissions driving climate change.  In an interview published Sunday [2/14/2021] by MIT Technology Review, Mr. Gates, who is now co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and chair of the investment fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures, said the U.S. switching to plant-based meats like those sold by Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat will be "required" for saving the planet.  "As for scale today, they don't represent 1% of the meat in the world, but they're on their way," he said.

The Editor says...
Saving the planet from what?  For the benefit of whom?  At what price?

No, Vegetarianism Won't Save the World from 'Climate Change'.  Vegetarians and vegans have been getting very uppity of late.  One reason for this is that some idiot told them they hold the key to saving the world.  According to the (rampantly vego-loon) Humane Society "your diet could save the planet".  According to Yvo de Boer, the former head of the UN climate agency, "the best solution would be for us all to become vegetarian."

The Editor says...
After we give up meat, and air conditioning, and coal, and petroleum, and the internal combustion engine, and then pay a "carbon tax" on everything we do, there's no guarantee the world will be any better off — and we certainly won't be.

Hyped-Up Fake Meat Product Finds Stock Tanking.  "Beyond Meat" is a newly marketed meat substitute that is all the rage.  Everywhere you turn, there's a story hyping up this unnatural, processed product meant to replace good old American meat.  One iteration of the fake meat product, the "impossible burger," is even available in fast food form at Burger King in an "Impossible Whopper."  Self Magazine tells you that this item is convincing meat eaters to eat plant burgers (not this meat eater.)  CNN comforts you with the news that the "impossible burger" shortage is over.

Going green is nothing but a scam.  Corporations aren't actually using "green" electricity to power their businesses, they're just pretending they are because millennials want to believe the actions of others are making up for their own carbon footprint.  NBC got seriously mocked recently for its "Confess Your Climate Sins" project.  The self-proclaimed "climate warriors" apparently don't practice what they preach, despite a growing (and profitable) greenwashing epidemic that attempts to control society.  Eating meat?  That's bad all of a sudden, and not for the health reasons your doctor has been warning you about for decades.  Eating meat is bad for the climate.  Ditto plastic straws and single-service eating utensils.  Save the planet, catch a hideous disease from poorly washed restaurant ware.  Air conditioning is bad.  Sweat away your carbon guilt instead.  Honestly, how much of this is an actual problem, and how much is sheep-controlling propaganda pushing a political agenda?

Eat This Now, Before They Tell You Not To.  One day eggs are bad, next day they're good.  Or good in moderation.  Who knows?  One reason what to eat is so hotly debated is all the money tied up in it.  The dietary guidelines the U.S. government issues every five years are the culmination of a process that involves not only nutritionists, doctors, and other health professionals but also the food industry and its many lobbyists.  In the latest guidelines, issued early this year, the expert panel's preliminary report included advice to lower consumption of red and processed meats, for the environment as well as for your health.  The meat industry weighed in, and in the final version only men and teenage boys were urged to eat less protein.  The environment was cut out of the equation altogether.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have said that the guidelines are based on a rigorous review of scientific evidence and consideration of comments from the public and federal agencies.

Scientist calls for Americans to cut off air conditioning in summer, claiming it causes global warming.  A scientist is calling for Americans to cut off air conditioning after refusing to use it for 25 years during the throes of the summer in order to combat climate change.  Stan Cox is an Ecosphere Fellow at the Land Institute who also believes the U.S. military is an "enemy" to mitigating climate change.  He wrote a guest essay in the New York Times on Saturday, "I Swore Off Air-Conditioning, and You Can, Too," claiming that "air-conditioning is making our summers even hotter" due to climate change.  "The greenhouse gases created by the roughly 90 percent of American households that own A.C. units mean that running them even in balmy temperatures is making the climate crisis worse," Cox wrote.

New York Times runs an op-ed calling on the public to go without air conditioning.  What is it about the New York Times op-ed page and every crackpot idea under the sun.  Somehow, they always find each other.  So now we have their latest: kill your air conditioner to save the planet[.] [...] The writer does make the concession for Phoenix and Miami weather maybe not being practical for going without air conditioning. (He forgot Houston.) He even makes concessions for heat waves, which are pretty lethal.  But he broadly argues that people elsewhere should get used to going without because it's all better that way.  ["]... if you live in the middle of the country, try leaving the air-conditioning off when it's hot but not too hot.["]  So who's to decide what's "hot but not too hot"?  He didn't say.

Greenie air-conditioner Nazis strike at the Paris Olympic Village, forcing elite athletes to go without.  According to the Los Angeles Times, elite athletes are being forced to go without air conditioning in the sweltering Paris summer, all to save the planet. [...] Just got done running a practice Marathon or a 400-meter sprint at a speed as fast as humanly possible, in the Paris summer heat wave?  Just finished a practice session of soccer or basketball?  Just got done lifting 1,076 pounds of weights?  No air conditioner for you, bub, sweat it out.  Too bad if you don't like it, the Paris committee has a planet to save.

Teams Bring Their Own AC Units to Paris:  Exposing the Absurdity of "Sustainability" at the Olympics.  Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has been quite vocal about her commitment to making the 2024 Olympics an exemplar of environmental responsibility.  The decision to forgo traditional air conditioning in favor of passive cooling techniques is touted as a major step toward reducing the event's carbon footprint. [...] But let's be clear:  sustainability, as currently promoted, is a nebulous concept that often amounts to nothing more than vapid virtue signaling.  It's an easy catchphrase, with no real objective definition for politicians and organizers who want to appear forward-thinking.  The idea that passive cooling could sufficiently counteract the summer heat in Paris is more of a fanciful notion than a feasible plan.  Instead of applauding this so-called innovation, teams are responding with pragmatism.  The U.S. teams, for instance, have decided to bring their own portable air conditioning units to ensure their athletes perform at their best.

If you are important enough, you may have air conditioning.
Greenest Olympics Ever:  US Team To Bring Their Own AC.  There have been numerous stories about the Paris Olympics, which they said will be super climate cult compliant, so, they were cutting air conditioning, because AC is Bad for global boiling.  But, many nations have said "nah, we're bringing our own, to go with our massive fossil fueled jet and SUV travel."  [Tweet]  This has nothing to do with the environment, just a doomsday cult, where all the people who believe in it always want Other People to bear the burden for their beliefs

European Court of Human Rights:  People Can Sue Their Government to Force Climate Action Cuz #Feelz.  Older women are particularly vulnerable to and can potentially die in heat waves.  This is a fact, and I will not dispute it.  What to do to alleviate the heat causing all the distress is the issue.  There is plenty of room for disputation and some very loose play with facts.  As I age, I like what is commonly referred to as "air conditioning."  When it's not warm enough to engage that system, I rely on other time tested, relatively energy efficient, and remarkably effective little miracles known as "fans."  They are usually ceiling-mounted, but we do have a couple tower models to sweep the house when the power's out, or to help the a/c during the heat of a North Florida summer day.  I believe Europeans are averse to any of these simple cooling aids purely out of natural stubbornness.  Their innate sense of superiority renders them incapable of admitting their lives would be vastly more comfortable if they only employed them.

Air Conditioning: The Modern Marvel Wrought by Fossil Fuels.  The modern air conditioner was invented only in the 1920's and it didn't become a common home feature until the latter half of the 20th century.  But, while some of us might wonder how our grandparents survived hot and steamy summers, the fact is those older homes had a few tricks up their sleeves.  They were designed and built with features to help them stay cool without AC.

Willis Carrier, the man who invented modern air conditioning.  Every summer, as temperatures soar across the country, scorching everything in their path, most Americans can retreat to their homes and relax in air-conditioned comfort or enjoy a movie theater or restaurant that would otherwise feel like a sweatshop.  The degree to which the air-conditioned office spaces changed the face of America is hard to exaggerate.  While manufacturing steel or working on a farm might not be greatly affected by air conditioning, many of the things Americans do for work would be much more difficult, if not impossible, without it — things like medical research and high-tech manufacturing or more mundane things like computer programming or working in a superstore or busy restaurant.

[The] Biden Administration [is] waging [a] pointless war on our comfort in the name of climate.  Looking forward to using your air-conditioning this summer to keep you from misery and lack of sleep?  Well, you might have some issues.  You see, the Biden administration has declared war on comfort.  It's not just gas stoves, leaf blowers, and lawnmowers the Biden-ites are coming for.  No siree.  They are also bound and determined to eventually make air-conditioning prohibitively expensive for all but their coastal elite friends and allies.  New Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations are limiting supplies of freon and other refrigerants, because they are allegedly contributors to "climate change."  The new production quotas have driven up the price of these refrigerants by about 300%, meaning that a recharge may cost $100 to $500 more than before these regulations took effect, depending on how much replacement refrigerant is needed.  But wait, there's more!  The coolant quotas get even more stringent next year.

Anti-air conditioner regulations keep piling up.  Now that air conditioning season is commencing across most of America, nearly 100 million homeowners are turning on their systems for the first time since last summer, hoping they get cold air.  Those that don't will need repairs, which may require replacing refrigerant that has leaked out of the system.  Unfortunately, new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations are limiting supplies of these refrigerants — the result of a law targeting them as contributors to climate change.  The production quotas have driven up their price about three-fold, and a recharge may cost $100 to $500 more than before these provisions took effect, depending on how much replacement refrigerant is needed.

A fridge too far?  The Associated Press is continuing its tradition of celebrating people who are making a difference in an effort to "save the planet" through noble acts of sacrifice.  One such person is Josh Spodek of Manhattan.  After taking recycling and composting to the extreme, Spodek determined that he still wasn't doing enough.  So now he has permanently unplugged his refrigerator, which was apparently using too much electricity and contributing to the climate crisis.  He started out by unplugging it for three months during the winter, but now he has shifted his shopping and eating habits to allow him to live entirely without refrigeration. [...] It's hard for me to ignore the likelihood that there is more going on here than just another liberal who is trying to eliminate his carbon footprint.  This is someone who has fully bought into the idea that humans don't "deserve" the benefits of technology and that we all need to live in pods and eat bugs.

Biden's EPA Prepares To Crack Down On Home Appliances.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new rules on Friday that would restrict the use of refrigerators, air conditioning equipment and heat pumps that utilize hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).  The EPA's proposed rule would crack down on the manufacturing and importing of goods containing HFCs, which would restrict the use of HFCs in refrigeration units, air conditioning systems and heat pump equipment starting in 2025, according to an agency press release.  In accordance with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, a global climate treaty that the Senate ratified in September, the agency intends to reduce the production and consumption of HFCs by 85% by 2036.

Controversy as Spain bans air conditioning from dropping below 27°C.  A debate has been sparked after Spain's government moved to prevent offices, shops and other venues from setting air conditioning below 27°C in the summer.  It is part of plans to cut the country's energy consumption and limit dependency on Russian gas.  The decree, published on Tuesday morning, will also stop heating from being raised above 19°C during the winter.  The rules will be mandatory in all public and commercial buildings, including bars, cinemas, theatres, airports and train stations.

Air Conditioning Is An Inconvenient Truth for Inequality Nail-Biters.  The story about the mass production of air conditioners is that what were once status symbols are now common.  Crucial here is that people got very rich making air conditioners common.  It's how the world works.  Or at least how to grow rich in the world.  The best way to become very well-to-do very quickly is to produce in abundance, and at low prices, what used to be scarce and nosebleed expensive.  Translated for those who need it, inequality is born of democratizing access to essential goods.  When you shout about inequality, you're shouting at the very individuals who are aggressively and intrepidly removing unease from your life.  From cars, to computers to smartphones, what was initially a bauble of the rich was rendered commonplace by people who attained great wealth for making them commonplace.

Washington's war on air conditioning heats up.  It's the scariest moment of the year for many homeowners — that first really hot day, usually in May, when we turn on our air conditioners for the first time since the previous summer and cross our fingers that it still works.  If not, it will need to be repaired or possibly replaced, and the 2022 air conditioning season is shaping up to be a very expensive one thanks to environmental regulations.  Meanwhile, the Senate is busy considering a United Nations climate treaty called the Kigali Amendment that would make things worse.

Kerry: Air Conditioners as Big a Threat as ISIS.  Secretary of State John Kerry said in Vienna on Friday [5/26/2017] that air conditioners and refrigerators are as big of a threat to life as the threat of terrorism posed by groups like the Islamic State.  The Washington Examiner reported that Kerry was in Vienna to amend the 1987 Montreal Protocol that would phase out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, from basic household and commercial appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, and inhalers.

Vox: It's time to reconsider air conditioning for the sake of 'cooling justice'.  Thursday [8/26/2021] Vox published a piece about the need to reconsider air-conditioning in order to promote "cooling justice."  The article is based on a book on the same topic but this interview with the author is a bit vague.  What exactly is "cooling justice" and what would that look like in practice?  I confess I'm a bit curious if only because I like to know what it is that the left has planned for all of us.  Here's the author not quite telling us what that is: [...] Get "confortable with discomfort" doesn't sound like an improvement.  Anyway, it has to be done because air-conditioning is racist, hence the need for "cooling justice." [...] Of course an alternative solution to power companies shutting off parts of the grid to prevent a brownout is generating more power.  But New York hasn't really been going in that direction lately, having recently shut down a nuclear plant that provided a lot of the city's power.

The Editor says...
You can rest assured that the offices of Vox (and Newsweek, and the New York Times) are completely, if not excessively, air-conditioned most of the year.  Any business with computers (in other words, all of them) has to be air conditioned.  Grocery stores and hospitals can't operate without it.  Government offices, churches, museums, country clubs, and the residents of the southern states will never give it up.  Some people can't afford air conditioning.  Some people can.  That's just the way it is.

The Woke War on Air Conditioning.  As summer reaches peak heat, a recent piece in Time magazine on air conditioning exemplifies the rot pervading academia and threatening the nation.  Eric Dean Wilson, an instructor and graduate student at City University of New York, wrote about how air conditioning will destroy the planet.  His essay demonstrates the confluence of such intellectually fashionable ideas as environmentalist extremism, critical race theory, equity, and the condemnation of capitalism and "white supremacy."  Wilson has no training in climate science or mechanical engineering.  Yet he teaches "climate-themed writing and environmental justice" at the City University of New York.  Wilson describes his recent book, After Cooling:  On Freon, Global Warming, and the Terrible Cost of Comfort, as "a look at air conditioning's contribution to climate violence, and a critique of the American addiction to personal comfort."

The Editor says...
[#1] I like having a roof over my head when it rains, a steady supply of electricity 24/7, and a blanket in the winter.  Does that mean I'm addicted to personal comfort?  Aren't we all?  Are most of us addicted to electricity?  Yes.  So what?  [#2] Something tells me that if one were to visit the offices of Time magazine tomorrow afternoon, one would find it fully air-conditioned, perhaps excessively, and the room housing the magazine's computer systems is probably quite cold.  I used to work in a building full of computers, and the more indispensable the computers were, the colder their rooms were.  Without air conditioning, computer rooms won't work.

Air conditioners save 20,000 lives in USA each year.  Over the last century there was a remarkable decline in deaths due to hot days and heatwaves.  (Not that the media seem keen to say so).  Mortality on a hot day declined by fully 75% in the decades after 1960 when air conditioners started to be rolled out.  In the words of the authors from [a] 2016 study, the people of the US have largely adapted in ways that protect them from extreme heat.  The kind of hot days they are talking about happen on average 20 days a year in the US.  There has not been a similar reduction in deaths from cold snaps.

Air Conditioning — Saving Lives but Getting No Love.  Every summer brings heat waves, but recent summers have also brought waves of criticisms about air conditioning.  We are told that it is unnecessary, unhealthy and most of all that it contributes to climate change.  It is even derided as sexist.  These views are badly unbalanced — not to mention hypocritical since many were written in air-conditioned comfort — but they are gaining some traction.  And they could not be coming at a worse time.  The world is on the cusp of an air conditioning revolution, as it is finally becoming available to billions of people who have thus far been deprived of its benefits.  But it won't happen unless the anti-air conditioning agenda is stopped.

[John Kerry apparently thinks] Refrigerator chemicals are just as bad as ISIS.  Air conditioners and refrigerators pose as big a threat to "life on the planet" as the threat of terrorism, Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday [7/22/2016].  Kerry was in Vienna negotiating a global climate deal to phase out chemicals used as refrigerants in basic household and commercial appliances such as air conditioning and refrigerators, called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.  The chemicals are a potent source of greenhouse gas emissions that many scientists blame for contributing to global warming.

The Editor says...
How many air conditioners are operating at this moment in John Kerry's multiple residences?

World Leaders Try to Ban Another Greenhouse Gas.  Delegates are likely to take till the meeting's final day on Oct. 14 to hammer out the knotty details of an amendment to the protocol.  Ideally, the amendment will set the terms for a rapid phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the most common of which is the refrigerant HFC-134a, which has 1,430 times more warming potential than carbon dioxide (CO2) over 100 years[.]  The amendment would stop the manufacture of HFCs and then reduce their use over time.  "An ambitious amendment is the quickest and least expensive way to reduce the effects of climate change," says Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, who has been a mainstay at ozone negotiations since almost the beginning of the 1987 treaty.  He says a phasedown could prevent the equivalent of 100 to 200 billion tons of CO2 being released into the atmosphere by 2050.  That prevention could avert half a degree Celsius of warming by the end of the century.

The Editor says...
Weigh these options:  [#1] The elimination of air conditioning and refrigeration, versus [#2] One-half degree of global warming by the end of 2099, which may happen no matter what anybody (or everybody) does.  If any further elaboration is needed to help you make up you're mind, then you're wasting your time on this web site.

Kerry to reach key milestone in air-conditioning phase-out.  Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to reach a milestone Thursday [9/22/2016] in finalizing a key part of President Obama's climate change agenda on phasing out refrigerants used in air conditioners that are blamed for raising the Earth's temperature.  The White House said Kerry will meet with nearly 100 nations on Thursday to hash out an amendment to the Montreal Protocol, first created to fix the ozone layer in the 1980s, to phase out refrigerants to combat global warming.  The deal would reduce the Earth's temperature by 0.5 degrees, Brian Deese, the president's climate change adviser, told reporters on a call Wednesday.  Observers said the deal on Thursday is the prelude to a big push by the administration to finalize the deal on limiting hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, during an international gathering in Kigali, Rwanda, next month.

The Editor says...
The Obama administration, as mentioned above, claims the deal would reduce the Earth's temperature by one-half degree.  Is that imperceptible change worth doing away with air conditioning — or making it prohibitively expensive?  If today is one-half degree warmer than yesterday, would you even notice?  Mr. Kerry, acting on behalf of President Valerie Jarrett and her commie sock puppet Barry Soetoro, is pretending to solve a problem that does not exist.

John Kerry on Air Conditioners and ISIS.  Secretary of State John Kerry recently said that air conditioners and refrigerators are as big a threat to life as the threat of terrorism posed by groups like the Islamic State.  Careerist folks in government parrot the party-line message.  Kerry has heard it from the top-down and buys into it.  President Obama has said that global warming, not the Islamic State was the real threat.  Kerry was negotiating a global climate deal to phase out chemicals used as refrigerants in basic household and commercial appliances such as air conditioning and refrigerators, called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.

Human groundwater usage causing earth to wobble?  According to the pajama boys over at thehill.com, a new study has found that humans have pumped so much groundwater out of the earth that the planet has begun to detectably wobble on its axis.  They admit the "magnitude of the new wobble is slight — a matter of millimeters, which puts it in the same approximate speed category as Earth's slowly drifting continents."  So, perhaps the wobble is actually related to the Earth's slowly drifting continents?  The Hill says the findings, recently published in Geophysical Research Letters, purport to "show the extent to which human action — in the form of dam construction, groundwater drilling, and the burning of fossil fuels — are impacting the very position of the Earth." [...] The "scientists" conducting the study allegedly found that, between 1993 and 2010, human society, largely due to agriculture, had depleted 2,510 gigatons of groundwater, the equivalent of half the volume of Lake Huron.  Half the volume of one lake?  Is that really that calamitous?

The Editor says...
The migration of the poles did not begin in 1993, and there is no reason to believe that human activity caused it.  More comments below.

Earth's tilt has changed by 31 inches thanks to humans — and it could make climate change even WORSE, study warns.  Our insatiable need for water may be keeping us alive, but it's shifting the tilt of the Earth, a new study shows.  Researchers in Korea say the removal of groundwater around the world for drinking and irrigation is altering the Earth's mass and in turn making its axis 'wobble'.  According to the team, we've shifted such a large mass of water that the Earth tilted 31 inches (78.5 cm) east between 1993 and 2010 alone.

The Editor says...
Socialists think you're really stupid.  Does anyone believe that anything we do could make the earth wobble?  Does anyone at the Daily Mail understand how big the Earth is, and how little 31 inches is by comparison?  Is anyone harmed by the migration of the poles?  Apparently the article above is sounding an alarm about a 31 inch peak-to-peak excursion over a period of 17 years.  What happened before 1993?  Is there any historical data showing that the poles did not migrate before the industrial revolution?  Even if everything in the article above is true, and it isn't, what would it take to stop the wobble a planet that has a mass of 5.9722 x 10²⁴ kg?  The only reason to write an alarming newspaper article about a non-problem (that can't be fixed even if it is a problem) is deception:  If the writers can convince you that driving your car is destabilizing the whole world, they might talk you into giving up the freedom that your car represents, along with other freedoms.  I suspect the Earth has been wobbling since about 4,000 years ago, a couple of weeks after Noah got aboard the ark.  Note:  ["]The International Latitude Service was created by the International Geodetic Association in 1899 to study variations in latitude caused by polar motion, precession, or 'wobble' of the Earth's axis.["]  How many cars were on the road in 1899?  How many electric power plants were on line back then?

Earth's Axis Has Been Shifted by Climate Change, Study Says.  Climate change has contributed to the shifting of Earth's axis of rotation, according to new research.  Earth's geographic north and south poles - where the planet's axis of rotation intersects with its surface - are not fixed.  Changes in where the Earth's mass is distributed can cause the axis, and the poles, to move.  Melting glaciers caused a significant amount of water to shift, which scientists have now said helped the locations of the poles accelerate eastward.  It is estimated that since 1980, the poles' positions have moved about 4 meters (13 feet).

The Editor says...
[#1] The poles migrate constantly.  Use your favorite non-Google search engine to find "Chandler wobble."  The same thing is happening to Mars, where there are no coal-fired power plants or internal-combustion engines.  [#2] If the "poles accelerate eastward," what does that mean?  If the North Pole moves east, the South Pole moves west.  The net result is zero.  [#3] The article above lacks specifics.  In my opinion, it was intentionally written to be vague.  "Melting glaciers caused a significant amount of water to shift," it says.  What is that significant amount?  Is that the only place in the world where ice melts?

Earth Is Tipping Because of Climate Change.  The north pole is on the run.  Although it can drift as much as 10 meters across a century, sometimes returning to near its origin, it has recently taken a sharp turn to the east.  Climate change is the likely culprit, yet scientists are debating how much melting ice or changing rain patterns affect the pole's wanderlust.  The geographical poles - the north and south tips of the axis that the Earth spins around - wobble over time due to small variations in the sun's and moon's pulls, and potentially to motion in Earth's core and mantle.  But changes on the planet's surface can alter the poles, too.  They wobble with every season as the distribution of snow and rain change, and over long stretches as well.

The Editor says...
If you look into this subject more closely, I think you'll find that variations in the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon are the main causes of the movements of the poles.  Melting ice and "changing rain patterns" are not likely culprits because [#1] melting ice would require drastically higher worldwide temperatures (which aren't happening) and [#2] "rainfall patterns" are immaterial because the mass of the atmosphere — which contains the water vapor for tomorrow's rainfall - is only one millionth of the mass of the earth.  As you explore this topic, I think you'll find that every large earthquake has a substantial influence on the rotation of the earth.  Furthermore, if the earth wobbles on its axis, so little and so gradually that only astronomers notice, then who really cares?

Nasa study says melting ice sheets are changing Earth's weight distribution.  Global warming is shifting the way the Earth wobbles on its polar axis, a new Nasa study has concluded.  Melting ice sheets - especially in Greenland - are changing the distribution of weight on Earth.  That has caused both the North Pole and the wobble, which is called polar motion, to change course, according to a study published Friday in the journal Science Advances.

The Editor says...
Really?  "Melting ice" produces water, and water seeks its own level, which means melting ice cannot throw the earth out of balance.  If you dump an acre-foot of water into the ocean, or a million acre-feet, what difference does it make if you do so in Greenland or somewhere else?  The water spreads out, theoretically across the entire ocean, thanks to gravity.

Climate Change Is Making the Earth Wobble.  As pollution from burning fossil fuels continues to heat the atmosphere, the world's glaciers are melting at an accelerating rate.  Scientists widely agree that this meltwater has been a major factor in raising global sea levels about seven inches over the 20th century.  The movement of all that water is affecting the Earth's rotation, according to a study published Friday [12/11/2015] in the journal Science.  "If you are melting glaciers from high latitudes - in Alaska, Greenland, or Iceland - you move mass away from the pole, toward the equator, which slows the Earth down," said Jerry Mitrovica, the study's lead author and a Harvard geophysicist who specializes in studying sea level change.  "The change in the distribution of the mass from the poles to lower latitudes also causes the rotation to wobble slightly, because it's being redistributed unequally."  That change in rotation added a microsecond to the course of a day over the 20th century.

The Editor says...
When scientists say the Earth is wobbling, it's technically true, but what that means is that the axis on which the Earth rotates (which of course is the line between the north and south poles) tends to drift.  As I understand it, the north pole drifts around (very slowly) in an area of a few hundred square feet.  There is an organization called the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS.org) which publishes day-to-day estimates of the coordinates of the pole, which appear to change by some few millionths of a second (of latitude and longitude), or perhaps an inch or two every day.  Things like this are usually important (or known!) only to astronomers.  When a "news" writer comes up with a headline like, "Climate Change Is Making the Earth Wobble," it is global warming alarmism, which they spread in an effort to sell newspapers.  The earth isn't wobbling any more than it has for thousands of years.

The Covid Thunderstorm.  A text came in.  Mrs. Curmudgeon was warning me a storm was coming.  I glanced out the window.  It looked glorious! [...] I checked the internet and indeed my county was under a storm warning.  The warning was impressive!  It included, among various dire predictions, 3-inch hail, strong winds, a deluge of rain; damage to buildings, roofs, and cars was imminent.  It sounded serious! [...] I stepped outside and examined the horizon.  It was clear as a bell.  Not a cloud in sight. [...] Everyone was watching radar and listening to warnings.  I was looking at the sky.  I watched big clouds drift on the southern horizon, doing nothing in a very impressive manner; just as I expected them too.  It did this for a long time.  I ate dinner and still nothing had happened.  Eventually, the radio and Mrs. Curmudgeon's phone quit sending us warnings of imminent doom.  Not a drop of rain had fallen.  Nobody apologized for their spastic false positive.  (Nobody ever does.)  It feels like everything I hear from every source is hyperventilating all the time.

The Editor says...
If you don't like false alarms, opt out of all alerts on your cell phone, turn off your TV, and get rid of the NOAA weather radio.  Each one of these devices makes a mountain out of every mole hill that comes to town.  Woo-woo-woo!  Ding-ding!  Woo-woo-woo.  Most weather alerts pertain to some place other than your neighborhood.  How many hysterical false alarms will you tolerate before you stop listening to fearmongers?  The government want you to be afraid of bad weather.  The government wants you to think they'll warn you if anything bad is about to happen.

Fearmongering keeps the elites in power.  "CO2 levels are rising faster than ever" read the headline of the StarTribune, citing a recent Washington Post article.  The earth is burning up!  Back in the 1970s, "experts" were certain that the earth was going into a global deep freeze.  And that the "population bomb" would lead to a mass die-off of people in just a few short decades.  (And now most Western nations' fertility rates are well below replacement level.)  Soon thereafter, experts warned that acid rain was going to dissolve all our buildings and statues, and otherwise wreak havoc on us all.  That didn't happen, but groups like BLM and Antifa stepped in to do the job. [...] Purple loose strife is taking over our land, and zebra mussels and spiny water fleas are taking over our lakes, rivers, and oceans!  The glaciers are melting, and we're all going to drown!  Climate change is leading to drought everywhere and we're all going to die of thirst and starvation! [...] The incessant oncoming disasters rarely, if ever, pan out.

Generating the "national will" to give up our civil and human rights on the altar of pandemic safety.  The 21st Century ushered in a well-coordinated push to generate fear about:
  [#1]   a repeat of the 1918 flu pandemic,
  [#2]   jumps of deadly viruses from animals to humans ("spillover," zoonoses and epizootics were the new terms to be mastered), and
  [#3]   biologic warfare threats
The 2002-3 SARS outbreak and the Avian influenza (bird flu) outbreak — both beginning shortly after the anthrax letters — were hyped to the max to generate fear of pandemics and biological warfare.  How many people did these infectious diseases kill in the US and around the world?
  [#1]   The anthrax letters caused 5 human deaths, all in the US.
  [#2]   SARS-1 caused under 800 deaths around the world.  There were 27 US cases designated as SARS-1 and not a single US death.
  [#3]   Avian flu is said to have caused 463 deaths total in the entire world over the past 20 years, according to the WHO.  Only 2 Americans have been identified as having an illness associated with avian flu, and both were very minor.  Not a single American has died from avian flu.  The recent case of conjunctivitis is recovering.
The CDC and mainstream media claim that avian flu has killed over 100 million chickens.  It has not.  USDA rules have forced growers to cull over 100 million chickens.  When one chicken has a positive PCR test for bird flu, every chicken in the chicken house (and sometimes all those on the farm) must be killed.  Was that test even accurate?

The Good Camel Story That Climate Fearmongers Don't Tell.  For centuries, Somali pastoralists have relied on camels for sustenance, transport and social status.  In recent decades, camel husbandry has evolved into a very profitable business, transforming the lives of many Somalis.  However, the mainstream media, using images of dry lands, would have us believe that this flourishing enterprise is threatened by man-made climate change. [... However,] Somalia's camel populations have surged in recent decades, thanks to ideal conditions for breeding and the growing economic incentive farmers reap from the sale of camel meat and milk.  The camel population doubled between 1961 and 2020 in northern and western parts of Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, South Morocco as former Western Sahara, Mauritania, Burkina Faso) and the Horn of Africa (Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia).  In Mali, Niger, Chad, Nigeria, Kenya, and Djibouti, the population increased by a factor of 12 since 1963. Scientists also believe that "despite a probable underestimation of the worldwide camel population (estimated at around 40 million head in 2020), its growth is higher than for the other herbivorous farm animals."

Tree Equity Is Trivial.  With so many social ills plaguing our cities, some dyed-in-the-wool liberals are obsessed with tree equity.  Their complaint:  White neighborhoods have more trees than minority neighborhoods.  Constantly looking for something to ruminate upon (no wonder they're depressed), the lefty tree-huggers maintain that being immersed in nature has benefits impacting cognitive function, blood pressure, mental health, physical activity, and sleep.  But before lamenting the inequitable dispersal of green spaces, how about addressing issues that are more predictive of well-being, such as education, a sense of safety, and nurturing families? [...] Tree equity is not a panacea to urban blight.  It should not detract from addressing more fundamental dysfunctions in minority communities, such as the high levels of crime in some of the most forested cities in America.

BBC [says] Banana production [will] drop despite banana output having doubled over the last 20 years.  Banana prices to go up as temperatures rise, reports Matt McGrath of the BBC.  What a magnificent story — adding to the fake climate emergency narrative and helping out Big Banana all in one go.  Alas, the uncharitable might note that the story is slightly spoilt by banana output having doubled over the last 20 years, helped, almost certainly, by a little extra warmth and atmospheric carbon dioxide.  Bananas are set to get more expensive as climate change hits a much loved fruit, says Pascal Liu of the World Banana Forum, a UN umbrella group promoting the banana business.  'Experts' are reported to be concerned about the growing threats from a warming world and from the diseases that are spreading in its wake.  McGrath helpfully adds that last week saw shortages in several U.K. supermarkets due to "storms at sea".  There are reported to be concerns about a relatively new strain of Fusarium Wilt, a plant disease that has been widespread in commercial banana plantations for over 100 years.

Health of fish stocks contradict climate alarmists' predictions.  Early in my career, I wanted to make an in-depth study of how climate affected marine life.  After all, many media reports claimed that "oceans will become empty by 2048."  So, as a graduate research assistant, I explored the adaptability of marine fish and invertebrates to fluctuations in ocean temperatures.  I found that both are highly adaptable to changes in the water around them.  That is the way they are made.  Now, evidence emerging from scientific studies shows that marine life may be benefiting from the relative warmth of modern temperatures.  Contrary to the hyperbole of climate reporters, there has been no alarming increase in global sea-surface temperatures.  Even if temperatures increase substantially, fish are free to migrate to cooler waters and do, as documented by scientific studies.  Fish also have natural adaptive mechanisms.  Since their initial emergence in Earth's waters, fish have developed genetically in ways that allow them not only to survive but to thrive in a variety of environments.

Biden admin quietly developing settlement with groups seeking to tear down key power source.  The Biden administration is quietly discussing a potentially far-reaching settlement with environmental groups that advocate for tearing down four hydroelectric dams in Washington to protect salmon.  Federal attorneys representing the government said it had "developed a package of actions and commitments" and agreed to pause litigation with environmental activist plaintiffs in the case, according to court documents filed late last month.  In the filings, jointly submitted by the federal government and eco groups, the parties said they could request a multiyear pause on the litigation to allow for the implementation of the package as soon as Dec. 15, 2023.  However, the filing failed to detail exactly what conditions were included in the secretive package developed.  The groups involved in the case have vehemently argued in favor of breaching the four federally managed dams amid declining salmon populations in the lower Snake River, which winds through Idaho and southwestern Washington before feeding into the Columbia River and then into the Pacific Ocean.

The Editor says...
Hydroelectric dams are one of the two available methods to generate electricity without also generating carbon dioxide.  But the far left doesn't seem to care about keeping the lights on as much as they care about wild fish.

Another Long, Hot Summer.  A recent story from the New York Times, "Why Summers May Never Be the Same," seems to be another example of climate hysteria gone wild.  According to the article, "To many Americans, the season felt like a climate inflection point:  a peek at what the country is facing in the future, and a new definition of summer."  It was so hot, the author claimed, that children couldn't play outside; some construction workers worked only at night; Arizona was unlivable; and even Vermont, with its summer flooding, did not escape unharmed.  And this, the author insists, is just the beginning.  My summer has not changed.  It was hot, as it has been every year since I was born and raised in Oklahoma, worked in Tennessee and Japan, and retired in Florida.  Actually, the 1950s in Oklahoma, often referred to as the "Little Dust Bowl," were hotter and drier than anything since.  There were half-inch cracks running through the baked earth, sidewalks hot enough to fry an egg, and no rain for 90 days.  But no one called it climate change.  It was doing what it had always done:  another long, hot summer on the Great Plains.

Coffee is not bad for you, here's why.  If you enjoy a fresh and hot morning coffee, you're not alone.  Coffee is an A.M. staple in homes all over the world.  However, it's not hard to find a young wellness influencer online telling you how quitting coffee was the best thing they ever did for their health.  So, does that mean coffee is bad?  Although we'd like for things to be clear-cut in nutrition, things aren't that easy.  Everyone is different and science isn't always a yes or a no answer.  At the same time, there's lots of evidence to support that coffee is not inherently detrimental to human health, and may even confer health benefits.

EPA Admits Proposal to Ban Essential Dry Cleaning Chemical Won't Help The Environment.  The Environmental Protection Agency says its own rule proposal to ban a chemical used by many dry cleaners would have little impact on the environment, but its effects "could be devastating" for small businesses across the country, according to industry experts.  The agency says perchloroethylene, or PCE, "does not present an unreasonable risk to the environment," but aims to ban the chemical because it causes health problems.  Cleaning industry experts say that the EPA is overestimating the chemical's health hazards, and placing an unnecessary burden on 6,000 dry cleaners across the country that use it, many of which are small businesses.  "This proposed rule is not likely to have significant effects on the environment because PCE does not present an unreasonable risk to the environment," reads the text of the proposed rule.  The agency says it was unable to determine "the number of dry cleaning facility closures that may be associated."

The summer doesn't need a health warning.  Warm weather during a British summer used to be something to enjoy.  Not least because it's often so fleeting.  But it seems the UK authorities now have other ideas.  They want to frame a spell of what used to be known as 'nice weather' as a problem, a risk, a threat.  Even summer, it seems, is now to come with a health warning.  This week, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office have issued something called a 'heat-health alert' for England, ahead of this weekend's warm temperatures.  This alert has been coded 'yellow' for most of the country, which apparently means that the 'vulnerable' are at risk.  For the Midlands, the south-east, south-west and the east of England, this has been upgraded to 'amber', which means that high temperatures 'could affect all ages and impact the health service'.  An official warning of some sort might be understandable if we were set to endure some truly unprecedented weather event this weekend.  But we're not.  These warnings are being issued because temperatures might touch 30 degrees Celsius, and even then only in some parts of the country.

On global warming, so many problems with the data.  We have been told for years that we would have snowless winters, not that sometimes we would have record snows as we did out west this year.  We have been told that oceans are rising rapidly, and coastal cities would soon be underwater, not that they have risen an essentially immeasurable 9 inches in 140 years.  Why don't the media and other green pushers tell the truth instead of giving dire predictions.  The answer is that people wouldn't capitulate if they learned the truth.  Global mean sea level has risen about 8 [to] 9 inches (21 [to] 24 centimeters) since 1880. [...] Why are people, especially children, told the intentional lie that thousands of species are dying each year because of humans and our use of natural resources when the truth is that scientists can only identify 800 animal species that have gone extinct in the last 400 years, or two per year?  The answer is clearly that the truth would not get support for the radical green agenda.

What if Environmentalists Targeted the Really Popular Stuff?  There is only so much that humanity can reasonably accomplish in energy conservation.  If renewable energy is to make a difference, the increase in manufacturing production required is mind-staggering: [...] The full pollution footprint of the construction and installation of all those wind turbines and (coal-fired) solar panels must be measured to assess their true environmental cost.  If energy and pollution reduction are to be seriously undertaken, so too should the end uses of energy be differentiated based upon their utility.  For instance, it is a better use of fossil fuels, and a more justifiable release of pollution, to grow crops or provide homes with heat than it is to race NASCAR or drive a long distance to ski or skydive.  I am not advocating to use government to widely regulate human activities to control pollution.  But those who do, if they were to be credible, would oppose first and foremost those uses of energy that are least justified in their relative benefit to individuals and the community.  For instance, mowing lawns and fireworks displays are two quick picks for activities that have little merit with which to justify energy use and pollution.  Both are 1) immensely popular and 2) unaddressed by climate alarmists.

The Next Item on the Climate Cult's 'Naughty List' Gives Away the Game.  We've seen a lot of craziness over the years from the climate change cult.  First, it was global cooling, then global warming.  Now, because they don't know what they are talking about and none of their predictions come to pass, it's the more amorphous "climate change" (although the "climate" is always changing).  They are never held accountable for being wrong, and they just move on to the next thing to push us to panic over.  It's always about how things are about to implode — if we don't commit more of our money to deal with it/give up our freedoms/turn over more control to the government. [...] The world's been supposedly about to implode for the past forty years.  Yet, somehow we're still here.  And no, Joe, "everyone" is not recognizing/accepting the mania.  We've seen them demonize fossil fuels.  We've seen them go after meat — even cow farts with their methane emissions.  But an AFP News Agency tweet about what the climate cult might be targeting next had people sit up and take notice on Sunday.  Because if anything underscored how anti-human the cult seems, this would be it.  Guess what else is bad?  Rice — that thing that most of the world survives on.

Lake Tahoe is healing itself!  For decades, environmentalists have been bemoaning the fact that Lake Tahoe's waters have been losing their clarity and blaming humans. [...] The waters of Lake Tahoe are clearing up because God made creatures that clean it up.  They are not clearing up because of the radical green agenda or because we are being forced to drive flammable, polluting electric cars instead of efficient affordable gasoline powered vehicles.  The Sierra Nevada mountains also had record snowpack that occurred cyclically and naturally.  This came after years of warmists enthusiastically predicting that drought was future of California thanks to our CO2 emissions.

Lake Tahoe reaches clarity levels not seen since the 1980s.  In 2022, Lake Tahoe was especially blue.  Over the last five months of 2022, scientists measuring the lake's clarity could see down 80.6 feet.  It was the clearest the lake has been since the 1980s, according to a report released by the U.C. Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center. [...] Two notable zooplankton returned this past fall and winter — daphnia and bosmina.  They had largely disappeared from Tahoe after invasive mysis shrimp were introduced in the 1960s.  The shrimp were so abundant in the lake that a California nonprofit group was studying ways to harvest the shrimp and turn them into dog treats.  In 2021, the mysis shrimp population crashed unexpectedly, and a year later, daphnia and bosmina were thriving.

Wife claims husband committed suicide because of obsessive conversations about global warming with an AI ChatBot app.  A woman in Belgium reportedly claims that her husband committed suicide because of obsessive conversations he had about global warming with an artificial intelligence ChatBot.  The incident was first reported in La Libre, a major daily newspaper in Belgium, according to Vice News.  The man's widow said that the chatbot app called Chai encouraged her husband to commit suicide, and she showed logs of their conversations to La Libre.  The news outlet referred to the man as Pierre, not his real name, and reported that he had grown pessimistic and "eco-anxious," a phrase describing deep frustration about environmental issues, including global warming.  The text exchanges provided by Pierre's wife showed that the conversation between her husband and the chatbot, which he named Eliza, became "confusing and harmful."  The man grew increasingly isolated from his friends and family before his suicide, she said.

The Editor says...
Global warming, global cooling, climate change, and ordinary weather need not affect you in any way.  Thinking about dire possibilities all day won't do you any good.  If you turn off your television, you will discover that in reality the seasons change and the weather changes, and you can easily deal with it.

Obnoxiously loud car?  A traffic camera might be listening.  Over the years, there have been numerous efforts to quiet the cacophony [in New York City].  One of the latest:  traffic cameras equipped with sound meters capable of identifying souped-up cars and motorbikes emitting an illegal amount of street noise.  At least 71 drivers have gotten tickets so far for violating noise rules during a yearlong pilot program of the system.  The city's Department of Environmental Protection now has plans to expand the use of the roadside sound meters. [...] The new devices record the license plates of offenders, much like how speedsters are nabbed by roadside cameras.  Vehicle owners face fines of $800 for a first noise offense and a penalty of $2,625 if they ignore a third-offense hearing.  City officials declined to reveal where the radars are currently perched.

The Editor says...
Every big city is noisy.  The population density is high, and everybody has a leaf blower, a subwoofer, a couple of dogs, or a crying baby.  Sirens are necessary.  Gunshots abound.  Jackhammers mean progress.  The big city airport has lots of big planes arriving and leaving every few minutes.  The big city is where it's at, and it comes with unavoidable byproducts.

The greenie left is coming for your coffee.  It wasn't enough that the greenie left came for our light bulbs, our flush toilets, our guns, our plastic straws, our gas stoves, or our hamburgers.  Now they're coming for our coffee. [...] What they want, of course, is to take away more stuff from us, the better to control us.  It wasn't enough to target our gas-powered cars and tell us to take the bus.  It wasn't enough to take away our electricity and natural gas in the name of 'going green' and tell consumers to freeze in winter.  It wasn't enough to howl for an end to jet travel while greenie leftists bought carbon indulgences and continued to jet about with their private planes.  It wasn't enough to take away our plastic bags, to ensure that we only use unsanitary bacteria-filled cloth recycle bags.  It wasn't enough to take away our meat and tell us to eat bugs.  All these are things they are — no, really — trying to take away.  In some cases, they have succeeded at such schemes, too, all for a phony and chimerical quest to stop global warming, which somehow never happens.

So Wrong So Long.  On January 1, "60 Minutes" featured a segment with Paul Ehrlich, who predicted that earth is headed straight for extinction.  For Ehrlich, 90, this is not a new theme.  "The battle to feed all of humanity is over," was the first line of his 1968 The Population Bomb.  During the 1970s, the author contended, "hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now."  By 1979, Ehrlich prophesied, the oceans would be without life and by 1999 pesticides would reduce the population of the United States to 23 million.  None of that happened, and it wasn't even close.  On Frontpage Magazine, David Harsanyi was all over it.  "Couldn't '60 Minutes' find a fresh-faced, yet-to-be-discredited neo-Malthusian to hyperventilate about the end of the world?" Harsanyi wondered.  "Why didn't producers invite a single guest to push back against theories that have been reliably debunked by reality?"

Another year, another round of global warming doomsday predictions that never came to pass.  No matter how far the predictions are off, the sycophants in the media will continue predicting the talking points that the science is settled and continue their support for the destruction of industries that produce reasonably priced and reliable energy. [...] Thank goodness the climate is and has always been cyclical and natural.The reason the Earth has so many deserts and so much water is because we have always had floods and long droughts.  It has nothing to do with our driving gas-powered vehicles.

Maldives at risk?  [Scroll down]  One of my favorite examples of this phenomenon is the case of the Maldives, a tiny group of over 1000 islands nestled in the Indian Ocean.  Back in 1988 climate scientists were predicting that the Maldives would be under water by 2018 or so.  Melting icecaps and glaciers would increase sea levels that the islands, few of which are much higher than sea level, would be swamped.  It was alarming, and of course the political leaders of the islands begged for foreign aid to deal with the crisis.  Rising sea levels were also fouling the ground water of the islands (shockingly these tiny islands actually have groundwater) and before the residents were drowned by rising seas they would die from lack of water — by 1992, in fact.  Thirty years ago.  Today they are predicting that the groundwater will be fouled in... 30 years.  Shockingly, today the Maldives are larger, populated by more than twice as many people, and a tourist destination.

The Corporate Media's Sick Jihad Against Vitamin D.  The Public Health© biomedical regime, via its private-sector public-relations arm, the corporate media, maintains its brutal siege of all things natural medicine — most especially vitamin D*.  The vital role that vitamin D plays in human health is nearly impossible to overstate.  In fact, the term "vitamin D" is a misnomer; it's actually a steroid hormone.  Its many dozens of crucial physiological functions include — not coincidentally in the context of corporate media demonization — producing faster, fuller recovery for patients with COVID-19.

Synopsis: If you drive your car, all the fish in the ocean will die!
For marine life to survive, we must cut carbon emissions.  A study published on August 22 in the journal Nature Climate Change found that if greenhouse gases continue to be emitted at their current rate, nearly 90 percent of all marine species could face extinction by the end of this century.  The most impacted groups would be the ocean's top predators (particularly tuna and shark, since they are hunted by humans for food), areas with large amounts of biodiversity, and coastal fisheries of low-income nations, according to the study.

The Editor says...
Awww.  It's always the "low-income nations" that are hardest hit by global warming.  And it's your fault, for filling up your gas tank, you evil person.  No, the reality is that "low-income nations" will always be miserable places to live, largely because most of them are run by heavy-handed socialist autocrats.  Also note that it's mighty bold to predict that almost all marine life will end in the next 77 years.  Rash predictions of that sort have been made numerous times in the last 60 years, and the dire pronouncements always flop, at no cost to those who make them.

A Short History of Climate Alarm.  Noel Brown gave us until 2000 to save the planet.  But over the years, the impending date of doom has been continually pushed back.  In 2009, Gordon Brown, UK Prime Minister at the time, baldly stated that we had 'fewer than 50 days to save our planet from catastrophe'.  His deadline ran out on 9 December 2009. Australian Chief Scientist, Penny Sackett, was more opti-mistic.  Just days before Gordon Brown's zero hour arrived, she warned us we had an extra five years to save the world from disastrous global warming.  Three years earlier, in 2006, Al Gore was much more specific, threatening that, unless drastic meas-ures were taken to reduce greenhouse gases within ten years, the world would reach a point of no return.  When the world ignored Al Gore's warning, the UN's Christiana Figueres gaveus another three years' breathing space, but that deadline unfortunately ran out too, just five months ago.  However, it is Prince Charles who must take the prize for getting it wrong most often.

Sri Lanka Is a Wake-Up Call for Eco-Utopians.  [Scroll down]  Consider a long-run perspective.  Throughout most of human history, farmers produced only organic food — and food was so scarce that, despite the much lower population in the past, malnutrition was widespread.  The long-term, global decline in undernourishment is one of humanity's proudest achievements.  Lacking a sense of history and taking abundant food for granted, some environmentalists want to transform the global food system into an organic model.  They see modern agriculture as environmentally harmful and would like to see a transition to natural fertilizers that would be familiar to our distant ancestors, such as compost and manure.  However, conventional farming is not only necessary to produce a sufficient amount of food to feed humanity (a point that cannot be emphasized enough — as the writer Alfred Henry Lewis once observed, "There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy") but it is in many ways better for the environment.  According to a massive meta-analysis by the ecologists Michael Clark and David Tilman, the natural fertilizers used in organic agriculture actually lead to more pollution than conventional synthetic products.  Fertilizers and pesticides also allow us to farm land more intensively, leading to ever-higher crop yields, which allow us to grow more food on less land.

The Mass Psychosis of Liberals.  Liberals have mastered the art of wanting to believe in a false reality, constructing a Bizarro Universe, while at the same time, excusing themselves for committing the very same transgressions against society and nature that they accuse others of doing. [... For example,] Anthropogenic Global Warming is Real:  Anyone with even 1/100th of a functioning average brain can look at the mounds and mounds of scientific evidence and see that this is nothing more than a giant PR hoax, designed to cast conservatives in a bad light, to paint them as "anti-science" and "not caring about the earth" in order to convince the inattentive sector of the American electorate (a slice far too big, unfortunately) to vote against Republicans.  According to the dire warnings made in the late 1990s, Manhattan was supposed to be under water by now, yet the latest reports are that it hasn't yet lost Parking Space One.  And those polar bears?  Still surviving and their numbers are actually increasing.

The next climate change target: cement.  When it comes to battling climate change, all of the eco-warriors out there will be quick to tell you what the real threat to the future of the world is.  It's fossil fuels, right?  Oil, coal, natural gas... they are all working together behind the scenes to bring down the entire planet.  But did you know that there's another, potentially even bigger villain hiding out there in plain sight?  If you live anywhere with a greater population density than a wooden shack in a forest, you can probably step out your door and see it immediately.  It's concrete.  That's right, the stuff that comprises the sidewalks, buildings, and most every other type of construction project you can imagine.  And the process of creating concrete and allowing it to cure after it is poured is dumping vast, increasing amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.  The biggest culprit in this story is reportedly China, but that doesn't mean that you privileged Americans strolling around on your fancy sidewalks are going to be given a pass by the environmentalists.

'Climate change': An Ideologically Driven Movement.  In the mid-1970s, scientists and the media overwhelmingly supported global cooling with the same vigor and urgency as Professor Overpeck supports global warming today. [...] Scientists have been telling us that humanity will end in ten years for the past half-century. [...] Does anyone remember the "scientific" theory of "acid rain" propagated during the 1970s and 1980s, which was supposed to destroy the forests and poison our lakes and rivers unless we closed down coal-fired power plants? [...] Apart from greenhouse gases, there are other more persuasive causes such as the Sun's activity, the Earth's reflectivity, atmospheric pressure, and angle of rotation that impact the planet's temperature.  Therefore, there is no reason to be alarmed.

There were Bigger Floods and Rain-bombs in the 1800's.  One day when the ABC finally gets the Internet they'll be able to find official pages like "Known Floods in the Brisbane and Bremer River Basin". [...] As Ken [Stewart] reports the ABC made a fuss over three Queensland sites recording more than 1 metre of rain in just four days.  But neither the ABC or the BOM is telling Australians that there have been at least nine similar "Rain Bombs" before and most of them were more than one hundred years ago.  I went looking at Climate Data Online for four day rainfall totals over one metre, to compare with the recent totals above at Mount Glorious, Pomona, and Bracken Ridge.  For a start, Pomona's BOM station has been closed for years, and Bracken Ridge is not listed at all, so those reports are from rain gauges external to the BOM network and can't be checked.  That's OK.  In about half an hour I found the following four day rainfall records.

Crohamhurst         4/2/1893     1963.6mm
Yandina             3/2/1893     1597.8mm
Tully Sugar Mill    13/02/1927   1421.3mm
Palmwoods           4/2/1893     1244.6mm
Buderim             3/2/1893     1150.3mm
Bloomsbury          20/01/1970   1141.8mm
Dalrymple Heights   6/04/1989    1141mm
Innisfail           3/04/1911    1075.8mm
Nambour             11/1/1898    1013mm

Liberal warning signal:  Refrigerators are destroying the world.  This time it isn't the oil and gas industry, cars with internal combustion engines, or the [emissions] of cattle on beef ranches.  The culprit in this case can be found right in the homes of virtually everyone reading this.  It's your refrigerator.  Well, not your specific refrigerator.  Everyone's refrigerators.  In fact, all cooling technology of every sort that is currently in use, unless you're in the habit of harvesting ice from a lake and saving it for the summer.  That's the message being brought to us by David Owen in a lengthy column at The New Yorker this week.

Yet Another Man-made Crisis.  [Scroll down]  Almost all of the created-crisis-creating plastic pollution in the oceans is so small that you cannot see it.  This admission aligns well with my personal experience.  Like Nils-Axel Mörner, I am a dedicated fan of the "Oh yeah?  Let me see for myself"-school of evidence.  Until I retired five years ago, I had spent one half of my adult life living on the sea on boats and ships, both as a professional mariner and as Captain of my own vessels.  I have a lot of sea miles under my belt.  To actually see something floating on the surface of the sea is so very rare that it invariably calls for closer inspection at least by binoculars or at other times by a brief divergence from one's intended course to "go have a look".  Failing to investigate an object large enough to be seen at any distance was considered negligent by the Captains I have served under and I have followed suit when I was the Captain.  The "garbage patch" is a fraudulent invention — a fantasy.

We Need a Political Climate Change.  If you had any doubt that California's present shortage of available water for farming in the Central Valley is a political, not a climate, problem, Anthony Watts will disabuse you of the notion.  If you've any doubt that this administration puts the desires of the crazy greens over the public interest, the Wall Street Journal's editorial board puts that to rest.  Per Watts, since 1861, before the industrial revolution, California has recorded periods of heavy rainfall and truly massive floods which more water storage could mitigate.  On the "flip side," the state has had long periods of drought which can be dated from 800 A.D. to the present, obviously long before "the modern occupation of California."  These swings are attributable to something NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) calls "Atmospheric Rivers."

California's Wild Weather, Wet or Dry, is Nothing New.  For those wondering about the recent heavy rains in the west, going from drought to deluge in a few short months, here's some data and history to illustrate that it is nothing new, and it has nothing to do with the claims of a "climate change" influence.  Before the industrial revolution, electricity, eight lane highways, and gas-guzzling SUV's, there was a 43-day rainstorm that began in December 1861 that put central and southern California underwater for up to six months.  The highest rainfall ever in California during recorded history likely occurred in January 1862, during the "Great Flood".  This was an atmospheric river event like we are experiencing now, but lasted several days, dumping 24.63 inches of rain in San Francisco, 66 inches in Los Angeles, leaving downtown Sacramento underwater.

13 Years Ago Today Climate Grifter, Al Gore, Predicted by this time We would Be Underwater with No Polar Ice Caps.  It was 13 years ago today that the failed Presidential candidate turned VP, turned climate grifter, Al Gore, said that by this time in our history there would be no polar ice caps left, and most of the eastern seaboard and coastlines around the world would be underwater.  It turns out, the man who once claimed he helped create the internet, was wrong about that as well as he continues to peddle the same lies while moving the goal posts.  [Video clip]

A Different Perspective on Global Warming.  We have grown accustomed to climate change being talked about in a certain way.  Usually, it involves words and phrases like "dangerous," "catastrophe," "red zone," and "one minute to midnight."  Equally dramatic are the policies proposed by many in Washington, D.C., to force a transition away from conventional energy to more politically preferred options.  These admittedly painful changes, we are told, are urgently needed "for the common good."  However, climate trends don't support rapid economy-altering responses, and areas of uncertainty in our scientific understanding caution for humility in policymaking.  The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently reported that the earth has warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius since 1850.

For those that missed it, here's a recap.  [Illustration — only a small sample is shown.]

Wrong Again: 50 Years of Failed Eco-pocalyptic Predictions.  Modern doomsayers have been predicting climate and environmental disaster since the 1960s.  They continue to do so today.  None of the apocalyptic predictions with due dates as of today have come true.  What follows is a collection of notably wild predictions from notable people in government and science.  More than merely spotlighting the failed predictions, this collection shows that the makers of failed apocalyptic predictions often are individuals holding respected positions in government and science.  While such predictions have been and continue to be enthusiastically reported by a media eager for sensational headlines, the failures are typically not revisited.

Climate 'Experts' Are 0-41 with Their Doomsday Predictions.  For more than 50 years Climate Alarmists in the scientific community and environmental movement have not gotten even one prediction correct, but they do have a perfect record of getting 41 predictions wrong.  In other words, on at least 41 occasions, these so-called experts have predicted some terrible environmental catastrophe was imminent ... and it never happened. [...] Why would any sane person listen to someone with a 0-41 record?  Why would we completely restructure our economy and sacrifice our personal freedom for "experts" who are 0-41, who have never once gotten it right?  If you had an investment counselor who steered you wrong 41times, would you hang in there for number 42?  Of course not.  You'd fire him after failed prediction two or three.  And if that's not crazy enough, the latest ploy is to trot out a 16-year-old girl to spread prediction number 42, because it is so much more credible that way.

Honestly, is climate change really humanity's greatest threat?  Exactly 10 years after "Inconvenient Truth," I decided I needed to be more discerning about what was "coming down the pike."  After seeing the film and doing my research, I found most of Gore's previous "expert" predictions proved false needing to be debunked as myths.
  •   Rising Sea Levels:  inaccurate and misleading.  I also noticed Al had purchased a beautiful beachfront mansion!  [So has Barack H. Obama.  So has Nancy Pelosi.]
  •   Increased Tornadoes:  Declining for decades.
  •   New Ice Age in Europe:  they've been spared; it never happened.
  •   South Sahara Drying Up:  completely untrue.
  •   Massive Flooding in China and India:  did not happen.
  •   Melting Arctic: false — the largest refreezing in years occurred years ago.
  •   Polar Bear Extinction: actually they are increasing!
  •   Temperature Increases Due to CO2:  no significant rising for almost 25 years.
  •   Earth in a True Planetary Emergency in a Decade Unless Drastic Action Taken to Reduce Greenhouse Gases:  never happened.
  •   Note: Mt. Kilimanjaro has continued to have abundance of snow; Glacier National Park had to remove a sign predicting the ice would be gone by 2020; this year Antarctica recorded its coldest winter on record.

Obama and the false prophets of climate alarmism.  For a media that allegedly hates lying former presidents, there sure seems to be a deafening silence when former President Barack Obama does it.  Speaking before the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Obama blamed the Trump administration for "active hostility toward climate science," NBC News reported.  In doing so, Obama also peddled the same, tired, climate change cultist rhetoric that many leftists embrace despite their bearing no relation to science.  "You've been bombarded with warnings about what the future will look like if you don't address climate change," Obama said.  "And, meanwhile, you've grown up watching many of the adults who are in a position to do something about it either acting like the problem doesn't exist or refusing to make the hard decisions needed to do something about it."  But what if the "warnings" are hype and not based on any sort of scientific consensus?

Laughing at climate hysteria.  We should laugh at climate hysteria, especially the fantasy proposals for stopping evil climate change.  Electrify everything by running it on wind and solar?  Restructure the economy?  Restart the world in a green image?  Stop eating meat and drinking milk?  These proposals are all laughable, so feel free to laugh at them, as it will do a lot of good.  Same for the scary science that supposedly justifies these outrageous proposals.  It only exists in monster computer models that are deliberately programmed to produce it.  True science is based on observation and we are seeing nothing to support these fantastical hot models.  Floods, droughts, heatwaves, hurricanes and wildfires, are all continuing to occur in normal amounts, along with sea level rise.  Dealing with natural disasters is important but hoping to prevent them by not using gasoline or gas is just nuts.

Bizarre UN Video Warns Humans About Coming 'Climate Disaster' Extinction.  In a truly bizarre video released by the United Nations Development Programme on Wednesday, a talking computer-generated dinosaur warns humans that they must take urgent action to avoid what our histrionic friends in the Democrat Party are fond of calling "the existential threat of our time" — climate change (or whatever they're now calling it) action to avoid extinction.  Yes, the extinction of mankind is apparently right around the global warming corner if we don't get [...] in gear and stop being mean to the planet and our environment before we enter into irreversible climate armageddon.  And of course, the talking dinosaur has a name:  Frankie the Dino.

The Editor says...
The climate is changing so little and so slowly that the global average temperature will make an imperceptible small change over the course of your lifetime.  Nobody is going to be extinct.  You will never meet a "climate refugee."  People don't move from one country to another because of bad weather.  There will never be a war fought over global warming.  Most of all, the climate will never be affected by legislation.

Record number of humpback whale calves spotted:  Another predicted 'climate change' disaster that didn't happen.  Many people are happy about this widely-distributed story from the CBC:  ["]There were no humpbacks off southwest B.C. 25 years ago, but now as many as 500 have been identified["] [...] It took my friend Mike Nadler, who sent me this story, all of 30 seconds to spot a sampling of supposedly science-based stories from earlier this very year — one of them 2 months ago — about the disastrous impact of climate change on humpback whale procreation.

Prince Charles says [there is a] "dangerously narrow window" to accelerate climate action.  Britain's Prince Charles, in recorded remarks at an environment event in Saudi Arabia on Saturday [10/23/2021], said there was a "dangerously narrow window" to accelerate climate change action.  Citing experts, he said the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 due to start at the end of October must have nationally determined contributions (NDCs) with "clear baselines" and net zero emission targets by 2050.  He was addressing the Saudi Green Initiative forum, at which top exporter Saudi Arabia had earlier on Saturday announced its target to reach zero-net emissions by 2060.

You Know the Daily Aspirin the Feds Told Us Old Folks to Take?  Well, Stop It!  That's Bad for You Now.  This time the new federal advice is about aspirin, the world's most widely-used drug that made Bayer a household name after its invention in 1897.  You know how, based on a 2016 recommendation, you should be taking one low-dose aspirin tablet a day to prevent heart disease, the nation's and even the world's top killer?  Estimates say around 30 million Americans pop one of them daily, me included.  Well, forget it.  A government-backed advisory board just opened public comment on a proposed advice change to say that we shouldn't be doing what we were told we should be doing for almost the last decade.

Studies Suggested Aspirin Lowers COVID Mortality Rates, Now the Powers That Be Are Attacking It.  According to an article released last Wednesday by the Jerusalem Post, Israeli researchers copied a test done at George Washington University where they recorded over 400 COVID patients from hospitals across the country who took aspirin for reasons unrelated to COVID itself.  This simple treatment resulted in a 44 percent reduction in needing the mechanical ventilator, reduced ICU admissions by 43 percent, and overall hospital mortality by 47 percent.  When the Israelis conducted the same test, they got very similar results and even found that aspirin takers were less likely to get a COVID infection in the first place as discovered by Dr. Jonathan Chow of the research team: [...]

The 'Science' of Climate Change.  Why do politicians want to hype a nonexistent climate crisis?  In a word:  power.  By claiming that there is an urgent climate crisis the politicians can spend billions to fight the imaginary foe. [...] The parade of imaginary environmental catastrophes during the last 70 years is very long.  Here are some books predicting this or that environmental disaster:  Our Plundered Planet (1948), Road to Survival (1948), Silent Spring (1962), Famine 1975! (1967), The Population Bomb (1968), The Limits to Growth (1972), An Inconvenient Truth (2006), This Changes Everything:  Capitalism vs.  Climate (2014), The Uninhabitable Earth:  Life After Warming (2019).

The Deep Optimism Manifesto.  Previous eco-scares and doomsday predictions have proven to be false.  Everything from Malthus's predictions of mass starvation to Silent Spring (DDT) to alar to acid rain to nuclear winter to ocean acidification to ozone to The Population Bomb to mass extinctions to insect populations crashing to bee colony collapse to soy products causing everything from cancer to infertility.  Sea levels are not rising more than they were in the 1800s.  Polar bears are thriving.  Extinction rates aren't particularly high and are not increasing.  These scares are always invisible and always out in the future.  The scare is great for media sales, so they amplify it.  Social media amplifies it further.

The Cabal That Cried Wolf and Undermined a Republic.  Manmade environmental hoaxes have evolved from the Coming Ice Age to Acid Rain to Global Warming to Climate Change, with each one being manipulated to scare citizens and implement government policies and programs that never die, despite the fact that posited catastrophes never actually emerge.  Think about the "Peak oil" fears of the 70s and the ethanol programs we're still stuck with today, despite the extraordinary increases in oil production and reserves.

Get ready for the left's climate-change 'emergency' lockdowns.  President Biden claims recent hurricanes prove we're in a "climate crisis" — "code red" for the world, he warns.  White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy adds that climate is now a "health emergency."  It's convenient for politicians to treat every hurricane, tornado and flood as an apocalyptic sign from Gaia — and then blame political apostates for offending the goddess.  But it's an irrational way to think about the world.  Because our situation is, in most ways, quantifiably better than before on nearly every front.  This reality is probably difficult to accept for a generation subjected to decades of fearmongering, but climate anomalies are nothing new.  When a freak snowstorm hit Texas this year, the administration used it to push draconian policies.  But the Texas storm was no different than the rare 1973 blizzard that hit the South.  It happens.  And there's nothing we can do.

Noted in Passing:  Green Lies Continue.  [Scroll down]  Here's a more recent story featured on both CNN and FOX News, "A huge swirling pile of trash in the Pacific Ocean is growing faster than expected and is now three times the size of France...".  Oh really?  Three times the size of France?  How was this verified?  Did someone go out there with a tape measure?  No.  Did the International Space Station record footage as it orbited overhead?  No.  NASA satellite Imagery?  No.  US Navy Reconnaissance?  No.  Google Maps Satellite view?  No.  National Geographic Special Report?  No.  There is NO evidence of this [...] thing.  Just drawings, assertions, phony composites, and scary stories, endlessly repeated.  What started as a [deceptive] article written by Captain Moore has now mushroomed into tales of FIVE Great Garbage Patches.

It's Time To Stop Terrorizing Our Children.  If you are a male or a female (or know someone who is) and have been sleeping too soundly lately, type "billions of children facing climate shock" into Google and you will discover dozens of articles from last week warning that almost half the world's 2.2 billion children will face, as one article says, "climate-related disasters in their lifetimes, [a UNICEF] report found." [...] Now, let's pretend you're a 7 (or 38) year old, lying awake all night, worrying and struggling to solve pollution, injustice, and extinction problems.  With these stress-inducing "unfixable" homework assignments, is it any wonder that so many kids (and child-like adults) are consuming record levels of ADHD meds and antidepressants? [...] Many of Grimm's Fairy Tales have been banned or deemed too "violent" for children.  However, politically correct Saturday morning cartoons pound home the message that little boys and girls are going to die horrible deaths unless their parents give up their cars, wash their hands properly, become vegans, and stop challenging the effectiveness of wearing masks.

The problem with climate change politics.  The UN has been predicting planetary disaster for decades, usually scheduled to happen in about a decade's time.  In 1972 — half a century ago — Maurice Strong, the first UN Environment Programme director warned that the world "had just 10 years to avoid catastrophe".  In 1982 his successor, Mostafa Tolba, the then head of the UN Environment Programme told the world that it had just 18 years before "an environmental catastrophe as irreversible as any nuclear holocaust".  Yet 2000 came and went and we just partied like it was 1999.  As sea levels would rise, we were told that the Maldives islands would be under water over a decade ago, they're building more luxury hotels.  We were told the source of the great Ganges River in the Himalayas, the glaciers, would have melted long ago.  The great Ganges River still flows, and the glaciers are still there.  The Australian Great Barrier reef would be dead, it is alive and thriving.  We were told by the UN Food Programme in the sixties that Earth could not feed a growing population and that the future was bleak with much of humanity facing starvation.  The earth's population has more than doubled since the sixties with fewer people in absolute poverty.

UN routinely warns us that we have just a few years left until catastrophe.  [Thread reader]  In 1972, half a century ago, Maurice Strong, first UN Environment Programme director warned that the world had just 10 years to avoid catastrophe[.]  In 1982, Tolba, head of UN Environment Programme told the world that it had just 18 years before an environmental catastrophe as irreversible as any nuclear holocaust[.]  In 1989, a senior UN official warns Associated Press that we have to fix climate change by 1999 or climate change goes beyond human control[.]  In 1990, Tolba, head of UN Environment Programme told the world must fix global warming before 1995 — Otherwise, we'd lose the climate struggle[.]  In 2019, all the greats of the UN met to tell us that we have just 11 years to fix climate[.]

Out: Climate change.  In:  Moon wobble.  We are once again being warned of incoming dangers, particularly for coastal regions, as sea levels rise and the tides become higher and stronger.  Normally, the next two words following such a dire forecast would be "climate change," but now there's a different cause being given.  The moon will be starting to "wobble" more in its orbit in the next decade, exerting a greater gravitational pull on the oceans, so tides will continue to grow higher for the following ten years before slowly beginning to recede again.  When you combine these accelerated tides with higher ocean levels (that's the part they'll blame on climate change) it's projected to spell bad news for people living near the coasts.  So I suppose we should get to the key question in this report.  Why is the moon wobbling more and how can this be blamed on conservatives?

We've Lost Count Of How Many 'Last Chances' We've Had To Save The Planet.  John Kerry said earlier this month that we've reached "the last best opportunity we have to get real and serious" about global warming.  What's the difference between him and a loon walking down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue wearing one of those sandwich boards proclaiming the end of the world is nigh?  We're struggling to see any.  Kerry, the Biden administration's special presidential envoy for climate [...] is part of a chorus of fearmongering that goes back more than three decades.  "In 1989 the United Nations gave us 10 years to save the world," science site Watts Up With That posted last year.  Guess blogger Eric Worrall then went on to list more than a dozen "last chances" to stop global warming.  "If we do not heed this last chance, I'm sure there will be another last chance in the near future, just like all the previous last chances," he said.  Dire, way-off-base predictions have been the hallmark of radical environmentalism for at least a half century.

Earth Day's legacy of failed apocalyptic predictions.  All the solemnity that attaches to Earth Day, with scolds like Greta Thunberg and politicians attending "virtual" summits, ought to be drowned out by peals of laughter.  The real slogan of the global warming crowd ought to be.  "Fool me once, shame on me.  Fool me fifty times, shame on you."  Yes, fooled by phony proclamations of doom fifty times.  At a minimum.

NY Times Spread Fake News that East Coast Beaches Would Be 'Gone' by 2020.  "[M]ost of the beaches on the East Coast of the United States would be gone in 25 years," the fake New York Times told the world 25 years ago, all the way back in 1995.  Fact check:  It's 2021 and America's East Coast beaches are doing just fine! [...] The date of the article is September 18, 1995.  The headline reads, "Scientists Say Earth's Warming Could Set Off Wide Disruptions."  So here we are 25 full years later, a whole quarter of a century later, and the first prediction from these unnamed "experts" has not even come close to occurring, so why should we believe the dire predictions about the year 2100?  We shouldn't.

Why would Texas have prepared for record cold and snow if they listened to the media and other global warming fanatics the last forty years?  Since 1980 Americans have heard that the Earth was warming rapidly, that the South would not have winters anymore and we would see "the end of snow."  We were told it is the "scientific consensus" and the science was "settled." So why the heck would politicians prepare for something when they were told by "experts" that it would never happen? [...] Clearly the UN, Al Gore, John Kerry, Bill Gates and all the others that push this garbage on the public, without scientific data to support it, are to blame, not the Texas politicians.  John Kerry, who flies on private jets, is out there saying there are only 9 years left to solve the problem.  If we had honest reporters, instead of people pushing an agenda, they would tell him that the UN said in 1989 that we only had ten years left to solve the problem.

Let's Review 50 Years Of Dire Climate Forecasts And What Actually Happened.  Here are 21 headlines from various news sources regarding dire climate predictions over the last 50 years.  Many of the predictions are outrageously funny.

Wrong Again: 50 Years of Failed Eco-pocalyptic Predictions.  Modern doomsayers have been predicting climate and environmental disaster since the 1960s.  They continue to do so today.  None of the apocalyptic predictions with due dates as of today have come true.  What follows is a collection of notably wild predictions from notable people in government and science.  More than merely spotlighting the failed predictions, this collection shows that the makers of failed apocalyptic predictions often are individuals holding respected positions in government and science.  While such predictions have been and continue to be enthusiastically reported by a media eager for sensational headlines, the failures are typically not revisited.

The greenies' tales about Hawaii's vanishing beaches miss one important fact.  The greenies have a new battle in the "war on climate change."  They want to rid the world of sea walls.  Sea walls are barriers that property owners put on the waterside of the beach to protect their property from encroaching waves.  According to the environmentalists, though, sea walls exacerbate the way anthropogenic climate change and the resulting rise of the sea destroy beachfront property.  I'm sure this a fine theory, except for the part about anthropogenic climate change causing the sea to rise.  In fact, as this article from Watts Up With That explains with tremendous clarity, any sea level rise is minimal (according to NOAA, around 1.7 mm per year).  Instead, what's often happening is that the land is sinking.  Sinking land happens not because of climate change.  It happens because the Earth's crust is a dynamic system that is constantly on the move.  Nowhere is that more obvious than in Hawaii.

US City Mandates Gas Pumps Must Carry Cigarette-Style Health Warning About Climate Change.  Well, however well warning labels work — or even if they do — the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is about to see if it works for gas in the way I described it.  According to The Guardian, every pump in the city will come with a sticker that warns you that you're killing the planet with each tank you fill.  The warning labels will read that burning fossil fuels has "major consequences on human health and the environment including contributing to climate change."  Under a city ordinance that passed in January but didn't get much attention over the course of the year because we were busy with, you know, other stuff, the policy order stated "that in order to reach our sustainability goals, the City must actively pursue innovative methods to reduce vehicular emissions."

Massachusetts city to post climate change warning stickers at gas stations.  Cambridge, Massachusetts, has become the first US city to mandate the placing of stickers on fuel pumps to warn drivers of the resulting dangers posed by the climate crisis.  The final design of the bright yellow stickers, shared with the Guardian, includes text that warns drivers the burning of gasoline, diesel and ethanol has "major consequences on human health and the environment including contributing to climate change".  The stickers will be placed on all fuel pumps in Cambridge, which is situated near Boston and is home to Harvard University, "fairly soon" once they are received from printers, a city spokesman confirmed.

The Editor says...
Hundreds of factors "contribut[e] to climate change."  That's why the climate constantly changes, and has done so for millennia — long before gasoline engines were invented.  But the climate is changing so gradually, it's imperceptible.  If you'll turn off your television, you will find that for all practical purposes the climate is not changing at all.  The consequences of filling your gas tank are far smaller than the consequences of running out of gas.  Think!

How Socialist Dogma Replaces Real Science with "Settled Science".  [Scroll down]  Climatology and ecology have turned from objective sciences into undersigners of party science.  Instead of scientific debate, doomsday advocates hysterically accuse political opponents of denying scientific facts and general ignorance.  These dogmatic beliefs were refuted not only from a theoretical point of view but also after the gloomy predictions did not come true:  the ocean did not flood the cities, and polar bears did not die out.  But the emerging facts of manipulation in temperature measurements, data processing, and data interpretation have only led to a change in the Left's terminology.  Instead of global warming, now we are dealing with climate change due to human activity.  Scholars who question harmful carbon dioxide's effect on the climate get ridiculed and silenced.  Luckily, the Left still falls short of prosecuting dissident scientists.  Nevertheless, leftists clearly understand that peddling climate change and recruiting more believers will bring them long-lasting political success.  The Green New Deal, which is presented as a means to save humanity from the consequences of climate change and is based on the false premises of socialist climatology, is as stupid as the fight against sparrows in China during the Cultural Revolution.

Health and environmental experts are coming for your gas stove.  Health experts are advising to use electric stoves over glass flames.  Electric coil and induction stoves run on electricity, with the potential for "green" energy sources such as solar and wind power.  Gas stoves, though decidedly easier to control for cooking, require the use of fossil fuels, namely natural gas.  Their carbon dioxide emissions, while lower than that of other oil or coal, are one of the many factors contributing to climate change.  But natural gas combustion isn't just bad for Earth's atmosphere.  Researchers at the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit advocacy organization for sustainability, have revealed that toxins, such as carbon monoxide and formaldehyde, are collecting inside homes at levels considered unsafe by some outdoor standards.

The Editor says...
If you use natural gas appliances, you need adequate ventilation.  This has been common knowledge for at least a century.  The carbon dioxide from your gas stove — or a million of them — is inconsequential.  You won't have carbon monoxide and formaldehyde accumulating in your house if your gas appliances are operating correctly.  I'm tired of left-wing busybodies ostensibly worrying about my health (and global warming) in an attempt to restrict my choices.

No Pope Francis, the World Is Not in a Climate Emergency!  We would be in a climate emergency if the changes in climate were causing serious harm, or could credibly be predicted to cause serious harm, to ecosystems, food production, and human survival.  But the best evidence is that there is no ongoing manmade climate emergency.  Contrary to the claim, the climate in the past five decades has actually boosted people's livelihood.  There have been record crop outputs and tremendous agricultural success across the globe during the past few decades.  Scientists credit this agricultural success to optimum climatic conditions, including increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.  Yes, the twin factors that led the Pope to declare an emergency are the very factors that have boosted plant growth not only in agriculture — making food more abundant and affordable for everyone, especially the poor — but in all ecosystems.  Unprecedented improvement in the life expectancy rates — the average number of years a newborn would go on to live — has been registered in almost every part of the world.  Life expectancy continues to increase in developing countries.

Laughable 'Climate Clock' Tells Us How Long We Have Left to Save the Earth.  What passes for thinking among climate hysterics goes something like this:  We only have seven years and change to take action to avoid catastrophic climate change.  The clock is based on an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report telling us we have to keep our CO2 footprint under a certain level or we're all doomed. [...] If the earth's atmosphere was a chart or a graph, they'd have it down cold.  Unfortunately for their "predictions," the atmosphere is slightly more dynamic than a piece of paper.  It's a living, breathing, churning, roiling thing affected by thousands of factors that no supercomputer or scientific genius could possibly account for.  To have the unmitigated arrogance to pretend to know how long we have left — or that such a thing can even be measured — is breathtaking.

New York 'Climate Clock' highlights decades of premature prophecies of global warming doomsday.  In honor of "Climate Week," New York City is playing host to a massive "Climate Clock" purporting to count down the years, days and minutes until the world reaches a climate catastrophe point-of-no-return. [...] The "Climate Clock" generated headlines across the world for its novelty and striking presentation of what activists claim is a final deadline before global temperatures reach a point from which there is no turning back.  Yet such prophecies are nothing new from climate scientists and activists, who have repeatedly warned the world over recent decades that it was very near the point of no return regarding carbon emissions.  Among the earliest such warnings was one from Noel Brown, who in 1989 led the U.N. Environment Program in New York.  In that year, Brown warned that "entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000," as a contemporary Associated Press report put it.

Hurting Americans to Beat Trump.  Democrat governors are not giving up their lockdowns no matter how much they hurt people's lives.  With a total lack of irony, they ignore the real science calling for reopening the economy and schools, while at the same time they label "deniers" anyone who disagrees with fake climate change science.  Science is defined as "the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment."  Samples of science:  Don't wear masks, wear masks; coffee will kill you, coffee is good for you; chocolate will kill you, chocolate is good for you; fatty foods will kill you, carbs will kill you; the world will freeze in a nuclear winter, the oceans will bubble away as "kettle's on the boil, [when] we're so easily [led astray]."  Even though science does not always live up to its reputation, a decision must be made and when the preponderance of the science says open, you should open.

The Age of Conspiracy.  [Scroll down]  "Like every successful con," Rupert Darwall writes in Green Tyranny, "maintaining audience credulity depends on preventing the audience from noticing what the trickster is up to," a tactic known in the trade as "defining the baseline" — that is, by deceptively touting how damaged the world would be minus whatever transformation is envisioned.  In all too many instances, there is no dispositive proof that such would be the case.  Much to the chagrin of our false prophets, the seas do not rise to engulf our cities and low-lying islands, famine does not fall upon the land, populations do not grow extinct, the air is not becoming unbreathable, the spring does not grow silent, and the world does not end on a given date — though it may on the next given date, or the next.  We can always hope.  Unfortunately, we cannot rely on the media and the large digital platforms to enlighten us since these, especially Google, have become manifestly, and often confessedly, manipulators of search results as well as agents of disinformation, organs of censorship and propaganda outlets lobbying for one side of the political divide.

Only Six Months to Save the Planet!  The International Energy Agency says we have only six months left to save the world from global warming: [...] Is that a promise?  Can we count on being left alone by climate scolds as of January 1, 2021? Will Greta Thunberg go back to high school?  Just kidding.  As long as money is being made by "green" industrialists and climate hypesters, they will continue to harangue us.  Only when the honeypot dries up will they move on to other frauds.  Count on it, by mid-2021 the greenies will tell us we have only X years left to save the planet.  Again.

On Behalf Of Environmentalists, I Apologize For The Climate Scare.  On behalf of environmentalists everywhere, I would like to formally apologize for the climate scare we created over the last 30 years.  Climate change is happening.  It's just not the end of the world.  It's not even our most serious environmental problem.  I may seem like a strange person to be saying all of this.  I have been a climate activist for 20 years and an environmentalist for 30. [...] Here are some facts few people know:
  •   Humans are not causing a "sixth mass extinction"
  •   The Amazon is not "the lungs of the world"
  •   Climate change is not making natural disasters worse
  •   Fires have declined 25% around the world since 2003
  •   The amount of land we use for meat — humankind's biggest use of land — has declined by an area nearly as large as Alaska
  •   The build-up of wood fuel and more houses near forests, not climate change, explain why there are more, and more dangerous, fires in Australia and California
  •   Carbon emissions are declining in most rich nations and have been declining in Britain, Germany, and France since the mid-1970s
  •   Netherlands became rich not poor while adapting to life below sea level
  •   We produce 25% more food than we need and food surpluses will continue to rise as the world gets hotter
  •   Habitat loss and the direct killing of wild animals are bigger threats to species than climate change
  •   Wood fuel is far worse for people and wildlife than fossil fuels
  •   Preventing future pandemics requires more not less "industrial" agriculture

The Green Civil War.  Green plans to raise energy prices, eliminate cars, and ban fossil fuel development also have stirred fierce opposition from the working class, whether in pro-Trump middle America, or among France's gilets jaune.  But it's not just the proverbial angry white men.  In California, some 200 local civil rights leaders have filed lawsuits against the state's regulators, arguing that the state's climate policies are essentially discriminatory toward poor people and minorities. [...] Contrary to environmentalist dogma from the 1970s, natural resources, including energy and food, did not run out but became more available than anyone expected.  So why the constant hyping and hysteria?

Dr. Fauci's recurring disease 'nightmares' often don't materialize.  Nobody did more to kick off the U.S. AIDS alarm than [Dr. Anthony] Fauci, who was sole author of a 1983 piece in the prestigious JAMA in which he declared the disease might be transmissible by "routine close contact, as within a family household."  Fauci shortly thereafter ascended to the position he holds to this day as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  Fauci continued to raise the AIDS alarm.  In 1987, columnist George Will asserted on TV that the heterosexual AIDS threat was overstated.  "That's not correct," Fauci protested, followed by a prediction that the percentage of AIDS cases contracted via heterosexual transmission (then at 4%) would rise to 10% by 1991.  That rate never rose above 4%. [...] More recently, Fauci sounded the threat of the Zika virus, demanding billions more in taxpayer funds.  It barely touched two U.S. states before burning out on its own.

About those Murder Hornets:  Not so fast.  We were told that the Asian Murder Hornets had arrived in North America and they were going to finish wiping out the honeybees and potentially a number of us as well.  But was it all just a bunch of hype designed to generate hilarious memes on social media?  That's the opinion of at least some entomologists.  These alleged "bug experts" are telling the Washington Examiner that the insects aren't really murderous and they're "just another type of hornet."  While they may pose a threat to the honeybees, they really aren't any more dangerous to people than other stinging insects.

A Science Project in Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.  I challenge far left politician such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Joe Biden, Al Gore, Bernie Sanders, Nancy Pelosi, Charles Schumer, all Democrats, journalists, entertainers, professors and scientists to look at the scientific data from the last 140 years and show any correlation between temperature and the other variables which are blamed for climate change.  (There is none).  For some reason the incurious media will never ask questions to justify the Democrats radical policies.  I would also challenge everyone to look at the dire predictions from the last 100 years and find any that are true.  I can't find any.

After Repeated Failures, It's Time To Permanently Dump Epidemic Models.  [Scroll down]  Since the AIDS epidemic, people have been pumping out such models with often incredible figures.  For AIDS, the Public Health Service announced (without documenting) there would be 450,000 cases by the end of 1993, with 100,000 in that year alone.  The media faithfully parroted it.  There were 17,325 by the end of that year, with about 5,000 in 1993.  SARS (2002-2003) was supposed to kill perhaps "millions," based on analyses.  It killed 744 before disappearing.  Later, avian flu strain A/H5N1, "even in the best-case scenarios" was to "cause 2 (million) to 7 million deaths" worldwide.  A British professor named Neil Ferguson scaled that up to 200 million.  It killed 440.  This same Ferguson in 2002 had projected 50-50,000 deaths from so-called "Mad Cow Disease."  On its face, what possible good is a spread that large?  But the final toll was slightly over 200.

Hockey Sticks, Changing Goal Posts, and Hysteria.  Last year, Glacier National Park in Montana began removing signs that warned visitors the park's gigantic glaciers would start melting away by 2020 due to global warming.  Park officials altered other climate change flair such as brochures and displays to postpone the threat to sometime in "future generations."  Like so many claims about the catastrophic consequences of anthropogenic global warming, predictions about disappearing glaciers were quickly memory-holed.  And, as usual, the experts behind the flawed science that misled millions of people to believe their actions would cause the destruction of one of nature's most awesome sights didn't apologize. [...] Quite to the contrary — prophets of nonexistent doom are often cheered as heroes no matter how many times they've been wrong.

Reflections on a Century of Junk Science.  [Scroll down]  The science establishment was just warming up.  In the decades ahead, they would serve up global cooling, nuclear winter, the alar scare, second-hand smoke, global warming, climate change, and a host of other contrived doomsday scenarios.  When the predicted doom failed to materialize, the prophets of doom shifted the date of doom forward and bought more beachfront property.  Never before, though, has a mania wreaked so much havoc so quickly as the Covid-19 scare.  Many of the predictions are as incredible as those for heterosexual aids, and even if accurate, they do not justify the assault on our economy and our very freedoms.

A Major Study That Fueled National Vape Panic Has Been Retracted.  After months of pressure from the scientific community, the American Heart Association's academic journal on Tuesday evening retracted a widely circulated vaping study, which claimed that using e-cigarettes increased the likelihood of having a heart attack.  Last June, the authors, Stanton Glantz and Dharma Bhatta of the University of California San Francisco, stated in the original study that vaping and smoking cigarettes posed a similar risk, while doing both at the same time was an even more dangerous option.  Following its publication in the summer, the peer-reviewed research was referenced by major news organizations, including CNN, Yahoo News, and USA Today.

India suffers most pollution-linked deaths in world, study finds.  Among the 10 countries with the most pollution deaths in 2017, the latest year for which data was available, were some of the world's largest and wealthiest nations, as well as some poorer ones.  India and China led in the number of pollution deaths, with about 2.3 million and 1.8 million respectively, followed by Nigeria, Indonesia and Pakistan.  The US came seventh with almost 200,000 deaths.

The Editor says...
I challenge you to name one person who has died in the U.S. specifically due to pollution.

Can You Trust What Medical Journals Publish?  I have repeatedly questioned the validity of medical journal claims in regards to politically charged issues like air pollution and climate change, as well as global warming here at AT.  More recently, I showed how a major medical journal violates basic rules on scientific inquiry.  There is another important problem with medical research as reported in medical journals and then often expanded by the lay press as big news:  that medical journal articles are often proven wrong for unreliable results or promotion of treatments that are not beneficial or not any more efficacious than treatments they propose to replace.

Climate Myths.  Many people say that we're destroying the Earth.  It all sounds so scary.  But I've been a consumer reporter for years, and I've covered so many scares: plague, famine, overpopulation, SARS, West Nile virus, bird flu, radiation from cellphones, flesh-eating bacteria, killer bees, etc.  The list of terrible things that were going to get us is very long.  Yet we live longer than ever.  Now I'm told global warming is different.

High cholesterol associated with longer life.  Highly educated "experts" rule today's advanced societies, but their advice on how the rest of us should live — often enforced by government coercion — is increasingly exposed as premature at best and mistaken, incomplete, ignorant, or fraudulent at worst.  Yet another bit of diet advice from "experts" is turning out to be an exploding cigar.  High cholesterol, particularly LDL cholesterol, has been demonized for allegedly bringing on heart attack deaths.  But an intriguing analysis of data published at Medium.com seems to show that total mortality risk is reduced by high cholesterol levels, even LDL cholesterol.

Proving a Negative.  Remember a few years ago during the Obama administration when oil/gas pricing was high?  The popular line among the Democrats — obsessed as they were about not offending their Green voting bloc — was, "We can't drill our way out of this [high oil pricing]."  Just like subsequent events in other areas have proven them wrong about so many things ("The stock market will tank if Trump is elected!"), the Democrats were wrong about this too.  Dead wrong.  As fracking and other drilling/extraction technologies (such as horizontal drilling and the capability to rejuvenate old wells previously thought to be "unproductive") have improved, the oil output of the United States has increased to its highest level in 50 years.  In fact, U.S oil production is more than double what it was as recently as just ten years ago, before the fracking revolution.

Idiotic Environmental Predictions.  In May 2014, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius declared during a joint appearance with Secretary of State John Kerry that "we have 500 days to avoid climate chaos."  Peter Gunter, professor at North Texas State University, predicted in the spring 1970 issue of The Living Wilderness:  "Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim timetable:  by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa.  By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions. ... By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine."  Ecologist Kenneth Watt's 1970 prediction was, "If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000."  He added, "This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age."

'Dire famine' by 1975: Experts chart worst failures in 'eco-polcalyptic' predictions.  While national leaders participate in Climate Week in New York City and elsewhere, one organization reveals the follies of some past ideas about environmental matters.  "Wrong again: 50 years of failed eco-polcalyptic predictions," wrote Myron Ebell, director, of the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Center for Energy and Environment, and Steven J. Milloy, a "junk science" expert, and climate scholar.  "Modern doomsayers have been predicting climate and environmental disaster since the 1960s.  They continue to do so today.  None of the apocalyptic predictions with due dates as of today have come true," the pair said in their analysis.

Climate Hysteria Is Damaging Children.  [Scroll down]  Those older remember when former Vice President Al Gore declared that the North Pole would be ice-free by 2015.  People were told that snow would be a thing of the past.  Instead, the Northern Hemisphere has seen record levels of snow.  In recent years it has snowed in the Sahara, Saudi Arabia, and even the Canary Islands, which is at the same latitude as Miami, FL.  And don't forget the polar bears.  The melting Arctic was supposed to render this animal extinct.  Of the population of 8,000-10,000 in the late 1960s, only 25,000-30,000 remain today.  In 1988, climate scientist James Hansen scared the entire world by predicting that the globe would warm 1 degree Celsius (1.8 F) by 2018.  In fact, the warming was less than half of that, and in the last two decades, the increase has ground to a halt, giving rise to the so-called "pause" or "hiatus" in global warming.  Those who are even older remember the acid rain scare.  All the trees were going to die because of pollution from fossil fuels.  The opposite happened.

Birds Are Vanishing From North America.  The number of birds in the United States and Canada has fallen by 29 percent since 1970, scientists reported on Thursday.  There are 2.9 billion fewer birds taking wing now than there were 50 years ago.  The analysis, published in the journal Science, is the most exhaustive and ambitious attempt yet to learn what is happening to avian populations.  The results have shocked researchers and conservation organizations.

The Editor says...
I used to work with a guy who was sure that there weren't any more ants — anywhere — because the government was doing high-altitude chemical spraying.  But if there are fewer birds in the air, you can probably find parts and pieces of them around windmills.

The Press Fans Overblown Fears About Diet Soda — Again.  Here's what the paper in JAMA Internal Medicine actually found about drinks containing artificial sweeteners:  People who consumed two or more per day were slightly more likely than those who abstained from all soda to die from diseases related to circulatory problems. (Consuming one or more sugar-sweetened soda per day, meanwhile, was associated with increase risk of dying from liver, appendix, pancreas, and intestinal diseases.) Whether these circulatory problems are directly related to diet soda is unknown — and there are good reasons to suspect they are not.  "Researchers cautioned that elevated soft-drink consumption may be a marker for an overall unhealthy lifestyle," the Post points out.  That is, people who consume sodas daily may also be more likely to eat out at restaurants, consume processed snacks, or engage in other dietary habits that up their disease risk.

Food Labeling Follies.  California's Office of Administrative Law (OAL) recently made it official:  Your morning cup of coffee won't give you cancer.  Next week's newsflash probably will be, swallowing an orange seed doesn't cause a tree to grow in your stomach.  After more than a year of legal wrangling, OAL signed off on a proposed rule exempting coffee from Proposition 65, a decades-old voter-approved measure that requires warning labels on products that contain chemicals the state has deemed potentially carcinogenic.  So that means cancer warning labels and the universally ignored coffee shop warnings can be removed at long last.

Toilet paper is getting less sustainable, researchers warn.  Toilet paper — the one product that the majority of us use just once and flush away — is becoming less sustainable, according to research.  Analysis from Ethical Consumer magazine found that major brands were using less recycled paper than in 2011, while only five of the nine major supermarkets (the Co-op, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose) offered an own-brand recycled toilet paper.  The large-scale use of virgin paper contributes to unnecessary deforestation.

The Editor says...
There's plenty of wood in California, but the hippies won't let anyone cut down the trees and thin out the forests, which is why they eventually go up in smoke.

Coffee will Kill You, Until it Won't, and Other Fake Health News.  Every week there is another health pronouncement saying what is now good for you and what is going to kill you.  Unfortunately, the "what" is often interchangeable — what was supposed to kill you last week is now suddenly good for you or vice versa.  Foods, supplements, and activities, all studied extensively and determined to be either good or bad, then subject to a new study, with the opposite conclusion.  How can this be?

Everything has been 'DIRE' for years:  A history of 'dire' environmental & climate warnings.  Every prediction is "dire."  And every climate summit is the 'last chance.  [Numerous examples.]

18 spectacularly wrong predictions made around the time of the first Earth Day in 1970, expect more this year.  In the May 2000 issue of Reason Magazine, award-winning science correspondent Ronald Bailey wrote an excellent article titled "Earth Day, Then and Now" to provide some historical perspective on the 30th anniversary of Earth Day.  In that article, Bailey noted that around the time of the first Earth Day, and in the years following, there was a "torrent of apocalyptic predictions" and many of those predictions were featured in his Reason article.  Well, it's now the 46th anniversary of Earth Day, and a good time to ask the question again that Bailey asked 16 years ago:  How accurate were the predictions made around the time of the first Earth Day in 1970?  The answer:  "The prophets of doom were not simply wrong, but spectacularly wrong," according to Bailey.  Here are 18 examples of the spectacularly wrong predictions made around 1970 when the "green holy day" (aka Earth Day) started: [...]

Green Luddites Are Coming for Your House, Car, and Freedom.  Like so much coming from the corporate Left in America, probably the most dangerous aspect of this column is the blithe presumption that its premises are beyond debate.  The climate will change catastrophically, and emissions from burning fossil fuel are the culprit.  Low-density housing is the reason fossil fuel emissions remain too high.  Public transportation is a good thing.  Just hold on.  Stop right there.  Emissions of CO2 may not change the climate very much at all, and the cost of precipitously curtailing them condemns billions of people around the world to prolonged poverty and misery.  And in any case, high-density housing is creating more CO2 emissions, because existing roads cannot handle the increased traffic.  And no, public transportation is not always a good thing.

How Government Researchers Hijack Science for Political Purposes.  [Scroll down]  "In the last 15 years, EPA has invented three bogus human carcinogens (chemicals that cause cancer), all for political reasons or with a political not a scientific basis.  The Carcinogens invented were, dioxin, because of the anti-Vietnam War crusade, formaldehyde because of the hysterical reaction to the 'toxic' trailer homes for the refugees of Katrina, and the last one, trichloroethylene, because of the noise about the contamination of water at Camp Lejeune."  None of these three chemicals passed any real scientific tests for proof of carcinogenicity, but politics is more important than science at the EPA.  The complaints and scares were typical of these enviro-scares and the wheelchair brigades that form, encouraged by lawyers and enviro-advocates.

Political Incompetence and Questionable Science.  When a volcano erupted in Iceland in 2010, miles of black ash was thrown into the atmosphere.  Air transportation between America and Europe was impacted, and tens of thousands of people were left to sit at airports.  They would sit for a long time until the CEO of British Airways, which was losing many millions of pounds a day, asked a reasonable question: can we fly through this ash?  This curious man was told that the results of a computer model showed dangerous levels of particular substances in the air.  However, one research plane, and then another, was sent to this "dangerous ash cloud" just in case, and it was discovered that no danger was found, and air travel resumed.

The Biggest Junk Science of 2018.  [#5] In California, Coffee Is a Carcinogen. Coffee contains a tiny amount of the chemical acrylamide (on average, a half a millionth of a gram in a cup of roasted coffee).  Based mostly on animal and in vitro studies, acrylamide has been found to be a potential risk factor for cancer in very high doses.  Therefore coffee causes cancer and requires a warning label.  Such was the apparent logic of California Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle in a ruling this past spring.  Scientists and experts almost universally decried the move as a gross overextension of the precautionary principle, but to no avail.  Coffee is immensely unlikely to cause cancer, but in California, the popular drink now comes accompanied by a scary and misleading warning label.

Latest coffee study is nonsense — leave my morning ritual alone!.  After an exhaustive study, scientists tell us that the best time to drink coffee might NOT actually be first thing in the morning but actually an hour after you wake up.  This is because in the hour after you wake up, your body's production of cortisol is at one of its three daily peaks.  This mysterious cortisol is known as the "alertness hormone," so in order to achieve maximum alertness, we should delay the intake of caffeine, according to researchers.  Which researchers?  The kind who like to tell us what to do.

Junk Science Has Become a Profitable Industry.  Who Will Stop It?  Should we believe the headline, "Drinking four cups of coffee daily lowers risk of death"?  How about, "Mouthwash May Trigger Diabetes..."?  Should we really eat more, not less, fat?  And what should we make of data that suggest people with spouses live longer?  These sorts of conclusions, from supposedly scientific studies, seem to vary from month to month, leading to ever-shifting "expert" recommendations.  However, most of their admonitions are based on flawed research that produces results worthy of daytime TV.  Misleading research is costly to society directly because much of it is supported by the federal government, and indirectly, when it gives rise to unwise, harmful public policy.

New Research Confirms We Got Cholesterol All Wrong.  A comprehensive new study on cholesterol, based on results from more than a million patients, could help upend decades of government advice about diet, nutrition, health, prevention, and medication.  Just don't hold your breath.  The study, published in the Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, centers on statins, a class of drugs used to lower levels of LDL-C, the so-called "bad" cholesterol, in the human body.  According to the study, statins are pointless for most people.

Doctors say there's 'no evidence' high levels of bad cholesterol causes heart disease.  Doctors have found there is no evidence of a link between high levels of bad cholesterol and heart disease, a study says.  And with this claim, a number of leading cardiologists say statins, taken by millions of Brits to tackle cholesterol, don't have any benefit.

In California, Human Breath Is [seen as] a Cancer Risk.  Last Wednesday, the FDA threw its hat into California's eternal does-or-doesn't-coffee-cause-cancer fight.  "Requiring a cancer warning on coffee, based on the presence of acrylamide, would be more likely to mislead consumers than to inform," the federal agency's statement read.  That's because scientists are in near uniform agreement that coffee doesn't cause cancer — its safety is reinforced by some of the most comprehensive data available.  But since coffee contains a chemical called acrylamide, California's Proposition 65 law requires the beverages to bear a warning.  The law is broken, and its inconsistency is just part of the reason why Californians pay these warnings little mind.  So in August's waning days, the rules governing Proposition 65 warnings changed to make them more informative.  Now, rather than vague notices about cancer and reproductive harm, California law requires manufacturers to identify which specific chemical on the state's list of roughly 900 carcinogens and reproductive toxins an item might expose consumers to.

NASA study shows humans are responsible for major changes to Earth's water availability.  A stunning new study from NASA highlights the impact humans are having on fresh water availability across the globe.  The study, published earlier this week, found that Earth's wetlands are getting wetter and dry regions are getting drier, due to human water management, climate change and natural cycles.

The Editor says...
There is exactly the same amount of water on the Earth today as there was 5,000 years ago.  There could be places around the world where the government at some level has mismanaged the water supplies, but that doesn't make wetlands wetter and dry regions drier.

Could sunscreen be destroying our coral reefs?  Hawaii lawmakers say yes.  Hawaii is set to become the first state to ban the sale of sunscreens containing chemicals believed to be harmful to the environment.  State lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday [5/1/2018] that prohibits the sale and distribution of over-the-counter sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate, two chemicals that have been found to "cause genetic damage to coral and other marine organisms."  "These chemicals have also been shown to degrade corals' resiliency and ability to adjust to climate change factors and inhibit recruitment of new corals," the bill reads.

The Editor says...
Consider for a moment the volume of the ocean, compared to the total volume of all the sunscreen that has ever been applied on the beach.  Consider also how far from the nearest coral reef the average beach visitor is.  Then think about how many months it would take for the sunscreen to drift from the beach-goer to the coral reef, and what infinitesimal fraction of the sunscreen would remain after the trip.  Sunscreen chemicals would have to be really toxic to have any effect on anything after such a voyage.  And if they were so toxic, they wouldn't be available in this country.

How defective science harms public policy and damages our public schools.  If a scientific study is to be legitimate, it must be reproducible because replication allows examination of the data and the possibility of different conclusions.  If the study is not reproducible it is not really science, and as the authors show, that type of non-science is now common.  In June of 2016, Oona Lönnstedt and Peter Eklöv of Uppsala University published a paper in Science warning of the dangers of microplastic particles in the ocean.  The study got considerable media attention but as it turned out, "Lönnstedt never performed the research that she and Eklöv reported."  So in philosophical terms, it had an existential problem, and veracity is also an issue.

The Parade of Impending Catastrophes.  Here is a short list of impending catastrophes:  soil erosion, running out of minerals, running out of oil, the ozone hole, biological diversity, radon, death of coral, acid rain, global warming, global cooling, sea level rise, extreme weather, species extermination, air pollution, polar bear death, clear cutting forests, plutonium, dioxin, nuclear power, coal power, mountaintop mining, the many supposed causes of cancer, food additives, genetically modified organisms, water pollution, overpopulation, chickens in cages, cows fed grain, plastic bags, mid-ocean floating garbage, super-hurricanes, droughts, floods, environmental refugees, pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers.

Coffee must carry cancer warning, California judge rules.  Bad news, coffee drinkers:  A California judge has ruled that coffee companies across the state will have to carry a cancer warning label because of a carcinogen that is present in the brewed beverage.  Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle sided with a nonprofit's case against dozens of coffee companies, including Starbucks, Peets and other chains, saying that businesses that sold coffee were in violation of a state regulation requiring businesses with at least 10 employees to disclose the prevalence of carcinogens and toxic chemicals.  "While plaintiff offered evidence that consumption of coffee increases the risk of harm to the fetus, to infants, to children and to adults, defendants' medical and epidemiology experts testified that they had no opinion on causation," Berle wrote.  "Defendants failed to satisfy their burden of proving by a preponderance of evidence that consumption of coffee confers a benefit to human health."

Gimme That Old Time Religion.  The biggest albatross of environmentalism is its well-deserved reputation for apocalypticism:  the world is always going to come to and end because of... plastic bags!  Bee colony collapse disorder!  Endocrine disruptors!  Velociraptors! [...] Why, people often ask me, are environmentalists so gloomy about the human prospect?  I have a simple answer:  it makes them happy.  Seriously:  if you point out to environmentalists the data showing many environmental problems on the national and global scale are improving, they usually go into a rage.  Good news is bad news.

Remember when we were told "Penguins Don't Migrate, they're dying!" ? — never mind.  WUWT readers may remember this story from last year, where Chris Turney, leader of the ill fated "ship of fools" Spirit of Mawson expedition that go stuck in Antarctic sea ice said:  "Penguins Don't Migrate, they're dying!" and of course blamed the dreaded "climate change" as the reason.  Of course three days later, Discover Magazine ran an article that suggested Turney was full of Penguin Poop.  Well, seems there's a surplus of Penguins now, in a place nobody thought to look, there's an extra 1.5 million Penguins.

Remember when global warming was going to increase Malaria?  Never mind.  In the visualisations below we provide estimates of the total number of deaths from the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2000 to 2015, and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease (GBD) from 1990 to 2016.  These estimates are notably different across various countries which affects the total number of reported deaths.

'Settled Science' Just Got Blown Up.  For decades, the federal government has been telling people to cut fats and increase carbs in their diet, relying on supposedly settled nutrition science.  A new study shows that the advice has been completely wrong.

Coffee could soon carry cancer warnings on packaging.  Starbucks and a host of other coffee sellers are fighting a lawsuit that alleges roasted coffee beans contain low levels of a carcinogen — and therefore coffee products sold in California, from lattes to packaged beans, should carry Surgeon General-like warnings.  A bench trial on the 7-year-old suit kicked off on Tuesday [9/5/2017].  A little-known public interest group, the Council for Education and Research on Toxics, or CERT, sued roughly 70 companies, claiming the state's Proposition 65, which requires warning labels on anything that contains materials that cause cancer, should apply to coffee.

Sorry, Global Warming Hasn't Caused a Health Crisis.  [T]he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses inaccurate USGCRP data on extreme heat to formulate wrong-headed regulations and provide useless advice to the American public.  This nonsense continues unabated despite independent scientific studies that show heat-related mortality going down due to adaptation, particularly among the elderly.  A study conducted by Jennifer Bobb, Roger Peng, Michelle Bell, and Francesca Dominici of Harvard University's School of Public Health shows the risk of dying from excessive heat has dramatically declined in the U.S. and Europe.

Controversial microplastics study to be retracted.  The authors of a high-profile paper about the dangers of fish consuming small particles of plastic say that they will retract their study, after an investigation found them "guilty of scientific dishonesty" and raised the possibility that some of the research described "was not conducted".  Limnologist Peter Eklöv and marine biologist Oona Lönnstedt, both at Uppsala University in Sweden, continue to strongly defend themselves against allegations made about their work, which was published in Science.  But in a statement to Nature's news team, Eklöv and Lönnstedt said that they have decided to retract the paper.

Environmentalists Are Dead Wrong.  In 1970, when Earth Day was conceived, the late George Wald, a Nobel laureate biology professor at Harvard University, predicted, "Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind." Also in 1970, Paul Ehrlich, a Stanford University biologist and best-selling author of "The Population Bomb," declared that the world's population would soon outstrip food supplies.  In an article for The Progressive, he predicted, "The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years."  He gave this warning in 1969 to Britain's Institute of Biology:  "If I were a gambler, I would take even money that England will not exist in the year 2000."

13 Most Ridiculous Predictions Made on Earth Day, 1970.  [For example,]
[#8] "In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive air pollution... by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half." — Life magazine
[#9] "At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it's only a matter of time before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land will be usable." — Ecologist Kenneth Watt
[#10] "Air pollution... is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of lives in the next few years alone." — Paul Ehrlich
[#11] "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more crude oil.  You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'" — Ecologist Kenneth Watt
[#12] "[One] theory assumes that the earth's cloud cover will continue to thicken as more dust, fumes, and water vapor are belched into the atmosphere by industrial smokestacks and jet planes.  Screened from the sun's heat, the planet will cool, the water vapor will fall and freeze, and a new Ice Age will be born." — Newsweek magazine

What "permanent drought"? New all-time rainfall record set for California.  Never in nearly a century of Department of Water Resources (DWR) recordkeeping has so much precipitation fallen in the northern Sierra in a water year.  DWR reported today that 89.7 inches of precipitation — rain and snowmelt — has been recorded by the eight weather stations it has monitored continuously since 1920 from Shasta Lake to the American River basin.

Experts Again Say High-fat Diet Can Be Beneficial.  Trimming the fat in government is great, but you may want to think twice before cutting it out of your diet.  For an increasing body of research indicates that a more traditional menu — replete with foods such as butter and whole milk — is more healthful than the lean fare prescribed during the last few decades.  The latest study concerns one particular disease, cystic fibrosis (CF), and finds that Canadians suffering from it live on average 10 years longer than their American counterparts.  Among the reasons for this difference, say researchers, is the "high fat diet, emphasizing cheeses, fish and nuts, recommended for Canadians with cystic fibrosis since the 1970s," writes CBC News.  The United States didn't prescribe the higher fat diet for CS patients until the 1980s.

A Handy Primer for Deluded Warmists.  Similar dire climate predictions have been around since the late 1970s.  And in all that time, none has come true.  None at all.  Undeterred, the climate soothsayers ignore their failures and carry on as if nothing had happened.  The fact that good science should produce good predictions, and this is not happening, is also largely ignored.  Instead, impending climate doom, and what must be done to avoid it, is orthodox thought in much of government, academia and environmental groups everywhere.  This thinking is much at odds with key facts.

State of the Climate: 10 years after Al Gore declared a 'planetary emergency' — top 10 reasons Gore was wrong.  [#3] Despite all the self-congratulatory international conferences and pseudo-agreements, the world has done nothing to "fight global warming."  Mr. Gore cannot claim that his deadline has been extended because some governments have forced their citizens to cut carbon dioxide emissions.  CO2 levels keep climbing and now exceed 401 parts per million in the atmosphere.  It is simply not the dangerous greenhouse gas we've repeatedly been told it is.

Doctors join forces, warn climate change is harming our health.  "It's not only hurting polar bears, it's hurting us," said Dr. Mona Sarfaty, the director of the new consortium and a professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. [...] Carbon dioxide levels in the air are increasing and air and ocean temperatures are warming, contributing to more frequent and extreme droughts, wildfires, and flooding, Sarfaty explained.  In turn, she said doctors are seeing an uptick in heat-related illnesses; worsening chronic conditions such as asthma; injuries and deaths from extreme weather like floods; infectious diseases spread by increasing populations of mosquitoes and ticks (including those that spread Lyme disease); illnesses stemming from contaminated food and water; and mental health problems like aggression and anxiety.

The Editor says...
The article immediately above reeks with left-wing bias.  First of all, mosquitoes and ticks are thriving because the leftists got DDT banned decades ago.  Second, the rate of global warming is currently zero, and even if it resumes its earlier pace of about one degree per century, it's unlikely the numerous environmental problems listed above can be caused or prevented by temperature changes of one degree.  And in any event, mosquitoes and ticks are not bothered by one-degree differences in temperature, obviously, since the ambient temperature often changes 25 or 30 degrees from day to night.

Remember when peat bogs were going to release deadly carbon?  Never mind.  Readers may recall the NYT sounds of alarm over peat bogs releasing all manners of hellish CO2 into the atmosphere due to warming.  Well, they're all wet.

Dr. Rotunda's Testimony to House Science, Space & Technology Committee.  In 1991, the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified coffee as "possibly carcinogenic."  IARC warned us repeatedly about the potential cancer risks of coffee, but Americans kept drinking coffee.  In fact, Starbucks added new coffee houses almost as fast as rabbits multiply.  In 2016, the IARC did an about-face and said it was wrong.  Starbucks knew about the WHO study — everyone did — but the company sold coffee regardless.

High cholesterol 'does not cause heart disease' new research finds.  Cholesterol does not cause heart disease in the elderly and trying to reduce it with drugs like statins is a waste of time, an international group of experts has claimed.  A review of research involving nearly 70,000 people found there was no link between what has traditionally been considered "bad" cholesterol and the premature deaths of over 60-year-olds from cardiovascular disease.  Published in the BMJ Open journal, the new study found that 92 percent of people with a high cholesterol level lived longer.

Great Lakes Go from 'Climate Change-Induced' Low Water Levels to Record Highs in 3 Years.  Between 2010 and 2013 residents of the states surrounding the Great Lakes were told that climate change was permanently altering their environment and the record low water levels being recorded in the lakes may be the new normal.  But now, only three years later, news reports are worried about beach erosion because the lakes have rebounded to record high levels of water.

The Stuff Greens Keep Getting Wrong.  The real world tends to NOT cooperate with the Greens constant scream of "DOOM, DOOM, The World Is Ending!!"  I was ten when the first Earth Day came around and these predictions were made.  That was 45 years ago and somehow none of that stuff happened.

These Earth Day predictions from 1970 never came true.  Back in 1970, when the world celebrated the first Earth Day, environmentalists were worried that without dramatic measures, the future would be catastrophic for the Earth and civilization.  But their grim predictions haven't come true, The Daily Caller News Foundation pointed out today, assembling a list of seven incorrect predictions of doom regarding the planet and civilization.

Report casts doubt on SF-area breast cancer 'cluster'.  Affluent white women in Northern California have been told for decades that they face an elevated risk of breast cancer, but a new investigation of the reputed cluster — the citing of which has stoked fears as well as fund-raising — shows it could all be a case of junk science.

7 Enviro Predictions From Earth Day 1970 That Were Just Dead Wrong.  Environmentalists truly believed and predicted during the first Earth Day in 1970 that the planet was doomed unless drastic actions were taken.  Humanity never quite got around to that drastic action, but environmentalists still recall the first Earth Day fondly and hold many of the predictions in high regard.  So this Earth Day, The Daily Caller News Foundation takes a look at predictions made by environmentalists around the original Earth Day in 1970 to see how they've held up.  Have any of these dire predictions come true?  No, but that hasn't stopped environmentalists from worrying.

This study 40 years ago could have reshaped the American diet.  But it was never fully published.  The story begins in the late 1960s and early '70s, when researchers in Minnesota engaged thousands of institutionalized mental patients to compare the effects of two diets.  One group of patients was fed a diet intended to lower blood cholesterol and reduce heart disease.  It contained less saturated fat, less cholesterol and more vegetable oil.  The other group was fed a more typical American diet.  Just as researchers expected, the special diet reduced blood cholesterol in patients. [... But] Patients who lowered their cholesterol, presumably because of the special diet, actually suffered more heart-related deaths than those who did not.

Benefits of switch from saturated fat to corn oil for longer life challenged.  Despite years of claims that unsaturated fats like corn oil are healthier, at the time the findings of a gold-standard randomized controlled trial weren't fully published.  Now Christopher Ramsden at the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and his team have analyzed data from the Minnesota coronary experiment. [...] "We were able to find that actually those that lowered their cholesterol more actually had increased rather than reduced risk of death," Ramsden said in an interview.  "It was surprising."

The non-disaster of 150,000 missing penguins?  They just went somewhere else.  Much fuss was made of 150,000 missing penguins in Antarctica as if climate change had killed them.  A monster iceberg had washed in, stopping the cute swimming tuxedos from getting to dinner and the colony of 160,000 suddenly shrank to 10,000.  Where did all those penguins go?  In previous tough times, when they could be tracked they just split up and went to different colonies.  Given that the penguins have survived repeated ice ages and warming for millions of years who would have thought that they would have a strategy for dealing with the odd big iceberg?

Turns out scientists really aren't sure if global warming causes droughts.  Climate alarmists claim that among global warming's parade of horrors are increased droughts of worsening severity, particularly in the U.S. — except now scientists aren't so sure.  New research suggests that global warming may not be as big of a factor as previously thought and that scientists don't really understand as much about the climate as they thought they did.

"So it turns out that fat is not the enemy, and sugar is."
The Truth About Fat and Sugar: A Cardiologist Explains That FAT is the Best Medicine.  There are a lot of Americans desperate to find out why it is they can't lose weight.  One cardiologist says it's because they don't know the truth about fat and sugar.

Global-warming Ice Capades.  He who lives by the crystal ball must expect occasional bits of ground glass in his pudding, and the false prophets of global warming and their cheerleaders in the media are learning that lesson the hard way.  After years of predicting that man-made global warming would melt the planet's glaciers and drown coastal towns beneath rising oceans, the threat itself is melting like ice in April.  That's cause for both celebration and a little humility in the face of the many mysteries of nature still to be unraveled.  Data from two NASA satellites, employed in the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment between 2002 and 2014, enabled researchers to analyze the effects of glacier loss.  They found to their surprise that trillions of tons of water wound up not in the sea but spread across the planet's land mass.  In fact, 3.2 trillion tons of water, equal to the volume of Lake Huron, soaked into thirsty soil or were collected in lakes and underground aquifers.

'BMI is a waste of time': Measurement is WRONGLY branding millions of fat people unhealthy, experts claim.  The use of Body Mass Index to assess a person's health has led to millions of people incorrectly being labelled overweight or obese, researchers claim.  The measurement has been used by doctors for more than 150 years, but has come under increasing criticism for being a flawed marker of health.

Record Food Stockpiles Confound Climate Alarmist Predictions.  Good news on the food front:  Global food prices declined dramatically in 2015 as bumper crops continued to defy some scientists' claims human-caused climate change would cause widespread crop failures.  The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports international food prices dipped by 19 percent in the past year, the fourth consecutive annual decline.  FAO cites abundant supplies and an appreciating U.S. dollar as the main reasons for the general decline in food prices in 2015.

No food is healthy. Not even kale.  In the 1970s, no one questioned whether eggs really were the heart-attack risk nutritionists warned us about.  Now, of course, eggs have become such a cherished food that many people raise their own laying hens.  Such examples of food confusion and misinformation abound.

Government revises Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Go ahead and have some eggs.  The federal government on Thursday [1/7/2016] told Americans not to worry so much about cholesterol in their diets, that lots of coffee is fine and that skipping breakfast is no longer considered a health hazard.  The recommendations were part of a new "Dietary Guidelines for Americans," the influential nutrition advice book that, updated every five years, expresses official thinking about what constitutes a nutritious meal.  In what may be the most striking change, the new version drops the strict limit on dietary cholesterol, stepping back from one of most prominent public health messages since the '60s.

The Environmentalist Crusade Against Progress and Technology Aims at Making Man's Life a Hell on Earth.  Amazingly, environmentalists also oppose hydroelectric dams.  Since dams produce no pollution or radiation, one would think the Greens would welcome this alternative energy source.  But they condemn it on the ground that dams disfigure the natural environment and adversely affect wildlife species.

The Federal Gov't Has Misled Public About Milk For Decades.  If you look up "whole milk" in the government's official Dietary Guidelines, it states pretty definitively that people should only drink skim or 1% milk.  "If you currently drink whole milk," it says, "gradually switch to lower fat versions."  This is the same advice the government has been issuing for many years.  And it's wrong.  Research published in recent years shows that people "might have been better off had they stuck with whole milk," according to a front-page story in the Washington Post on Wednesday [10/7/2015].  "People who consumed more milk fat had lower incidence of heart disease."

For decades, the government steered millions away from whole milk. Was that wrong?  U.S. dietary guidelines have long recommended that people steer clear of whole milk, and for decades, Americans have obeyed.  Whole milk sales shrunk.  It was banned from school lunch programs.  Purchases of low-fat dairy climbed.  "Replace whole milk and full-fat milk products with fat-free or low-fat choices," says the the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the federal government's influential advice book, citing the role of dairy fat in heart disease.  Whether this massive shift in eating habits has made anyone healthier is an open question among scientists, however.  In fact, research published in recent years indicates that the opposite might be true:  millions might have been better off had they stuck with whole milk.

Is The Government's War On Trans-Fat Misguided, Too?  Later this year, the federal government is expected to remove dietary cholesterol from its list of bad foods.  The expert panel that advises the government on these guidelines concluded there's no reason to be concerned about "overconsumption."  In other words, all those federal warnings stretching over the past four decades about how eating eggs and other cholesterol-rich food would clog your arteries were wrong.  Now the federal government could be making the same mistake with trans-fat.

Planet Still Standing 500 Days After French Foreign Minister Warned of 'Climate Chaos'.  In May 2014, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius declared during a joint appearance with Secretary of State John Kerry that "we have 500 days to avoid climate chaos."  Late last week, time ran out.

'Settled Science' Is a Myth.  Never trust a politician who quotes "settled science."  It used to be "settled science" that the universe was eternal and static, that fat makes you fat, and that the sun revolves around the earth.  Before "global warming," the scare was "global cooling" — a new Ice Age would end life on earth as we know it.  Recent events have confirmed that science is rarely settled.

Flourishing Wildlife Lives In Harmony With 'All Of The Above' Energy Production.  Our energy requirements and love of wild things are not only not mutually exclusive, they are mutually beneficial.  From the lichen enhancing heat from Alaska pipelines benefitting caribou, to the game rich biodiversity of reclaimed coal mines in the east, the great fishing around oil platforms in the oceans, wildlife populations actually increase and expand as a result of energy development.

No, You Do Not Have to Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day.  If there is one health myth that will not die, it is this:  You should drink eight glasses of water a day.  It's just not true.  There is no science behind it.  And yet every summer we are inundated with news media reports warning that dehydration is dangerous and also ubiquitous.  These reports work up a fear that otherwise healthy adults and children are walking around dehydrated, even that dehydration has reached epidemic proportions.  Let's put these claims under scrutiny.

Earth may hold more helium than we thought.  Don't mourn the loss of your humorously high-pitched voices quite yet.  Despite years of warnings from scientists that Earth's supply of helium is quickly running out, the results of a study announced Wednesday [8/19/2015] in Prague show there could still be large deposits of the element hidden underground, the Guardian reports.  Helium, as important to the nuclear industry as the birthday party industry, is essential to everything from MRIs to the Large Hadron Collider, according to Phys.org.  But as PhD student Diveena Danabalan explains, "Helium is the second lightest element in nature, it is so light that it leaks away into space."  That makes it a finite resource, and most of the helium we've used so far has come as a byproduct of natural gas extraction.

Health Tip: The Next Time Government Gives You Dietary Advice, Do the Opposite.  We already know that government recommendations regarding health are often driven by a bunch of Chicken Littles.  The leading organ of American scaremongering, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has gotten so much wrong over the years.  There was the outrageous contention that 400,000 Americans were dropping dead from obesity every year.  (They weren't.)  And then there were all the over-the-top warnings about the alleged risks of secondhand smoke.  (They don't really exist.)

Will 2016 Be A Climate Hysteria Election?  Will the climate campaign ever reach its "sell-by" date?  Probably not:  the deep need for belief in catastrophism — and the expansion of political power that is always deemed necessary to "solve" the problem — will persist even if we run out of witches to drown.  Perhaps the most damaging trope of climate catastrophism is that "we only have X years left" before it will be too late.  James Hansen said it was 2010.  Al Gore thought the Arctic would be ice-free by last year.  I'm pretty sure if I look I can find someone who said that Obama was our last hope.

World's Top Climate Experts Predicted : "Milder winter temperatures will decrease heavy snowstorms".  Australia's climate 'experts' the CSIRO, predicted the same demise of snow back in 2003.  When will they admit they got it wrong?  When will the IPCC admit they got it wrong?  When will Dr David "Children won't know what snow is" Viner, admit he was wrong?  The answer:  they will never admit they got it wrong, because their reputations are at steak. [sic]

Climate Alarmism [is] Unfounded.  Fear is a powerful emotion, and it is being used by environmental activists to try and manipulate the public conscience and political discourse.  However, just as many other past doomsday predictions about impending environmental collapse have proven false, so shall the current climate alarmism likely prove unfounded, as is already being borne out by recent decades of unremarkable climate data.

Climate Change: Where is the Science?  In 1999 they said that warming would wipe out the Great Barrier Reef.  In 2000 they said that Britain would no longer see snow during winter.  In 2001 they predicted starvation from failing grain crops in India.  From 2003 to 2005 they concluded that the drought then occurring in Australia would be permanent and Sydney dwellers would have nothing to drink.  In 2006 they predicted unprecedented severe cyclones and hurricanes.  In 2008 they said that by 2013 there would be no more arctic ice cap; that we would be swimming with the otters at the North Pole.  None of these predictions have come to pass.

The Worrywart Generation.  Apparently a large fraction of America's creative talent is being used for the creation of imaginary anxieties.  These faux phobias are doing great damage to our abilities to live our lives to the fullest.  A partial list of bogus anxieties would include sustainability, GMOs, glutens, pesticides, running out of resources, CO2, fossil fuels, insufficient diversity, climate change, endangered species, landfills, loss of wet lands, carbon footprints, fracking, plastic bags, renewability, sugary soft drinks, and "white privilege."

Date of Climate Doom Comes and Goes.  The nice thing about making predictions of doom is that they really grab people's attention.  Just make sure you don't use specific dates.  Otherwise, people will laugh at you when the predictions don't come true.

Environmentalism and Envy.  Environmentalists subscribe to continually changing prophecies of apocalyptic disaster.  Our topsoil is being washed into the ocean (The Road to Survival — 1948).  DDT is exterminating birds (The Silent Spring — 1962).  Overpopulation will result in starvation (The Population Bomb — 1968).  We will run out of resources and strangle on pollution (The Limits to Growth — 1972).  Acid rain from burning coal will destroy our forests and crops (circa 1985).  Hairspray will destroy the ozone layer and cause cancer (1980s).  Burning fossil fuels adds CO2 to the atmosphere that will cause disastrous global warming (1988-2015).  These prophecies and many others were claimed to be scientifically justified.  The science is always secondary and almost always poor science.  What's important is the thrill of impending doom and the call to activists to engineer a rescue.

The "Food Babe" Blogger Is [In Error].  How many companies or products do you think it would make sense to crusade against in the course of a career?  One?  Three?  A dozen?  Hari has declared, to date, more than 610 products and companies to be unsafe over the course of four years.  According to Hari, the problem with most of them, including Girl Scout Cookies:  GMOs and pesticides.  She's even alleged that an apple can be worse for you than a hot fudge sundae, if it's not organic.  And is there even a shred of truth to this?  Not in the least.  Hari claims going organic will save you from pesticides, but organic farming uses pesticides too.  Some of them are far more toxic than conventional pesticides.

The glorious return of the egg: Why Uncle Sam is a horrible nutritionist.  Put down that egg-white omelet.  Whole eggs aren't going to give you a heart attack.  So says the government now, after 40 years of warning that eggs are killing you, and funding bad research to "confirm" that they do, and employing experts to shout down nutritionists who say they don't.

Eggs Are In After Nutrition Panel Lifts Cholesterol Warning.  Something many of us have been trying to avoid is now okay to eat.  The nation's top nutrition panel is dropping its guidelines about avoiding foods that are high in cholesterol.  The new finding by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee means that cholesterol is no longer listed as a "nutrient of concern."

So butter is good for you. Just like global warming, then.  The big story in all the papers this week is that butter is good for you, after all.  I say "after all" because for most of my life butter has been widely touted by the Health Establishment as the dietary equivalent of Polonium-210.  That's why, when you go to the supermarket, every other product on the shelves screams at you about how healthily "low fat" it is; why, at some high-street coffee chains, you can't get your latte made with full-fat milk even if you ask because they only do "skimmed" or "semi-skimmed"; and why, perhaps most damningly, we're currently experiencing an epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes.  It all goes back to some now discredited 'research' conducted in the 1950s by an American dietician called Ancel Keys.

The U.S. government is poised to withdraw longstanding warnings about cholesterol.  The nation's top nutrition advisory panel has decided to drop its caution about eating cholesterol-laden food, a move that could undo almost 40 years of government warnings about its consumption.  The group's finding that cholesterol in the diet need no longer be considered a "nutrient of concern" stands in contrast to the committee's findings five years ago, the last time it convened.  During those proceedings, as in previous years, the panel deemed the issue of excess cholesterol in the American diet a public health concern.  The finding follows an evolution of thinking among many nutritionists who now believe that, for healthy adults, eating foods high in cholesterol may not significantly affect the level of cholesterol in the blood or increase the risk of heart disease.

What else are the "experts" wrong about?
Butter ISN'T bad for you after all: Major study says 80s advice on dairy fats was flawed.  Guidelines that told millions of people to avoid butter and full-fat milk should never have been introduced, say experts.  The startling assertion challenges advice that has been followed by the medical profession for 30 years.  The experts say the advice from 1983, aimed at reducing deaths from heart disease, lacked any solid trial evidence to back it up.

Five Ways Liberals Ignore Science.  We don't need to get into the catalogue of preposterous studies that have been uncritically thrown around by Nanny State liberals over the past few decades — including debunked scaremongering about obesity and second-hand smoke.  The same goes for all brands of localism, organic farming, irrational fears about DDT and trade — all positions that undermine progress.  Let's chalk this up to an innate impulse most people have to bolster their worldview.  Believe whatever makes you feel good.  Then again, what are we to make of people who mock religion as imaginary but believe a sun sign should determine whom you date or are concerned that they will be wisked away in a flying saucer?

Feds To Regulate Fake Fireplaces To Stop Global Warming.  Better go out and buy a gas fireplace and stove soon before federal regulations make them more expensive.  Federal officials are looking to regulate the energy usage of fake fireplaces as part of the Obama administration's effort to fight global warming.

Coffee pods: The new eco-villain.  Canadians are big fans of single-serve brewers; 20 percent of households own one, compared to 12 percent of Americans.  But with massive growth comes massive garbage: Since they're largely unrecyclable, almost all coffee pods end up in a landfill.  They have not yet taken on the bad rap of the plastic water bottle, the eco-villain of our times, but mounting garbage piles of pods are becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

The EPA jumps the shark, banning — ARGON.  Its hard to imagine a more inoffensive substance than Argon.  As a noble gas, Argon is chemically inert — it participates in no chemical reactions whatsoever, except under exotic conditions — there are no known chemical compounds which can survive at room temperature which include Argon.  Argon is not a greenhouse gas.  But Argon is incredibly useful to industry — among other things, is used as a "shield" gas.  Anyone who welds Aluminium or Stainless Steel will be familiar with Argon, which is used with MIG and TIG welders, to blow oxygen away from the electric welding arc, to prevent oxidative damage to the weld joint.

Abuse of Science in Texas.  This example of government scientists hiding information for years while simultaneously issuing press releases, giving interviews, testifying to county boards and state legislatures and briefing members of Congress is just one example of the "secret science" of government conducted by unelected bureaucrats that an industry comprised mostly of small family-owned businesses, such as the pavement maintenance industry, must grapple with.

Hysterical Media Tell Us to Calm Down.  In the past week, The New York Times has ridiculed Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Chris Christie for having "fed panic" by ordering quarantines for health workers arriving from Ebola-plagued countries.  [...] I haven't noticed any panic.  If you want panic, review media coverage of the police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri.  That hair-on-fire coverage was based entirely, it turns out, on the media's gullibly swallowing inaccurate accounts of the incident.  For decades liberals have terrified soccer moms about a slew of imaginary terrors:  global warming, Alar on apples, breast implants, heterosexual AIDS, nuclear war, and Republicans taking away their birth control.

Plastic Bag Fantasy Island Vanishes Like Atlantis, Scientist Corrects Million-Ton Floating Estimate.  The scientist whose findings environmentalists used to shame us into bringing our own reusable bags to the grocery store now says that his estimate of one million tons of plastic floating in the ocean may have been off by a factor of perhaps 143.  His latest estimate ranges from 7,000 to 35,000 tons, and even most of that has biodegraded into granules.

Plastic Bag Fantasy Island Vanishes Like Atlantis, Scientist Corrects Million-Ton Floating Estimate.  The scientist whose findings environmentalists used to shame us into bringing our own reusable bags to the grocery store now says that his estimate of one million tons of plastic floating in the ocean may have been off by a factor of perhaps 143.  His latest estimate ranges from 7,000 to 35,000 tons, and even most of that has biodegraded into granules.

The Garbage Philosophy Behind The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Myth.  Why should we all be skeptical of doomsday claims about global warming?  Well, there are a lot of reasons.  But from now on, I can sum it all up in one simple phrase: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  This was an environmentalist scare that became a bit of a trend from the late 1990s through the mid-2000s.  The idea was that there is a giant floating raft of consumer trash in the middle of the Pacific where ocean currents created a kind of dead spot and all the flotsam and jetsam of the ocean gathered together.  It was supposed to be a vast floating indictment — twice the size of Texas! the size of a continent! — of our wicked, wasteful lifestyles.  The problem is that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch never existed.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Hoax.  A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could mean bad news for environmental doomsayers.  Forget all those warnings about the million tons of plastic debris floating in the ocean.  Ignore the photos that you think show the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  Andres Cozar of the University of Cadiz in Spain is the man who once extrapolated the 1 million-ton estimate.  Since then, however, he has led research that collected samples at 141 ocean sites.  Cozar's new estimate:  Between 7,000 and 35,000 tons of plastic are floating in the ocean.  Cozar's team didn't find country-sized islands of plastic bags strangling baby birds and sea turtles.  It found "micro plastics."  What people think of as a dump doesn't look like floating junk.  Instead, ocean current "convergence zones" are swirling with flecks of plastic — like a snow globe a half-minute after you shake it — and with considerably less plastic trash than expected.

The 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' myth.  Many, perhaps most, Americans believe that a vast accumulation of (mostly plastic) garbage is floating somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean, a non-biodegradable stain on humanity, choking and deforming fish.  But apparently, that is just a myth.

An Ocean of Plastic.  There is a lot of plastic trash and debris going to the world's oceans.  It used to be dumped intentionally — New York City barged its municipal trash out to sea and tipped it in for years and years, as recently as 1992.  There is no longer any country or municipality known to be disposing of municipal trash and garbage at sea today.  Most trash and garbage is fairly readily decomposed in the natural environment and in modern landfills. [...] Jenna Jambeck summarizes it saying that the amount of plastic estimated to be washing into the oceans is "one to three orders of magnitude greater than the reported mass of plastic in high-concentration ocean gyres".  That means that 10 to 1,000 times more plastic is going into the oceans than can be found.  So, the Big Question about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — all the Garbage Patches — is:  "Where is all that plastic?"

PETA Needs to [Shut Up} About Autism and Dairy.  If I were to survey my patients' refrigerators, odds are I'd find milk in almost all of them.  With the exception of those with a diagnosed medical problem related to dairy consumption, just about every parent reports that their kids drink at least some milk.  I commonly pass along the recommendation that children have 2-3 cups of dairy during the day, and my own kids certainly put away their share of it.  PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is trying to scare people into changing all that.  As recently reported by The Daily Beast, PETA has launched a campaign that tries to link milk consumption and autism.

Are butter, cheese and meat that bad?  For the past four decades, we've been told to stay away from red meat, dairy and cheese — foods high in saturated fats — because saturated fat is bad for the heart.  But investigative reporter Nina Teicholz says that isn't the case.  "When the dietary recommendations came out in 1961 saying that saturated fat causes heart disease, that was based on total cholesterol," Teicholz said.  "But our understanding of heart disease has evolved enormously."

Coke to drop controversial ingredient entirely.  The Atlanta-based company says brominated vegetable oil is still being used in some flavors of Fanta and Fresca, as well as several citrus-flavored fountain drinks.

The Editor says...
Brominated vegetable oil was "generally recognized as safe" as far back as 1958.

That's what chlorine is for.
Teen urinates in reservoir; officials to flush 38M gallons; L.A. weeps.  Shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday [4/16/2014], a 19-year-old in a hoodie and baggy jeans was captured on a grainy black-and-white surveillance video urinating into a reservoir that slakes the thirst of Portland, Ore.'s 600,000 or so residents.  But really, Portland Water Bureau officials, do you have to flush 38 million gallons of potable water for the sake of a cup or two of human urine?  That's how much the bladder comfortably holds, although the bladder in question obviously wasn't comfortable.

[It would take a lot more urine] in the Portland Reservoir to Make It Unsafe to Drink.  A teenager urinated into one of the city's drinking water reservoirs the other day.  That's gross, sure, and aggravating — what a brat!  But in one of the most spectacularly stupid decisions in years, the city is going to drain the reservoir.  The most spectacularly stupid decision in about three years, anyway — if this sounds familiar, that's because Portland did the same thing in 2011.

The Editor says...
Ask yourself these questions:  Is every gallon in that open outdoor reservoir a gallon of pure potable water?  Do birds fly over and poop in it occasionally?  Do ducks spend the night in that water?  Are there any fish in that water?  Doesn't the city add chlorine to that water before pumping it to the city's distribution system?  Have you ever considered where drinking water comes from on the International Space Station?

Portland reservoir as a latrine? It'll be moot once EPA rule kicks in.  Portland's now-infamous teenager who was caught on camera urinating into a reservoir there apparently told an online news site that he was relieving himself on a wall.  Although tests on the open-air reservoir came back clean, the ick factor was enough for officials to go ahead with their plan to drain all 38 million gallons of drinking water and send it into the sea.

Putting the 'pee' in Portland.  Tragedy struck Portland again last week at Reservoir No. 5, this time by a teenage terrorist armed with a bladder of death and destruction, or at least 8 ounces of annoying but harmless urine.  It was shock and awe all over again at the Portland water department.  What happened next is a textbook case of what can happen anywhere when bureaucrats are left loose and unsupervised. [...] David Shaff, the administrator of the Portland Water Bureau, quickly ordered the reservoir drained, all 38 million gallons of the stuff the San Joaquin Valley hundreds of miles south would kill for.  Tests showed the water was actually clear and clean, with no traces of urine, but Mr. Shaff was not thinking about public safety.  It was all about marketing.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup: Separating Myths from Facts.  Since the 1970s, the use of high-fructose corn syrup in the U.S. food supply has increased dramatically — typically as a replacement for sucrose (table sugar) in soft drinks and many food products.  The prevalence of obesity has also increased substantially between the 1970s and the early 2000s.  Because of this coincidental timing, HFCS has been erroneously demonized as a unique cause of the obesity epidemic in the United States.  Sucrose and HFCS have essentially the same composition, and thus it would be highly unlikely for them to have different effects on body weight or metabolism.

The Top 10 Unfounded Health Scares of 2012.  [#6] Caramel coloring in Coke: A caramel coloring ingredient found in sodas, 4-methylimidazole (4-MI or 4-MEI), was labeled as a carcinogen under California's ridiculous Proposition 65.  This chemical has been under attack previously by the same Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which is bringing it to the forefront again. [...] The doses of 4-MI necessary to kill rodents are so high, that this chemical should not have been attacked in the first place.  Although the soda industry is reformulating products, the previous recipe with 4-MI does not pose a risk to humans and this scare was simply blown out of proportion by the "food police" at CSPI.

An obscure new rule on microwaves can tell us a lot about Obama's climate policies.  Last week, the Department of Energy announced a little-noticed update to its energy-efficiency standards for microwaves, requiring newer models to use less power in stand-by mode.  But there was a surprise buried in the fine print:  The agency is now using a higher figure for the "social cost of carbon" in calculating the benefits of the rule.

The Editor says...
Outside your house, there is a big power transformer that consumes power 24 hours a day (if you're lucky), and dissipates more power than all the idle appliances you own.  And the power company knows about it, and can't do anything to fix it, and nobody cares.  And that problem doesn't cause global warming, either.  Once again, in case you have just tuned in, global warming stopped — all by itself — in 1998.

'Crack baby' scare overblown, teen research says.  Research in teens adds fresh evidence that the 1980s "crack baby" scare was overblown, finding little proof of any major long-term ill effects in children whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy.

The Top Ten Unfounded Health Scares of 2006.  [#2] Benzene in Soft Drinks Cause Cancer:  Yes, benzene is a carcinogen — at high doses — and has been linked to leukemia in workers exposed over years.  The current EPA limit on benzene in water is 5 parts per billion (ppb), and levels found in soft drinks were over that amount.  But what the scaremongers don't tell us is that even levels above that are not necessarily going to present a problem.  The amounts found in soft drinks are extraordinarily small — one ppb is analogous to one second in 32 years.  Back in 1990, when there was a similar scare about benzene in Perrier (naturally present in the spring the water came from), the FDA counseled that the levels (12-20 ppb) should not be of concern.

Bees, pesticides, more green lies.  [Scroll down]  Various neonicotinoids are widely used in Canada to protect its vast canola fields, and Canadian bee populations are thriving, notes science writer Jon Entine.  Varroa-free Australia is likewise one of the world's prime users of these pesticides, and its bee colonies are among the planet's healthiest.  By contrast, bee populations have been severely impacted by Varroa mites in areas of Switzerland where neonics are not used.  Multiple studies point to still other factors that explain why bees are struggling.  They include bees developing resistance to antibiotics, funguses like Nosema, multiple bee viruses and parasites, bacterial infections like foulbrood, exposure to commonly used organophosphates, bee habitat loss, and even long-term bee inbreeding and resultant lack of genetic diversity.

Rachel Was Wrong.  This year marks the 50th anniversary of biologist Rachel Carson's 1962 book, Silent Spring, which argued that man-made chemicals represented a grave threat to human health and the environment. [...] History has proven Carson's claims wrong.  Contrary to her admonitions, a chemically caused cancer epidemic never came to pass.  Researchers who identified environmental factors did not simply target trace chemical exposures as significant, but instead focused on major cancer causes such as tobacco and poor diets.  In fact, people are living longer and healthier lives, cancer rates have declined even as chemical use has increased, and chemicals are not among the key causes of cancer.