Science

Chemical Shell Game: How DuPont Concealed Dangers of New Teflon Toxin

Some chemicals that are common in commercial products and processes are known to find their way into the environment and seriously (even fatally) harm human health. Yet current U.S. law makes it hard for EPA to keep companies from using them. Sometimes the chemicals used to replace them are just as bad, but the law does not even require those to be tested. A vast regime of secrecy based on unchallenged claims of "confidential business information" makes the danger to public health worse. Often, not even the EPA employees responsible for protecting people can access information about the toxic chemicals. The chemical reform bills now pending in Congress won't fix the problem.

Source: The Intercept, 03/04/2016

"Greenland’s Melting Is ‘Feeding On Itself,’ Scientists Say"

"A new scientific study released Thursday has delivered yet another burst of bad news about Greenland — the vast northern ice sheet that contains 20 feet of potential sea level rise. The ice sheet is “darkening,” or losing its ability to reflect both visible and invisible radiation, as it melts more and more, the research finds. That means it’s absorbing more of the sun’s energy — which then drives further melting.

Source: Wash Post, 03/04/2016

Scientist Says USDA Used Press Office To Silence Him

Scientist Jonathan Lundgren (left), who has been researching the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on Monarch butterflies, filed a whistleblower complaint and lost. And, Lundgren claimed his supervisors at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service told him not to talk to news media and punished him when he did.

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USDA Rejects Scientist's Claim It Tried To Hide His Pesticide Research

"Federal officials have rejected a complaint by an entomologist who charged that the government has tried to suppress negative research findings about a widely used pesticide, in a complex case involving monarch butterflies, scientific freedom and the safety of the nation’s food supply."

Source: Guardian, 03/01/2016
April 6, 2016

Kavli Conversations on Science Communication at NYU

The Spring 2016 series of live webcasts, hosted by NYU's Science, Health & Environmental Reporting Program and moderated by the Wall Street Journal's Robert Lee Hotz, began with climate change on Feb 24. Upcoming events include physics (Mar 9), genetic modification (Apr 6), the neuroscience of violence (Apr 20), human evolution (May 4), followed by additional events in the fall.

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