EJToday is SEJ's selection of new and outstanding stories on environmental topics in print and on the air, updated every weekday. SEJ also offers a free e-mailed digest of the day's EJToday postings, called SEJ-beat. SEJ members are subscribed automatically, but may opt out here. Non-members may subscribe here. EJToday is also available via RSS feed. Please see Editorial Guidelines for EJToday content.
"US Polar Bear Researcher Cleared of Scientific Misconduct"
Guardian, 10/01/2012"The Obama administration has wound up its controversial investigation of a government polar bear researcher without finding any evidence of scientific wrongdoing, campaign groups said late Friday."
"Carson's 'Silent Spring' Spurred Environmental Movement"
USA TODAY, 09/28/2012"Rachel Carson wasn't someone you'd expect to spark a movement. She was a quiet, petite woman who grew up poor, lived most of her life with her mother and relished solitary walks along the beach, watching birds and fish. Yet 50 years ago Thursday, this marine biologist published Silent Spring, widely credited with spurring the modern environmental movement."
"Rats Harmed By Great-Grandmothers' Dioxin Exposure, Study Finds"
EHN, 09/28/2012"Pregnant rats exposed to an industrial pollutant passed on a variety of diseases to their unexposed great-grandkids, according to a study published Wednesday."
"How 'Silent Spring' Ignited the Environmental Movement"
NY Times Magazine, 09/24/2012"On June 4, 1963, less than a year after the controversial environmental classic 'Silent Spring' was published, its author, Rachel Carson, testified before a Senate subcommittee on pesticides. She was 56 and dying of breast cancer. She told almost no one. She'd already survived a radical mastectomy. Her pelvis was so riddled with fractures that it was nearly impossible for her to walk to her seat at the wooden table before the Congressional panel. To hide her baldness, she wore a dark brown wig."
"News Corp Misleads Audience on Climate Change"
Mother Jones, 09/24/2012"Brace yourself for some shocking news: a new study on Friday found that the two major publications of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation greatly mislead their audiences about climate change. The Union of Concerned Scientists combed six months of Fox News broadcasting and a year's worth of Wall Street Journal editorial pages for mentions of the science of 'climate change' and 'global warming,' then compared each claim to 'mainstream scientific understanding' of the topic at hand." They found 93% of the statements on Fox News were misleading and 81% of the statements on the Wall St. Journal's opionion pages were misleading.
"PBS NewsHour's Climate Change Report Raises Eyebrows (VIDEO)"
Huffington Post, 09/19/2012"A recent report from 'PBS NewsHour' on climate change has drawn sharp criticism from climate groups that feel it provides a false sense of debate around the facts of climate change."
"The segment, which aired on September 16, features interviews with 'converted skeptic' and University of California, Berkeley professor Richard Muller, along with climate skeptic Anthony Watts, a retired meteorologist.
Critics Question Claims of Spray Success Against West Nile Mosquitoes
Huffington Post, 09/19/2012Federal and state health officials say that pesticide spraying for adult mosquitoes has reduced risk of West Nile virus by killing specific percentages of mosquitoes. When confronted with Freedom of Information Act requests for the data to back up those claims, they do not seem to be able to find any.
Scientists Shocked: Harper Govt Assigns IT Staff To Monitor Ozone Data
Postmedia, 09/17/2012"OTTAWA -- Atmospheric scientists from around the world are asking Environment Canada to back down from a plan that they believe would compromise ozone and radiation monitoring by putting it into the hands of an Information Technology computer expert."
Stanford Organics Study: Did Methods, Politics Threaten Kids' Health?
Huffington Post, 09/14/2012After a study by Stanford researchers, published September 4, concluded that organic foods had negligible health benefits, controversy occurred. Now critics, mostly from the environmental health and organic food communities, are challenging the study's methods, its accuracy and completeness, its framing questions, potential conflict of interest stemming from funding support, and the competence of the news media in reporting it.
"Climate Scientists Face Organized Harassment in U.S."
InsideClimate News, 09/11/2012"The harassment faced by U.S.-based climate scientists has been well documented in the media -- but not the harassment of scientists in Europe, Canada or the rest of the world. That's because there hasn't been much to report."
"Environmental Justice Pioneer Plans Overhaul of Beleaguered Division"
Greenwire, 09/11/2012"When Kenneth Olden discusses environmental justice, he knows what he is talking about."
"Chemical Firm's Champion Now EPA Expert"
Chicago Tribune, 09/10/2012A former lawyer and scientist for flame retardant companies -- who often argued the substances were safer than EPA thought -- is now in charge of an EPA program studying the safety of such chemicals.
"Obama, Romney Duel Over Climate Change in Online Debate"
LA Times, 09/05/2012Science is at the heart of some key policy issues dividing Republicans and Democrats. Presidential candidates Obama and Romney may never square off in person on TV over scientific issues like climate. But through "Science Debate 2012," they are addressing them in writing online. Is that good enough?
"Antarctic Peninsula Started Warming 600 Years Ago"
Reuters, 08/23/2012"Temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula started rising naturally 600 years ago, long before man-made climate changes further increased them, scientists said in a study on Wednesday that helps explain the recent collapses of vast ice shelves."
"Why We Are Poles Apart on Climate Change"
Nature, 08/22/2012"The problem isn’t the public’s reasoning capacity; it’s the polluted science-communication environment that drives people apart, says Dan Kahan."

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