Pope calling on people to protect the global climate

The Conversation
Andy Hoffman, University of Michigan and Jenna White, University of Michigan

pope@2xThis summer, Pope Francis plans to release an encyclical letter in which he will address environmental issues, and very likely climate change.

His statement will have a profound impact on the public debate. For one, it will elevate the spiritual, moral and religious dimensions of the issue. Calling on people to protect the global climate because it is sacred, both for its own God-given value and for the life and dignity of all humankind, not just the affluent few, will create far more personal commitment than a government call for action on economic grounds or an activist’s call on environmental grounds. (more…)

2015-04-12T13:21:39+00:00April 11th, 2015|Articles, Climate Change, In Touch|
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FDA concludes Arctic Apples and Innate Potatoes are safe for consumption

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An Innate potato, left, resists bruising, and has been altered to produce less of a potential cancer-causing chemical when fried.

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its evaluation for two varieties of apples genetically engineered by Okanagan Specialty Fruits, Inc., and for six varieties of potatoes genetically engineered by J. R. Simplot Company and concluded that these foods are as safe and nutritious as their conventional counterparts. Read more from FDA press release.

2015-04-12T13:46:09+00:00March 21st, 2015|Articles, GMO|
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More Bogus Science from Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute

Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute

Citing sections of a recent publication in Cell1 , Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute claims to have new evidence that confirms the predictions of their Intelligent Design hypothesis. Luskin has done this in the past when researchers have found new functions in DNA.

The promoters of ID claim that their hypothesis predicts the discovery of new functionality and complexity in DNA. They claim this points to a designer and that Darwin was wrong. Really? Neither Darwin, nor any other expert on evolution, nor the theory of evolution has ever claimed that we have discovered all the complexity in DNA, and that we would not discover new codons that determine how proteins and mRNA are regulated. Darwin actually predicted the existence of genetic material such as DNA would be required for natural selection to work.

(more…)

2015-04-15T17:17:58+00:00March 19th, 2015|Articles, Evolution, Out of Touch with Reality|
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We are Just Animated Stardust

bodyModern observations show that the universe appears to be expanding, and that about 13.7 billion years ago it was much smaller and hotter. As it expanded and cooled, hydrogen and helium condensed out of the initial soup up of high energy particles.  Massive clouds of hydrogen  compressed by gravity gave birth to and fueled the stars. All of the elements heavier than helium are produced in fusion reactions that power the stars. The heaviest elements that make up the Earth and other rocky planets are remnants of supernova explosions of hot white stars.

Life on Earth is dependent on the debris leftover from one or more of these supernovas that occurred more than 4 billion years ago. Our bodies are about 90% stardust, and 10% hydrogen left over from the origin of the universe.  Billions of years of evolution have resulted in biological organs, our brains, that have the ability to comprehend and appreciate their own existence. Our brains control a network of nerves that can animate our bodies, and experience the universe through our senses.  At some point in the evolution of life on Earth our universe became self aware via unique arrangement of primordial hydrogen and stardust. (more…)

2015-03-17T18:49:58+00:00March 17th, 2015|About, Articles, Big Bang|
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University of Toronto, Faculty of Pharmacy is Out of Touch for wasting resources on homeophathy

Heather Boon, U of T Dean funding homeopathy research

We cannot blame the father of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann, who developed modern homeopathy in 1796. Molecules, viruses, and vaccines were unknown, and at least the practice of homeopathy did no more harm and created a atmosphere of caring for the sick. However, in today’s world we cannot be so forgiving, and institutions such as the University of Toronto deserve the criticism they receive over their homeophathy research spending that could be put to beneficial use.

“We are curious about why, given the need to investigate natural therapies that may actually have a potential for benefit, and saddled with a scarcity in funding, a Department of Pharmacy is interested in investigating a subject that has been … found wanting both in evidence and plausibility,” reads a letter from over 60 scientist addressed to Heather Boon, dean of the U of T’s Faculty of Pharmacy.

(more…)

2015-03-17T15:25:15+00:00March 17th, 2015|Articles, Homeopathy, Out of Touch with Reality|
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Heartland Institute is Out of Touch with regard to scientific consensus on climate change

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Joseph Bast, President of Heartland Institute

The media as a ‘manufacturer of doubt’ can have a negative impact on the belief by the public that there is a no scientific consensus when in fact there is one. A Wall Street Journal article “The Myth of Climate Change ‘97%'” challenges that there is a scientific consensus by manufacturing doubt with shady arguments. The opinion co-authored by Joseph Bast, President of the Heartland Institute[5], which is the “the primary American organization pushing climate change skepticism,” according to the New York Times.  They do not address whether climate change is real or not. Instead they focus on manufacturing doubt about scientific consensus. (more…)

2015-03-16T18:45:02+00:00March 16th, 2015|Articles, Climate Change, Out of Touch with Reality|
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‘Manufacturers of Doubt’ undermine public support for policies mitigating climate change

daf09a936076b46dac53bfa9ddd96669-origStrong scientific consensus will not generate public support for environmental policy, unless skeptical voices become almost silent.  Surveys have shown that perceptions of scientific dissent undermine public support for environmental policy[1]. Even a few vocal or organized scientific and media voices can cause a perception of uncertainty in the public, a tactic used by tobacco companies in the 50’s and 60’s to sway public opinion away from the dangers of smoking. A paper, since debunked as quackery, about vaccines and autism has led to 30% of the American public believing there is a connection according to PEW survey.[2] Likewise, organizations like the Heartland Institute[5] focus on manufacturing doubt about scientific consensus on climate change even though the scientific consensus on climate change approaches 97%.  (more…)

2015-04-12T13:47:02+00:00March 16th, 2015|Articles, Climate Change|
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Friends of the Earth are Out of Touch because of their Ideologic Positioning

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David Brower, founder Friends of the Earth

Opposition to Diablo Canyon started before it was constructed, by Friends of the Earth (FOE), a political action group founded by activist David Brower in 1969, over concerns about earthquake safety. Brower, who was against nuclear power in general, split with the Sierra Club over the Club’s position on the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. The Club helped block PG&E’s plan for a nuclear power plant at Bodega Bay over concerns of the earthquake danger from the nearby San Andreas Fault, and supported moving the site to Diablo Canyon.  Brower believed that nuclear power was a dangerous mistake at any location, and opposed Diablo Canyon, in defiance of the Club’s official policy. Browser’s ideology was opposition to nuclear power this has become an existential issue for them so they need to claim it is unsafe regardless of the science. They have ignored the recent seismic studies making them out of touch with reality on this issue.  (more…)

2015-03-16T18:48:43+00:00March 15th, 2015|Articles, Nuclear Power, Out of Touch with Reality|
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Big Bang

antiverseThe Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model for the earliest known periods of the universe and its subsequent large-scale evolution. It states that the Universe was in a very high density state and then expanded.  The Sillycats antiverse model is a version that explains the arrow of time, matter/antimatter asymmetry, and the conservation of energy in the origin of the big bang. (more…)

2015-03-16T18:51:40+00:00March 14th, 2015|Articles, Big Bang|
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Discovery Institute – a Pseudoscience Incubator

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Bruce Chapman, President of the Discovery Institute

Discovery Institute a public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of the pseudoscience “intelligent design” (ID), claims ID is a scientific theory that concludes certain features of the universe and living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.

watch reproductionThey claim that certain natural objects are too complex and must arise from an intelligent action. The argument is that since a watch is too complicated to arise naturally and requires a designer, than so to must a living cell need a designer. Most of us, with the exception of the Discovery Institute and Republican presidential candidates, have realized early in our development that populations of watches do not have genetic material nor do they reproduce.

(more…)

2015-04-12T13:47:25+00:00March 14th, 2015|Articles, Evolution, Out of Touch with Reality|
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Disarming Realities: As Gun Sales Soar, Gun Crimes Plummet

A couple of new studies reveal the gun-control hypesters’ worst nightmare…more people are buying firearms, while firearm-related homicides and suicides are steadily diminishing. What crackpots came up with these conclusions? One set of statistics was compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice. The other was reported by the Pew Research Center. Read more -> Larry Bell Contributor, Forbes

2015-03-16T18:55:35+00:00March 14th, 2015|Articles, Gun Control|
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Stand up to junk science on fracking

America’s smart drilling revolution has bestowed numerous economic and environmental benefits. Innovative entrepreneurs who combined horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing have led to huge increases of domestic energy production, making the U.S. the number one oil and gas producer in the world. We did all this while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality.

It’s puzzling, then, that Lois Marie Gibbs would claim in an op-ed on this site that “the science and experiences of Americans” show that hydraulic fracturing poses “immense harm to people across the nation.”  The reality is exactly the opposite. Read more -> By Thomas Pyle, TheHill.com

2015-03-14T00:33:45+00:00March 14th, 2015|Articles, Fracking|
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GMO food poses no greater risk then organic foods

Genetically modified foods (or GM foods) are foods produced from genetically modified organisms (GMO) that have had specific changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. These techniques have allowed for the introduction of new traits as well as a far greater control over a food’s genetic structure than previously afforded by methods such as selective breeding and mutation breeding.

There is broad scientific consensus that food on the market derived from GM crops poses no greater risk to human health than conventional food. However, opponents have objected to GM foods on several grounds, including safety issues, environmental concerns, and economic concerns raised by the fact that GM seeds (and potentially animals) that are food sources are subject to intellectual property rights owned by corporations. (more…)

2015-03-13T11:49:09+00:00March 13th, 2015|Articles, GMO|
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