"Keep the Kids Safe with Flame-Retardant Halloween Costumes," by Angela Logomasini. It bears repeating: flame retardant chemicals make life safer. Yet more often than not, news stories say we should fear these chemicals—ignoring the fact that these products have safely reduced fire risks for decades. This is why firefighters suggest judicious use of flame-retardant materials from treated furniture to clothing. So rather than fall for anti-chemical hype, moms should focus on reducing fire … [Read more...]
Deadly Advice on Flame Retardants
October 2, 2013
"Green Advice on Flame Retardants Promises to Prove Deadly," by Angela Logomasini. For the past few years, newspapers have featured stories on the allegedly dire risks of flame retardants, and environmental activists are pushing for government bans and regulations. Keep the kids off those “toxic couches” they say, if you care at all about them. Never mind the fact that these trace chemicals in the foam have never been shown to hurt anyone. But when they are not there, life threatening fires … [Read more...]
Dangerous Results of Anti-Chemical Technology Hype
September 30, 2013
"Green Policies Translate Into Less Food, Higher Prices," by Angela Logomasini. Thanks to misguided bureaucracy and fear mongering from environmental activists, myriad valuable products are disappearing from the marketplace. Walmart, Proctor & Gamble, and Johnson and Johnson are leading the way by following green advice to phase out a host of valuable chemical technologies because of misinformed green hype. Pesticides—which are needed to feed a growing world population and fight … [Read more...]
BPA Researchers Temper Cancer Claims in Rat Study
September 27, 2013
"Taxpayer-Funded Journal Walks Back BPA Cancer Claim After Statistical Meltdown," by Trevor Butterworth. First, bisphenol A – a chemical widely used in food packaging for safety reasons – caused breast cancer in rats at “human relevant” levels, according to a study published in the taxpayer funded scientific journal, Environmental Health Perspectives. Now, according to the same study, it doesn’t. After Forbes noted that the statistical data clearly showed BPA had no effects and did not cause … [Read more...]
Doctors Urged to Scare Expectant Moms About Chemicals
September 26, 2013
"Pregnant Women Encouraged to Worry about Everything," by Carrie L. Lukas. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American Society for Reproductive Medicine are calling on doctors and the government to do more to warn pregnant women about the dangers of chemical exposure. I'd like to see the exact wording of their statement (which didn't appear to be available on either website). I'd hope that it is more tailored and nuanced than the headlines it is generating such as … [Read more...]
Pesticides Used to Help Save Honeybees
September 25, 2013
"Royal Pains: Why Queen Honeybees Are Living Shorter, Less Productive Lives," by By Francie Diep What's killing the bees? If you've been watching the news, you might answer: "Colony collapse disorder." Yet after the winter of 2011-2012, beekeepers only attributed 8 percent of their wintertime honeybee-hive losses to colony collapse disorder. ... In fact, some entomologists say colony collapse disorder is no longer a major problem. After a spike in incidents in 2006, when the condition was first … [Read more...]
Honeybee Politics and Science
September 25, 2013
"While Global Bee Colonies Struggle, European Politicians Seem Determined To Kill Them Off," by Jon Entine. Science and politics don’t mix well. In the United States, we’re witnessing rancorous policy debates over shale gas extraction (i.e. fracking) and GMOs in our foods. But in Europe, the hottest issue is the health of honeybees. And the ugly public discussion is lapping onto our shores. Bees pollinate 80 percent of our flowering crops, which constitute about one third of everything we eat. … [Read more...]
Walmart Goes Green
September 23, 2013
"Even Retail Giant Walmart Caves to Anti-Chemical Activists," American Council on Science and Health. 138829_6871In fear of getting left behind, Walmart — the world’s largest retailer — followed in Procter & Gamble’s footsteps last week in deciding to require full disclosure of chemicals used by companies selling cosmetics and cleaning products. Ironically, that list is undisclosed, but if it’s anything like the one produced by Procter & Gamble recently to rid the industry of long-used, … [Read more...]
Note to Mom: Conventional Fruits and Veggies are Safe
September 23, 2013
"Instead of Scaring Moms, Join Us in Promoting Healthy Eating," by SafeFruitsandVeggies.com. Yesterday, First Lady Michelle Obama held a meeting with food companies, media, consumer groups and academics to discuss the impact of marketing unhealthy foods to kids. In addition to encouraging a decrease in advertising and marketing of “junk foods,” Mrs. Obama repeatedly urged members of the audience to encourage healthy eating among children. At one point, Mrs. Obama told her audience that “If … [Read more...]
Organic Agriculture Can’t Feed a Growing Population
September 23, 2013
"Organic Agriculture Cannot Feed The World," Center for Consumer Freedom. We’ve written before that, despite organic activists’ claims to the contrary, conventional agriculture (a.k.a. non-organic) is the only way to feed the world’s burgeoning population, and there’s nothing wrong with that. So it was with mild frustration yesterday when we read a blog post and heard a Morning Edition segment by NPR’s Dan Charles titled, “American Farmers Say They Feed The World, But Do They?” which glossed … [Read more...]
Green Attacks on Consumer Choice
September 16, 2013
"Green Market Pressure Takes Toll on Consumer Choice," by Angela Logomasini. When environmentalists don’t have the political power to regulate away consumer choice, they sometimes can get industry to do the job for them. Most recently, Proctor and Gamble (P&G) has decided to phase out the chemical triclosan, which has been used in a wide range of soap products to reduce risks from bacteria. P&G’s announcement follows other dumb triclosan phase outs that Colgate Palmolive (2011) and … [Read more...]
P&G’s Unscientific Chemical Phaseouts
September 16, 2013
"Same Old: Procter & Gamble Bans Two Ingredients— But Not Based on Science, by American Council on Science and Health. It never ends. Having nearly put themselves out of business because of huge improvements in the environment over the last few decades, environmental and “consumer safety” groups are looking for work. Unfortunately, their work now seems to consist of shaking down companies by getting them to ban long-used, harmless chemicals. And it sure works. Read the full article and … [Read more...]
Breast Cancer Fund’s Latest BPA Hype
September 16, 2013
"Pass the Microphone to Science: The Truth Behind BPA and Breast Cancer," By the BPA Coalition. Earlier this week, the US-based Breast Cancer Fund (BCF) published a report on BPA exposure during pregnancy. The report is described as a “comprehensive review of the scientific literature” despite its selective use of only older studies that support BCF’s conclusion that BPA “disrupts fetal development and sets the stage for later-life diseases, including breast cancer”. The report also … [Read more...]
Dr. Oz’s Hype on Arsenic in Rice
September 16, 2013
"Arsenic and Old News," by American Council on Science and Health. In today’s “Let’s Worry About Nothing” news, there is a story that will either make people feel better, worse, or simply confused about a non-problem—tiny amounts of arsenic in rice. For the first time ever, the FDA published data on arsenic levels in rice and rice products, and the results should enable people to cross one needless worry off their list (except for Dr. Oz followers, who have far more to worry about than this. … [Read more...]
Backpacks & Other School Supplies–Not “Toxic”
September 16, 2013
"No Case for “Toxic” School Supplies," by American Council on Science and Health. It’s that time of year again. Summer’s over, and school is starting again. And with this new year comes another (predictable) chance for activist groups posing as scientific experts to scare parents about “toxic” chemicals found in children’s school supplies. Some take it further as well, warning consumers about cosmetics, cleaning supplies and furniture. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) even … [Read more...]
Scientist Says: PCBs ‘Not Particularly Toxic’
September 6, 2013
"Opinion: PCBs are Not ‘Toxic Time bombs,’" by Joe Schwarcz. We hadn’t heard much about polychlorinated biphenyls since the fire at St-Basil-le-Grand in 1988, but we sure are hearing a lot now. There are two angles to news about the illegally stored PCB-filled transformers and contaminated waste in Pointe-Claire. There is the legal and political story, and there is the scientific one. Without question, the PCB-containing materials were improperly and illegally stored and will have to be removed … [Read more...]
Surprising Facts about PCBs
September 6, 2013
"PCBs: Not What You Thought," by American Council on Science and Health. The always-brilliant Dr. Joe Schwarcz, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry (among other things) at McGill University in Montreal, has hit another one out of the park — as can be discerned from his latest “Dr. Joe” column in the Montreal Gazette. Dr. Schwarcz is one of the great skeptics and rebutters of junk-science scares, especially those based on the often-intentional misinterpretation of chemistry. This time he takes on … [Read more...]
Bisphenol A Science
September 6, 2013
"ACSH Advisor Nails It: Bad Studies About BPA," American Council on Science and Health. Dr. Geoffrey Kabat, in his blog on Forbes.com, elegantly reinforces a core ACSH message: That poor science is the basis for many of the scares promulgated by various activist groups. Dr. Kabat, a cancer epidemiologist at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, has a history of debunking phony cancer scares, as he did in his recent book, Hyping Health Risks (Columbia University Press, 2008). Read the full … [Read more...]
Beekeeper Perspective on Colony Collapse Disorder
September 3, 2013
"What’s Killing the Bees? Pesticides, But Not the Ones You Think," by Randy Oliver. I’m a professional beekeeper and independent research scientist. My sons and I run a 1000-colony beekeeping operation. I talk on a daily basis with beekeepers and researchers around the world. Bees are my life. I’m also a lifelong environmentalist and organic gardener, coming of age at the time Silent Spring was published. So when bee colonies — including my own — started to die at an increased rate in the … [Read more...]
Healthy Diet Free of Pesticide Alarmism
August 29, 2013
"Advocating and Educating About the Safety of All Fruits and Veggies," by SafeFruitsandVeggies.com. Twenty thousand cancer cases could be prevented if half of all Americans increased their consumption of fruits and veggies by a single serving, according to a paper published in Food and Chemical Toxicology. A peer reviewed Swedish study involving 71,000 people followed over a 13-year period showed that a higher consumption of fruits and veggies leads to a longer life. These are compelling … [Read more...]
Bisphenol A & Fertility
August 29, 2013
"What Do We Really Know About BPA And Fertility?" By Steve Hentges. Last week, a study published in the journal Human Reproduction reported that bisphenol-A (BPA), a compound widely used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, altered maturation of human oocytes in vitro. Specifically, at high concentrations of BPA, oocyte maturation decreased while the incidence of oocyte degeneration increased. In an accompanying press release, the authors suggested that BPA “may cause a significant … [Read more...]
Dartmouth Chemist Takes on ‘Chemophobia’
August 29, 2013
"Are Worries about Chemical Danger Overblown?" By Deborah Kotz. Concerns about the dangers caused by the use of man-made chemicals in our environment has caused what Gordon Gribble, a professor of organic chemistry at Dartmouth, calls a “colossal mess,” causing some people to go to extreme lengths to avoid such chemicals. Some people take pains to avoid all things that they identify as dangerous chemicals to the point that it impairs their daily lives, a phenomenon known as “chemophobia.” It … [Read more...]
Lead Paint Risk Low Yet Lawsuits Continue
August 28, 2013
"Lead Paint: All Over but the Lawsuits," By James R. Copland. As if California and its municipalities were not already making life difficult for businesses and taxpayers, the Golden State's courts could pile on too. On July 15, a trial began in San Jose, in which seven California counties (Santa Clara, Alameda, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Mateo, Solano and Ventura) and three cities (Oakland, San Diego and San Francisco) are suing five companies that once manufactured paint containing lead. The … [Read more...]
Faulty Science Abounds
August 27, 2013
"There Are A Thousand Ways To Do An Experiment Wrong," by By Henry I. Miller and Jeff Stier. The 18th century philosopher and economist Adam Smith observed, “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” That view is one justification for giving federal agencies so much money, control and discretion over commerce and other aspects of our lives. And when it … [Read more...]
Discredited Anti-Herbicide Researcher Loses Funding
August 26, 2013
"Berkeley Anti-Atrazine Crusader Blames 'Big Ag', Set To Sue, After University Dispute Over Dwindling Research Funds," by Jon Entine. Has ‘Big Ag’ finally nailed a long time nemesis? Or has an ideologically obsessed activist scientist with a long history of discredited studies finally fallen victim to his own bizarre behavior? Or has an ideologically obsessed activist scientist with a long history of discredited studies finally fallen victim to his own bizarre behavior? These are the … [Read more...]
