Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
AMANDA MARCOTTE, - The Raw Story
Stephan: I picked this story for two reasons: First, to demonstrate how really hateful even some Republican women are against their own gender. Second, because I think it raises an interesting assessment as to why the Theocratic Right does this.
If you’re looking for evidence that the differences between men and women are greatly exaggerated, the fact that women are equally capable as men of mind-blowing misogyny should erase all doubt. New Mexico state Rep. Cathrynn Brown proved that this week by introducing a bill aimed at throwing rape victims in jail if they refuse to honor their rapist’s right to control their body by carrying his child. This sort of insult to rapists will not stand, so Brown, standing up bravely for rapists who want the suffering they’ve inflicted to carry on and on for their victims, has proposed banning abortion for rape victims on the phony grounds that it’s ‘tampering with evidence
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Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
HEATHER STEWART and LARRY ELLIOTT , - The Guardian/Observer (U.K.)
Stephan: I will just let this speak for itself.
Lord Stern, author of the government-commissioned review on climate change that became the reference work for politicians and green campaigners, now says he underestimated the risks, and should have been more ‘blunt’ about the threat posed to the economy by rising temperatures.
In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Stern, who is now a crossbench peer, said: ‘Looking back, I underestimated the risks. The planet and the atmosphere seem to be absorbing less carbon than we expected, and emissions are rising pretty strongly. Some of the effects are coming through more quickly than we thought then.’
The Stern review, published in 2006, pointed to a 75% chance that global temperatures would rise by between two and three degrees above the long-term average; he now believes we are ‘on track for something like four ‘. Had he known the way the situation would evolve, he says, ‘I think I would have been a bit more blunt. I would have been much more strong about the risks of a four- or five-degree rise.’
He said some countries, including China, had now started to grasp the seriousness of the risks, but governments should now act forcefully to shift their economies towards less energy-intensive, […]
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Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
Stephan: This is a trend about one of the little recognized but very pernicious consequences of the illness profit system of healthcare. I have written about this several times (See SR archives, the Huffington Post archives, and the Explore Journal archives.) But it just keeps growing, probably because there is so little public attention.
Excerpted from 'Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients
Sponsors get the answer they want.
Before we get going, we need to establish one thing beyond any doubt: Industry-funded trials are more likely than independently funded trials to produce a positive, flattering result. This is our core premise, and one of the most well-documented phenomena in the growing field of ‘research about research.
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Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
, - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Stephan: The alarms ring louder and the evidence just keeps building up.
The full report discussed in this article can be downloaded at: http://downloads.usgcrp.gov/NCA/technicalinputreports/Burkett_Davidson_Coasts_Final_.pdf.
According to a new technical report, the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of U.S. coastal communities’ social, economic and natural systems. The report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, authored by leading scientists and experts, emphasizes the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure U.S. coastal communities are resilient against the effects of climate change.
The recently-released report examines and describes climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems and human economies and communities, as well as the kinds of scientific data, planning tools and resources that coastal communities and resource managers need to help them adapt to these changes.
‘Sandy showed us that coastal states and communities need effective strategies, tools and resources to conserve, protect, and restore coastal habitats and economies at risk from current environmental stresses and a changing climate,
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Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
MARTINNE GELLER and MATTHEW LEWIS, - Reuters
Stephan: A bit of good news, and a demonstration of what one person, even a minor, can achieve. So many of our problems continue because we individually think: well, I can't do anything about this. You can, as this report makes clear.
PepsiCo Inc is removing a controversial chemical from its Gatorade drinks following concerns from consumers and an online petition by a Mississippi teenager.
Gatorade said the change was not a response to the petition, although the 15-year-old girl claimed victory.
The ingredient, brominated vegetable oil (BVO), is a chemical containing bromine, which is found in fire retardants. Small quantities of BVO are used legally in some citrus-flavored drinks in the United States to keep the flavor evenly distributed.
It was present in Gatorade Orange and Lemonade and other smaller flavors.
Molly Carter, a spokeswoman for Gatorade, said BVO-free versions of those drinks will roll out across the United States in the next couple of months. She said the move to replace BVO has been in the works for some time, and was not a response to the petition by Sarah Kavanagh, the 15-year-old girl from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Kavanagh started a petition on Change.org, an online petition platform, to ask PepsiCo to remove BVO from Gatorade. It received more than 200,000 signatures, and on Friday, the teenager declared victory.
‘When I went to Change.org to start my petition, I thought it might get a lot of support because no one wants to gulp down flame retardant, especially […]
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