Science

So Much for Feeding the World

by Judith Siers-Poisson — April 23, 2008 - 9:20pm

The biotechnology industry has invoked the need for genetically modified (GM) crops to meet the growing global food crisis.

Main Source: 
The Independent (UK), April 20, 2008

Special Offer: Free Grass to Subject Your Children to Sludge

by Judith Siers-Poisson — April 23, 2008 - 8:13pm

Sludge keeps rearing its ugly head. Scientists used federal grant money to "spread fertilizer made from human and industrial wastes on yards in poor, black neighborhoods to test whether it might protect children from lead poisoning in the soil." The residents were not alerted to any harmful ingredients in the sludge, and were assured that it posed no health risks for their families.

Main Source: 
Baltimore Examiner, April 13, 2008

This Earth Day, Let's Scrape off the Greenwash

by Sheldon Rampton — April 22, 2008 - 2:18am
  • Topics: Activism, Front Groups, Global Warming, Corporations, Environment, Health, Public Relations, Science

    • The Rainforest Action Network takes on greenwashing by BP

    Today marks the 38th annual celebration of Earth Day, and once again the event comes with its fair share of PR hype and misleading marketing campaigns. In the spirit of dedicating ourselves to genuine concern for the planet, today is therefore a good time to look carefully at corporate environmental claims, some of which consist more of empty rhetoric than real substance.

    Companies like Wal-Mart are announcing environmental initiatives. General Electric has its "Ecomagnation" advertising campaign. In Singapore, a shopping center is advertising that customers can "shop to save planet earth" -- and if they buy enough, they might win a new car!

    The ritual of green hypocrisy frequently requires that companies and politicians redefine environmental progress in increasingly creative ways. Last week, for example, George W. Bush announced a plan to address the problem of global warming by "halting the growth" of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2025. Beyond the fact that this target date is 17 years in the future, what really means is that during those 17 years not only will greenhouse gas emissions continue, the amount of those emissions will continue to grow. As columnist Gail Collins observed in the New York Times, this would be akin to having an overweight person announce a plan to achieve "an 18 percent reduction in the rate at which he was gaining weight, to be reached within the next decade."

    Audit Reveals the PR Machine Behind Canadian Global Warming Skeptics

    by Bob Burton — April 21, 2008 - 2:04am

    An audit review (pdf) of over $507,000 (Canadian) contributed to two University of Calgary "research accounts" has revealed that C$123,427 was routed to Friends of Science (FoS) -- a group lobbying the Canadian government against taking action on global warming.

    Main Source: 
    University of Calgary, April 14, 2008

    Obama and Clinton Get Down & Dirty with "Clean" Coal

    by John Stauber — April 19, 2008 - 9:24am

    The Associated Press reports, "Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are walking a delicate line as they promise to aggressively tackle global warming while trying to assure voters that they continue to believe in the future of coal," the energy source responsible for "nearly 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, each year.

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, April 19, 2008

    More Heart Attacks for Merck

    by Diane Farsetta — April 16, 2008 - 2:24pm

    Two studies of internal Merck documents concluded that the pharmaceutical company had "violated scientific-publishing ethics by ghostwriting dozens of academic articles, and minimized the impact of patient deaths in its analyses of some human trials." The internal documents surfaced during liti

    Main Source: 
    Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), April 16, 2008

    King Coal Gets Green Help Down Under

    by Diane Farsetta — April 16, 2008 - 1:51pm

    "In a public relations coup for the coal industry," the Australian Coal Association is working with "two prominent environment groups, WWF and the Climate Institute, and the miners' union, to call on the

    Main Source: 
    The Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2008

    Lawsuits, Light Cigarettes and Fear-Based Marketing Strategies

    by Anne Landman — April 8, 2008 - 12:38pm
  • Topics: Advertising, Corporate Campaigns, Corporate Social Responsibility, Education, Ethics, Health, Human Rights, International, Public Relations, Science, Social Justice, Tobacco

    • The Second Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals missed a great opportunity this week to hold the tobacco industry accountable for one of its worst marketing tactics -- positioning cigarette brands in response to smokers' medical concerns. The April 7, 2008, issue of the New York Times has an article about the dismissal of a huge, class-action lawsuit against the tobacco industry that was brought by smokers of "light" cigarettes who claimed they were misled about the relative safety of "light" cigarettes compared to regular, "full flavor" cigarettes. The suit, and its dismissal by the court, brought to mind a little-recognized tobacco industry marketing survival tactic that weighs heavily on the public's perception of exactly what "light" means.

    The tobacco industry has long had a remarkable ability to rescue itself from damaging health claims by turning allegations against its products into marketing opportunities. Inside the industry, the fact that cigarettes cause widespread illness and death is referred to as the "smoking and health" issue, or "S&H issue" for short. Tobacco marketers consider "S&H issues" to be little more than "external marketing forces" that require re-positioning of products, through changes in advertising copy strategy, so that smokers will get an illusion of safety from the dangers they perceive.

    New Participatory Project: Maximum Weirdness: Tobacco Industry Brainstorming Documents

    by Anne Landman — April 7, 2008 - 2:25pm

    A rock cocaine cigarette filter? A cigarette that delivers birth control and sexual stimulant drugs to the smoker at the same time? A geriatric brand? All of these are actual ideas for new products and promotions that were recorded at cigarette company "brainstorming" meetings.

    Main Source: 
    Tobaccowiki.org, April 7, 2008

    University Helps Censor "One-Sided" Science

    by Diane Farsetta — April 7, 2008 - 12:38pm

    Administrators of "Popline," the "world's largest scientific database on reproductive health," which is housed at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Public Health, "blocked the word 'abortion' as a search term after receiving a complaint from the Bush administration over two abortion-related articles listed in the database." The search block has since been remov

    Main Source: 
    Wired blog "Threat Level," April 4, 2008
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