Liver damage after Chinese herbal treatments – much more than meets the eye

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is popular, not least because it is heavily marketed and thus often perceived as natural and safe. But is this assumption true?

This study analysed  liver tests before and following treatment with herbal Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in order to evaluate the risk of liver injury. Patients with normal values of alanine […]

Read the rest here: Liver damage after Chinese herbal treatments – much more than meets the eye

Manual therapies for infant colic? A very sore point in the history of chiropractic

Some of you will remember the saga of the British Chiropractic Association suing my friend and co-author Simon Singh (eventually losing the case, lots of money and all respect). One of the ‘hot potatoes’ in this case was the question whether chiropractic is effective for infant colic. This question is settled, I thought: IT HAS […]

Read the rest here: Manual therapies for infant colic? A very sore point in the history of chiropractic

Acupuncture: there is no convincing evidence that it is an effective therapy

Few people would argue that Cochrane reviews tend to be the most rigorous, independent and objective assessments of therapeutic interventions we currently have. Therefore, it is relevant to see what they tell us about the value of acupuncture.

Here is a fascinating overview of all Cochrane reviews of acupuncture. It was compiled by the formidable […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture: there is no convincing evidence that it is an effective therapy

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #4

Breaking News... Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Graphic of the Week... SkS in the News... John Cook Quoted... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... 97 Hours of Consensus...

Breaking News...

Donald Trump appears to misunderstand basic facts of climate change in Piers Morgan interview

Donald Trump has expressed doubts over the existence of climate change, as it is understood by the vast majority of scientists.  

After proclaiming his belief in “clean air and clean water”, the US President questioned some of the central tenets of climate science in an interview with Piers Morgan.

Mr Trump also repeated previous statements that he could “go back” into the Paris climate agreement, but said that he would only make such a decision if he could get “a good deal” for the US.

US President Donald Trump dismisses climate change and global warming in a TV interview this evening where he justifies leaving the Paris Accord because it was "a disaster" for America.

In a rambling and somewhat incoherent response to questions from Piers Morgan. He says, "There is a cooling, and there's a heating. I mean, look, it used to not be climate change, it used to be global warming. That wasn't working too well because it was getting too cold all over the place.

"The ice caps were going to melt, they were going to be gone by now, but now they're setting records. They're at a record level." 

Donald Trump appears to misunderstand basic facts of climate change in Piers Morgan interview by Josh Gabbatiss, The Independent, Jan 27, 2018

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Story of the Week...

Reckoning with climate change will demand ugly tradeoffs from environmentalists — and everyone else

 

Climate change is a crisis. Serious damages are already underway, there’s enough carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to ensure more damages to come, and if carbon emissions continue unchecked, species-threatening damages become a non-trivial risk.

Lots of people acknowledge this. But it’s one think to acknowledge it and another to really take it on board, to follow all the implications wherever they lead. Very few people have let the reality of the situation sink in deep enough that it reshapes their values and priorities. Being a consistent climate hawk, it turns out, is extremely difficult.

Let’s take a look at an example of what I’m talking about, and then pull back to ponder the broader problem. 

Reckoning with climate change will demand ugly tradeoffs from environmentalists — and everyone else by David Roberts, Energy & Environmnet, Vox, Jan 27, 2018 

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Toon of the Week...

 

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Quote of the Week...

Just a year into his term, President Trump has already gained a reputation for being staunchly anti-science, with his administration recently described as showing “greater distain for science” than any other in modern history. Every day, it seems, there is a new report of the administration reducing public access to scientific information, cutting funding for scientific research, or downplaying the views of qualified scientists. To keep track of these developments, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, in association with the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, today launched a new Silencing Science Tracker (SST).

The SST is intended as a comprehensive record of government attempts to “silence science” since the November 2016 election. By recording all attempts in a single database, the SST enables users to easily see the myriad of ways in which scientific research and discussion are being undermined by government, and (hopefully) take action in response. This is vital as, in the words of Michael Gerrard, Faculty Director of the Sabin Center:

Scientific knowledge is the very foundation of all environmental regulation. When the government ignores science, it’s like a truck driver who wears a blindfold and drives based on what is whispered into his ear — dangerous and intolerable. The vital work of scientists must be supported, made public, and listened to. When government officials block this, we plan to shine a harsh light. 

New Silencing Science Tracker Launched by The Sabin Center and Climate Science Legal Defense Fund by Romany Webb, Climate Law Blog, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Jan 19, 2018

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Graphic of the Week...

 

WMO confirms 2017 among the three warmest years on record, WMO Press Release, Jan 18, 2018

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SkS in the News...

In his Independent article, Donald Trump appears to misunderstand basic facts of climate change in Piers Morgan interview, Josh Gabbatiss references and links to:  

Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming, Cook et al, Environmental Research Letters, Volume 11, Number 4, Published 13 April 2016 

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John Cook Quoted...

From Monthly Messenger: Could Inoculation be the Cure to Climate Denial? posted by the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL): 

A separate study conducted by John Cook – author of the “Debunking Handbook,” which addresses how to debunk myths – resulted in similar findings. Cook’s study found that highlighting scientific consensus could increase people’s perceived consensus on a topic. This reduces the impact of misinformation. Many people believe that the most appropriate way to address false information is to not discuss the myth, rather to only highlight the facts. However, Cook’s research found it is best to address misinformation head on.

“You can’t talk around it; otherwise it persists. What’s important is to lead with the facts — the facts are the headline — then introduce the myth, and then explain why it’s wrong.” –John Cook  

From Dino Grandoni's Washington Post article, The Energy 202: Republicans love NASA. But why do they doubt its climate science?:

But the love for NASA doesn't mean the GOP embraces the agency's stance on climate science.Last year, only 18 percent of Republicans said they worried a great deal about climate change, according to Gallup.

The incongruity between support for the space agency and its climate warnings stems from a "crucial tension in conservative attitudes towards climate change, according to John Cook, a research assistant professor at the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University.

“On the one hand, there is respect for scientific institutions like NASA,” Cook wrote by email. “On the other hand, acceptance of human-caused global warming is low.”

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Photo of the Week...

 

Trump Officials, Energy Execs Speak Together at Conference Sponsored by Climate Denier Groups by Itai Vardi, DeSmog, Jan 25, 2018

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• State of the climate: how the world warmed in 2017 (Zeke)
• Natural gas killed coal - now renewables and batteries are taking over (Dana)
• Is warming in the Arctic behind this year’s crazy winter weather? (Jennifer Francis)
• Guest Post (John Abraham )
• New research this week (Ari)
• 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #5 (John Hartz)
• 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Waming Digest #5 (John Hartz)

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Poster of the Week...

 

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SkS Week in Review... 

• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #4 by John Hartz
• In 2017, the oceans were by far the hottest ever recorded by John Abraham (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian)
• New research, January 15-21, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki
• So, why is two degrees the magic number? Katharine Hayhoe's Global Weirding video series with PBS
• New study ‘reduces uncertainty’ for climate sensitivity by Daisy Dunne (Carbon Brief)
• Switching to electric cars is key to fixing America's 'critically insufficient' climate policies by Dana Nuccitelli (Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #3 by John Hartz

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97 Hours of Consensus...

 

Mark Cochrane's bio page and Quote source 

High resolution JPEG (1024 pixels wide)

 

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Larry Nassar – doctor of osteopathy (“intravaginal manipulations are an approved osteopathic treatment”)

We probably all heard about the horrific stories related to Larry Nassar who, on January 24, 2018, was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in a state prison in Michigan after pleading guilty to the sexual assault of numerous minors. But few of us, I think, had any idea that they relate to alternative medicine. This […]

Read the rest here: Larry Nassar – doctor of osteopathy (“intravaginal manipulations are an approved osteopathic treatment”)

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #4

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. 

Editor's Pick

Why climate change is worsening public health problems

 Men in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, collect water on Nov. 11, 2017. Years after Hurricane Matthew nearly devastated Haiti, its vulnerability only increases. Reuters/Martinez Casares

Around the world, the health care debate often revolves around access.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, recently announced: “All roads lead to universal health coverage.” Discussions for how to translate this vision into a road map for action is central to the agenda of the WHO’s executive board meeting this week in Geneva.

Yet focusing on access is not enough. The imperative for access must be paired with a frank acknowledgment that climate change is making communities around the world more vulnerable to ill health. A 2017 commission of The Lancet, a leading health research journal, tracked the effects of climate change on health and found evidence of harms “far worse that previously understood.”

Even as we move to close the access gap, a string of natural disasters in late 2017, including successive hurricanes and widespread forest fires, threaten to widen the vulnerability gap.

As a global health professional (Sosin) and a cultural anthropologist (Kivland), we have witnessed how the global exchange of health technology, expertise and aid has contributed to dramatic gains in the delivery of health care in Haiti and other settings, especially around infectious diseases. Yet climate change threatens to undermine the health gains in vulnerable communities across the globe.

As firsthand witnesses to sharp health disparities globally, we argue that world leaders need to insist that any health care strategy must address the social and environmental vulnerabilities driving poor health in the first place.

Why climate change is worsening public health problems by Chelsey Kivland & Anne Sosin, The Conversation US, Jan 25, 2018

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun Jan 21, 2018

• How climate change is driving extreme heatwaves by Michael Lucy, Cosmos, Jan 19, 2018
• 'Significant' heatwave roasts south-eastern Australia as global records melt by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 19, 2018
• There’s No Excuse For Not Getting a Woman Scientist's Input Anymore by Brian Kahn, Earther, Jan 18, 2018
• Science in limbo as US government shuts down by Lauren Morello, Giorgia Guglielmi, Heidi Ledford, Sara Reardon, Jeff Tollefson & Alexandra Witze, Nature, Jan 20, 2018
• Trump Administration Undermines Independent Science Advice, Press Release, Union of Concerned Scientists, Jan 18, 2018
• WMO confirms 2017 among the three warmest years on record, WMO Press Release, Jan 18, 2018
• Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching has started early, biologist says by Michael Slezak, Environment, Guardian, Jan 19, 2019
• Why clouds hold the key to better climate models, Guest Post by Ellie Highwood, Carbon Brief, Jan 18, 2018

Mon Jan 22, 2018

• Climate Denial Group With Trump Admin Ties Is Funding Sea Level Research in Questionable Journals by Graham Readfearn, DeSmog, Jan 18, 2018
• Massive Storms Can Change the Shape of the Planet by Brian Kahn, Earther. Jan 18, 2018
• Explainer: What climate models tell us about future rainfall by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, Jan 21, 2018
• Insurers say Canadian weather getting hotter, wetter and weirder by Bob Weber, National Observer, Jan 21, 2018
• Switching to electric cars is key to fixing America's 'critically insufficient' climate policies by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Jan 22, 2018
• New Silencing Science Tracker Launched by The Sabin Center and Climate Science Legal Defense Fund by Romany Webb, Climate Law Blog, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Jan 19, 2018
• Lloyd's of London to divest from coal over climate change by Julia Kollewe, Environment, Guardian, Jan 21, 2018
• This big new idea for stopping climate change would cause even bigger problems, scientists say by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Jan 22, 2018

Tue Jan 23, 2018

• How engineering earth’s climate could seriously imperil life by Matt Simon, Science, Wired, Jan 22, 2018
• Climate change and snowmelt—turn up the heat, but what about humidity?, Phys.org, Jan 22, 2018
• On the Chesapeake, A Precarious Future of Rising Seas and High Tides by Tom Horton, Yale Environment 360, Jan 22, 2018
• Trump's Solar Tariffs Mark Biggest Blow to Renewables Yet by Brian Eckhouse, Ari Natter & Chris Martin, Bloomberg News, Jan 22, 2018
• 2018 could see wave of West Coast climate pollution pricing by Gregory Scruggs, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jan 17, 2018
• When Will Science Get Its #Metoo Moment?, Opinion by Sarah E Myhre, Newsweek, Jan 23, 2018
• Fighting Climate Change? We’re Not Even Landing a Punch by Eduardo Porter, New York Times, Jan 23, 2018
• The claim of reduced uncertainty for equilibrium climate sensitivity is premature by Rasmus Benestad, Real Climate, Jan 21, 2018

Wed Jan 24, 2018

• Survey Results Show Christians Becoming Less Concerned About the Environment, Newswise, Jan 23, 2018
• Ask the Expert: Does Rising CO₂Benefit Plants? by Anne Sneed, Scientific American, Jan 23, 2018
• The trouble with Trump leaving climate change to the military by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Jan 23, 2018
• Storm waves moved this 620-ton boulder, scientists say — a stunning testament to the ocean’s power by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Jan 23, 2018
• Another East Bay city sues oil companies over climate change by Denis Cuff, East Bay News, Jan 22, 2018
• Bigger, Faster Avalanches,Triggered by Climate Change by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Climate, New York Times, Jan 23, 2018
• Global temperature targets will be missed within decades unless carbon emissions reversed, News, University of Southampton, Jan 22, 2018
• Climate change: is the glass half full or half empty? by Feike Sybesma, World Economic Forum, Jan 24, 2018

Thu Jan 25, 2018

• Angela Merkel at Davos: we need global cooperation, not walls by Ceri Parker, World Economic Fourm (WEF), Jan 24, 2018
• The enduring appeal of conspiracy theories, by Melissa Hogenboom, future, BBC News, Jan 24, 2018
• That Sinking Feeling by Gaby Galvin, Best Country, U.S. News & World Report, Jan 24, 2017
• Macron’s climate charm offensive continues with Davos Trump jibe by Megan Darby, Climate Home, Jan 24, 2018
• In less than 3 months, a major international city will likely run out of water by Paul P. Murphy, CNN, Jam 24, 2018
• AI Could Find Homes for Millions of Refugees Displaced by Climate Change by Kyree Leary, Futurism, Jan 23, 2018
• Trump Officials, Energy Execs Speak Together at Conference Sponsored by Climate Denier Groups by Itai Vardi, DeSmog, Jan 25, 2018
• Weather.com devoted its entire site to climate change today. Here’s why. by Angela Fritz, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Jan 25, 2018

Fri Jan 26, 2018

• A volcano in the Philippines is threatening a major eruption by Umair Irfan, Science & Health, Vox, Jan 25, 2018
• Davos 2018: climate change rhetoric and reality by Megan Darby & Karl Mathiesen, Climate Home, Jan 23, 2018
• Macron at Davos: I will shut all coal-fired power stations by 2021 by Ceri Parker, World Economic Forum (WEF), Jan 24, 2018
• Davos Lauds China’s Climate Efforts Even as Emissions Rise by Keith Bradsher & Lisa Friedman, Business Day, New York Times, Jan 25, 2018
• EPA ends clean air policy opposed by fossil fuel interests, by Michael Biesecker, AP News, Jan 25, 2018
• Trump Promised to Ignore Climate Change But Have Clean Air. He Lied. by Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, New York Magazine, Jan 26, 2018
• At Davos, bosses paint climate change as $7 trillion opportunity by Alex Whiting, Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 26, 2018
• Hurricane Center: Harvey’s ‘overwhelming’ rains were likely nation’s most extreme ever by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Jan 25, 2018

Sat Jan 27, 2018

• Overlooked Tiny Air Pollutants Can Have Major Climate Impact by Sabrina Shankman, InsideClimate News, Jan 25, 2018
• Why climate change is worsening public health problems by Chelsey Kivland & Anne Sosin, The Conversation US, Jan 25, 2018
• The Mercers, Trump’s Billionaire Megadonors, Ramp Up Climate Change Denial Funding by Alexander C. Kaufman, HuffPost, Jan 25, 2018
• In 2017, the oceans were by far the hottest ever recorded by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Jan 26, 2018
• Climate change and deforestation threaten world’s largest tropical peatland by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Jan 25, 2018
• Weather from the Ground Up: How Biodiversity Can Help Shape Local Climate by Adam Sacks, Category 6, Weather Underground, Jan 23, 2018

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The Daily Telegraph’s story about herb/drug interactions

Herb/drug interactions are important, much-neglected and potentially dangerous. We have covered this issue several times, e. g. here. Recently, a valuable new paper has been published on the subject in a respected journal. Here is the abstract:

AIM:
The aim of this review was to assess the severity of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) due to […]

Read the rest here: The Daily Telegraph’s story about herb/drug interactions

Acupuncture: poor research leading false-positive conclusions. In my view, this is scientific misconduct

The aim of this three-armed, parallel, randomized exploratory study was to determine, if two types of acupuncture (auricular acupuncture [AA] and traditional Chinese acupuncture [TCA]) were feasible and more effective than usual care (UC) alone for TBI–related headache. The subjects were previously deployed Service members (18–69 years old) with mild-to-moderate TBI and headaches. The interventions explored […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture: poor research leading false-positive conclusions. In my view, this is scientific misconduct

Exercise improves cognitive function + a challenge to fans of alternative medicine

As I have stated repeatedly, I am constantly on the look-out for positive news about alternative medicine. Usually, I find plenty – but when I scrutinise it, it tends to crumble in the type of misleading report that I often write about on this blog. Truly good research in alternative medicine is hard to find, […]

Read the rest here: Exercise improves cognitive function + a challenge to fans of alternative medicine

Banning ineffective medicines on the NHS is “illogical and ill-informed”

An article in the medical magazine ‘GP’ caught my eye. In it, a GP from Southampton argues that it is counter-productive for the NHS to ban ineffective treatments. Here are a few excerpts (my comments are inserted in brackets and are in bold print):

START OF QUOTES NHS England’s recent decision requiring GPs stop prescribing […]

Read the rest here: Banning ineffective medicines on the NHS is “illogical and ill-informed”

This is the shortest post I have ever written

A man is caught paying with fake money – gets arrested.
A man sells false insurance policies – gets arrested.
A man sells phoney investments – gets arrested.
A man traffics ‘diamonds’ made of glass – gets arrested.
A man flogs a car that does not work – gets arrested.
A silversmith fakes the hallmarks […]

Read the rest here: This is the shortest post I have ever written

A ‘systematic’ review of health retreats: more advertising than science

This systematic review aimed to identify and explore published studies on the health, wellbeing and economic impact of retreat experiences. Three electronic databases were searched for residential retreat studies published in English. Studies were included, if they involved an intervention program in a residential setting of one or more nights, and included before-and-after data related […]

Read the rest here: A ‘systematic’ review of health retreats: more advertising than science

…but my therapy DOES work … only recently, it cured a patient!

How often have we heard this? YOU ARE WRONG! MY TREATMENT DOES WORK!!! ONLY THE OTHER DAY, I HAD A PATIENT WHO WAS CURED BY IT.

Take for instance this tweet I got yesterday:

F SThomas‏ @spenthomf You go too far @EdzardErnst . In fact I was consulted about a child who hadn’t grown after an […]

Read the rest here: …but my therapy DOES work … only recently, it cured a patient!

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #2

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. 

Editor's Pick

Wildfires, sea level rise, coral bleaching: Climate change is already here

 

(Clockwise from top left: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times; Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times; Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times; John McConnico / Associated Press)

From extreme wildfires in the Western United States to melting ice sheets in Antarctica, the effects of rising temperatures on Earth have not gone unnoticed.

On Thursday, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced 2017 was at least the third hottest year on record. The year 2016 holds the record as the hottest. Before that, the record was set in 2015. Before that, it was 2014.

Both agencies linked the record-breaking temperatures to human-caused climate change. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released by cars, factories and power plants trap more heat in the atmosphere, causing temperatures to climb upward.

Although the most severe consequences of this warming have yet to come — especially if greenhouse gas emissions remain at current levels — some of the effects have already been felt. Scientists, public health officials and even the Pentagon are watching with great concern. Here’s a look at some of those effects:

Wildfires, sea level rise, coral bleaching: Climate change is already here by Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, Jan 18, 2018

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun Jan 14, 2018

• Tiny individual decisions really could help avert climate chaos, Comment by Adam Corner, New Scientist, Jan 12, 2018 
• America's Most Pressing Threat? Climate Change, Opinion by James Staridvis, Bloomberg Views, Jan 11, 2018
• Jet Stream Changes Since 1960s Linked to More Extreme Weather by Mari N. Jensen, UA News, Jan 12, 2018
• Sea levels off Dutch coast highest ever recorded in 2017, Agence France-Presse (AFP), IPR, Jan 13, 2018
• These Climate Change Emojis Are Peak 2018 by Yessenia Funes, Justice, Earther, Jan 11, 2018
• Exxon Ramps Up Free Speech Argument in Fighting Climate Fraud Investigations by David Hasmyer, InsideClimate News, Jan 13, 2018
• January 2018 La Niña update: summiting the peak by Tom Di Liberto, ENSO Blog, NOAA's Climate.gov, Jan 11, 2018
• L.A. lawmakers look to sue big oil companies over climate change — and the costs that stem from it by David Zahnhiser, Los Angeles Times, Jan 13, 2018

Mon Jan 15, 2018

• Severe heatwave headed for Sydney and eastern NSW, with more days in the 40s likely by Peter Hannam, Environment, Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 15, 2018
• China leading on world’s clean energy investment, says report by Jocelyn Temperley, Carbon Brief, Jan 9, 2018
• 1.5 Degrees Warming and the Search for Climate Justice for the Poor by John H Cushman Jr, InsideClimate News, Jan 12, 2018
• How a Coal Baron’s Wish List Became President Trump’s To-Do List by Lisa Friedman, Climate, New York Times, Jan 9, 2018
• Snowpack Near Record Lows Spells Trouble for Western Water Supplies by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, Jan 15, 2018
• Q&A: How do climate models work? by Robert McSweeney & Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, Jan 15, 2018
• Powering up: rooftop solar installations jump by half to hit record 1GW in 2017 by Peter Hannam, Envoironment, Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 16, 2018
• 'It was like Niagara Falls': how California's rich and poor united against a tide of mud by Rory Carroll. The Observer/Guardian, Jan 14, 2018

Tue Jan 16, 2018

• New research, January 1-7, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Jan 12, 2018
• How Australia's extreme heat might be here to stay by Adam Morton, BBC News, Jan 13, 2018
• China wants to dominate the world’s green energy markets – here’s why by Chris G. Pope, The Conversation UK, Jan 12, 2018
• Could biodiversity destruction lead to a global tipping point? by Jeremy Hance, Envioronment, Guardian, Jan 16, 2018
• A Foreboding Similarity in Today’s Oceans and a 94-Million-Year-Old Catastrophe by Peter Brannen, The Atlantic, Jan 12, 2018
• Human Emissions Made Ocean Heat Wave 53 Times More Likely by Craig Welch, National Geographic, Jan 16, 2018
• German power sector: coal and nuclear down, renewables up in 2017 by Graig Morris, Energy Transition-The Global Energiewende, Jan 11, 2018
• Study finds that global warming exacerbates refugee crises by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Jan 15, 2018

Wed Jan 17, 2018

• Flaws of Lüdecke & Weiss by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Jan 16, 2018
• Rising sea swamps island along Bengal coast by Joydeep Gupta, thethirdpole.net, Jan 15, 2018
• 'Bomb-cyclone' weather in a warming world, This is Not Cool video by Peter Sinclair, Yale Climate Connections, Jan 11, 2018
• Timeline: The history of climate modelling by Leo Hickman, Carbon Brief, Jan 16, 2018
• Scott Pruitt insincerely asked what's Earth's ideal temperature. Scientists answer by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Jan 17, 2018
• Climate scientists say they may be able to rule out the worst-case scenarios — and the best ones by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Jan 17, 2018
• In Colorado, a glimpse of renewable energy’s insanely cheap future by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Jan 16, 2018
• Is warming in the Arctic behind this year’s crazy winter weather? by Jennifer Francis, The Conversation US, Jan 11, 2018

Thu Jan 18, 2018

• Christianity Is Not Getting Greener by Niina Heikkinen, ClimateWire/Scientific American, Jan 16, 2018
• Turning Soybeans Into Diesel Fuel Is Costing Us Billions by Dan Charles, NPR, Jan 16, 2018
• Imagination and Will in the Anthropocene by Laurie Laybourn-Langton, Open Democracy, Jan 16, 2018
• US unilateralism makes tacking climate change harder, WEF warns by Larry Elliott, Davos, Guardian, Jan 17, 2018
• How to Achieve Zero Emissions, Even if the Federal Government Won't Help by C.J. Polychroniou, Truthout, Jan 17, 2018
• The planet just had its hottest 4 years in recorded history. Trump is dismantling efforts to fight climate change. by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Jan 18, 2018
• Trump Administration Deserts Science Advisory Boards Across Agencies by Georgina Gustin, InsideClimate News, Jan 18, 2018
• In-depth: Scientists discuss how to improve climate models, Carbon Brief, Jan 17, 2018

Fri Jan 19, 2018

• Germany and Bangladesh sign €330m deal to fight climate change, Climate Action, Jan 16, 2018
• One year in, Trump's environmental agenda is already taking a measurable toll by Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times, Jan 18, 2018
• The latest winter storms have been deadly. But are cold snaps deadlier than heat waves? by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, Jan 18, 2018
• New study ‘reduces uncertainty’ for climate sensitivity by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Jan 17, 2018
• This graphic explains why 2 degrees of global warming will be way worse than 1.5 by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Jan 18, 2018
• Long-term warming trend continued in 2017: NASA, NOAA, NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Jan 18, 2018
• Rising CO2 affecting freshwater three times faster than saltwater by Karen Graham, Digital Journal, Jan 14, 2018
• 2017 Was Another Year of Amazing Heat. It’s not Natural, and It IS the Greenhouse Gases by Dan Satterfield, Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal, AGU Blogosphere, Jan 18, 2018

Sat Jan 20, 2018

• New research, January 8-14, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Scince, Jan 19, 2018
• EPA - Government must prepare Superfund sites for climate change Karen Graham, Digital Journal, Jan 14, 2018
• Wildfires, sea level rise, coral bleaching: Climate change is already here by Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, Jan 18, 2018
• Will the weather get worse in 2018? What the experts say by Lindsay Beevers , The Conversation UK, Jan 11, 2018
• Coral reefs 'at make or break point', UN environment head says by Michael Slezak, Guardian, Jan 19, 2018
• Well, At Least One Catastrophic Climate Scenario Is Looking Less Likely by Maaddie Stone, Earther, Jan 18, 2018

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Homeopathic child abuse of the worst kind

Brace yourself: the wonders of homeopathy seem to be without limits. You can even increase the height of your children with homeopathy!

This website explains in some detail:
SBL Rite-Hite Tablets growth promoter homeopathic medicine is indicated for children who do not grow or develop satisfactorily, suffer feeble digestion & imperfect assimilation, anemia, lack of […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathic child abuse of the worst kind

More harm than good?

Our new book entitled MORE HARM THAN GOOD? THE MORAL MAZE OF COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE is out. At the moment merely as an e-book, but in a few days the paperback will be available too. Yesterday, Kevin Smith and I were invited to a press briefing at the London SCIENCE MEDIA CENTRE.

On this […] Read the rest here: More harm than good?

“Building a better future for homeopathy” … Really? …. Should we not be building a better future for patients?

On their website, the British Homeopathic Association (BHA) have launched their annual winter appeal. Its theme this year is ‘building a better future for homeopathy’. The appeal is aimed at the following specific goals:

• Continuously fighting to retain NHS services in the UK by supporting local patients & groups and providing swift media responses employing […]

Read the rest here: “Building a better future for homeopathy” … Really? …. Should we not be building a better future for patients?

Colleen Huber vs Britt Hermes

‘Doctor’ Colleen Huber (DCH) is the US naturopath who is currently suing Britt Hermes. For me, this is enough reason to do a bit of reading and find out who DCH is and what motivates her. Here is what I found out (I added some * to the quotes [all in italics] and comments below).

DCH has an impressive presence on the Internet […] Read the rest here: Colleen Huber vs Britt Hermes

The ‘Dunning-Kruger Effect’: how it explains alternative medicine

A cognitive bias known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect has, I think, considerable relevance in alternative medicine. The effect means that, the less you know, the less able you are to recognize how little you know, and the less likely you are to recognize your limitations. Consequently, your confidence in yourself is inflated and you believe […]

Read the rest here: The ‘Dunning-Kruger Effect’: how it explains alternative medicine

Eugenics, UCL and freedom of speech

Jump to follow-up On Monday evening (8th January 2018), I got an email from Ben van der Merwe, a UCL student who works as a reporter for the student newspaper, London Student.  He said “Our investigation has found a ring of academic psychologists associated with Richard Lynn’s journal Mankind Quarterly to [...]

DC's Improbable Science: Truth, falsehood and evidence: investigations of dubious and dishonest science

Read the rest at: Eugenics, UCL and freedom of speech

The ‘Dorn Method’ – relatively new and totally bogus

Recently, I was asked about the ‘Dorn Method’. In alternative medicine, it sometimes seems that everyone who manages to write his family name correctly has inaugurated his very own therapy. It is therefore a tall order to aim at blogging about them all. But that’s been my goal all along, and after more than 1,000 […]

Read the rest here: The ‘Dorn Method’ – relatively new and totally bogus

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #2

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. 

Editor's Pick

Climate change is triggering a migrant crisis in Vietnam 

Harvesting rice. Phuong D. Nguyen / Shutterstock.com

The Vietnamese Mekong Delta is one of Earth’s most agriculturally productive regions and is of global importance for its exports of rice, shrimp, and fruit. The 18m inhabitants of this low-lying river delta are also some of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change. Over the last ten years around 1.7m people have migrated out of its vast expanse of fields, rivers and canals while only 700,000 have arrived.

On a global level migration to urban areas remains as high as ever: one person in every 200moves from rural areas to the city every year. Against this backdrop it is difficult to attribute migration to individual causes, not least because it can be challenging to find people who have left a region in order to ask why they went and because every local context is unique. But the high net rate of migration away from Mekong Delta provinces is more than double the national average, and even higher in its most climate-vulnerable areas. This implies that there is something else – probably climate-related – going on here.

Climate change is triggering a migrant crisis in Vietnam by Alex Chapman & Van Pham Dang Tri, The Conversation UK, Jan 9, 2018 

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun Jan 7, 2018

• Hot topic: How climate change is impacting the UAE and Gulf by Waheed Abbas, Kahleej Times (Dubai), Jan 6, 2018
• Nowhere to Hide from Climate Change by Pascal Laureyn, Inter Press Service (IPS), Jan 2, 2018
• Sydney hits its highest temperature recorded since 1939 with Penrith reaching 47.3C, ABC News (Australia), Jan 7, 2018
• Cooking the books on climate change by Eryk Bagshaw, Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 8, 2018
• Getting to 350: What It Will Take to Fix Global Warming, Analysis by Peter Montague, Truthout, Jan 6, 2018
• Climate Change Has Quadrupled Ocean ‘Dead Zones,’ Researchers Warn by Mary Papenfuss, HuffPost, Jan 6, 2018

Mon Jan 8, 2018

• LOL Something Matters by Daniel Engber, Science, Slate, Jan 3, 2018
• UNM meteorologist says Southwest ‘on front lines … of climate change’ by Rebecca Moss, The New Mexican, Jan 6, 2018
• How Climate Change forces Rural Vulnerabilities,& Human Migration to major Cities in Africa, African Climate Reporters, Jan 6, 2018
• Sydney swelters on hottest day since 1939 as mercury hits 47.3C, BBC News, Jan 7, 2018
• The Ocean Floor Is Sinking Under The Water Weight From Melting Glaciers, And It’s As Bad As It Sounds by Dana Dovey, Newsweek, Jan 8, 2018
• Which works better: climate fear, or climate hope? Well, it's complicated, Opnion by Lucia Graves, Climate Change, Guardian, Jan 4, 2018
• US hits record for costly weather disasters: $306 billion by Seth Borenstein, AP News, Jan 8. 2018
• German coalition negotiators agree to scrap 2020 climate target - sources by Markus Waket, Reuters, Jan 8, 2018

Tue Jan 9, 2018

• Ocean Acidification Changing Mussel Shell Structure, E360 Digest, Yale Environment 360, Jan 8, 2018
• Cooperation to curb Asia’s climate risks still too rare – scientists by Saleem Shaikh & Sughra Tunio, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jan 8, 2018
• In New York, Drawing Flood Maps Is a ‘Game of Inches by David W Chen, New York Times, Jan 7, 2018
• Charcoal business threatens African Forestry, African Climate Reporters, Jan 8, 2018
• Evaluating biases in Sea Surface Temperature records using coastal weather stations by Kevin C, Skeptical Science, Jan 8, 2018
• Alaska releases first detailed report on negative health impacts of climate change by Tegan Hanlon, Anchorage Daily News, Jan 8, 2018
• The 'imminent mini ice age' myth is back, and it's still wrong by Dana Nuccitelli, Clmate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Jan 9, 2018
• Rick Perry’s proposed coal bailout just died an unceremonious death by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Jan 9, 2018

Wed Jan 10, 2018

• Australia's emissions are rising. It's time for this government to quit pretending by Greg Jericho, Guardian, Jan 9, 2018
• UK government slashes outlook for new gas power plants, Analysis, Carbon Brief, Jan 8, 2018
• Middle ground: Fertile for climate change dialogue by Karin Kirk, Yale Climate Communications, Jan 8, 2018
• Southern California mudslides wipe out homes, leaving 13 dead by Darran Simon, Paul Vercammen & Faith Karimi, CNN, Jan 10, 2018
• 2017 Was the Third Hottest Year on Record for the U.S. by Scott Waldman, ClimateWire/Scientific American, Jan 9, 2018
• NASA just made a stunning discovery about how fracking fuels global warming by Joe Romm, Think Progress, Jan 9, 2018
• How Much Has ‘Climate Change’ Been Scrubbed From Federal Websites? A Lot. by Coral Davenport, Climate, New York Times, Jan 10, 2018
• Trump Just Let Florida Block Offshore Drilling. That’s a Scandal. by Eric Levitz, New York Magazine, Jan 10, 2018

Thu Jan 11, 2018

• The impact of climate change on the Antarctic, EuroNews, Jan 9, 2018
• The Key To Slowing Global Warming by Riduna, Skeptical Science, Jan 10, 2018
• Scientists say 'dead zones' like those in Chesapeake have grown four-fold across oceans, threaten marine life by Scott Dance, The Baltimore Sun, Jan 7, 2018
• Baloney Meter: will the Liberal carbon tax really mean paying more for everything? by Mia Robson, Canadian Press/National Observer, Jan 11, 2018
• Climate Change Is Altering Lakes and Streams, Study Suggests by Carl Zimmer, Science, New York Times, Jan 11, 2018
• New York City sues five oil giants for causing climate 'tragedy' by Carl Meyer, National Observer, Jan 10, 2018
• Warming will put millions more at flood risk in next 20 years - scientists by Alex Whiting, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jan 10, 2018
• Wind & Solar + Storage Prices Smash Records by Christopher Arcus, CleanTehnica, Jan 11, 2018

Fri Jan 12, 2018

• Ecosystems Are Collapsing, Food Bowls Are Next by David Fickling, Bloomberg Gladfy, Jan 8, 2018
• Solar steam powers homes – and new jobs – in South Africa by Munyaradzi Makoni, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jan 11, 2018
• That Recent Brutally Cold Weather? It’s Getting Rarer by Henry Fountain, Climate, New York Times, Jan 11, 2018
• Nuclear debacle energizes push for solar power expansion by Sammy Fretwell, The State (Columbia, SC), Jan 9, 2018
• 5 of the biggest planned renewable energy projects in the world by Climate Action, Jan 11, 2018
• As Trump's fossil-fuel 'energy dominance' plan founders, a crucial solar energy decision nears by Keith Schneider, Los Angeles Times, Jan 10, 2018
• In a fast-warming world, scientists say recent cold wave was exceptionally weird by Jason Samenow, Captial Weather Gang, Washington Post, Jan 11, 2018
• Even a small cut in global warming will help slow sea level rise by Olive Heffernan, New Scientist, Jan 12, 2018

Sat Jan 13, 2018

• Climate change is triggering a migrant crisis in Vietnam by Alex Chapman & Van Pham Dang Tri, The Conversation UK, Jan 9, 2018
• After an Uncertain Start, U.S. Offshore Wind Is Powering Up by Roger Drouin, Yale Enviroment 360, Jan 11, 2018
• El Niño causes West Antarctica’s ice shelves to gain height yet lose mass by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, Jan 8. 2018
• “Climate change” and “global warming” are disappearing from government websites by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, Jan 11, 2018
• Offshore Drilling Plan Under Fire: Zinke May Have Violated Law, Senator Says by Sabrina Shankman, InsideClimate News, Jan 11, 2018
• Climate Change in My Backyard, Opinion by Leah C Stokes, New York Times, Jan 11, 2018

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‘Censored for curing cancer’: the Gerson re-visited

This announcement caught my eye:

START OF 1st QUOTE
Dr Patrick Vickers of the Northern Baja Gerson Centre, Mexico will deliver a two hour riveting lecture of ‘The American Experience of Dr Max Gerson, M.D.’ 
The lecture will present the indisputable science supporting the Gerson Therapy and its ability to reverse advanced disease. Dr Vickers […]

Read the rest here: ‘Censored for curing cancer’: the Gerson re-visited

Critical thinking is good for you – please give it a try!

This blog is almost entirely about critical thinking as it applies to the realm of alternative medicine, and I have written about it more often than I care to remember. For instance, in one post I concluded that criticism  in alternative medicine is directed almost exclusively towards those who are outside the realm. Criticism from the inside […]

Read the rest here: Critical thinking is good for you – please give it a try!

Chiropractors and naturopaths should keep their hands off our kids, if you ask me

This survey assessed chiropractic (DC) and naturopathic “doctors”‘ (ND) knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour with respect to the pediatric patients in their practice. Cross-sectional surveys were developed in collaboration with DC and ND educators. Surveys were sent to randomly selected DCs and NDs in Ontario, Canada in 2004, and a national online survey was conducted in […]

Read the rest here: Chiropractors and naturopaths should keep their hands off our kids, if you ask me

Chinese herbs for Alzheimer’s disease? An excellent example of how fatally flawed research misleads us all

Can conventional therapy (CT) be combined with herbal therapy (CT + H) in the management of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to the benefit of patients? This was the question investigated by Chinese researchers in a recent retrospective cohort study funded by grants from China Ministry of Education, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing Municipal Science and Technology […]

Read the rest here: Chinese herbs for Alzheimer’s disease? An excellent example of how fatally flawed research misleads us all

Fighting for Homeopathy on the NHS

This is the title of an editorial by Alan Schmukler. You probably remember him; I have featured him before, for instance here, here, and here. This is what was recently on Schmukler’s mind (I have added a few references referring to comments of mine added below):

England’s National Health Service (NHS) is proposing that NHS […]

Read the rest here: Fighting for Homeopathy on the NHS

Homeopathy: the 2005 NHMRC report and its criticism re-analysed

We have discussed the NHMRC report on homeopathy several times – see, for instance, here, here and here. Perhaps understandably, homeopaths have great difficulties accepting its negative findings, and have complained about it ever since it was published. Now, a very detailed and well-researched analysis has become available of both the report and its criticism. Here […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathy: the 2005 NHMRC report and its criticism re-analysed

“The cancer industry is a medical conspiracy against humanity” (The Turmeric story)

The title of this post is a statement recently made in an article by Mike Adams in ‘Alternative Medicine News’:

The cancer industry goes to great lengths to deny patients access to any information that they might use to prevent, treat or cure cancer without requiring expensive (and highly toxic) medical interventions. That’s what makes […]

Read the rest here: “The cancer industry is a medical conspiracy against humanity” (The Turmeric story)

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #1

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. 

Editor's Pick

Show this cartoon to anyone who doubts we need huge action on climate change

 

This story focuses on a scenario from climate scientist Joeri Rogelj, which would give us a 66 percent chance at limiting warming to 2 degrees, which would requires no emissions by 2065, followed by negative emissions. But a previous version of this story said we would need to reach no emissions by 2050, which is part of a scenario in which we give ourselves a 50 percent chance at staying under 1.5 degrees warming — a far less realistic goal.

Show this cartoon to anyone who doubts we need huge action on climate change by Alvin Chang and David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Jan 5, 2018 

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun Dec 31, 2017

• A great year for clean energy in Australia ends, while bad news for coal continues, Opinion by Simon Holmes à Court, Energy, Guardian, Dec 30, 2017
• One appliance could determine whether India, and the world, meet climate change targets by Shashank Bengali, Los Angeles Times, Dec 29, 2017
• The Political Responsibility in the Collapse of Our Planet, Robert Savio, Inter Press Service (IPS), Dec 27, 2017
• Climate Change 2017: What Happened and What It Means, Analysis by Bruce Melton, Truthout, Dec 30, 2017
• It Doesn’t Matter How Cold it is Today. Global Warming is Killing People. by Lou Del Bello, Earth & Energy, Futurism, Dec 29, 2017
• Hurricanes and heatwaves: stark signs of climate change 'new normal' by Oliver Milman, Climte Change, Guardian, Dec 28, 2017
• Experts Say We Should Tax Meat Eaters the Same Way We Tax Smokers by Lou Del Bello, Earth & Energy, Futurie Society, Futurism, Dec 26, 2017
• Hans Rosling On Why Rich Countries Need To Tackle Climate Change Differently by Heather Farmbrough, Forbes, Dec 31, 2017

Mon Jan 1, 2018

• Cabinet papers: Keating MPs considered carbon tax to tackle climate change by Anne Davis, Guardian, Dec 31, 2017
• Scientists find that a saltier sea is a warning of floods to come by Samantha Harrington, Yale Climate Connection, Dec 28, 2017
• Can agriculture and the climate fix their 'unhappy marriage' in 2018?, Analyis by Thin Lei Win, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Dec 28, 2017
• Vehicles are now America's biggest CO2 source but EPA is tearing up regulations by Oliver Milman, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Guardian, Jan 1, 2018
• Resilience in 2017: Five communities looking after their own future by Adela Suliman, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Dec 29, 2017
• To round out a year of rollbacks, the Trump administration just repealed key regulations on fracking by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Dec 29, 2017
• Climate Change Places a Major Economic Burden on Future Generations by Brad Bergan & Chelsea Gohd, Future of Society, Furturism, Jan 1, 2018
• Taking the human response into account in climate change, Discoveries, ASU Now, Jan 1, 2018

Tue Jan 2, 2018

• Climate change: Lack of coordination, unimplemented policies put environment at risk by Shahzad Anwar. The Express Tribune, Jan 1, 2018
• New report on January 10: Climate Change Web Content Under Trump, Press Release, Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI), Dec 31, 2017
• On its hundredth birthday in 1959, Edward Teller warned the oil industry about global warming by Benjamin Franta, Climate Consenus - the 97%, Guardian, Jan 1, 2018
• How Scott Pruitt turned the EPA into one of Trump’s most powerful tools by Brady Dennis & Brady Eilperin, Health & Sciences, Washington Post, Dec 31, 2017
• Eight energy and climate issues to watch in 2018  by Amy Harder, Axios, Jan 2, 2018
• 2017 was the hottest year on record without an El Niño, thanks to global warming by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consenus - the 97%, Guardian, Jan 2, 2018
• What rolling back the Clean Power Plan means for the US climate fight by Umair Infran, Energy & Environment, Vice, Dec 29, 2017
• Keep global warming under 1.5C or 'quarter of planet could become arid' by Hannah Devlin, Climate Change, Guardian, Jan 2, 2017

Wed Jan 3, 2018

• Scientists Can Now Blame Individual Natural Disasters on Climate Change by Chelsea Harvey, ClimateWire/Scientific America, Jan 2, 2018
• Survey: Finns increasingly concerned about climate change, Yle News, Jan 2, 2018
• The most consequential environmental stories of 2017 by Brady Dennis & Darryl Fears, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Jan 1, 2018
• It’s Not Too Late: A Climate Change New Year’s Resolution by Nicholas Kusnetz, InsideClimate News, Jan 2, 2018
• Science Says: Why there's a big chill in a warmer world by Seth Borenstein, AP News, Jan 3, 2018
• Linking extreme weather to climate change could help curb carbon emissions by Sarah DeWeerdt, Anthropocene, Jan 2, 2018
• Large Antarctic snowfall increases could counter sea level rise, scientists say by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Jan 3, 2018
• 2017 in Review: looking back at 10 years of SkS and more by BaerbelW, Skeptical Science, Jan 3, 2018

Thu Jan 4, 2018

• Suzuki's list of climate actions to protect our 'imperilled biosphere' in 2018, Opinion by David Suzuki, National Observer, Jan 3, 2018
• What Will It Really Take to Avoid Collapse? by Jeremy Lent, MAHB, Jan 2, 2018
• Is Chocolate 'On Track To Go Extinct' in 40 Years? by Alex Kasprak, Snopes, Jan 2, 2018
• As Temperatures Dip, Some Wonder How Global Warming Exists by Lauren Casey, CBS Philly, Jan 3, 2018
• The Year Climate Change Began to Spin Out of Control by James Temple, MIT Technology Review, Jan 4, 2018
• NASA-led study solves a methane puzzle by Carol Rasmussen, NASA Global Climate Change, Jan 2, 2018
• Climate Advisory Panel Disbanded by Trump Is Revived—But Not By the Feds, State of the Planet, Earth Institute, Columbia University, Jan 3, 2018
• Baked Alaska and 2017 in review, Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis, NSIDC, Jan 3, 2018

Fri Jan 5, 2018

• As an EPA intern, I was barred from mentioning climate change by Katie Miller, Outlook, Washington Post, Jan 3, 2018
• Scientists Find Surprising Evidence Of Rapid Changes in the Arctic, News Release, Woods Hole Oceanographic, Jan 3, 2018
• Analysis: Low-carbon sources generated more UK electricity than fossil fuels in 2017 by Simon Evans, Carbon Brief, Jan 3, 2018
• U.S. Fails to Submit Reports on 1 January as Required Under U.N. Climate Treaty by Nicky Sundt, Climate Science & Policy Watch, Jan 4, 2018
• Severe coral reef bleaching now ‘five times more frequent’ than 40 years ago by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Jan 4, 2018
• Show this cartoon to anyone who doubts we need huge action on climate change by Alvin Chang and David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Jan 5, 2018
• How climate change could counterintuitively feed winter storms by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Jan 4, 2018
• Winter storm 2018: almost the entire East Coast is covered in snow by Brian Resnick, Science & Health, Vox, Jan 5, 2018

Sat Jan 6, 2018

• New research, December 25-31, 2017 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Jan 5, 2018
• Low oxygen levels, coral bleaching getting worse in oceans by Seth Borenstein, AP News, Jan 4, 2018
• Trump’s Disdain for Science, Opinion by Neal F. Lane & Michael Riordan, New York Times, Jan 4, 2018
• Empowering Women Could Reduce Climate Change by Jessica Williamson, Vice Impact, Jan 4, 2018
• Erosion May Transform the Arctic Food Chain by Chelsea Harvey, ClimateWire/Scientific American, Jan 4, 2018
• Trump Administration Proposes Massive Expansion of Offshore Drilling by Alexander C Kaufman & Chris D'Angelo, HuffPost, Jan 4, 2018
• Environmental Justice Grabs a Megaphone in the Climate Movement by Phil McKenna, InsideClimate News, Jan 5, 2018
• 'All happening very quickly': Tesla battery sends a jolt through energy markets  by Peter Hannam, The Sydney Morning Herald, January 6, 2018

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