Acupuncture: much more than meets the eye!

Acupuncture is often promoted as a totally safe therapy. This may be good advertising but, as we have so often discussed on this blog, it is not true. A recent paper evaluated 17 systematic reviews on this subject. Four major categories of adverse effects (AEs) were identified: organ or tissue injuries (13 reviews, median: 36 […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture: much more than meets the eye!

Prince Charles is visiting Germany

Prince Charles is visiting Germany. According to the British press, he will say (or, by now, probably has said): “… Our countries and our people have been through so much together… As we look towards the future, I can only hope that we can also pledge to redouble our commitment to each other and to […]

Read the rest here: Prince Charles is visiting Germany

American Loon #2186: Joel Rosenberg

Joel C. Rosenberg is a fundie communications strategist, founder of The Joshua Fund, and author of the rather popular Last Jihad series. The latter details, in the form of novels, how Rosenberg, a Messianic Jew (or something similar), interprets terrorism in light of Bible prophecy....

Read the full lunacy: #2186: Joel Rosenberg Encyclopedia of American Loons

The FDA warns: homeopathic firms are putting patients at risk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted warning letters to 4 US companies producing homeopathic products for significant violations of current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations, including a letter to King Bio Inc. of Asheville, N.C. The FDA previously warned the public about the agency’s serious concerns with the quality of drug products produced by […]

Read the rest here: The FDA warns: homeopathic firms are putting patients at risk

American Loon #2185: Lawrence Rosen

Lawrence Rosen is an “integrative” pediatrician and chair-elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at UMDNJ/New Jersey Medical School, and Chief of Pediatric Integrative Medicine at the Joseph M....

Read the full lunacy: #2185: Lawrence Rosen Encyclopedia of American Loons

Measles on board the ‘Freewinds’ + Scientologists hoisted by their own petard

The luxury cruise ship Freewinds with about 300 passengers on board has been quarantined in port of St. Lucia after a crew member or passenger (the reports are contradictory) was diagnosed with measles. That news would not be funny – however, it gets positively hilarious when we learn that the ship is linked to the […]

Read the rest here: Measles on board the ‘Freewinds’ + Scientologists hoisted by their own petard

2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #18

Story of the Week... Interview of the Week... Toon of the Week... Photo of the Week... SkS Spotlights... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week...

Story of the Week...

Biodiversity crisis is about to put humanity at risk, UN scientists to warn

‘We are in trouble if we don’t act,’ say experts, with up to 1m species at risk of annihilation

Students protest in Adelaide. UN experts warned people alive today are at risk unless urgent action is taken. Photograph: Kelly Barnes/EPA

The world’s leading scientists will warn the planet’s life-support systems are approaching a danger zone for humanity when they release the results of the most comprehensive study of life on Earth ever undertaken.

Up to 1m species are at risk of annihilation, many within decades, according to a leaked draft of the global assessment report, which has been compiled over three years by the UN’s leading research body on nature.

The 1,800-page study will show people living today, as well as wildlife and future generations, are at risk unless urgent action is taken to reverse the loss of plants, insects and other creatures on which humanity depends for food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate.

The final wording of the summary for policymakers is being finalised in Paris by a gathering of experts and government representatives before the launch on Monday, but the overall message is already clear, according to Robert Watson, the chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). 

Biodiversity crisis is about to put humanity at risk, UN scientists to warn by Jonathan Watts, Environment, Guardian, May 3, 2019

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Interview of the Week...

Why Bill McKibben Sees Rays of Hope in a Grim Climate Picture

The world has done little to tackle global warming since Bill McKibben’s landmark book on the subject was published in 1989. In an e360 interview, McKibben talks about the critical time lost and what can be done now to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Bill McKibben CREDIT: NANCIE BATTAGLIA

Three decades ago, Bill McKibben published The End of Nature, the first book on climate change aimed at a general audience. McKibben went on to found the international environmental group 350.org, help launch the fossil fuel divestment movement, and write a dozen more non-fiction books, as well as a novel. In 2014, McKibben received the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes referred to as the “alternative Nobel,” for mobilizing popular support for “strong action to counter the threat of global climate change.”

McKibben’s latest book, Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?, was published this month and debuted last week on the New York Times bestseller list. In an interview with Yale Environment 360 , McKibben talks about why the critical time for action on climate was missed, where he still finds hope, and what the world will look like three decades from now.

“Thirty or 50 years out, the world’s going to run on sun and wind, because they’re free,” McKibben says. “The question is… what kind of world will it be?”

Why Bill McKibben Sees Rays of Hope in a Grim Climate Picture, Interview by Elizabeth Kolbert, Yale Environment 360, Apr 30, 2019 

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Toon of the Week...

 

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Photo of the Week...

Source: FB Page of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC)

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SkS Spotlights...

 

What is the rationale behind Climate Change Knowledge Portal (CCKP)?

In an effort to serve as the hub for climate-related information, data, and tools, the World Bank (WB) created the Climate Change Knowledge Portal (CCKP). The Portal provides an online platform for access to comprehensive global, regional, and country data related to climate change and development. The successful integration of scientific information in decision making often depends on the use of flexible frameworks, data, and tools that can provide comprehensive information to a wide range of users, allowing them to evaluate how to apply the scientific information to the design of a project or policy.

What does the CCKP entail? 

The CCKP provides a web-based platform to assist in capacity building and knowledge development. The portal aims to provide development practitioners with a resource to explore, evaluate, synthesize, and learn about climate-related vulnerabilities and risks at multiple levels of details. Using climate science research results to inform the decision making process concerning policies or specific measures needed to tackle climate impacts, or even to understand low carbon development processes, is often a difficult, yet crucial, undertaking.

The CCKP contains environmental, disaster risk, and socio-economic datasets, as well as synthesis products, such as the Climate Adaptation Country Profiles and Climate Smart Agriculture Profiles, which are built and packaged for specific user-focused functions in a particular country or sector. The portal also provides intelligent links to other resources and tools.

The CCKP consists of spatially and temporally referenced data. Users are able to evaluate climate-related vulnerabilities, risks, and actions for a particular location on the globe by interpreting climate and climate-related data at different levels of details.

What can users achieve using CCKP? 

• Learn about climate and climate related datasets at the global, regional, and country level.
• Enhance knowledge on climate change related topics, including exposure, vulnerability, sectoral impacts, and adaptation options.
• Assess, visualize, and download resourceful climate data and information. 

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• Former climate 'denier' regrets 'how wrongheaded but certain I was' (Karen Kirk)
• Inspiring, not depressing, film fest messages (Daisy Simmons)
• State of the climate: Heat across Earth’s surface and oceans mark early 2019 (Zeke Hausfather)
• Why my fears about climate change made me cross the line that separates academia from activism (James Dyke)
• New research this week (Ari)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19 (John Hartz)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #19 (John Hartz) 

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Climate Feedback Reviews...

[To be added.] 

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Poster of the Week...

 

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SkS Week in Review... 

• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #18 by John Hartz
• New research, April 22-28, 2019 by Ari Jokimäki
• What's Earth's ideal temperature?, YouTube Video by Climate Adam
• Climate change could cost the U.S. economy hundreds of billions a year by 2090 by Dana Nuccitelli (Yale Climate Connections)
• Rebellious Times by John Mason
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #17 by John Hartz

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Homeopaths should carry public health warnings!

A series of article in The Times yesterday (to which I had made several minor contributions) focussed on the dangers of homeoprophylaxis/homeopathic vaccinations. Sadly, the paper is behind a paywall. I therefore will try to summarise some of the relevant points. A courageous Times-reporter went under cover to extract some of the anti-vaccination views from […]

Read the rest here: Homeopaths should carry public health warnings!

American Loon #2184: Ray Rooney, jr.

The digital media editor for the American Family Association, Ray Rooney, Jr., is the kind of person who goes out of his way to warn us that “we’re surrounded by venomous LGBT activists, antagonistic atheists, vitriolic academics, Christian bashers, God haters, Muslim sympathizers,...

Read the full lunacy: #2184: Ray Rooney, jr. Encyclopedia of American Loons

‘Biofield tuning’: a new and fantastic SCAM

Biofield tuning? What on earth is this new SCAM? Do I really have a ‘biofield’? How can I tune it? And what effect does it have? Here is an article that explains all this in some detail; enjoy: While western science has yet to describe and measure this energy, other cultures, especially ancient Indian or Vedic […]

Read the rest here: ‘Biofield tuning’: a new and fantastic SCAM

‘Medical kidnapping’, right or wrong?

The three-year old Noah was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a blood cancer with a very good prognosis when treated (~85% of all children affected can be completely cured and expect to live a normal life). The child was admitted to hospital and, initially, chemotherapy was started. But the treatment was not finished, because the […]

Read the rest here: ‘Medical kidnapping’, right or wrong?

American Loon #2183: Aviva Romm

Aviva Romm is an integrative physician (she actually does, in fact, have a real medical degree), midwife, and herbalist, defender of Goop and its practices, and contributor to the astonishingly insane misinformation on the Goop website. Her association with Goop should give you a...

Read the full lunacy: #2183: Aviva Romm Encyclopedia of American Loons

A truly pitiful statement by the ‘Canadian Chiropractic Association’ about the safety of chiropractic

The Canadian Chiropractic Association (CCA)… published a report to support clearer understanding of the chiropractic profession… Here are a few crucial quotes (in bold print) from this document (my are comments in normal print). Put simply, chiropractors are spine, muscle and nervous system experts specifically trained to diagnose the underlying cause and recommend treatment options […]

Read the rest here: A truly pitiful statement by the ‘Canadian Chiropractic Association’ about the safety of chiropractic

Diaphragm palsy induced by spinal manipulation – a new case-report

Spinal manipulation has regularly been associated with serious complications, most commonly strokes due to arterial dissections. But there are several other possibilities as well. A new and unusual case report a serious complication after spinal manipulation has just been published: A 54-year-old Indian gentleman, presented to hospital with exertional dyspnoea and chest heaviness for the […]

Read the rest here: Diaphragm palsy induced by spinal manipulation – a new case-report

American Loon #2182: Stan Romanek

A veritable legend in New Age ufology circles, Stanley Tiger Romanek is a self-proclaimed alien abductee and starseed, who has built a substantial collection of “evidence” supposedly “proving” the existence of aliens. His evidence base contains plenty of photos and videos of...

Read the full lunacy: #2182: Stan Romanek (?) Encyclopedia of American Loons