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Articles by Curtis Brainard | Email the Author

 

1. The Observatory

   NSF “Underwriting” Coverage…

   July 1, 2009 10:23 AM

   LONDON — The sixth World Conference of Science Journalists got off to an enjoyably controversial start here on Tuesday afternoon. The event takes place against the backdrop of concurrent editorials in the world’s leading scientific journals, <a... Continue reading

2. The Observatory

   Climate Bill Cacophony

   May 27, 2009 10:15 AM

   Last week, the House Energy and Commerce committee approved energy and climate legislation that could put the first national cap on greenhouse-gas emissions. Many news reports called the decision a “landmark” and “historic.” Indeed... Continue reading

3. The Observatory

   Probability Problems

   May 22, 2009 11:45 AM

   A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, which found that end-of-the-century global warming could be twice as severe as previous estimates, drew a limited amount... Continue reading

4. The Observatory

   “The Mediacene Age”

   May 19, 2009 03:31 PM

   On Tuesday, The New York Times ran its second article about a 47-million-year-old skeleton that is being described as “the most complete fossil primate ever discovered.” The monkey-like creature, an entirely new genus and species, might be a... Continue reading

5. The Observatory

   The Science of Art…

   May 13, 2009 11:38 AM

   Last Thursday was the fiftieth anniversary of C.P. Snow’s famous lecture, “The Two Cultures,” which described a divide between scientists and “literary intellectuals” such as novelists, poets, and philosophers. The half-centennial provoked only a limited amount of media... Continue reading

6. The Observatory

   Magazine Mayhem

   May 5, 2009 02:40 PM

   Last week was yet another turbulent one for science journalism. Scientific American, the United States’s oldest magazine, and the American Chemical Society, which publishes a magazine and a number of journals with news content, cut staff in an effort to... Continue reading

7. The Observatory

   Swine Flu and CAFOs?

   April 29, 2009 04:45 PM

   In the search for the swine flu outbreak’s “ground zero,” blogs have called upon mainstream media to investigate the potential role of large factory farms in breeding and spreading the virus. Major news outlets have tentatively begun to do... Continue reading

8. The Observatory

   Toying with Climate Information

   April 27, 2009 05:59 PM

   The news media and blogs were rife with stories last week about politicians and journalists alike manipulating information related to climate change. The most significant was Friday’s New York Times front-page story by Andrew Revkin, “Industry Ignored Its... Continue reading

9. The Observatory

   Capturing Conversation

   April 21, 2009 10:38 AM

   On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency formally announced that heat-trapping greenhouse gases are a danger to human health and welfare, a move that could lead to the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, power plants, and other... Continue reading

10. The Observatory

    Holdren’s First Interviews

    April 10, 2009 05:20 PM

    President Barack Obama’s new science advisor, physicist John Holdren, met the press this week, with mixed results for the ensuing journalism. Holdren gave his first media interviews since being confirmed at the end of March, starting with the... Continue reading

11. The Observatory

    Post vs. Post

    April 9, 2009 10:56 AM

    On Tuesday, an article and a blog entry at The Washington Post both took the unusual step of rebutting one of the paper’s own columnists, George Will, who has drawn widespread criticism for misusing scientific data... Continue reading

12. The Observatory

    Making Space for Skeptics

    April 3, 2009 03:35 PM

    Washington Post columnist George Will was at it again on Thursday with his third column disparaging the scientific consensus behind man-made global warming in less than a month. As usual, the blogosphere delivered a quick and thorough retort.... Continue reading

13. The Observatory

    Post-Intelligent

    March 25, 2009 12:43 PM

    When the last print issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer rolled off the presses last Tuesday, it was another blow to the floundering newspaper industry—and to specialized reporting in particular. The P-I had a long history of supporting top-flight... Continue reading

14. The Observatory

    Nature’s Artificial Divide

    March 20, 2009 07:28 PM

    The illustration is excellent. As Charlie Petit described it: “a crumbling monument topped by a stack of ossified newspapers, overwhelmed by USB and laptop cables.” Such is the introductory image to Nature’s superb package, published Wednesday, on the... Continue reading

15. The Observatory

    Obama on Stem Cells

    March 18, 2009 09:00 AM

    President Obama's decision to allow federally funded scientists to work with hundreds of new embryonic stem cell lines continued to fuel media debate this week about the proper relationship between science and politics. As U.S. News & World Report <a... Continue reading

16. The Observatory

    Gallup: Many Americans Think Media Exaggerate Global Warming

    March 13, 2009 11:16 AM

    On Wednesday, the Gallup polling organization released its annual survey of environmental issues. Among the key findings: Although a majority of Americans believe the seriousness of global warming is either correctly portrayed in the news or underestimated, a... Continue reading

17. The Observatory

    Columbia Presents 2008 Oakes Award

    March 6, 2009 01:09 PM

    Writing about environmental toxicology—the ambient chemical exposure of our daily lives—has it all: public health threats, a nascent body of science, tight-lipped officials, industrial interests, and consumer unawareness. Yesterday, at Columbia University, two news outlets were rewarded for doing it... Continue reading

18. The Observatory

    The George Will Affair

    February 26, 2009 07:24 PM

    Thought the dust kicked up by George Will’s February 15 column in The Washington Post, “Dark Green Doomsayers,” had settled? Think again. On Friday, the Post will run a second column by Will addressing the widespread... Continue reading

19. The Observatory

    From Fly Ash to “Clean” Coal

    February 20, 2009 05:50 PM

    Both the American and Canadian press took a ‘Well, we’ll see,’ attitude toward the announcement yesterday that President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper will collaborate on clean-energy efforts. Obama, however, made a very <a href=http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/590305... Continue reading

20. The Observatory

    Lingering Denial

    February 18, 2009 11:15 AM

    Last week at the Huffington Post, John Delicath, the director of the Media Matters Action Network, quoted an article of mine from last month, titled "The Price is Right, Energy Edition": "[T]he press has accepted the... Continue reading

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