Author Archive
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Behind the News
Beating Around the Bush
June 1, 2007 04:45 PMAll around the world, reporters are responding to George W. Bush's reversal on American climate policy. In a speech in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, the president called for "a long-term global goal" for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Coming on the... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Water Under the Dam? Hardly.
May 31, 2007 10:56 AMThe battle for water is on in the American west. Reeling from a year of drought that produced the lowest snowpack in the Sierra Nevada in almost twenty years, government officials and others have turned their attention to the... Continue reading
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Behind the News
NYT’s “Basics” column needs an editor
May 30, 2007 01:01 PMIn January, The New York Times launched a new column in its Tuesday science section called "Basics," written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Natalie Angiers. As the name implies, Angiers uses the column to outline certain rudiments of science--a worthy ambition, as... Continue reading
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The Kicker
Not Your Grandma’s Science Fair
May 23, 2007 10:57 AMIt's that time of year. On Tuesday, the National Weather Service predicted that the upcoming 2007 hurricane season would have more tropical storms than normal. Forecasters say eastern and gulf coast residents should expect thirteen to seventeen storms, seven to... Continue reading
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The Kicker
We have been promised monsters!
May 21, 2007 04:44 PMI'm feeling let down. On Monday, The Boston Globe carried a short blurb about the Antarctic Benthic Deep-Sea Biodiversity Project (ANDEEP) with the headline, "Huge Sea Spiders, Other Creatures Found." I'm all for other creatures--ANDEEP scientists... Continue reading
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Behind the News
The best source of environmental stories that you’ve never heard of
May 21, 2007 08:39 AMIf you make it green, people will buy. Or so goes the current marketing philosophy. Today’s news pages are filled with stories about businesses that are doing their part for the environment. And as you read the story on one... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Hansen v. Cockburn in the The Nation, With Nothing at Stake
May 7, 2007 03:32 PMThe folks at The Nation offer readers an intriguing new punch-counterpunch this month. The current online issue includes a short essay by Dr. James Hansen, the politically engaged climate scientist who first explained global warming to Congress in 1988,... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Congested Coverage
May 2, 2007 12:30 PMIt’s been a little over a week since mayor Mike Bloomberg unveiled his twenty-five-year plan for climate change and development in New York City, dubbed PlaNYC. It is the most ambitious proposal of its kind anywhere in... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Surprise, MTV’s Environmental News Rocks
April 24, 2007 10:30 AMSunday was Earth Day, sort of like the environmental movement's Fourth of July. The event got a lot of attention in the press, but coverage tends to be cynical or fluffy, though a few articles are more <a... Continue reading
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Behind the News
A Guide Through the Jungle of Green Issues
April 16, 2007 02:50 PMGreen is the new black. It's the new red, the new white; it is the new red, white, and blue. In the pages of newspapers and magazines around the United States, green is usurping just about... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Emissions Markets: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
April 11, 2007 04:24 PMA global warming debate yesterday at New York University between Senator John Kerry, a Democrat, and former congressman Newt Gingrich, a Republican, may have disappointed spectators hoping for a brawl. Gingrich unexpectedly agreed with his opponent that climate change... Continue reading
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Behind the News
EPA Ruling Sets an Ambitious Menu For the Press
April 4, 2007 05:28 PMOn Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles under the Clean Air Act. Stating that gases, which contribute to man-made climate change, unequivocally qualify as air pollutants,... Continue reading
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Behind the News
For ABC, Weather Equals Climate Change
February 15, 2007 11:00 AMWe usually ignore inane network online news polls that ask readers to weigh in on current debates by clicking on a "Yes," "No" or "Undecided" bubble in response to a stated question. But the ABC News site featured a <a... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Scientific American’s Experiment in Wiki-Reporting
December 4, 2006 01:25 PMIn September, a team of scientists, led by paleoanthropologist Zeresenay Alemseged, announced the results of a study on the 3.3-million-year-old skeleton of an ancestor of human beings called A. afarensis. The skeleton, found in Ethiopia, appears to be that of... Continue reading
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Behind the News
A Syndicated Column Preaches Beyond the Green Choir
November 21, 2006 03:25 PM"EarthTalk," a weekly, syndicated, Q&A-style column about the environment, might seem a little earthy-crunchy at first. Its publisher, E -- The Environment Magazine (circ. 50,000), has been around for 16 years, but it depends mostly on a loyal cadre of... Continue reading
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Politics
Murdoch Goes Green, and His Empire Follows
November 17, 2006 01:45 PMIt was like the sun rising in the west. For over a decade, Rupert Murdoch had disputed the science of climate change. Then, at a Tokyo press conference last week, the conservative media mogul announced that he is now in... Continue reading
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Behind the News
In the U.K., a Bang; In the U.S., Whimper
November 9, 2006 12:56 PMThere are roughly 3,500 miles between Washington, D.C. and London -- for journalists, those miles might as well be light years. When it comes to global warming, the political climates in the two capitals have never been farther apart, a... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Reporters Turn Ghostbusters for Halloween
October 31, 2006 12:19 PMFor at least three Octobers now, reporters have littered newspaper pages with stories about the worrisome rise in "sexy" Halloween costumes. Naughty nurses, coquettish schoolgirls, playful pussycats -- erotic attire is easily the most overdone angle in the media's coverage... Continue reading
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Behind the News
God Versus Science — Back in the News
October 24, 2006 01:33 PMGod versus science is back in the news -- again. As sure as Newton's Third Law of Motion, that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, the new schism between the two cultures comes right on the heels of... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Zebra Mussels and Mitten Crabs and Govt. Regs, Oh My!
October 20, 2006 03:50 PMIf you have ever been to the Far East and eaten a Chinese mitten crab, you will know that they are delicious. But if you have ever been to the American East and read the Baltimore Sun, you will know... Continue reading
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The Audit Business
- Audit Notes: pyramid people, Disney and ABC, no USA Today paywall Roddy Boyd digs into a diet-shake pyramid scheme
- Hot air Rises Above on CNBC An anchor pins a minor dip in stocks on the TV appearance of a minor politician
The Observatory Science
- Dull news from Doha UN climate summit a ho-hum affair for the press
- Highway to the danger zone Following Sandy, HuffPo and NYT dig into the folly of coastal development
Campaign Desk Politics & Policy
- NBC News sets good example for Medicare reporting People perspective leads to clear explanation of impact of proposed changes
- In Pennsylvania, a niche site with wide reach PoliticsPA drives political conversation in Keystone State
Behind the News The Media
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The Kicker last updated: Fri 3:00 PM
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