Comments for Stephen Leahy, International Environmental Journalist

Comment on Japan Nuke Disaster Could Be Worse Than Chernobyl by TRANSCEND MEDIA SERVICE » Limited Liability – Nuclear Energy’s ‘Mother of all Subsidies’

Mon, 28 May 2012 11:04:15 +0000

[...] published as The Nuclear Cost Shell Game – IPS ipsnews.net.Other articles on Fukushima disaster:Japan Nuke Disaster Could Be Worse Than ChernobylWho Controls the Nuclear Control Agencies?Nuclear Power Costs Skyrocket, Cost of [...]

Comment on Global Forest Decline with Warming Temperatures Scientists Warn by Wit's End

Wit's End — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:17:57 +0000

I’m sure rising temperatures are going to cause forest declines all over the world but let’s be accurate. That is not the underlying reason for global declines, YET, because although AVERAGE temperatures have risen, locally some places have cooled or risen very little. For instance the Eastern North America, where trees are dying at an incredibly and increasingly rapid rate over the past few years, have been in the middle of a cooling hole due to sulphate aerosol pollution according to a recent study. So WHAT is killing the trees in the entire Appalachian region?

AIR POLLUTION. Ozone is killing them. Ozone is a well-known toxin to people and is even more poisonous to vegetation. In addition to the cumulative damage caused over multiple seasons to trees, ozone causes annual crop yield and quality loss in the billions of dollars. Precursors are rising, the background level is increasing even in remote areas.

Another well-known mechanism of ozone injury is increased attacks from insects, disease and fungus, and decreased resistance to drought, wind and winter kill.

Why are foresters, biologists, ecologists and climate scientists so averse to stating a fact as obvious as tobacco smoking causes cancer?? You would think climate scientists would be concerned because as plants die off we will be losing a major carbon sink, marking a massive amplifying feedback to warming.

Comment on The Future of Journalism: Adopt a Muckraker by ERISANation

ERISANation — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:57:48 +0000

Scary scary right-wing extremist conspiracy. Scary scary liberal media bias. Richard Scary’s Scary Scary Mr. Bumble.

Comment on Oceans Hit Hard By Human Activity by Trashing the Oceans: 3 to 6 X More Trash Than Plankton – ‘Using Oceans as Universal Sewer’ — Cousteau « Stephen Leahy, International Environmental Journalist

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:45:58 +0000

[...] Oceans Hit Hard By Human Activity [...]

Comment on Canadian Scientists Denounce Climate Change Denial, Government Censorship by Stephen

Stephen — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:49:53 +0000

It’s not hard to find out the truth of this. Ask any Cdn jurno – the Tories put the policy in place. Science is fact-based not political. But there are those who distort science for their own political objectives. Govt scientists are not bureaucrats. They do research. You are trying very hard to justify this undemocratic policy …and by extension absolve the Tories. That’s political.

Comment on Canadian Scientists Denounce Climate Change Denial, Government Censorship by klem

klem — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:14:25 +0000

That’s a good question, I have no idea.

I have assume from all of this that governments in the past have allowed scientists to speak freely to journalists about any subject they wanted. Perhaps the Tories noticed the kind of trouble previous governments have gotten into by allowing that. Or perhaps the truth is that they have never been allowed to speak freely before, perhaps its just that the public are questioning it this time around, I don’t know.

What I do know is that science today is very political so it makes complete sense for public employees to remain quiet. They are bureaucrats like any other, they are supposed to remain silent.

Why would we expect them to blab about what they are doing when other bureaucrats aren’t expected to?

Comment on Canadian Scientists Denounce Climate Change Denial, Government Censorship by Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:15:23 +0000

Actually its very easy to stop govt scientists from talking to the public. Threaten to fire them or cut their funding. And that happens. When I call a govt scientist they say they are under orders not to talk to media without permission.

Using a pseudonym is risky and ridiculous since the public is paying for their research why doesn’t the public get to know what they are doing?

Comment on Canadian Scientists Denounce Climate Change Denial, Government Censorship by klem

klem — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:09:43 +0000

Um, how can the goverrnment stop scientists from talking to the public? Any journalist can simply call them anytime and talk to any scientist they want to, and same for scientists. Perhaps it might be a bit unsafe to do so from work, it could damage their career, but that would not stop anyone from speaking up outside of work. All they need to do is use a pseudonym or withhold their name if they are concerned about it. I use a pseudonym for the same reasons, I’d be fired if they knew I was a climate skeptic.

This notion that scientists are muzzled is absolute BS. If they want to talk, they can just talk.

This sounds more like politics, something that Andrew Weaver was supposed to be above. I think he gave his himself away with this one.

Comment on The Environmental Crisis Is in Reality a Crisis in Democracy by Blake poland

Blake poland — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:48:55 +0000

Lappe is to be commended for raising ghe issue of thought traps (in sociology we call this hegemony, based on pioneering work by Antonio Gramsci decades ago). That’s not to say there are no physical limits, because there are and we’re rushing headlong into them. But Lappe reminds us there is still huge potential for transformation is we can just break out of our mental sqight jackets.

Comment on The Environmental Crisis Is in Reality a Crisis in Democracy by RMontpellier

RMontpellier — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:49:58 +0000

Perhaps the change to a more democratic culture is slowly, albeit almost imperceptibly, starting to trend in the right direction. Arab Spring opened the door to Occupy and now to American Spring (featured in a blog post on BoomerWarrior.org). Mass demonstrations throughout the Eurozone, Britain, Russia, etc. are further evidence that people no longer trust their elected governments. The fact that most incumbent leaders are not being re-elected is a very positive trend. People around the globe want and need change