Contact Information: Contact: Robert Ferguson 202 288 5699
Bad News for Science at Newsweek Magazine, says SPPI
| Source: Science and Public Policy Institute
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - August 10, 2007) - Ewire -- "The Third International
Mathematics and Science Study Results reveal that US public school children
are remarkably sub par in math and science capabilities. Apparently things
are not much brighter for the adults at Newsweek Magazine," reports Robert
Ferguson, President of the Science and Public Policy Institute
(www.scienceandpublicpolicy.org).
A new SPPI white paper
(http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/sppi_originals/bad_news_for_science_in_newsweek.html) examines what little science was attempted in the current
Newsweek cover story predicting 'global warming' catastrophe and attacking
anyone disagreeing with the "its-your-fault-the-end-is-near"
fundamentalism.
"From the start, Newsweek's four writers approached the issues of global
warming ad hominem and not ad rem," added Ferguson. "The Newsweek story is
another breathless, one-sided detailing of its version of the history of
climate change 'deniers' and how a few people with paltry resources, have
successfully influenced the course of American politics on the issue of
anthropogenic climate change. What little science Newsweek tries to slip
in, demonstrates troubling bias and lack of understanding for even the most
basic issues and facts. The article is a tremendous disservice to both
science and the public."
Specifically, the SPPI paper factually examines Newsweek's theatrical
claims about recent flooding in Texas, "record triple-digit temperatures in
Las Vegas," European heat waves, frequency of Atlantic hurricanes and
diminishing snow pack. The paper's text is accompanied by a rich
collection of historical photographs easily available to Newsweek.
A few things Newsweek did not tell its readers:
Texas leads the nation almost every year in flood fatalities and property
damage because some of the heaviest rainfall events ever recorded in the
world, have occurred in Texas.
On average, 81% of July days in Las Vegas reach 100 degreesF. In several
years, every single day in July has equaled or exceeded 100 degreesF. In
July 1942, 28 days reached 105 degreesF, and 17 reached 110 degreesF.
Five of the best hurricane researchers summarize the state of the science
on hurricanes and global warming: "... the state of the peer-reviewed
knowledge today is such that there are good reasons to expect that any
conclusive connection between global warming and hurricanes or their
impacts will not be made in the near term." -- R. A. PIELKE JR., C.
LANDSEA, M. MAYFIELD, J. LAVER, AND R. PASCH
At the close, Newsweek "brings in the clowns": "It's enough to make you
wish that climate change were a hoax, rather than the reality it is."