Tom Philpott’s Posts

• Reckless behavior

  For swine flu, forget origins and start thinking about practices 5

  Posted 2 days, 12 hours agoAmid a trickle of news and science about swine flu over the past week, I've been rethinking my position on the novel H1N1 virus that has now infected millions of Americans.

• Two words: endocrine disruptor

  Consumer Reports finds BPA traces in common canned foods 10

  Posted 2 days, 22 hours agoBisphenol A, commonly abbreviated as BPA, is vile stuff--not the kind of thing a smart species knowingly introduces into its ecosystem. Tom Philpott marvels that we're doing just that---and storing food in it, no less.

• Deniers with attitude (and power)

  Sen. Inhofe and U.S. Farm Bureau chief casually chat about destroying the climate bill 0

  Posted 5 days, 14 hours agoOn the floor of the U.S. Senate, a pair of climate change deniers flexed their muscles against the Kerry-Boxer climate bill.

• Not just a river in Egypt

  Michael Specter's new book 'Denialism' misses its targets 43

  Posted 1 week agoA big-time New Yorker writer has come out with a book denouncing scientific "denialism." Tom Philpott can't believe Michael Specter let climate deniers off the hook--and instead goes after proponents of organic agriculture.

• Hog-tied

  Six months after the outbreak, who's investigating the CAFO-swine flu link? 16

  Posted 1 week, 2 days agoA half a year after the novel H1NI outbreak, federal authorities still aren't investigating possible links to hog CAFOs. Tom Philpott ponders why that might be.

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Tom Philpott’s Recent Comments

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  Nicely put, Cyberfarer. And I would be willing to bet that your not some coal-industry flack, but rather a person who genuinely believes climate changes is a hoax. And I still think it's lame that Michael Specter didn't devote a chapter to folks like you. And while I find your attitude mystifying, I have to congratulate you on the political power of your position. Why, just yesterday, climate change legislation died in the Senate: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/11/climate-bill-2010On Michael Specter's new book 'Denialism' misses its targets posted 3 days, 18 hours ago 43 Responses

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  Nicely put, Cyberfarer. And I would be willing to bet that you're not some coal-industry flack, but rather a person who genuinely believes climate changes is a hoax. And I still think it's lame that Michael Specter didn't devote a chapter to folks like you. And while I find your attitude mystifying, I have to congratulate you on the political power of your position. Why, just yesterday, climate change legislation died in the Senate: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/11/climate-bill-2010On Michael Specter's new book 'Denialism' misses its targets posted 3 days, 18 hours ago 43 Responses

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  James, you have a point (not one made by Specter, though). But as we see in the first comment above, industry-funded denier propaganda, amplified by blowhard radio/TV "personalities," has given rise to many, many, man-on-the-street climate deniers. It's hard to see what they gain from their denialism.On Michael Specter's new book 'Denialism' misses its targets posted 6 days, 21 hours ago 43 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  James, you have a point (not one made by Specter, though). But as we see in the first comment above, industry-funded denier propaganda, amplified by blowhard radio/TV "personalities," has given rise to many, many, man-on-the-street climate deniers. It's hard to see what they gain from their denialism.On Michael Specter's new book 'Denialism' misses its targets posted 6 days, 21 hours ago 43 Responses

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  Right, FoodProvider. Except, from the WaPo story:

  Scientists at the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa revealed last week they had identified the H1N1 strain in seven pigs at the Minnesota State Fair in late summer as part of a study of virus exchange between swine and people. Some of those animals may have caught the bug from the hordes of visitors at the 12-day event. But not all: One infected animal was swabbed while being unloaded and almost certainly arrived with the virus, said Gregory C. Gray, a physician and epidemiologist at the University of Iowa who helped run the study.

  And of course, not being "aware" of more instances is meaningless, until widespread testing has been conducted.On Six months after the outbreak, who's investigating the CAFO-swine flu link? posted 1 week, 2 days ago 16 Responses