Scientists reveal how the fossil fuel industry misled the public about climate change

An international group of scientists show that fossil fuel corporations have, for decades, denied the public's right to be accurately informed about climate change by funding efforts to deceive people about the dangers of their product. A report illustrating how the industry "polluted the information landscape," and how the damage could be undone is published today [Monday 21 October].

The report entitled, "America misled: how the fossil fuel industry deliberately misled Americans about climate change," by academics from the universities of Bristol, UK; George Mason, U.S. and Harvard, U.S., summarizes more than a decade of peer-reviewed research, and has been published to help inform policymakers, journalists, and the public.

The report includes what the fossil fuel industry knew versus what they did, the arguments they used to seed doubt in the public, the techniques they used to create those arguments, and some strategies for combating them.

Read the story from PHYS.org - “Scientists reveal how the fossil fuel industry misled the public about climate change.”

In terrible times, there’s an advantage to being female

Women outlive men in normal times, as well as during the worst of circumstances, three centuries of historical records show.

There is an advantage
 in being female.

Most of the life expectancy gap was due to a female survival advantage in infancy rather than adulthood, the researchers found. In times of adversity, such as famines and epidemics, newborn girls are more likely to survive.

The fact that women have an edge in infancy when behavioural differences between the sexes are minimal, supports the idea that the explanation is at least partly biological, the researchers say.

Read the Futurity story by Robin Smith-Duke - “In terrible times, there’s an advantage to being female.”

Where Land Slides, Trying to Learn Why

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Water bottle in hand, Dennis Staley crouched over a patch of ground, cleared away surface soil with a finger and poured a couple of drops on the exposed layer.

ON LOCATION Jason Kean, left, and Dennis Staley, scientists
with the United States Geological Survey, exploring the terrain above
Santa Barbara, Calif.

Dr. Staley and a colleague, Jason Kean, researchers with the United States Geological Survey, were taking a break from their work one recent morning in Mission Canyon just above Santa Barbara to offer a show and tell on the interaction of soil and water.

“It will soak in on the surface,” Dr. Staley said. “But just below the surface it’s going to bead up.” Sure enough, the water drops were still visible, as if they had been spilled on a tabletop. “So that enhances the amount of runoff that naturally comes off these slopes,” he said.

Read the New York Times story - “Where Land Slides, Trying to Learn Why.”