Add Michael Crichton to the List...

Mr Rushdie is hated by the Muslims. President Bush - hated by Liberals. Now you can add author Michael Crichton and environmentalists to the "We love to hate" list.

Crichton's new novel "cleverly exposes the semi-fictitious conspiracy to hoodwink the public into believing human activity is causing catastrophic global warming and the completely fictitious "scientific consensus" on this point. "

Do we have a new anti-Rachel Carson? Let's only hope.

The Kyoto Protocol is dead

Done like dinner. This turkey is roasted. Stick a fork in it, it's done.

The USA has long since realized the protocol was nothing more than a tax on American productivity... and now the largest trading partner, and the other major Kyoto signee in North America is simply going through the motions.

"In the absence of any coherent plan, it is difficult to understand how Canada, a nation with huge distances between cities and one of the coldest climates on Earth, could ever meet its unrealistic target.

When it comes to environmental benefits, the scientific jury is still out.

Fortunately, it appears the government might finally be coming to terms with this notion.

Better late than never."

TIME on the Mad Cow Crisis

Some disasters land in one massive wave. Others, like the mad-cow disease creeping through Canada’s cattle industry, inflict just as much damage in short glances over a long period of time.

...Darcy Undseth, CFIA’s top BSE specialist in western Canada, says a “few more” bse cases will be uncovered in the country. And that will no doubt continue to fuel protectionist urges and consumer fears in the U.S.

more...

Drastic Measures to Shore Up Credibility

A year ago, the idea was dismissed out of hand as entirely too drastic.

But now, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein is saying a cull of older animals is needed. The three Canadian Cattle, and the one American cattle which have all tested positive for Mad Cow disease were all originally Albertan. Klein - and members of the cattle industry - are suggesting that all animals born before the ruminant feed ban of 1997 be slaughtered.

The move is being suggested not out of scientific necessity. In fact, Klein is quite clear - the move is being suggested to restore international confidence in Canadian beef.

There is absolutely no doubt that the entire beef industry is reeling right now. Unfortunately, there is no doubt that the reason they're in such trouble has little to do with BSE, but rather with consumer confidence, trust and expectations.

What are you doing to communicate with frontline consumers? This is a textbook study that simply communicating a 'marketing' message won't fly when the 'cow chips' are down.

Solar panel woven into clothing...

"Nature Journal" is about to release a report that says a new kind of solar cell is being developed. Not only is it 6 times more efficient than traditional solar cells, but it's also so thin it can be woven into traditional fabrics.

Not only does this have positive renewable energy applications, but it can lead to the development of a new generation of truly wireless electronics. No antenna's, no network cables, and now, not even the need to occasionally plug it in.

So does this give whole new meaning to "aren't you just a ray of sunshine?"

Mad Cows, Maddening Credibility Crisis

Rather scary news coming out of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency this morning - the third cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy is only 6 years old. This means it was borne after the ban on feed from other cattle parts and ruminants came into effect.

The problem the North American Beef Industry is immediately going to face is what I dub a credibility crisis. The issue isn't whether or not there are cows out there with BSE... everyone will admit there are cows with BSE. Chances are good there are cows with BSE on both sides of the border, in fact.

No, the concern is due to

a) the cattle industry and government alike have repeatedly told consumers and regulatory officials that cattle are safe after the feed ban came into effect in 1997, and

b) the sheer timing of the discoveries, so soon after the announced reopening of the border, is surely going to lead to all sorts of embarassing questions.

The primary question going through the minds of key decision makes as they ponder whether or not to rescind the border opening isn't one of "is the food safe" but rather "what else aren't they telling us?

And again...

Step right up, Cow number 3.

I can see the conspiracy theories now... The US Border reopens to the cattle industry, and Canada announces a third case of Mad Cow disease. This is the second cow to be announced since the border announcement.

This time the American's are playing their cards a little closer to their chest. They're sending a team to investigate this case, and determine if it will affect the border plans.

As always - stay tuned...

Bat Vegomatics - Tales of the Deadly Wind Turbine...

Who knows - maybe John F Kennedy Jr. was right.

The renowned water cleanup activist was leading the charge against a wind farm in the ocean offshore of his family estate in Martha's Vineyard based on the fact the turbines were unsightly.

But according to the Washington Post (registration is free), not only are wind turbines apparently ugly, but they're murdering hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent bats.

Jessica Kerns thought her survey of new power-generating wind turbines on a mountaintop in West Virginia would yield the standard result: a smattering of dead birds that were whacked by the whirring blades.

But the University of Maryland doctoral student turned up something unexpected amid the trees and rolling ridges of Backbone Mountain: hundreds of bat carcasses, some with battered wings and bloodied faces. "It was really a shock," Kerns said.

Monsanto fined for bribery

This stings.

The beauty of most "anti GM/anti Monsanto" stories is that Monsanto could always claim some version of the moral high ground. They weren't the guilty ones, so to speak.

Unless they were accused of bribing officials to avoid an environmental assessment.

Now, in fairness to Monsanto, they have also also agreed to three years' close monitoring of its business practices by American authorities, and admit and accept full responsibility for what it called improper activities.

It's often been said that for every step forward, you take two steps back. I don't know if that's necessarily true sometimes, but I do know you can't afford to willingly LEAP backwards... and unfortunately, I fear that's what Monsanto has been doing in terms of public credibility. What's especially tragic is if this is the action of a rogue employee - it simply won't matter in terms of public opinion and credibility.

This is a crystal clear example of the need to establish credibility before trouble hits, not try to rebuild after.

A Growing Concern

It appears the Union of Concerned Scientists is up to no good... again.

Compliments of my friends at agbioworld.org -

The newest report "is the group's latest attempt to frighten and mislead consumers about plant-made pharmaceuticals and plant-made industrial products.

The group insinuates that the food supply already may be "contaminated with drugs and other chemicals from pharma crops," though it fails to provide any facts to back up this claim.

In fact, there has not been a single documented case of a human consuming food that contains plant-made pharmaceutical or industrial chemical components. The organization's dramatic rhetoric - including the statement, "Nobody wants drugs in their cornflakes" - has no basis in fact or reputable science.

Movies: Stone surprised by 'Alexander' reaction

OK - normally I don't give space here to movie reviews, but this one is bothering me. Director Oliver Stone is blaming the 'fundamentalist morality' for the hostile reaction to his movie 'Alexander.'

Stone depicted the Macedonian as bisexual. In fact, one critic referred to the movie as "Queer Eye for the Macedonian Guy."

But Mr Stone - as someone who wasted his money on that 3 hour piece of schlock, let me give you a piece of advice. Aside from the fact that people didn't like seeing Colin Farrell as a tulip dancing fairy, consider a few other missing elements , normally considered essential in a 'good' movie...

... like a plot, for example.

Confirmed...

An Alberta dairy cow does indeed have mad cow disease, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is reporting.

International media are still reporting that the border should remain open. The US Department of Agriculture confirmed on Thursday that regardless of the results, the border will re-open as scheduled in March.

The 19 month shutdown has had a dramatic affect on the beef industry on both sides of the border, and estimated to have cost just the Canadian side over $4 billion dollars.

From a communications/junk science perspective, it's encouraging that regulatory officials are using a sound science/risk assessment methodology rather than a knee-jerk response. Let's hope the next time regulatory officials decide to impose a regulatory response based on emotion that it won't cost so much next time...

What will "the next time" be? Developing...