In the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, many claims have been made that science denial, particularly as it relates to climate change, is primarily a problem of the political right.

But what happens when scientific conclusions challenge liberals’ attitudes on public policy issues, such as gun control, nuclear power or immigration?

Though every politician and both U.S. parties claim to be pro-science, that isn't reflected in corporate media coverage. The New York Times will publish conspiracy theories drafted by US Right To Know, a corporate front group created by Organic Consumers Association. Washington Post will host a panel on food science and refuse to invite any scientists. 

In recent years the citrus industry has suffered a dramatic decrease in production. The iconic Florida citrus industry is in a disease-induced decline, ravaged by a pathogen that has cut the production to half of what it was only a decade or so ago.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General recently did an audit of the National Organic Program, which is part of its Agricultural Marketing Services group.

A new paper claims that guns are only involved in 5 percent of suicide attempts but are 50 percent of suicide deaths. Despite everyone claiming to want to be data-driven about gun deaths, few are and this is no exception.  

In 1952 my uncle Antonio, then 18 years old, left his family home in Venice, Italy to never return, running away from the humiliation of a failure at school. With a friend he reached the border with France and crossed it during the night, chased by border patrols and wolves. Caught by the French police Toni - that was the abbreviated name with which was known by everybody - was offered a choice: be sent back to Italy, facing three months of jail, or enrol in the French legion. Afraid of the humiliation and the consequences, he tragically chose the latter.

Although 29 states and the District of Columbia allow marijuana use for medical purposes, there is no evidence it is medicine. Obviously some of the reason for that is because it's illegal and therefore hard to study, but regardless of the past it seems odd that scholars at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis surveyed medical school deans, residents and fellows, and examined a curriculum database maintained by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and lament that medical marijuana is not being addressed in medical education.

I thought I should do another debunking article, as there are lots of people who are getting really scared by this BS. The Daily Express particularly is promoting David Meade's book heavily with more than two articles a day on this totally non notable author for the last week. The other "red top tabloids" are joining in. These journalists seem to forget that vulnerable people, including young children read these stories. Parents report children as young as 12 or younger who are scared by this. 

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Mothers have always been put upon culturally when it comes to how kids turn out. Though the physical costs of gestation are literally borne by mothers while fathers are basically done at conception(1), everyone feels they hav a say in telling expectant moms what to do.

- Society once insisted pregnant mothers not only to abstain from participating in sports but even abstain from watching sports. The excitement would be too much for the baby, women were told.

- Doctors also told women not to put their arms over their heads or the umbilical cord might get wrapped around the baby's neck. 

For the last several weeks I’ve been getting messages from scared people nearly every day. They are worried that the world is going to end on 23rd September. We have had numerous such dates, about a dozen a year at present. The chap who has been promoting that date all summer has now changed it to October in an interview with a US conspiracy radio chat show. These people are trying to drag you back to a pre-scientific dark age where you go to prophets to learn about the future, and the prophets look into the stars for omens.