covid-19

Peter Dykstra: Stop, you’re killing me

Denial is taking a toll.

Tens of millions of my fellow Americans are trying to make me sick, in more ways than one.


The often-ludicrous reasons for today's vaccine avoidance have their ancestors in other health, science, and climate crises.

Deepwater denial 

The late Rush Limbaugh was such a reliable gusher of whoppers, quarter-truths, and loopy conspiracy theories that it shouldn't be this easy to pick any single one out, but here's mine: A week after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, Limbaugh told his radio audience that "environmentalist wackos" had doomed the rig and killed 13 of its crew. Never mind that rig operator BP admitted blame two days earlier.

Non-peer-reviewed literature

Former 11-term Illinois Congressman John Shimkus has quoted the book of Genesis and the Gospel according to Matthew as guarantees that overrule the prevailing science, and that climate change will "not destroy this Earth."

God's word, the Congressman says, is "infallible, unchanging, perfect."

Shaving the truth

Paul LePage was an obscure small-town Maine mayor who became governor in 2010 on an anti-regulatory platform. But he wasn't your run-of-the-mill science hater. Even a decade ago, when warming coastal waters posed a threat for Maine's lobster industry, LePage embraced the science.

But as the Maine Legislature considered a measure to restrict endocrine-disrupting bisphenol-A (BPA) in 2011, LePage said he'd reviewed the science on BPA, and offered this (it's at 1:30 of this video.)

"If you take a plastic bottle and put it in the microwave and you heat it up, it gives off a chemical similar to estrogen. And so the worst case is some women might have little beards."

Ummm .. come again, Paul?

"Where you now have cows, you will have fish"

In 1990, The Washington Post reported that J.R. Spradley, a U.S. delegate at an international climate change conference, told the Bangladeshi delegation that their nation getting swamped by sea level rise won't be such a bad thing. "

The situation is not a disaster; it is merely a change. The area won't have disappeared; it will just be underwater. Where you now have cows, you will have fish."

"Think of the clearcut as a temporary meadow"

Fifty years ago, Patrick Moore was an eager graduate student who crewed on the first Greenpeace voyages to oppose nuclear weapons tests. Over the next decade, he became a leader in the growing group's triumph and turmoil. He quit in 1986, showing up a few years later as a paid spokesman for Greenpeace foes –vinyl makers, logging multinationals, a nuke plant trade group, and more. Here's a wet kiss to the timber industry:

"Taken in the right light, clearcuts can actually look quite pretty. Think, for just a moment, of the clearcut as a temporary meadow."

Some climate yucks from Fox News

As I cited a few weeks ago, Fox's in-house comic, Greg Gutfeld, gifted us with 10 minutes of climate mirth earlier this month.

It turns out that since a recent study cited more global deaths from excessive cold than from excessive heat, that a little global warming is a great thing.

So ... don't we all feel a little better?

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

Banner photo credit: christopher catbagan/Unsplash

environmental justice

LISTEN: Ana Baptista on supporting environmental justice movement building in academia

“Some of the best relationships have been built over that time where you’re just getting to know each other, showing up, being present.”

Dr. Ana Baptista joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss supporting environmental justice movements from within academia.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
Amid LNG’s Gulf Coast expansion, community hopes to stand in its way
Coast Guard inspects Cameron LNG Facility in preparation for first LNG export in 2019. (Credit: Coast Guard News)

Amid LNG’s Gulf Coast expansion, community hopes to stand in its way

This 2-part series was co-produced by Environmental Health News and the journalism non-profit Economic Hardship Reporting Project. See part 1 here.Este ensayo también está disponible en español
Keep reading...Show less
petrochemical shell pennsylvania plastic
Shell's new petrochemical complex in southwestern Pennsylvania. (Credit: Nate Smallwood for Environmental Health News and Sierra Magazine)

Shell must seek a new air pollution permit for its Pennsylvania plastics plant

PITTSBURGH — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is requiring Shell Chemical Appalachia to submit a new air pollution permit for its massive petrochemical plant in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, which will subject the plant to more regulatory oversight than it’s been operating under.

Keep reading...Show less
LNG Gulf Coast pollution climate
Travis Dardar (center front), founder of Fishermen Interested in Saving Our Heritage and Allyssa Portaro, founder and executive director of Habitat Recovery Project at a fishers’ protest in New Orleans in January. (Credit: Traverse Productions/Diego Henriquez)

Op-ed: For environmental groups, Biden’s LNG decision cause for celebration – and caution

For fighters on the frontlines of the battle for environmental justice, the wins can seem few and far between.

Keep reading...Show less

Exploring the link between prenatal stress from natural disasters and child psychiatric conditions

A new investigation reveals how children exposed to Hurricane Sandy in utero face higher psychiatric condition risks, offering insights into the broader impacts of climate change on brain health.

Clayton Page Aldern reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less

Europe's climate policy opinions vary ahead of elections

A new survey debunks the notion of a broad green backlash against climate policies in Europe, suggesting a majority still favors more ambitious action.

Rosie Frost reports for Euronews.

Keep reading...Show less

Farmers grapple with scarce insurance options amid climate threats

In the face of escalating climate-related risks like droughts and floods, many fruit and vegetable farmers are struggling to find affordable insurance, jeopardizing their livelihoods and food supply.

Patrick Cooley reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
petrochemicals Texas

Toxic air lingers in Texas Latino community, revealing failures in state’s air monitoring system

Public data from a network of state air monitors around the Houston Ship Channel is hard to interpret and is often inadequate, leaving Latino-majority neighborhoods like Cloverleaf unaware of whether the air they breathe is safe.

petrochemicals Texas

El aire tóxico en una comunidad latina de Texas revela los fallos del sistema estatal de control de calidad del aire

Los datos públicos de una red de monitores estatales del aire alrededor del Canal de Navegación de Houston son difíciles de interpretar y a menudo son insuficientes, dejando a vecindarios de mayoría latina, como Cloverleaf, sin saber si el aire que respiran es seguro.

pipeline protest

Protesting oil and gas line development harms mental health and creates distrust in government: Study

“The number of stress-activated health conditions people reported was quite staggering."

Global Plastic Treaty

This will be a big year in shaping the future of chemical recycling

The controversial practice looms large in state environmental laws, federal regulation and global plastic treaty negotiations.

plastic chemical recycling

What is chemical recycling?

While industry claims it could be part of a circular plastics economy, experts say that chemical recycling is extremely damaging to the environment and provides no real benefits.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.