Science Media Centre

The New Zealand Herald Online has published a strongly-worded editorial from Australian cognitive scientist Stephan Lewandowsky on the nature of scientific debate and those who refuse to partake. This follows closely on the heels of an article from Herald reporter Isaac Davison highlighting the less than enthusiastic response from scientists and other public figures who [...]

In a session at this week’s Climate futures: Pathways for society forum in Wellington, a panel of science writers and journalists wrestled with what the best advice might be to give climate scientists seeking to reach out to the public. Science historian Erik Conway — co-author of the recent book ‘Merchants of Doubt’ — opened with [...]

The World Meteorological Organization released its draft annual statement on the status of global climate today at UN climate talks (COP16) in Cancun. The statement details extreme weather trends around the globe in the past year, and says that 2010 is set to be among the warmest three years since instrumental recordings began in 1850, [...]

A massive week for earth science Barely a week on from last Saturday’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Canterbury, scientists have paused to outline what they have learned about the quake from examining the previously undiscovered fault and seismographic and GPS data that has been gathered in the region. Dr Ken Gledhill, Duty Seismologist at GNS [...]

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) faces a legal challenge by climate sceptics group the Climate Science Coalition which is taking the Crown Research Institute to court over the accuracy of its climate data. UPDATED 2PM: In a statement of claim which the coalition says it has filed with the High Court [...]

SMC Briefing: GST and healthy food The price of fruit and veggies was in the media spotlight this week on the back of a Green Party survey that suggests produce prices are being marked up several hundred percent by the country’s supermarkets. Researchers have been studying the best ways of tackling obesity and weight-related health [...]

A major review of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth assessment report by the Netherlands Environment Agency wrapped up this week, finding no significant errors in the report’s main conclusions on regional impacts of climate change. It is the latest in a series of reviews that have largely validated mainstream climate science conclusions, while [...]

In a speech given in Wellington last night, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor discussed how the current debate over climate change is undermining confidence in the science system. He also mentioned that much of the resistance to climate change had economic (as opposed to scientific) motives, and that the role [...]

Last night, the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, gave a speech about climate change and the debate which continues to swirl around it. In the speech, entitled Integrity in Science: Implications from and for the Climate Change Debate, he spoke at length about why he believes anthropogenic climate change is happening, [...]

The results of an inquiry into the conduct of climate scientists at the University of East Anglia were released overnight in Britain and cleared the scientists of “deliberate scientific malpractice”. The independent inquiry panel set up by the University of East Anglia in the wake of the “climategate” email leaks, was led by Ron Oxburgh, [...]