What do you think?
Rate this book
Science Under Siege: How the Environmental Misinformation Campaign is Affecting Our Laws, Taxes, and Our Daily Lives
Fumento, a conservative science journalist, explodes the media hype surrounding such perceived threats as Alar, Agent Orange, dioxin, and food irradiation in this provocative, hard-hitting defense of modern technology. He exposes political intrigues and agendas that have led to the media's one-sided coverage of Love Canal, fallout from video display terminals, electromagnetic fields, and other issues.
- GenresScience
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
18 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 28, 2022
Excellent book! It languished on my bookshelf for decades and I only happened upon it during a clean out. I am so glad I finally read it.
Fumento shows how shoddy logic, false narratives, garbage journalism fear combined to cost humanity a great deal — financially, in human capital and in societal wellbeing.
Unfortunately, the idiocy continues as fear-mongering crusading journalists ignorant of both science and statistics and either inept or nefarious politicians combine forces to scare and subsume the sheeplike populace, aided by compliant social media, with ever fresh non-disasters and emergencies.
Sadly this book appears to be out of print and unavailable in e-book form. For anyone interested in a head-shaking history lesson, I highly recommend finding a used copy.
Fumento shows how shoddy logic, false narratives, garbage journalism fear combined to cost humanity a great deal — financially, in human capital and in societal wellbeing.
Unfortunately, the idiocy continues as fear-mongering crusading journalists ignorant of both science and statistics and either inept or nefarious politicians combine forces to scare and subsume the sheeplike populace, aided by compliant social media, with ever fresh non-disasters and emergencies.
Sadly this book appears to be out of print and unavailable in e-book form. For anyone interested in a head-shaking history lesson, I highly recommend finding a used copy.
July 25, 2024
THE CONTROVERSIAL AUTHOR LOOKS AT ENVIRONMENTALISM
Author Michael Fumento wrote in the Introduction to this 1993 book, "This book will concentrate on the micro issues ... this book will not be encyclopedic in its reach, but rather will function as an expedition... This book is a plea for rational public policy, one that says a life saved is a life saved regardless of whether the threat to that life is environmental or something else in nature."
He argues, "For all the talk about facts and studies and science, what it really comes down to is the moral dimension Groth mentioned, or even a quasi-religious one... you can't win because you're not even on the same playing field... If an environmental activist believes that somehow it's better to be given cancer by a so-called natural carcinogen than a synthesized one... the only way your books and studies are going to erase that thought from their minds is if you pile them on their heads so high that you crush their skulls." (Pg. 73-74)
He concedes, "But before allowing oneself to have too much sympathy for the chemical companies, observe that... these companies had a chance to stand up for what they had been saying all along, that there was no scientific evidence that their product had caused any harm. They thus allowed some people... to think and assert that... '(they) are guilty, or I wouldn't have gotten a check.'" (Pg. 164)
He asserts, "Terrifying the hell out of readers or viewers with talk of children with 'unexplained' brain cancer when in fact ALL brain cancer is unexplained, painting utilities as devils, accusing the scientific community and utility companies of engaging in a massive coverup---none of these leads to intelligent policy." (Pg. 255) He concludes on the note, "It is time to begin shaping policies on the basis of science, rather than shaping science to fit policies. It is time to go back to the good ideas of the early environmentalists and conservationists and to reject those of the fanatics and faddists who had since jumped aboard the bandwagon." (Pg. 372)
Iconoclastic like most of Fumento's books, this book will offend some (many?), but also has some interesting insights.
Author Michael Fumento wrote in the Introduction to this 1993 book, "This book will concentrate on the micro issues ... this book will not be encyclopedic in its reach, but rather will function as an expedition... This book is a plea for rational public policy, one that says a life saved is a life saved regardless of whether the threat to that life is environmental or something else in nature."
He argues, "For all the talk about facts and studies and science, what it really comes down to is the moral dimension Groth mentioned, or even a quasi-religious one... you can't win because you're not even on the same playing field... If an environmental activist believes that somehow it's better to be given cancer by a so-called natural carcinogen than a synthesized one... the only way your books and studies are going to erase that thought from their minds is if you pile them on their heads so high that you crush their skulls." (Pg. 73-74)
He concedes, "But before allowing oneself to have too much sympathy for the chemical companies, observe that... these companies had a chance to stand up for what they had been saying all along, that there was no scientific evidence that their product had caused any harm. They thus allowed some people... to think and assert that... '(they) are guilty, or I wouldn't have gotten a check.'" (Pg. 164)
He asserts, "Terrifying the hell out of readers or viewers with talk of children with 'unexplained' brain cancer when in fact ALL brain cancer is unexplained, painting utilities as devils, accusing the scientific community and utility companies of engaging in a massive coverup---none of these leads to intelligent policy." (Pg. 255) He concludes on the note, "It is time to begin shaping policies on the basis of science, rather than shaping science to fit policies. It is time to go back to the good ideas of the early environmentalists and conservationists and to reject those of the fanatics and faddists who had since jumped aboard the bandwagon." (Pg. 372)
Iconoclastic like most of Fumento's books, this book will offend some (many?), but also has some interesting insights.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews