Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[Barry Karr <SkeptInq@aol.com>]

Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest, March 2, 2001

 Visit the CSICOP and Skeptical Inquirer Magazine website at
 http://www.csicop.org. Receiving over 200,000 hits per year, the CSICOP site
 was rated one of the top ten science sites by HOMEPC magazine. Send comments
 regarding SI DIGEST to editors Matt Nisbet at mcn23@cornell.edu and Barry
 Karr at skeptinq@aol.com.

 --TV GUIDE: Profile of Medium John Edward
 --SAMPLE LETTER: Viewer Sounds Off to the SciFi Channel About John Edward
 --WASHINGTON POST: In Europe, Health Scares Confound Continent
 --CORNELL NEWS SERVICE: Professor Surveys Science Best-Sellers, 1948-1997
 --NPR SCIENCE FRIDAY: Melting Ice Caps, Climate Change, and Weather
 Modification

 --TV GUIDE: PROFILE OF MEDIUM JOHN EDWARD

 In a recent profile in TV Guide, SCI FI CHANNEL medium John Edward comments
 on the sometime failure of his "abilities":

 [The reason being, explains Edward, is that the success or failure of his
 readings are — to a certain degree — out of his hands. "I can only be as
 good as [the audience members] at acknowledging and owning the information
 that's coming through," he says. "And sometimes, nobody comes through. "One
 of the things that I've learned is that I am not an operator and I can't
 dial direct," he continues, "and even if I do make the connection with the
 person they want to hear from, there's no guarantee that they're going to
 come through and tell them what they want to hear."]

 The full profile can be read at
 <http://www.tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/010126c.asp>

 --SAMPLE LETTER: VIEWER SOUNDS OFF TO THE SCIFI CHANNEL ABOUT JOHN EDWARD

 An SI Digest subscriber recently forwarded me a copy of an e-mail protest he
 sent the SCI FI CHANNEL regarding John Edward's Crossing Over.  The text
 follows.

 You can reach the SCI FI CHANNEL with similar comments at
 program@www.scifi.com  .

 Dear SciFi Channel,

 I have been a aficionado of Science Fiction for my entire
 life, a student of the literature, film, and television
 genres. I love your channel and I spend many hours each week
 viewing it- both your original programming and reruns of
 other shows and movies.

 However, I believe that your promotion and distribution of
 the John Edwards program on your channel is wrong and does
 not fit within the concept of true Science Fiction
 programming.  It actually disgusts and enrages me that you
 have such worthless programming on your channel.

 I am to the point where I have seriously thinking of
 organizing a boycott of your channel due to this
 irresponsible and silly programming choice.  I hope you
 re-examine John Edwards and realize that his show does not
 fit in with the spirit of true Science Fiction programming
 and should be removed from your channel.

 Sincerely,

 A Disgruntled Viewer
 Chicago, IL

 --WASHINGTON POST: IN EUROPE, HEALTH SCARES CONFOUND CONTINENT

 In Europe, the Ordinary Takes a Frightening Turn
 Health Scares Confound Continent

 By T.R. Reid
 Washington Post Foreign Service
 Thursday, March 1, 2001; Page A01

 To read the full article, go to
 <http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5956-2001Feb28.html#homepage1>

 [LONDON -- A bowl of cornflakes can kill you -- not to mention a ham
 sandwich or a T-bone steak. Getting vaccinated can kill you. Flying economy
 class can kill you, and business class isn't much better. The rubber duckie
 in your bathtub can kill you (and your children). And put down that cell
 phone, before it kills you!...]

 --CORNELL NEWS SERVICE: PROFESSOR SURVEYS SCIENCE BEST-SELLERS, 1948-1997

 Lewenstein asserts an author's style can be crucial in selling science
 By Jeff Evans '01

 February, 22 2001
 To read the full article, go to
 <http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicles/2.22.01/AAAS_Lewenstein.html>

 [SAN FRANCISCO -- In 1962, Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring, a pioneering
 exposure of the hazards of the pesticide DDT, became one of the most
 influential books in the history of science and helped set the stage for the
 environmental movement. But the book had modest sales. In 1980, Carl Sagan's
 book Cosmos, an overview of how science and civilization grew up together,
 based on his television series of the same name, sold 900,000 copies in its
 50 weeks on the Publishers Weekly best-seller list, phenomenal for a science
 book in its time. What separated the two? Marketing. "An author's style and
 personality and the presence he or she brings to a best-selling science book
 are generally the main factors in making it a best seller," said Bruce
 Lewenstein, Cornell associate professor of communication and science and
 technology studies, during a seminar at the annual meeting of the American
 Association for the Advancement of Science here, Feb. 19....]


 --NPR SCIENCE FRIDAY: MELTING ICE CAPS, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND WEATHER
MODIFICATION

 To listen to the program in real audio, go to
 <http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnpd01fm.cfm?PrgDate=02/23/2001&PrgID=5>

 February 23, 2001

 HOST: IRA FLATOW
 HOUR ONE: Melting Glaciers and Climate Change Impacts
 (14.4 | 28.8)
 Guests:

 LONNIE THOMPSON
 Professor, Department of Geological Sciences
 Senior Research Scientist, Byrd Polar Research Center
 The Ohio State University
 Columbus, Ohio

 DOUG HARDY
 Research Scientist, Climate System Research Center
 University of Massachusetts
 Amherst, Massachusetts

 JAMES MCCARTHY
 Co-chair, Working Group 2
 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
 Professor, Oceanography
 Director, Museum of Comparative Zoology
 Harvard University
 Cambridge, Massachusetts

 HENRY DIAZ
 Climatologist, Climate Diagnostics Center
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
 Boulder, Colorado

 This week, scientists released new data showing that the icecap on Mount
 Kilimanjaro is melting so fast it may disappear within fifteen years. Other
 mountain glaciers around the world are shrinking, too. In this hour, we'll
 talk about retreating glaciers and whether they're a clear sign that human
 activities are causing global warming. Plus, how climate change could affect
 natural and human systems.



 HOUR TWO: Weather Modification
 (14.4 | 28.8)
 Guests:

 BERNARD EASTLUND
 President of Eastlund Scientific Enterprises Corporation
 San Diego, California

 KERRY EMANUE
 Professor, Atmospheric Science
 Massachussetts Institute of Technology
 Cambridge, Massachusetts

 ROELOF BRUINTJES
 Scientist of Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology
 National Center for Atmospheric Research
 Boulder, Colorado

 CHARLES DOSWELL
 Senior Research Scientist, Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale
 Meteorological Studies
 University of Oklahoma
 Norman, Oklahoma

 More than one thousand tornadoes rip across the U.S. each year, killing
 nearly one hundred people. But what if scientists could zap them from outer
 space before they bent a single tree or snuff out hurricanes before they hit
 land? In this hour, we'll talk with scientists working to make weather
 modification happen.

 --------------------------------

 SI Electronic Digest is the biweekly e-mail news update of the Committee for
 the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP.)

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