Tobacco, part 4: subpoenas and legal chill

As academic researchers examined the advertising activities of tobacco companies, the industry responded with accusations of scientific fraud, and ever more onerous demands for disclosure of researchers’ data and documents.

David MacKay to become DECC’s Chief Scientific Advisor

The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change might just be moving in the right direction, and Prof. David MacKay’s rise to world domination continues apace.

Pseudoscience and astroturfing: three leaked memos

Last week’s leaked memo from the American Petroleum Institute is the latest in a long line. A couple of these leaked memos reveal the motives and the methods of the oil and coal industries as they spread confusion about climate science.

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More on Anthony Watts

Climate sceptic blogger Anthony Watts drew attention to himself with his ill-advised attempt to remove a YouTube video that criticised him. What do we know about his views?

DMCA takedown misuse: two cautionary tales

Frivolous and vexatious abuse of copyright law can have severe legal consequences. Here are two cases where video apologies have been accepted as part of the settlement.

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Watts update: “Watts Up With Watts?” video checked for copyright, reposted

Climate sceptic blogger Anthony Watts had a YouTube video removed, claiming it infringed his copyright. The lawyers have checked it, and it’s been reposted. Here it is.

Global warming, legal chill

Climate sceptic blogger Anthony Watts has used a DMCA takedown to block Peter Sinclair’s video “Watts Up With Watts?” on YouTube.

Electricity costs and carbon emissions, by technology

The European Commission has issued a technical document that rounds up cost and emissions data for the principal electricity generating technologies. It’s likely to be used as a reference document in E.U. energy policy discussions, so let’s see what’s in it.

Global warming: blast from the past

It’s the summer of  ’53. Elvis makes his first recording, Watson and Crick publish the structure of DNA … and Time magazine and Popular Mechanics report the very latest research findings:  it turns out that man-made carbon dioxide emissions are causing the Earth to heat up.

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The external costs of electricity generation

The ExternE project has done the sums on the external costs of electricity generation. Wind has the lowest external costs, coal has the highest.

Simon Singh battles England’s amboguous libel laws

Justice Eady decides what “bogus” and “happily” mean in the BCA v Singh libel case, Simon Singh applies to appeal, the BCA faces a public relations catastrophe.

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David MacKay, energy star: “How many light bulbs?”

Prof. David MacKay’s book, “Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air”, has been published, and it’s an instant success. Now there’s a video, a radio interview, a Guardian editorial singing his praises … and a bafflingly inscrutable criticism from the Sustainable Development Commission.