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A Weblog monitoring coverage of environmental issues and science in the UK media. By Professor Emeritus Philip Stott. The aim is to assess whether a subject is being fairly covered by press, radio, and television. Above all, the Weblog will focus on science, but not just on poor science. It will also bring to public notice good science that is being ignored because it may be politically inconvenient.

Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Lord May foxes 'em with the 'Middle Way' on GM.....

As ever, sane and sensible stuff from Lord May, President of the Royal Society: 'GM warriors have killed the debate' (Comment, The Guardian, November 25):

"The results of the research, published after peer review in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, showed that the impact of GM herbicide-resistant crops needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. They demonstrate that the cultivation of these crops can help farmers to use weedkillers more effectively. But if this more effective use of weedkillers results in changes, good or bad, in the supply of food for farmland wildlife, it can significantly affect biodiversity.

Sadly, these important conclusions have been obscured by the kneejerk responses of the GM warriors issued immediately after, and in some cases before, the publication of the eight detailed scientific papers describing the farm trials results."

Quite. Absolutely what was said on this very blog! Nice to have it in the jolly old 'Grauniad' too. I wish we had more Lord Mays around - and Bob wrote this after England had drop kicked Oz into gloom and despair (wasn't the Australian Prime Minister a curmudgeonly disgrace? Talk about a poor loser - perhaps Bob should go back and take over!).

Nice to see the lads return safe and sound this morning.

The Royal Society's submission to Acre is published today here. And our old pal, Alex Kirby, is also clearly enjoying Lord May's foxy 'Middle Way': 'GM friends and foes "both wrong"' (BBC News Online, November 25).

Philip. That coffee smells really good.....


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