The Rise of Chemophobia In the News 463
eldavojohn writes "American news outlets like The New York Times seem to thrive on chemophobia — consumer fear of the ambiguous concept of 'chemicals.' As a result, Pulitzer-prize winning science writer Deborah Blum has decided to call out New York Times journalist Nicholas Kirstof for his secondary crusade (she notes he is an admirable journalist in other realms) against chemicals. She's quick to point out the absurdity of fearing chemicals like Hydrogen which could be a puzzler considering its integral role played in life-giving water as well as life-destroying hydrogen cyanide. Another example is O2 versus O3. Blum calls upon journalists to be more specific, to avoid the use of vague terms like 'toxin' let alone 'chemical' and instead inform the public with lengthy chemical names like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) instead of omitting the actual culprit altogether. Kristof has, of course, resorted to calling makers of these specific compounds 'Big Chem' and Blum chastises his poorly researched reporting along with chemophobic lingo. Chemists of Slashdot, have you found reporting on 'chemicals' to be as poor as Blum alleges or is this no more erroneous than any scare tactic used to move newspapers and garner eyeballs?"
You know it's coming (Score:5, Funny)
So when is Kirstof's writing an article about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide?
First bad joke?
DHMO (Score:4, Funny)
Re:On the flip side (Score:5, Funny)
Yea, like grizzly bears. Those a natural, but they can ruin your afternoon.
Re:GOOD LORD I JUST DRANK SOME!!!! (Score:4, Funny)
Shit, responded to wrong parent. When is Slashdot going to get a comment "edit"?
Re:H2o (Score:5, Funny)
That's why I like Duvel, it only contains about 92% of it.
Re:You know it's coming (Score:5, Funny)
Dihydrogen monoxide? You mean, like, from the toilet?
Re:As a former chemist (Score:5, Funny)
"Chemical" is used as a perjorative
Damn right, and I love it. When someone says something I don't like, I just give them with a disdainful look and say "I don't have to take that from someone filled with disgusting chemicals."
Re:Organic Food (Score:5, Funny)
Re:frist (Score:5, Funny)
Did you really just Godwin the thread in three moves? That just happened like a blitzkrieg! You're an orator of Churchillian proportions! You bypassed the Maginot line of logic and rationality and annexed the Sudetenland of irrational comparisons!
Bravo, sir. Bravo.
Re:You know it's coming (Score:5, Funny)
It's no joke man, they've found DiHyMo in 100% of brain tumors. It's used in all sorts of industrial applications including GMO farming and pesticide production. And it's ubiquitous. People will spray it all over their lawns to try and promote growth. It's so bad it's in all the runoff in the streams rivers, and we just dump it right into the ocean.
Re:Organic Food (Score:5, Funny)
You're thinking of pizza.
Re:As a former chemist (Score:2, Funny)
Water is never organic, btw.
Yes, but the water found in rivers can be considered free range.
Re:You know it's coming (Score:4, Funny)
Re:You know it's coming (Score:5, Funny)
Re:You know it's coming (Score:4, Funny)
I think the number one psychiatric diagnostic tool to recognize Asperger's sufferers is whether the patient actually thinks that tired old joke is still funny.
Like I'd care. Technically, it's the people I talk to that suffer from my Asperger's.