Green Options

A wise Nebraska farmer I know taught me this saying: “It’s what you know for certain that keeps you from learning.”   This principle is at the core of why certain groups and entities are rejecting good science.

As a scientist, and particularly as a scientist involved in agricultural and environmental issues, I’m increasingly aware of this trend.  In some cases this involves open hostility to science, in others it is just a matter of ignoring the scientific input. What is disturbing is how many different “voices” are in this unlikely “coalition” and the extent to which they are coloring the views of the broader society  (as seen in the recent Pew survey of American attitudes about climate change). 

At acknowledged risk of offending people, I will try to describe factions in the groups that tend to reject things that science would tell them.  I know that what I am talking about does not apply to everyone, or even most people in these groups, but it is still a potent force in our society. 

A teen in Florida may be deported if she refuses to get the Gardasil vaccine.

Seventeen-year-old Simone Davis has been applying for citizenship for almost 10 years. When she was 3, she was abandoned and then adopted by her paternal grandmother, who married an American. The family moved to Port St. Joe, Fla.

Now, because she refuses to get the HPV vaccine, she may be sent back to England. That’s because Gardasil is among the required vaccines for citizenship. This vaccine is not mandated for American girls, though different localities have their own laws.

Recently, Gardasil researcher Dr. Diane Harper spoke out against the vaccine, warning parents to decide whether the risks are worth it. For many families, the adverse effects of this shot have changed their lives.

This is the start of a series sharing the stories of these brave families.

Here is the story of Brittney Fiste, as told by her mother Roxie.

“Everyone deserves to know the whole truth before blindly rushing out to take an unproven vaccine.”

Researchers in California believe they have hit the jackpot in modern medical breakthroughs. The cure for AIDS.

The researchers have published a study in the journal Science, demonstrating two powerful new antibodies which could hold the key to achieving a viable AIDS vaccine. It has been well known for several years that a very small percentage of people are immune to the HIV virus, but it was never discovered quite how. Now, researchers were able to isolate the antibodies that neutralize a high percentage of the virus’s different forms currently in circulation worldwide.

In an unprecedented move, one of the lead researchers who tested Gardasil has spoken out against the vaccine.

Dr. Diane Harper tested Gardasil through Phases II and III of the trials and was part of the media blitz behind it, publicly touting its ability to prevent HPV.

But now, she cautions parents to be well aware of the risks and effectiveness before they decide their daughters should get the shot, according to CBS.

The rate of serious adverse events on par with the death rate of cervical cancer. Gardasil has been associated with at least as many serious adverse events as there are deaths from cervical cancer developing each year.

Here in Virginia, health officials are pushing the vaccine that protects against HPV. As the Washington Post reports, the Commonwealth wants Gardasil administered to every girl entering the 6th grade. Parents here can opt out simply by refusing to give their girls the shot.

But fears of adverse affects still abound. This month, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that in the 2.5 years between June 2006 and December 2008, there were

12,424 reports of side effects, or 54 reports per 100,000 doses given. That included 32 reports of death, or 1 per 1 million girls vaccinated, though it’s unclear whether the vaccine or something else was to blame.

An NPR report also stated that we’re not sure how many of those deaths were due to preexisting conditions in the teen girls, such as blood clots:

All of these people had a known risk factor for having blood clots. Most commonly was that they were on some sort of estrogen birth control. But obesity, traveling, immobility and some of these people had genetic risk factors for getting - for having blood clots, as well.

So…we’re blaming the girls for their deaths? For their previously unknown medical conditions? Not only are we as yet uncertain of Gardasil’s safety, we also have no clue about its efficacy, especially long-term.

I have a 13-year-old girl in my house.  And she won’t be getting the Gardasil shot.

No, I’m not one of those parents who believes that the HPV shot will encourage sexual behavior.  The boredom and pressures of being a teen will take care of that, thank you very much.

I found this article…a little inflammatory, don’t you think? Here’s what it says:

Some parents’ refusal to vaccinate children seems to be behind the highest rate of measles cases reported since 1996, federal officials said Thursday.

Between Jan. 1 and July 31 of this year, 131 measles cases have been reported in the United States, many of them among children whose parents have philosophical or religious objections to the vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat. New Zealand scientists have developed a vaccine to cut down on livestock flatulence, which should help farmers avoid a proposed “flatulence tax” on the methane their livestock produces. New Zealand cows and sheep are responsible for about half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Via: It’s Getting Hot [...]