We’ve seen recent polls that show interest in “climate change” as being dead last with members of the public, now here’s yet another indicator. EurekAlert gauged the popularity of its science news releases, hundreds of which were about climate change during this past year, and not surprisingly, “climate change” didn’t win, place, or show.
EurekAlert! 2014 most popular news releases revealed
Wage disclosure, health science and new species got the most clicks
A news release about the unintended consequences of disclosing public officials’ wages drew nearly 180,000 visits to EurekAlert! in 2014, making it the most popular news release of the year.
Health science dominated the topics described in the 10 most-viewed news releases, with six releases covering research on the brain, sleep, intoxication, HIV and the impact of the environment on health.
News releases about identifying new species using genome sequencing technology took two spots, while an analysis of U.S. arrest rates rounded out this year’s 10 most popular releases, which received a total of more than 1.2 million views.
The annual list was compiled based on the number of public and reporter views of news releases received between 1 January and 5 December, 2014. EurekAlert! is a science-news service operated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the nonprofit scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals.
More than 25,672 news releases were eligible for inclusion on EurekAlert! in 2014. All news releases were submitted by accredited research institutions and peer-reviewed journals worldwide, and made available to registered science reporters and the public.
The 10 most-visited EurekAlert! news releases of 2014 were:
- Wage disclosures for public officials lead to salary cuts, high turnover rates (179,434)
Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; National Bureau of Economic Research
- New research sheds light on how the body regulates fundamental neuro-hormone (177,830)
University of Bristol; Nature Communications
- Virginia Tech scientist proposes revolutionary naming system for all life on Earth (168,019)
Virginia Tech; PLOS ONE
- Study finds later school start times improve sleep and daytime functioning in adolescents (159,777)
Lifespan; Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics
- Fukushima’s legacy (131,928)
American Genetic Association; Journal of Heredity
- Mutation stops worms from getting drunk (105,515)
University of Texas at Austin; The Journal of Neuroscience
- Green spaces deliver lasting mental health benefits (81,972)
University of Exeter; Environmental Science & Technology
- New frog discovered inhabiting I-95 corridor from Connecticut to North Carolina (78,134)
Rutgers University; PLOS ONE
- Study of antibody evolution charts course toward HIV vaccine (74,765)
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Nature
- Study: Half of black males, 40 percent of white males arrested by age 23 (66,971)
University of South Carolina; Crime & Delinquency
Five Most-Shared Releases
The five most-shared news releases were circulated more than 36,000 times via EurekAlert! in 2014 through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Tumblr, and e-mail, as recorded by AddThis. Three of the most-shared releases were also among the most-viewed overall. The most-shared releases were:
- Study finds later school start times improve sleep and daytime functioning in adolescents (151)
Lifespan; Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics
- New research sheds light on how the body regulates fundamental neuro-hormone (115)
Bristol University; Nature Communications
- Why dark chocolate is good for your heart (104)
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology; FASEB Journal
- Study: Half of black males, 40 percent of white males arrested by age 23 (84)
University of South Carolina; Crime & Delinquency
- No link found between movie, video game violence and societal violence (75)
International Communication Association; Journal of Communication
EurekAlert! has more than 18.5K followers on Twitter via @EurekAlertAAAS and just reached 10K fans on Facebook.
Background
Three major themes emerged from this year’s 10 most popular news releases:
Transparency and criminal justice (1st, 10th)
2014’s No. 1 release illustrated the pitfalls of transparency : wages of California’s city managers were cut by eight percent on average after the information went public, and 75 percent of the public servants subsequently quit their jobs. The research team cautioned that cutting wages due to public opinion may not be a good policy, especially if the employees feel that their hard work warrants the original wage.
Discrimination in arrest and incarceration rates in the United States has attracted growing attention over the past year following several high-profile court cases. The 10th most-visited release broke down arrest rates by age, gender, and race in the country between 1997 and 2008. While the arrest rates remained comparable among all races over time for women, the gap in arrest rates among black, Hispanic and white males was wider and increased during the study.
Health and the environment (2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th)
The second most-trafficked release identified lactate as a double-duty chemical compound. Lactate is known for providing energy for long periods of exercise after oxygen depletion, and researchers recently found that it also acts as a signal between brain cells, causing them to release more norepinephrine, the neurotransmitter responsible for the “fight or flight” response. The discovery may lead to new medications.
The fourth most-visited release described a study showing that a 25-minute delay in school start times alleviated the ill-effects of sleep deprivation in high school students. The later start time resulted in an increase in the number of students who slept eight hours or more. On average, students were also happier and better prepared to learn.
A release about the ongoing biological effects of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant meltdown in 2011 took the No. 5 spot. It covered a set of research papers on the genetic effects of radiation on non-human animals exposed to radiation on site. The studies concluded that low-dose exposure to radiation at the power plant caused increased rates of genetic mutation and damage.
The sixth most-visited release showed that worms are good models for drunkenness. In this study, purported to be a first-of-its-kind, a neural molecule that binds alcohol in the human brain was modified and inserted into worms. Other than an inability to become intoxicated, no other physiological effects were reported in the mutant worms. The researchers hoped this work could be used to help treat alcohol abuse.
The seventh most widely read news release on EurekAlert! in 2014 reported lasting mental-health effects for people living in greener areas. Surprisingly, the benefits accrued over a five-year period continued for years after ¬- even if the study subjects moved away. The results reinforced the importance of using urban planning for public access green spaces, which could provide public health benefits such as combatting depression.
The ninth most-visited story focused on HIV vaccine research. This National Institutes of Health study analyzed blood samples from an HIV-positive volunteer who developed a natural protection against the virus – an antibody that blocks a particular site on the HIV virus. The researchers predicted that an HIV vaccine will need to include this antibody, and work is now under way to develop such components.
Big data and biological classification (3rd, 8th)
The third most-trafficked news release proposed a classification and naming system based on genetic information now available thanks to new genome sequencing tools and the enormous amounts of data deriving from them. This would allow researchers to readily name newly found organisms, or to see how closely related an organism is to a known relative.
The eighth most-visited release described how an unidentified frog species had been hiding in plain sight in New York along I-95, a major interstate highway. Commonly called the “Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog,” the species’ Latin namesake was ecologist Carl Kauffeld, who first claimed that this frog was a separate species back in the 1930’s. It took genetic and bioacoustic analyses – and about 80 years – to confirm that claim.
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In an open ended survey (e.g.: what issues will sway your vote), environment never gains more than about two percent of registered voters and climate change doesn’t even show up on the list. Gallup offers survey results of this kind for those who want to look at this in greater depth.
GOOD!!!
“Big-chocolate” in at #3 ?
The quote I liked best was
It would be interesting to know exactly where ‘climate change’ comes in rankings. Is it 11th? 30th?
Somehow people’s normal commonsense tells them that ‘Climate Change/Global Warming/CAGW” is not something that they really have to worry about. Millions of years of generational training has educated them to judge really serious dangers from pseudo-dangers and even total frauds. Only modern over-intellectualisation has the capability to make people take ‘Climate Change/Global Warming/CAGW’ as a serious threat to their well being.
There is zero evidence that HIV causes AIDS. Despite the fallacious smears against Duesberg, Montaigner (one of the people behind the HiV virus discovery) and Kary Mullis the Nobel prize winning scientist who discovered the PCR DNA process, ALL who question the HIV-AIDS hypothesis, there is no new evidence to confirm the hypothesis. The vast majority of ‘AIDS’ victims in the West are gay men who engage in a heavy drugs lifestyle involving poppers, heroin, antibiotics, cocaine etc that severely damage the immune system.
The deaths of any high profile HIV positive individuals always involve some form of suspicious government involvement and confusion, controversy and coverups with regard to autopsies and cause of death.
Kary Mullis of course asked the logical question, if the virus is causing the illness then it should be present in the millions, why would you need PCR to amplify the DNA in that case, why would the viral DNA be present in such small quantities?
AIDS in africa also manifests in different ways, whereas those in the West succumb to Karposi Sarcoma, pneumonia etc which are symptoms (not exclusively) of toxic drug lifestyle, those in africa succumb to illnesses symptomatic of malnutrition. In fact they constantly expand the list of ‘AIDS illnesses’ to create an unfalsifiable hypothesis, if HIV causes everything and everything happens also on it’s own is similar to saying:
“Global warming causes hot, global warming causes cold and everything in between”
I’m not claiming HIV does not cause AIDS because I’m not expert in the field, in fact not even a Doctor, but as with climate change we can follow the evidence and come to valid conclusions, always prepared to change our minds based on the data. Currently the evidence suggests it’s a scam.
sabre…
/sarc on
Get with the program. You’re supposed to be living in fear of the AIDS epidemic that is coming soon to YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD! The media is constantly warning you that this is a huge threat to humanity. Are you not listening? You’re supposed to get mobilized to write your Congresspersons and Senators to step up the AIDS research and funding NOW! Put your hand in your pocket and start producing some money, dude. Why is the message not working on you?
/sarc off
Same with all the latest MSM causes: You are supposed to be feeling guilty of not doing enough and/or for being partially to blame. And if you don’t believe… you are a h e r e t i c and d e n i e r.
Bruce
I have to contradict you. The HIV virus is causing AIDS. Full stop. Clearly you are not a doctor and maybe you should make statements on stuff you really understand
Ah, another government conspiracy…
Why shall anyone believe what you write. You have shown no evidence. None. OTOH,
here
{Bold mine}
Go elsewhere with your drivel.
My link vanished…
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/hivaids/understanding/howhivcausesaids/pages/hivcausesaids.aspx
An HIV diagnosis used to mean almost certain death within ~3 years. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors, designed specifically to interrupt a crucial reproductive feature of the HIV virus, typically extend the average lifespan to ~20-30 years or more.
If HIV didn’t cause AIDS, the anti-retroviral drugs wouldn’t confer any therapeutic benefit. But they do.
Q.E.D.
The BBC must award brownie points to its correspondents. It seems that somewhere within every ‘news’ story that has an ‘adverse’ effect, the writer blames ‘climate change’
From weedy things dying in the Antarctic to the supposed decline of Adélie penguins (that are actually prospering), Aunty’s writers accuse climate change of being the cause.
The BBC made Lima one of its top ten “science” stories of 2014 – but they have got pensions investments to protect.
That’s a bigger myth than CAGW is!
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mypension/en/report_and_accounts_2014.pdf
Page 15 gives the top ten.
Shell’s at 3, BP at 4. Number 1’s a Chinese investment company, Rio Tinto at 9, the closest to a “Green” company is Whole Foods Market Inc who are at number 19!
They just left out the investment in wind-farms or they are included in the “Chinese Investment” company. The managers are worried because when the plebs find out their pensions are decimated they will surely be ANGRY.
I wish it were a little “warmer” here in Vermont as our Dems are prepping to launch carbon taxes to fight the nasty climate change and invest in further devastating our mountains with industrial strength wind “farms” – of course not in the legislators’ view sheds.
I shall continue, but in the meantime:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all who come here, comment here including trolls and drive-bys, and especially to all who make WUWT happen (finding you has been my best present)
But the Warmists are still winning: there is little to no discussion in the MSM about all the cracks in the AGW edifice; the UN-led talks about a new treaty are going on with seemingly all countries aboard, and it is most likely there will be a new treaty in Paris in 2015; even if it is non-binding, this treaty will keep the AGW meme alive and will guarantee continuing pressure of green lobbies on governments and businesses; even car companies and oil producers are touting their successes in lowering CO2 emissions, thus validating the Warmists point of view.
It’s seems the Skeptics have been mostly confined to their own ghetto, where they can discuss their ideas amongts themselves, while the Believers, who effectively control the decisions, can superficially dismiss any argument from Skeptics that pierces the ghetto’s fence by lumping them with flat-earthers, Holocaust deniers and religious fundamentalists.
The belief in AGW litterally permeates society. The Pause has not made a dent, as the general public is not aware of it. Any significant weather event, even cold waves and snowstorms, is attributed to Climate Change, hence to man-made CO2.
But they have lost the public. One reason is because
People with a good memory remember that this was not the story they were initially told. They remember global warming, warmer winters, oranges in southern England et al. 😊
Re: #10 – Prohibition crimes.
If it wasn’t for skeptics looking into climate alarmist articles, nobody would be reading them.
Spot on!!! I read them only ensure that there isn’t any truth in them anyway.
You are absolutely correct, it is the climate skeptics that are probably the only ones reading their propaganda. Ha Ha.
There are true believers out there. Just read the comments to any HuffPoo ‘article’ or opinion regarding CAGW (aka Climate Change).
Merry Christmas, Anthony.
Congratulations on saving countless lives and instances of misery due to others’ bad science and motivated reasoning.
WooHoo! Tech made the list.
But anecdotal evidence bolsters this survey. No one is talking about the climate, and fortunately few are doing anything about it.
Unfortunately you are right phil, nobody is doing anything about it. However, the ecoloon greenblob, IPCC dimwits and most governments, are all slowly marching on to Paris. Unless something dramatic happens and MSM start writing about this scam, the public is oblivious and not interested. By not being able to get the message to the masses that they need to voice their opinions and very strongly, we may yet get saddled with something that will be more costly and wasteful. My only hope at this time is with the Republican Senate.
There is a small but inportant error in the description of the Princeton study on wage transparency. The OP states,
“…75 percent of the public servants subsequently quit their jobs.”
If true, that would be national news!
In the press release, it turns out that there was a 75% increase in the quit rate among mamagers. The actual quit rate wasn’t given, but it almost certainly wasn’t 75%.
I followed the link only because of that obviously wrong statement. The rest of the article was interesting and informative.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Issues potentially affecting quality of life now is more important than unclear events that maybe, perhaps with an uncertain degree of certainty could possibly happen or not in one hundred years.
That global warming/climate change/climate disruption gained any traction at all is one those unexplained mysteries.
Another thought, It seems the public is coming around and ignoring climate scare. The question is when will climate scientists come around? My guess is many will fall off as research funds dry up and come to understand how foolish they are starting to look. A zealous minority never will never change regardless of the evidence and simple logic, and will continue to babble incoherently of a doomed planet, while drinking heavily and reminiscing of the good old days when global warming was just the bomb.
Climate science is a legitimate field of study that has unfortunately attracted a lot of opportunists and charlatans. They need to be cleared out, then the others can research without the need to genuflect to the great goddess Gaia.
It is a great shame that such an interesting, valuable science has been turned up a blind alley. I am certain that it can and must get out of that blind alley, but it will not be easy to distinguish the charlatans from the real scientists who yielded to pressure.
Oops. I entered my name wrongly in the entry fields. It should be JLC of Perth.
Not so fast. The last UN Conference in Peru had a huge impact.
Climate Change is now reported to have induced unusual cooling (yes, cooling) in remote regions in Peru and resulting in massacres of elders in uncontracted tribes.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/24/peru-uncontactedtribe.html
Global Warming, not Climate Change, Climate Disruption, or Climate Goal Posts for those that haven’t drunk the Kool-Aid. 🙂
No contracts involved. Un-contact-ed. Say it slowly.
Just saw a report out from the Guardian. It appears a though “the ship of fools” research shows that Adele penguins are going to be wiped out and that there is an awful lot of plastic in the water! This research was based on all those measurements they took ….you know, the ones they took while they were trying to push the ship out of the ice.
no concern for any global warming in this either!
26 Dec: Accuweather: Michael Kuhne: Year in Review: The Most-Read Weather Stories of 2014
Record-Breaking Winter Storms Battered the Eastern U.S….
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/weather-most-read-year-review-2014/39487929
Yes Climate Change as a meme is boring.
As the manipulators say climate change but imply global warming.
The entertainment is yet to come, human nature has not changed, the taxpayers of most western countries have been stripped of opportunity and robbed of treasure by a concerted action by bureaucrats, that is public employees.
Ridiculous regulations and impositions have been piled upon the poor, this mass hysteria has cost multiple lives and delayed by at least a generation the rise out of poverty of approximately 1/3 of the worlds population.
Bills are piling up and the costs are being tallied, somebody is going to pay.
Some scapegoat will face the wrath of the mob.
You don’t need a wind farm to sense which way the winds are blowing, being plunged into poverty by the actions of fools and bandits, tends to bring out the best in the masses.
Who needs guillotines when you have otherwise useless windmills?
The retribution and punishment stages of the CAGW meme will renew public interest.
The alarmed ones are right, for the wrong reasons, a “climate change” is upon us.
Political climate .
The UN knows this hence their frantic negotiations for immunity from criminal prosecutions, way too funny.
We did nothing wrong, misappropriated no funds, lied to no one.. but we need immunity from national laws.
What desperation.
No one should be above the law, especially not those who either make or influence the law.
And yet Martha Stewart went to jail for doing the exact same thing as Bill Clinton who got slapped with a wet noodle.
Only modern over-intellectualisation has the capability to make people take ‘Climate Change/Global Warming/CAGW’ as a serious threat to their well being.
No it is under intellectualisation and the elimination of numerical skills among the entire political and media class allows the skilled use of indoctrination techniques to determine right from wrong.
In my era at eleven years old we could plot a graph and if it was called science expect a near perfect match between predictions and reality to accept the “science” as proven. That was well over half a century ago. The politicians who tell us they are underpaid can no longer match that average eleven year old grammar school boy’s ability.
Thank godness this site is never Dull (Perthsire) or Bland (New South Wales) whilst fighting the good fight.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/odd/scots-town-dull-joins-forces-with-bland-and-boring-1-3185215
Owing to an abundance of rocket science level research in climate change we can now say with a straight face the problem is squirrels all the way down, yes, displacing even turtles. If you could make this stuff up this would never make the cut – it is the result of hard science.
http://www.weather.com/series/great-outdoors/video/some-rodents-are-to-blame-for-climate-change
I’m reminded of Ahab’s whale.
In unrelated news, the drop in the water levels of the Great Lakes is now over and is at record levels. Previously the drop had been attributed to, you guessed it, AGW. However, that didn’t make the news, or if it did, just another sign of global warming.
Since “climate change” as we know it has been debunked by nature it really can;t be called science anymore.
As for top ten relligions, faiths and beliefs, I’m sure it’s fourth after the wrold’s three biggest relligions.
Unfortunately, the powers-that-be do not care, in fact, they love the fact that “climate change” is off the public radar. It better allows the scaliwags to do their dirty work.