Search Results for 'environmental working group'

  • Bill Nye Sides with Science on GMOs

    It’s always heartening to see a public figure willing to change his or her mind after examining scientific evidence. Last week, Bill Nye (Yes, the “Science Guy”) announced he was joining the 88 percent of scientists who believe genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are safe. After spending time with scientists at Monsanto, Nye visited Bill Maher’s […]

  • What’s a Paraben, Anyway?

    You may have noticed that more and more companies touting their products as “paraben-free.” But what exactly are parabens and should you care whether they’re in your shampoos or lotions? As a recent post on Jezebel points out, most people don’t know what parabens are, but they assume they’re dangerous. Parabens are used as preservatives in […]

  • EWG’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ Food Additives Report Falls Short on Scientific Evidence

    The Environmental Working Group (EWG) specializes in scaring the public about everyday items in their refrigerators, pantries, and medicine cabinets, often without providing compelling scientific evidence to back up its warnings. We’ve previously blogged about the problems with the group’s report on sunscreen; now the activist organization has released a new report warning the public […]

  • Feed Your Brain with Fish

    It’s pretty easy to scare Americans away from eating healthy foods—even when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says those foods are perfectly safe. We’ve seen various activists and crackpots needlessly scare the public into cutting their consumption of healthy diet staples such as apples, fluoridated water, fish, and countless others. The fear is […]

  • No, taking a receipt isn’t going to hurt you.

    No matter how many scientists and government agencies insist that the low levels of bisphenol-A (BPA) people are exposed to are safe, activists and journalists continue to needlessly scare the public about BPA exposure. This week, the Washington Post published a rather ridiculous article about the risk of exposure to BPA from store receipts. The […]

  • Packard Foundation

    The Packard Foundation works “with partners around the world to improve the lives of children, families, and communities—and to restore and protect our planet.” The foundation undoubtedly contributes to worthwhile causes, it also supports scientifically dubious ones. Specifically, Packard has given money to the Center for Food Safety (CFS), whose goals include “ensuring the testing, […]

  • Parabens

    Parabens is a term used to describe a set of chemicals used as a preservative by the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries to prevent bacteria growth. The most common parabens used in cosmetics are butylparaben, propulparaben, and methylparaben. Most personal care products including makeup, deodorants, and moisturizers, contain parabens. Health Activists and Parabens A number of environmental […]

  • Sunscreen: Cancer-Causing or Cancer-Preventing?

    Throughout the summer, headlines across the country have fanned fears about the safety of ingredients used in sunscreens. Most of these stories are based off a report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), an environmental activist group that publishes a “guide to sunscreen” at the start of every summer. EWG says that many of the […]

  • Bisphenol-A (BPA)

    Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a chemical that is used in a wide variety of items—rigid plastics, lining in canned food and beverage products, and even thermal paper used for receipts. It has been subject to hundreds of studies over the past few decades, making it one of the most studied chemicals in wide use today. BPA […]

  • Dr. Oz: Snake Oil Salesman in Scrubs

    Since 2009, Dr. Mehmet Oz’s syndicated talk show, “The Dr. Oz Show,” has served as a platform for the promotion of dangerous, anti-science information. Just recently, Dr. Oz was taken to task by U.S. Senators for heavily endorsing a weight loss product to his viewers despite no evidence the product was effective. Senator Claire McCaskill […]