Tag: concern

It's always good when we get feedback to this newsletter, and it doesn't even have to be positive! Unlike many groups, we're the kind of organisation that relishes constructive criticism and correction - and so this week's first three articles are great to have received. Firstly Mike Joy has taken the time to expand on the concerns he had about an area of climate change and fossil fuel dependence that he thought we haven't covered very well in the past. Patrick Medlicott has responded to Mike's concerns, agreeing with him that renewable energy sources aren't currently replacing fossil fuels - they're just being added on top of fossil fuel use. On a tangentially related topic, Tyler has written about Katrina's treatment of microplastics, arguing that although we don't yet know if microplastics are a problem, it may be prudent to treat them as if they are.

I appreciated the look at plastic detox ideas and highlighting other silly things, but felt like part of the main point of concern around micro plastics was missed.

The drug Ivermectin is an anti-parasite drug (used on worms and head-lice), and has been touted as a treatment for COVID-19. On the anti-vaxx Facebook groups I monitor, it's frequently cited as the favoured treatment for COVID-19, along the same lines as Hydroxychloroquine - though that seems to have faded a little now.

NZ Skeptics were recently contacted by a journalist in response to an Official Information Act request which revealed the numbers of people and their occupations entering the country under the guise of being a critical health worker.

As you'll no doubt know, 2020 ended seeing the successful and record-setting development of a range of vaccines for COVID-19 from various companies.

Liza Schneider has written an article for the BoP Times, printed online in the Herald, which promotes nonsense therapies for animals.

Retraction Watch is a great website. As the name implies, it focuses on a key aspect of quality control in science: the retraction of scientific papers that have already passed peer-review and were published when serious concerns about those papers come to light.

When it comes to environmental issues, it's not always easy for a skeptic to decide where to stand

At the AGM, and in a subsequent letter from a member, the question was raised "what are we saving money for?". Certainly the Skeptics bank account is a reasonably healthy one, after ten years of frugal saving on the part of Treasurers past and present.

Sir, — I share Colin Bell's concern about what goes on in our universities and what sort of watching brief the university councils keep on their tutors (March 2).