What's New by Bob Park - Friday, August 14, 2009: [Is this believer beginning to lose his religion?]

3. SCIENCE WARS: THE SIDE WITH THE BEST EVIDENCE WINS.
The courts are not interested in intervening in disputes between scientists, for which we should be profoundly grateful. When there is such a dispute, as in global warming, it should be a clear message to both sides that better evidence is needed. Without it, the debate tends to become somewhat religious. Meanwhile, some precautionary measures are in order.

[How long must I unplug my cellphone to offset this guy's fossil fuel use?]: Space tourist uses $35M trip to back water issues

STAR CITY, Russia — The next paying traveler to the international space station wants to use his $35 million trip to highlight concerns about the world's water supply.

Guy Laliberte, the Canadian billionaire founder of the Cirque du Soleil, said Thursday that he aims to read a statement to the world about the planet's water problems after taking a Russian rocket to the space station.

"I'm bringing a text that will be delivered to planet Earth ... for creating awareness about the water situation on Earth," Laliberte told reporters at the Russian astronaut training center near Moscow.

Sea rise and climate change: let's do the science

Finally, activists argue that while sea level may not be as big an issue as once believed, there are other issues that justify an at-all-costs approach to climate change. One of the new issues increasingly mentioned is acidification of the oceans. This sort of shifting from one claim to the next has the feel of staying one step ahead of the science. Indeed, advocates often make claims in areas where the science is immature, like acidification, and has not been reviewed by the IPCC, precisely because such ambiguity is useful in stressing worst-case scenarios and because emotion can most easily guide policy where facts are sparse.

BBC NEWS | Europe | France set to [cash in on the greatest scientific fraud in human history]

France's Le Monde newspaper says the tax will cover 70% of the country's carbon emissions and bring in about 4.3bn euros (£3.8bn) of revenue annually.

Mr Sarkozy insists the new tax is all about persuading the French to change their habits and cut energy consumption, the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby reports from Paris.

Critics say it is just a ploy to boost ailing state finances.