MediaWatch: April 1996
Table of Contents:
Rotten in Denmark?
The media have often promoted liberal claims about the dangers of "overpopulation." Now that a new book, Our Stolen Future (with an introduction by Al Gore) theorizes that man-made chemicals are responsible for impending sterility, the media reaction is the same: unquestioned acceptance of ominous liberal claims.
Time science writer Michael Lemonick wrote March 18 that "In study after study, sperm counts in men the world over seem to be dropping precipitously." He claimed the book contains "powerful evidence" to support the hypothesis that "reproduction-related ills may be caused by chemical pollutants in the environment, including DDT." The book is based on data from a Danish scientist, Niels Skakkebaek, whose meta-analysis of 61 sperm count studies found a 50 percent decline since 1938.
Though Lemonick wrote "the evidence for a chemical-infertility link does remain largely circumstantial," he warned of apocalypse: "Extrapolating from Skakkebaek's admittedly controversial data, it's conceivable that the average man will be infertile within a century. Even if things are only half that dire, it would be bad news indeed for the human race."
Today's Bryant Gumbel used the same tone with book cowriter Theo Colborn on March 12: "The extinction of the human race has long been a staple of science fiction, but according to a group of scientists, it could one day prove to be all too true, and they say the cause of the problem may be man-made chemicals." In a letter to Today, Dr. Glenn Swogger of the American Council on Science and Health claimed Colborn's "claims of lower sperm counts relates to a subsequently discredited study a number of years ago and is stale news in the scientific community...We run the risk of so limiting pesticide use through excessive regulation and discouragement of research that we will lose the valuable contribution they make to producing cheap and healthy fruits and vegetables." Gumbel only mentioned the ACSH to note they're "partially funded...by industry."
Robert Hager provided a more sober account on the April 1 NBC Nightly News, noting critics claimed the book was "bad science." Journalist Ronald Bailey was then allowed to critique the book's science in NBC's "In Their Own Words" segment.
