Dr Karl Kruszelnicki gets his science facts so terribly wrong
This morning (Sunday) on the ABC breakfast TV program, Australia’s well known science presenter and resident expert on all things, Dr Karl Kruszeinicki was interviewed on reports of dangers from Wi Fi and mobile phones. No transcript yet but to briefly summarize Dr. Karl’s viewpoint he saw no dangers other than heating (the old thermal paradigm) and actually said that the WHO had examined the issue and “found nothing”. For a scientist to get his facts so wrong on a nationwide ABC broadcast is inexcusable. Nothing was said about the WHO’s agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) classification of radiofrequency as a possible human carcinogen. Nothing about Hardell’s findings, just a highly public all clear for the telco industry and the government’s pro-telco policy. Interestingly there was a brief flash in the program showing the The “International EMF Scientist Appeal” which asks the Secretary General and UN affiliated bodies to encourage precautionary measures, to limit EMF exposures, and to educate the public about health risks, particularly to children and pregnant women. Kruszeinicki did not refer to this Appeal and so it was apparent that the point to his whole presentation was a subtle casting of doubt over the Appeal’s claims. Did Kruszeinicki even bother to read and consider the Appeal before attacking it? Perhaps not considering the time when he previously went on air spruiking a government policy without even taking the time to read the report which he was being paid to publicise – and regretted it later.
Take his support of the Abbot government’s Intergenerational Report which downplayed climate change for example:
From the The Sydney Morning Herald, March 14, 2015
Federal Politics
Dr Karl explains the Intergenerational Report
The IGR offers challenges for the future Australian scientist Dr Karl explains.
The man chosen to spruik the Abbott government’s Intergenerational Report in a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign “” popular science broadcaster Karl Kruszelnicki “” says the report is “not perfect” and he wishes it focused more on climate change.
Dr Kruszelnicki, widely known as Dr Karl, told Fairfax Media that he had not read the report before he agreed to front the campaign and expressed surprise that it modelled scenarios under previous Labor policies as well as current policy settings.
He agreed to do it to support long-term policy making and because he gets paid “bugger all” by his employers, the ABC and the University of Sydney, he said.
The Intergenerational Report – a snapshot of Australia in 40 years – was criticised by Labor as a “highly political document” for, among other things, downgrading climate change from its own chapter in 2010 to three-and-a-half pages in 2015.
“If it was up to me I would have put more about climate change into it but I’m not Treasury “” I didn’t write the report,” Dr Kruszelnicki said.
“I was a bit iffy about it because some people don’t understand the difference between bureaucracy and government.
“Some people are saying ‘You have sold out to the Abbott government.’ No I didn’t. I did a job for Treasury.”
Treasury secretary John Fraser told a Senate estimates hearing last month that the report “is the Treasurer’s document”.
Dr Kruszelnicki said: “I agreed to do the campaign before I read the report.”
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