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{{POV}}
'''Steven J. Milloy''' is the "[[junk science|Junk Science]]" commentator for [[Fox News|FoxNews.com]] and runs the website Junkscience.com, which is dedicated to debunking what Milloy labels "faulty scientific data and analysis."
'''Steven J. Milloy''' is a biostatistician, attorney, consultant, and writer. He is the "[[junk science|Junk Science]]" commentator for [[Fox News|FoxNews.com]] and runs the website Junkscience.com, which is dedicated to debunking faulty scientific data and analysis.


Among the topics Milloy has addressed are what he believes to be false claims regarding [[DDT]], [[global warming]], [[Alar]], [[breast implants]], [[passive smoking|secondhand smoke]], [[ozone depletion]], and [[mad cow disease]].<ref name="junkdefine">[http://www.junkscience.com/define.htm Milloy's Website, junkscience.com], accessed 20 Sept 2006.</ref> Milloy also runs CSRWatch.com, which monitors and criticizes the [[corporate social responsibility]] movement. From the 1990s until the end of 2005, he was an adjunct scholar at the [[libertarian]] [[Cato Institute]], which hosted the JunkScience.com website. He is currently an adjunct scholar at the [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]]. Milloy is head of the [[Free Enterprise Action Fund]], a [[mutual fund]] he runs with former tobacco executive Tom Borelli. He also operates the [[Advancement of Sound Science Center]], a [[non-profit organization]] which is critical of environmental science, from his home in [[Potomac, Maryland]]. Milloy has authored four books.
Among the topics Milloy has addressed are what he believes to be false claims regarding [[DDT]], [[global warming]], [[Alar]], [[breast implants]], [[passive smoking|secondhand tobacco smoke]], [[ozone depletion]], and [[mad cow disease]].<ref name="junkdefine">[http://www.junkscience.com/define.htm Milloy's Website, junkscience.com], accessed 20 Sept 2006.</ref> Milloy also runs CSRWatch.com, which monitors and criticizes the [[corporate social responsibility]] movement. From the 1990s until the end of 2005, he was an adjunct scholar at the [[libertarian]] [[Cato Institute]], which at that time also hosted the JunkScience.com website. He is currently an adjunct scholar at the [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]]. Milloy is head of the [[Free Enterprise Action Fund]], a [[mutual fund]] he runs with former tobacco executive Tom Borelli. He also operates the [[Advancement of Sound Science Center]], a [[non-profit organization]] which is critical of environmental "junk science," from his home in [[Potomac, Maryland]]. Milloy has authored four books.


⚫
Milloy's close financial and organizational ties to tobacco and oil companies have been the subject of criticism from a number of sources, in light of his attacks on the science linking secondhand smoke to health risks and [[attribution of recent climate change|human activity]] to global warming.<ref name="tnr">[http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20060206&s=thacker020606 "Smoked Out: Pundit For Hire"], published in ''The New Republic'', accessed 20 Sept 2006. Also [http://www.freepress.net/news/print.php?id=13581 available without subscription] at FreePress.net.</ref><ref name="PRWatch1">[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html PRWatch.org article detailing Milloy's ties to the tobacco industry], accessed 23 Sept 2006.</ref><ref name="ucs">{{cite web|url=http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/ExxonMobil-GlobalWarming-tobacco.html|title=Scientists' Report Documents ExxonMobil’s Tobacco-like Disinformation Campaign on Global Warming Science|date=[[3 January]] [[2007]]|publisher=[[Union of Concerned Scientists]]|accessdate=2007-01-11}}</ref><ref name="mojo">[http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/05/some_like_it_hot.html Some Like It Hot, ''Mother Jones'' article on Milloy]</ref>


==Background==
==Background==
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{{main|junk science}}
{{main|junk science}}


Milloy defines junk science as "faulty scientific data and analysis used to further a special agenda."<ref>[http://www.junkscience.com/JSJ_Course/jsjudocourse/1.html] from junkscience.com, accessed 17 June, 2007.</ref> Critics claim that, in practice, Milloy regularly criticises research suggesting that corporate activities harm the environment or public health as "junk science", while praising scientific analysis that supports his preferred positions.<ref> 'In the world according to Milloy, any scientific study that does not support the world view where all chemicals are safe is "junk science", all environmentalists are alarmist, and pollution and second hand smoke are harmless.' [http://www.trwnews.net/Documents/Dow/junkscicom.htm Tittabawassee River Watch article on Steven Milloy]</ref>
Milloy defines junk science as "faulty scientific data and analysis used to further a special agenda."<ref>[http://www.junkscience.com/JSJ_Course/jsjudocourse/1.html] from junkscience.com, accessed 17 June, 2007.</ref>


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===DDT===
⚫
The American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation says Milloy's campaign against what he calls "junk science" is a carefully-crafted facade on behalf of the tobacco industry and other elements of big business to mislead the public in order to protect their profits:

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{{quotation|Steven Milloy has adopted the role of a tobacco industry 'sound science' defender. Milloy has made it his life’s work to deny scientific studies conducted and published by the world’s most reputable and credible scientific agencies—such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization—and legitimate peer reviewed periodicals—such as Science, Nature, the Lancet, and the Journal of the American Medical Association—and label their objective evidence as “junk science"…Milloy has a lucrative and lengthy relationship with the tobacco industry that has resulted in his incarnation as Big Tobacco’s poster boy for 'junk science.'<ref>[http://www.no-smoke.org/pdf/stevenmilloy.pdf ] American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation.</ref>}}
Milloy campaigned for many years for a reversal of the phaseout of DDT, the use of which he says could save millions of lives in the fight against malaria in Third World nations. In January 2000, he called the DDT ban ''"Junk Science of the Century"'' and ''"genocide by junk science."''<ref name="ddtban1">[http://www.junkscience.com/jan00/century.html Junk Science of the Century: The DDT ban, by Steven Milloy, January 1, 2000]</ref> ''"Our irrational fear of the insecticide DDT,"'' he says, is ''"the most infamous environmentalist myth of all-time."''<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173766,00.html DDT Is Only Real Weapon to Combat Malaria, by Steven Milloy], October 27, 2005</ref> [[Rachel Carson]], he wrote, ''"misrepresented the existing science on bird reproduction and was wrong about DDT causing cancer."''<ref>[http://www.junkscience.com/foxnews/fn072800.html At Risk from the Pesticide Myth, by Steven Milloy], July 28, 2000</ref><ref>[http://www.rachelwaswrong.org/ www.RachelWasWrong.org] Uncovering Silent Spring's Deadly Consequences (Competitive Enterprise Institute)</ref><ref>[http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4965 Rachel Carson's Genocide, by Keith Lockitch, Capitalism Magazine], May 23, 2007</ref>

⚫
Milloy's junkscience.com web site features ''The Malaria Clock''<ref name="malariaclock">[http://www.junkscience.com/malaria_clock.html The Malaria Clock: A Green Eco-Imperialist Legacy of Death]</ref>, which counts up the approximate number of new malaria cases and deaths in the world, most of which he says could have been prevented by the use of DDT. As of June, 2007, the toll stands at more than 94 million dead, 90% of whom are said to have been expectant mothers and children under five years of age. ''"Infanticide on this scale appears without parallel in human history,"'' writes Milloy. ''"This is not ecology. This is not conservation. This is genocide."''<ref name="malariaclock"/> He cites a 1970 [[National Academy of Sciences]] committee report that (before its use was largely discontinued) DDT ''"prevented 500 million deaths due to malaria that would otherwise have been inevitable."''<ref>[http://www.rachelwaswrong.org/ddt.htm Rachel Was Wrong: Uncovering Silent Spring's Deadly Consequences], retrieved 19 June, 2007</ref><ref name="bbcbattle">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3532273.stm Battle over anti-malaria chemical], 4 March, 2004</ref><ref>[http://www.fightingmalaria.org/news.aspx?id=827 Uganda's Director of Health Services, Dr. Sam Zaramba: Give Us DDT (Wall Street Journal)], 12 June 2007</ref>

He is strongly critical of EPA administrator William Ruckelshaus' decision to ban DDT in 1972, a decision which overturned the ruling of an EPA administrative law judge who had found that, ''"DDT is not a carcinogenic hazard to man...'' [and, when properly used, does] ''not have a deleterious effect on freshwater fish, estuarine organisms, wild birds or other wildlife."'' According to Milloy, the judge was right, and Ruckelshaus was wrong. In support of his conclusions, Milloy cites numerous studies which found that plausible levels of exposure to DDT have no serious adverse effects on Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcon, Brown Pelicans, or other birds.<ref name="ddtfaq">[http://www.junkscience.com/ddtfaq.html 100 things you should know about DDT, by J. Gordon Edwards and Steven Milloy], retrieved 18 June, 2007</ref>

In September, 2006, the [[World Health Organization]] announced that, ''"Nearly thirty years after phasing [it] out, the widespread use of indoor spraying with DDT... will once again play a major role in'' [WHO's] ''efforts to fight... malaria."''<ref name="who4ddt">[http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr50/en/index.html WHO gives indoor use of DDT a clean bill of health for controlling malaria], 15 September, 1996</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/15/AR2006091501012.html Washington Post" WHO Urges Use of DDT in Africa; Call for Applications of Pesticide Changes 30-Year Policy], September 16, 2006</ref> The W.H.O. gave the indoor use of DDT ''"a clean bill of health for controlling malaria,"'' and stated that, ''"Extensive research and testing has... demonstrated that well-managed indoor residual spraying programmes using DDT pose no harm to wildlife or to humans."''<ref>[http://rbm.who.int/globaladvocacy/ddtdebate.html DDT - The Debate within the Malaria Community], WHO Roll Back Malaria Partnership, retrieved 27 June, 2007</ref> Milloy applauded the decision, and wrote, ''"It’s a relief that the WHO has finally come to its senses,"''<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,215084,00.html Day of Reckoning for DDT Foes?, by Steven Milly, FoxNews.com], Thursday, September 21, 2006</ref> He called it ''"great news for developing nations that want to employ the most affordable and effective anti-malarial tool."''<ref>[http://www.junkscience.com/topten2006.html ''Top Ten Junk Science Moments for 2006,'' by Steven Milloy, JunkScience.com], December 18, 2006</ref>


===Secondhand smoke===
===Secondhand tobacco smoke===
Milloy has criticized research linking [[passive smoking|secondhand tobacco smoke]] to cancer, claiming that ''"the vast majority of studies reported no statistical association"'' between secondhand smoke and cancer.<ref name="secondhandsmoke">[http://www.junkscience.com/foxnews/fn030901.html] ''Secondhand Smokescreen,'' By Steven Milloy, March 9, 2001</ref> In 1993, Milloy dismissed an [[Environmental Protection Agency]] report linking [[passive smoking|secondhand tobacco smoke]] to cancer as "a joke." Five years later Milloy claimed vindication after a [[Passive smoking#The Osteen decision|federal court]] found that the ''"EPA disregarded information and made findings on selective information; ... deviated from its [standard procedures]; failed to disclose important findings and reasoning; and left significant questions without answers."'' The court's finding against the EPA was later overturned on appeal.
Milloy has criticized research linking [[passive smoking|secondhand tobacco smoke]] to cancer, claiming that ''"the vast majority of studies reported no statistical association"'' between secondhand smoke and cancer.<ref name="secondhandsmoke">[http://www.junkscience.com/foxnews/fn030901.html] ''Secondhand Smokescreen,'' By Steven Milloy, March 9, 2001</ref> In 1993, Milloy dismissed an [[Environmental Protection Agency]] report linking [[passive smoking|secondhand tobacco smoke]] to cancer as "a joke." Five years later Milloy claimed vindication after a [[Passive smoking#The Osteen decision|federal court]] found that the ''"EPA disregarded information and made findings on selective information; ... deviated from its [standard procedures]; failed to disclose important findings and reasoning; and left significant questions without answers."'' The court's finding against the EPA was later overturned on appeal.


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In 1998, Milloy, writing on behalf of TASSC, co-wrote an article which called for the abolition of the position of [[United States Surgeon General]]. "We have not had a surgeon general for three years. Has anyone noticed? Is anyone's health at risk," asked the authors.<ref>[http://www.junkscience.com/news/sgoped.html ''An Empty Uniform,'' by Michael Gough and Steven Milloy], The Wall Street Journal, 10 February, 1998</ref><ref>[http://www.ncpa.org/pd/budget/feb98d.html NCPA Idea House: ''Who Needs A Surgeon General?'']</ref>
In 1998, Milloy, writing on behalf of TASSC, co-wrote an article which called for the abolition of the position of [[United States Surgeon General]]. "We have not had a surgeon general for three years. Has anyone noticed? Is anyone's health at risk," asked the authors.<ref>[http://www.junkscience.com/news/sgoped.html ''An Empty Uniform,'' by Michael Gough and Steven Milloy], The Wall Street Journal, 10 February, 1998</ref><ref>[http://www.ncpa.org/pd/budget/feb98d.html NCPA Idea House: ''Who Needs A Surgeon General?'']</ref>

⚫
===DDT===

Milloy has campaigned against the 1972 ban on agricultural use of DDT in the United States, and in favour of wider use of DDT against [[malaria]], which he claims could be largely eliminated if DDT was used. He has been particularly critical of [[Rachel Carson]], who he wrote, "misrepresented the existing science on bird reproduction and was wrong about DDT causing cancer."<ref>[http://www.junkscience.com/foxnews/fn072800.html At Risk from the Pesticide Myth, by Steven Milloy], July 28, 2000</ref>

⚫
Milloy's junkscience.com web site features ''The Malaria Clock'',<ref name="malariaclock">[http://www.junkscience.com/malaria_clock.html The Malaria Clock: A Green Eco-Imperialist Legacy of Death]</ref> which he claims counts up the approximate number of new malaria cases and deaths in the world, most of which he says could have been prevented by the use of DDT. As of June, 2007, the toll stands at more than 94 million dead, 90% of whom are said to have been expectant mothers and children under five years of age. "Infanticide on this scale appears without parallel in human history," writes Milloy. "This is not ecology. This is not conservation. This is genocide." A footnote at the bottom of the webpage states, "Note that some of these cases would have occurred irrespective of DDT use. Note also that, while enormously influential, the US ban did not immediately terminate global DDT use and that developing world malaria mortality increased over time rather than instantly leaping to the estimated value of 2,700,000 deaths per year. However, certain in the knowledge that even one human sacrificed on the altar of green misanthropy is infinitely too many, I let stand the linear extrapolation of numbers from an instant start on the 1st of the month following this murderous ban."<ref name="malariaclock"/>

⚫
Responding to an opinion column relying on Milloy’s arguments, parasitologists Alan Lymbery and Andrew Thompson wrote, in 2004:

⚫
<blockquote>The use of DDT...is not banned for public health use in most areas of the world where malaria is endemic. Indeed, DDT was recently exempted from a proposed worldwide ban on organophosphate [''sic''] chemicals.

⚫
One of the important factors in declining use of DDT was decreasing effectiveness and greater costs because of the development of resistance in mosquitoes. Resistance was largely caused by the indiscriminate, widespread use of DDT to control agricultural pests in the tropics.

⚫
To blame a reduction in DDT usage for the death of 10-30 million people from malaria is not just simple-minded, it is demonstrably wrong. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://kenethmiles.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_kenethmiles_archive.html#107570569615970184 |title=The UnAustralian |accessdate=2007-06-29 |format= |work=}}</ref></blockquote>

⚫
In 2006, following a press release by the World Health Organization that recommended more extensive use of indoor residual spraying with DDT and other pesticides, Milloy wrote, "It’s a relief that the WHO has finally come to its senses."<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,215084,00.html Day of Reckoning for DDT Foes?, by Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com], Thursday, September 21, 2006</ref>


===Asbestos and the World Trade Center===
===Asbestos and the World Trade Center===
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Milloy has consistently argued from the position of a [[global warming skeptic]] that [[anthropogenic climate change|human activity]] has little impact on [[climate change]] and that regulations to limit [[greenhouse gas]] emissions are unwarranted and harmful to business interests.
Milloy has consistently argued from the position of a [[global warming skeptic]] that [[anthropogenic climate change|human activity]] has little impact on [[climate change]] and that regulations to limit [[greenhouse gas]] emissions are unwarranted and harmful to business interests.


In 2004, when the [[Arctic_Climate_Impact_Assessment|Arctic Climate Impact Assessment]] was released by the intergovernmental [[Arctic Council]] and the non-governmental [[International Arctic Science Committee]], Milloy wrote that the report "pretty much debunks itself," in part because it showed that Arctic temperatures fluctuate in approximately 40 year cycles, with the most recent cooling period, in the mid-20th century, having occurred despite steadily rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.<ref>[http://www.junkscience.com/fox/milloy111204.html Polar Bear Scare on Thin Ice, by Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com], 12 Nov., 2004</ref> In response, lead author James McCarthy wrote, "In order to take that position you have to refute what are hundreds of scientific papers that reconstruct various pieces of this climate puzzle."<ref name="mojo"/> Climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research also disagreed with Milloy's claim, stating "Scientifically, this argument holds no water: it is simply not possible to draw conclusions about the causes of climate variations by just looking at one time series" and criticized Milloy for taking "one result out of context and present[ing] unwarranted conclusions, knowing that a lay audience will not easily recognise their fallacy."<ref>[http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2004/12/the-arctic-climate-impact-assessment/]</ref>
In 2004, when the [[Arctic_Climate_Impact_Assessment|Arctic Climate Impact Assessment]] was released by the intergovernmental [[Arctic Council]] and the non-governmental [[International Arctic Science Committee]], Milloy wrote that the report "pretty much debunks itself," in part because it showed that Arctic temperatures fluctuate in approximately 40 year cycles, with the most recent cooling period, in the mid-20th century, having occurred despite steadily rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.<ref>[http://www.junkscience.com/fox/milloy111204.html Polar Bear Scare on Thin Ice, by Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com], 12 Nov., 2004</ref>


In April 1998 Milloy was part of the "Global Climate Science Team," which was founded in part by ExxonMobil to work out a strategy to influence the media to "understand (recognize) uncertainties in climate science."<ref name="ucs"/>
In April 1998 Milloy was part of the "Global Climate Science Team," which was founded in part by ExxonMobil to work out a strategy to influence the media to "understand (recognize) uncertainties in climate science."<ref name="ucs"/>
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That said, some sort of evolutionary process seems most likely in my opinion. But there will probably always be enough uncertainty in any explanation of human evolution to give critics plenty of room for doubt.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cato.org/askourscholars/milloy/milloy-020115-2.html | title=Q and A With Steve Milloy| author=Steve Milloy| accessdate=2007-01-11}}</ref>}}
That said, some sort of evolutionary process seems most likely in my opinion. But there will probably always be enough uncertainty in any explanation of human evolution to give critics plenty of room for doubt.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cato.org/askourscholars/milloy/milloy-020115-2.html | title=Q and A With Steve Milloy| author=Steve Milloy| accessdate=2007-01-11}}</ref>}}


⚫
==Registration as a lobbyist==
⚫
The [[United States Senate]] Lobby Filing Disclosure Program lists Milloy was as a registered [[lobbyist]] for the [[EOP Group]] for the years 1998-2000.<ref name="sopr">[http://sopr.senate.gov/cgi-win/m_opr_viewer.exe?DoFn=3&LOB=MILLOY,%20STEVE&LOBQUAL== United States Senate Lobby Filing Disclosure Program, listing Milloy as a lobbyist for the EOP Group from 1998-2000], accessed 28 June 2006.</ref> The guidebook ''Washington Representatives'' also listed him as a lobbyist for the EOP Group in 1996.<ref>''Washington Lobbyists'', 1996, Columbia Books, Washington DC.</ref> The EOP Group's clients include the American Crop Protection Association (pesticides), the Chlorine Chemistry Council, [[Edison Electric Institute]] (fossil and nuclear energy), Fort Howard Corp. (a paper manufacturer) and the [[National Mining Association]]. Milloy himself was personally registered as a lobbyist for [[Monsanto]] and the International Food Additives Council.<ref>[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1999Q4/avery.html#milloy Saving the Planet With Pestilent Statistics], by Karen Charman. Published in the [[PR Watch]] newsletter, Vol. 6 No. 4 (1999). Accessed [[June 29]] [[2007]].</ref>

⚫
Milloy denies ever lobbying, and in a 1998 email response to his registration as a lobbyist under EOP he wrote:
⚫
{{Quotation|I do not lobby for ANYONE. Before I became executive director of TASSC, I did some technical consulting for a D.C. firm which had the policy of registering all its employees and consultants as lobbyists (whether or not they lobbied) pursuant to a new law passed in 1995. I am aware of the listing and have asked it to be corrected since I no longer work for that firm.<ref>[http://www.physics.odu.edu/~weinstei/srhr/links/milloy-1.htm "Junk Science and the Art of Spin-Doctoring"] Stewart Fist [[Old Dominion University]] College of Sciences.</ref>}}


==Corporate activism==
==Corporate activism==
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Similarly, Daniel Gross, in a ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' magazine article, wrote that FEAF "seems to be a [[lobbying|lobbying enterprise]] masquerading as a [[mutual fund]]." Gross noted that Milloy and Tom Borelli, the former head of corporate scientific affairs for Philip Morris, lack any [[money management]] experience; he also noted that FEAF had badly underperformed the [[S&P 500]] during its first 10 months of existence. Gross concluded that "...in the short term, it looks like Borelli and Milloy are essentially paying the fund for the privilege of using it as a platform to broadcast their views on corporate governance, global warming, and a host of other issues."<ref name="slate">[http://www.slate.com/id/2140997/ "Thank You for Investing: A very curious right-wing mutual fund." Article by Daniel Gross from Slate magazine, published 4 May 2006.] Accessed 11 October 2006.</ref>
Similarly, Daniel Gross, in a ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' magazine article, wrote that FEAF "seems to be a [[lobbying|lobbying enterprise]] masquerading as a [[mutual fund]]." Gross noted that Milloy and Tom Borelli, the former head of corporate scientific affairs for Philip Morris, lack any [[money management]] experience; he also noted that FEAF had badly underperformed the [[S&P 500]] during its first 10 months of existence. Gross concluded that "...in the short term, it looks like Borelli and Milloy are essentially paying the fund for the privilege of using it as a platform to broadcast their views on corporate governance, global warming, and a host of other issues."<ref name="slate">[http://www.slate.com/id/2140997/ "Thank You for Investing: A very curious right-wing mutual fund." Article by Daniel Gross from Slate magazine, published 4 May 2006.] Accessed 11 October 2006.</ref>


==Praise==

The late [[Philip Abelson]], editor of [[Science (magazine)|''Science'']] from 1962 to 1984, wrote that "Milloy is one of a small group who devotes time, energy and intelligence to the defense of the truth of science."

Other prominant individuals who have praised Milloy's work include [[Donald Henderson|D.A. Henderson]], Dean of the [[Johns Hopkins School of Public Health]] from 1977 to 1990, and a leader in the international fight to eradicate smallpox; [[Ronald Bailey]], the science editor for ''Reason'' magazine; [[Frederick Seitz]], president of the National Academy of Sciences from 1962 to 1969; and journalist [[John Stossel]].



==Criticism==
==Criticism==

⚫
Milloy has been accused by his critics of making misleading and false claims, and of misrepresenting himself as an impartial journalist on health and environmental matters while accepting funding and editorial input from tobacco and oil companies. Critics claim that, in practice, Milloy regularly criticises research suggesting that corporate activities harm the environment or public health as "junk science," while praising scientific analysis that supports his preferred positions.<ref>[http://www.trwnews.net/Documents/Dow/junkscicom.htm CLEAR ("the anti-environmentalism watchdog group") article attacking Steven Milloy] 'Environmentalist article which accuses Milloy of believing that "all chemicals are safe" and "pollution [is] harmless."'</ref>
Critics claim that, in practice, Milloy regularly criticizes research suggesting that corporate activities harm the environment or public health as "junk science", while praising scientific analysis that supports his preferred positions.<ref> 'In the world according to Milloy, any scientific study that does not support the world view where all chemicals are safe is "junk science", all environmentalists are alarmist, and pollution and second hand smoke are harmless.' [http://www.trwnews.net/Documents/Dow/junkscicom.htm Tittabawassee River Watch article on Steven Milloy]</ref>

⚫
Milloy has been accused by his critics of making misleading and false claims, and of misrepresenting himself as an impartial journalist on health and environmental matters while accepting funding and editorial input from tobacco and oil companies. Critics claim that, in practice, Milloy regularly criticizes research suggesting that corporate activities harm the environment or public health as "junk science," while praising scientific analysis that supports his preferred positions.<ref>[http://www.trwnews.net/Documents/Dow/junkscicom.htm CLEAR ("the anti-environmentalism watchdog group") article attacking Steven Milloy] 'Environmentalist article which accuses Milloy of believing that "all chemicals are safe" and "pollution [is] harmless."'</ref>

⚫
Milloy's close financial and organizational ties to tobacco and oil companies have been the subject of criticism from a number of sources, in light of his attacks on the science linking secondhand smoke to health risks and [[attribution of recent climate change|human activity]] to global warming.<ref name="tnr">[http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20060206&s=thacker020606 "Smoked Out: Pundit For Hire"], published in ''The New Republic'', accessed 20 Sept 2006. Also [http://www.freepress.net/news/print.php?id=13581 available without subscription] at FreePress.net.</ref><ref name="PRWatch1">[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html PRWatch.org article detailing Milloy's ties to the tobacco industry], accessed 23 Sept 2006.</ref><ref name="ucs">{{cite web|url=http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/ExxonMobil-GlobalWarming-tobacco.html|title=Scientists' Report Documents ExxonMobil’s Tobacco-like Disinformation Campaign on Global Warming Science|date=[[3 January]] [[2007]]|publisher=[[Union of Concerned Scientists]]|accessdate=2007-01-11}}</ref><ref name="mojo">[http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/05/some_like_it_hot.html Some Like It Hot, ''Mother Jones'' article on Milloy]</ref>

===DDT===
⚫
Responding to an opinion column relying on Milloy’s arguments, parasitologists Alan Lymbery and Andrew Thompson wrote, in 2004:

⚫
<blockquote>The use of DDT...is not banned for public health use in most areas of the world where malaria is endemic. Indeed, DDT was recently exempted from a proposed worldwide ban on organophosphate [''sic''] chemicals.

⚫
One of the important factors in declining use of DDT was decreasing effectiveness and greater costs because of the development of resistance in mosquitoes. Resistance was largely caused by the indiscriminate, widespread use of DDT to control agricultural pests in the tropics.

⚫
To blame a reduction in DDT usage for the death of 10-30 million people from malaria is not just simple-minded, it is demonstrably wrong. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://kenethmiles.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_kenethmiles_archive.html#107570569615970184 |title=The UnAustralian |accessdate=2007-06-29 |format= |work=}}</ref></blockquote>

⚫
In 2006, following a press release by the World Health Organization that recommended more extensive use of indoor residual spraying with DDT and other pesticides, Milloy wrote, "It’s a relief that the WHO has finally come to its senses."<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,215084,00.html Day of Reckoning for DDT Foes?, by Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com], Thursday, September 21, 2006</ref>

===Tobacco===
⚫
The American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation says Milloy's campaign against what he calls "junk science" is a carefully-crafted facade on behalf of the tobacco industry and other elements of big business to mislead the public in order to protect their profits:
⚫
{{quotation|Steven Milloy has adopted the role of a tobacco industry 'sound science' defender. Milloy has made it his life’s work to deny scientific studies conducted and published by the world’s most reputable and credible scientific agencies—such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization—and legitimate peer reviewed periodicals—such as Science, Nature, the Lancet, and the Journal of the American Medical Association—and label their objective evidence as “junk science"…Milloy has a lucrative and lengthy relationship with the tobacco industry that has resulted in his incarnation as Big Tobacco’s poster boy for 'junk science.'<ref>[http://www.no-smoke.org/pdf/stevenmilloy.pdf ] American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation.</ref>}}

===Global warming===
In response to Milloy's criticism of the [[global warming]] hypothesis, James McCarthy wrote, "In order to take that position you have to refute what are hundreds of scientific papers that reconstruct various pieces of this climate puzzle."<ref name="mojo"/> Climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research wrote, "Scientifically, [Milloy's] argument holds no water: it is simply not possible to draw conclusions about the causes of climate variations by just looking at one time series" and criticized Milloy for taking "one result out of context and present[ing] unwarranted conclusions, knowing that a lay audience will not easily recognise their fallacy."<ref>[http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2004/12/the-arctic-climate-impact-assessment/]</ref>


===Biographical claim===
===Biographical claim===
{{TotallyDisputed-section}}
Milloy's biography on his junkscience.com website claims that he was a member of the judging panel for the 2004 [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] (AAAS) Journalism Awards.<ref name="junkcv"/> However, the AAAS website does not list him among the 2004 judges.<ref>[http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/sja/2004/judges.shtml AAAS Science Journalism Awards 2004 Judge Roster, which does not include Steven Milloy]. Accessed 10 October 2006.</ref> Journalist [[Paul D. Thacker]] reported that the AAAS initially invited Milloy as a judge, because he was listed in a media directory of journalists as a "science editor". However, Milloy quickly notified the other panelists that he had a [[conflict of interest]] due to his affiliation with the Cato Institute. His input was not considered and he was removed from the AAAS' list of judges, though Milloy's website maintains that he was a member of the judging panel.
Milloy's biography on his junkscience.com website claims that he was a member of the judging panel for the 2004 [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] (AAAS) Journalism Awards.<ref name="junkcv"/> However, the AAAS website does not list him among the 2004 judges.<ref>[http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/sja/2004/judges.shtml AAAS Science Journalism Awards 2004 Judge Roster, which does not include Steven Milloy]. Accessed 10 October 2006.</ref> Journalist [[Paul D. Thacker]] reported that the AAAS initially invited Milloy as a judge, because he was listed in a media directory of journalists as a "science editor". However, Milloy quickly notified the other panelists that he had a [[conflict of interest]] due to his affiliation with the Cato Institute. His input was not considered and he was removed from the AAAS' list of judges, though Milloy's website maintains that he was a member of the judging panel.


Line 102: Line 120:


===Journalistic ethics===
===Journalistic ethics===
{{TotallyDisputed-section}}
Critics, including Paul Thacker and [[George Monbiot]], have contended that Milloy is a paid advocate for [[Philip Morris]], [[R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company|R. J. Reynolds Tobacco]], and other companies.<ref name="tnr"/><ref name="rjrmemo"/><ref name="pmbudget"/><ref>[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html PRWatch.com article describing the financial links between Milloy and the tobacco industry], accessed 20 Sept 2006.</ref> Tobacco-industry documents show that Milloy's website content was discussed, reviewed, and revised by a [[public relations]] firm hired by RJR Tobacco.<ref name="rjrmemo"/>
Critics, including Paul Thacker and [[George Monbiot]], have contended that Milloy is a paid advocate for [[Philip Morris]], [[R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company|R. J. Reynolds Tobacco]], and other companies.<ref name="tnr"/><ref name="rjrmemo"/><ref name="pmbudget"/><ref>[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html PRWatch.com article describing the financial links between Milloy and the tobacco industry], accessed 20 Sept 2006.</ref> A memo by a [[public relations]] firm employee hired by RJR Tobacco says that the PR firm reviewed Milloy's web site and provided him with material for use on his web site.<ref name="rjrmemo"/>


In January 2006, Paul D. Thacker reported in ''[[The New Republic]]'' that Milloy, who is presented by [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]] as an independent journalist, was under contract to provide consulting services to Philip Morris through the end of 2005.<ref name="tnr"/> Philip Morris documents showed that Milloy was budgeted hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments while writing for FoxNews.com.<ref name="pmbudget"/> In the May/June 2005 issue of ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'', Chris Mooney reported that [[non-profit organization]]s operated out of Milloy's home have also received large payments from [[ExxonMobil]] during his tenure with Fox News.<ref name="mojo"/><ref name="tnr"/>
In January 2006, Paul D. Thacker reported in ''[[The New Republic]]'' that Milloy, who is presented by [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]] as an independent journalist, was under contract to provide consulting services to Philip Morris through the end of 2005.<ref name="tnr"/> Philip Morris documents showed that Milloy was budgeted hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments while writing for FoxNews.com.<ref name="pmbudget"/> In the May/June 2005 issue of ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'', Chris Mooney reported that [[non-profit organization]]s operated out of Milloy's home have also received large payments from [[ExxonMobil]] during his tenure with Fox News.<ref name="mojo"/><ref name="tnr"/>
Line 108: Line 127:
A spokesperson for Fox News stated, "Fox News was unaware of Milloy's connection with Philip Morris. Any affiliation he had should have been disclosed."<ref name="tnr"/> Regarding ties to ExxonMobil, a Fox News spokesperson stated that Milloy is "...affiliated with several not-for-profit groups that possibly may receive funding from Exxon, but he certainly does not receive funding directly from Exxon."<ref name="mojo"/>
A spokesperson for Fox News stated, "Fox News was unaware of Milloy's connection with Philip Morris. Any affiliation he had should have been disclosed."<ref name="tnr"/> Regarding ties to ExxonMobil, a Fox News spokesperson stated that Milloy is "...affiliated with several not-for-profit groups that possibly may receive funding from Exxon, but he certainly does not receive funding directly from Exxon."<ref name="mojo"/>


Journalists who take money to write pieces favorable to corporate interests are widely considered to be breaching [[journalistic ethics]].<ref>[http://www.prsa.org/_News/leaders/disclosure0111.asp Public Relations Society of America statement on disclosure of financial interests.] Accessed 11 October 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists]. Accessed 11 October 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-06-williams-whitehouse_x.htm USAToday article on Armstrong Williams, containing numerous comments on ethical impropriety of accepting money in return for favorable journalistic coverage.] Accessed 11 October 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56330-2005Jan7_2.html Washington Post article on Armstrong Williams, containing numerous comments on the impropriety of accepting money in return for favorable journalistic coverage.] Accessed 11 October 2006.</ref> Milloy's association with the Cato Institute has since ended; however, [[as of 2006|as of October 2006]], he continues to write for FoxNews.com, where he is described as a "junk science expert."<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,220341,00.html Milloy column on global warming, published 12 October 2006, in which Milloy is described as a "junk science expert."] Accessed 16 October 2006.</ref>
Milloy's association with the Cato Institute has since ended; however, [[as of 2006|as of October 2006]], he continues to write for FoxNews.com, where he is described as a "junk science expert."<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,220341,00.html Milloy column on global warming, published 12 October 2006, in which Milloy is described as a "junk science expert."] Accessed 16 October 2006.</ref>


===Reaction to death of political opponents===
===Reaction to death of political opponents===
Line 121: Line 140:


<blockquote>It takes a certain kind of person to capitalize on a human catastrophe such as the attacks on the World Trade Centre. While the rest of us remained desperate for news, some were plotting how these events could be used to maximum advantage. ... The fact that Milloy chose to make this and other such statements as ground zero was still smouldering shows an insensitivity that is hard to fathom. What decent human being could do anything during those early days but watch and wait as the emergency services worked 24/7 to locate survivors?<ref>[http://www.btinternet.com/~ibas/lka_science_not_as_we_know.htm#3 Criticism of Milloy for blaming asbestos removal for the WTC collapses, from the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat.] Accessed 16 October 2006.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>It takes a certain kind of person to capitalize on a human catastrophe such as the attacks on the World Trade Centre. While the rest of us remained desperate for news, some were plotting how these events could be used to maximum advantage. ... The fact that Milloy chose to make this and other such statements as ground zero was still smouldering shows an insensitivity that is hard to fathom. What decent human being could do anything during those early days but watch and wait as the emergency services worked 24/7 to locate survivors?<ref>[http://www.btinternet.com/~ibas/lka_science_not_as_we_know.htm#3 Criticism of Milloy for blaming asbestos removal for the WTC collapses, from the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat.] Accessed 16 October 2006.</ref></blockquote>

⚫
==Registration as a lobbyist==
{{TotallyDisputed-section}}
⚫
The [[United States Senate]] Lobby Filing Disclosure Program lists Milloy was as a registered [[lobbyist]] for the [[EOP Group]] for the years 1998-2000.<ref name="sopr">[http://sopr.senate.gov/cgi-win/m_opr_viewer.exe?DoFn=3&LOB=MILLOY,%20STEVE&LOBQUAL== United States Senate Lobby Filing Disclosure Program, listing Milloy as a lobbyist for the EOP Group from 1998-2000], accessed 28 June 2006.</ref> The guidebook ''Washington Representatives'' also listed him as a lobbyist for the EOP Group in 1996.<ref>''Washington Lobbyists'', 1996, Columbia Books, Washington DC.</ref> The EOP Group's clients include the American Crop Protection Association (pesticides), the Chlorine Chemistry Council, [[Edison Electric Institute]] (fossil and nuclear energy), Fort Howard Corp. (a paper manufacturer) and the [[National Mining Association]]. Milloy himself was personally registered as a lobbyist for [[Monsanto]] and the International Food Additives Council.<ref>[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1999Q4/avery.html#milloy Saving the Planet With Pestilent Statistics], by Karen Charman. Published in the [[PR Watch]] newsletter, Vol. 6 No. 4 (1999). Accessed [[June 29]] [[2007]].</ref>

⚫
Milloy denies ever lobbying, and in a 1998 email response to his registration as a lobbyist under EOP he wrote:
⚫
{{Quotation|I do not lobby for ANYONE. Before I became executive director of TASSC, I did some technical consulting for a D.C. firm which had the policy of registering all its employees and consultants as lobbyists (whether or not they lobbied) pursuant to a new law passed in 1995. I am aware of the listing and have asked it to be corrected since I no longer work for that firm.<ref>[http://www.physics.odu.edu/~weinstei/srhr/links/milloy-1.htm "Junk Science and the Art of Spin-Doctoring"] Stewart Fist [[Old Dominion University]] College of Sciences.</ref>}}



==Responses==
==Responses==

Revision as of 23:45, 19 July 2007

Steven J. Milloy is a biostatistician, attorney, consultant, and writer. He is the "Junk Science" commentator for FoxNews.com and runs the website Junkscience.com, which is dedicated to debunking faulty scientific data and analysis.

Among the topics Milloy has addressed are what he believes to be false claims regarding DDT, global warming, Alar, breast implants, secondhand tobacco smoke, ozone depletion, and mad cow disease.[1] Milloy also runs CSRWatch.com, which monitors and criticizes the corporate social responsibility movement. From the 1990s until the end of 2005, he was an adjunct scholar at the libertarian Cato Institute, which at that time also hosted the JunkScience.com website. He is currently an adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Milloy is head of the Free Enterprise Action Fund, a mutual fund he runs with former tobacco executive Tom Borelli. He also operates the Advancement of Sound Science Center, a non-profit organization which is critical of environmental "junk science," from his home in Potomac, Maryland. Milloy has authored four books.


Background

Milloy holds a B.A. in Natural Sciences from Johns Hopkins University, a Master of Health Sciences in Biostatistics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore, and a Master of Laws from the Georgetown University Law Center.[2]

Junk science

Main article: junk science

Milloy defines junk science as "faulty scientific data and analysis used to further a special agenda."[3]

DDT

Milloy campaigned for many years for a reversal of the phaseout of DDT, the use of which he says could save millions of lives in the fight against malaria in Third World nations. In January 2000, he called the DDT ban "Junk Science of the Century" and "genocide by junk science."[4] "Our irrational fear of the insecticide DDT," he says, is "the most infamous environmentalist myth of all-time."[5] Rachel Carson, he wrote, "misrepresented the existing science on bird reproduction and was wrong about DDT causing cancer."[6][7][8]

Milloy's junkscience.com web site features The Malaria Clock[9], which counts up the approximate number of new malaria cases and deaths in the world, most of which he says could have been prevented by the use of DDT. As of June, 2007, the toll stands at more than 94 million dead, 90% of whom are said to have been expectant mothers and children under five years of age. "Infanticide on this scale appears without parallel in human history," writes Milloy. "This is not ecology. This is not conservation. This is genocide."[9] He cites a 1970 National Academy of Sciences committee report that (before its use was largely discontinued) DDT "prevented 500 million deaths due to malaria that would otherwise have been inevitable."[10][11][12]

He is strongly critical of EPA administrator William Ruckelshaus' decision to ban DDT in 1972, a decision which overturned the ruling of an EPA administrative law judge who had found that, "DDT is not a carcinogenic hazard to man... [and, when properly used, does] not have a deleterious effect on freshwater fish, estuarine organisms, wild birds or other wildlife." According to Milloy, the judge was right, and Ruckelshaus was wrong. In support of his conclusions, Milloy cites numerous studies which found that plausible levels of exposure to DDT have no serious adverse effects on Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcon, Brown Pelicans, or other birds.[13]

In September, 2006, the World Health Organization announced that, "Nearly thirty years after phasing [it] out, the widespread use of indoor spraying with DDT... will once again play a major role in [WHO's] efforts to fight... malaria."[14][15] The W.H.O. gave the indoor use of DDT "a clean bill of health for controlling malaria," and stated that, "Extensive research and testing has... demonstrated that well-managed indoor residual spraying programmes using DDT pose no harm to wildlife or to humans."[16] Milloy applauded the decision, and wrote, "It’s a relief that the WHO has finally come to its senses,"[17] He called it "great news for developing nations that want to employ the most affordable and effective anti-malarial tool."[18]

Secondhand tobacco smoke

Milloy has criticized research linking secondhand tobacco smoke to cancer, claiming that "the vast majority of studies reported no statistical association" between secondhand smoke and cancer.[19] In 1993, Milloy dismissed an Environmental Protection Agency report linking secondhand tobacco smoke to cancer as "a joke." Five years later Milloy claimed vindication after a federal court found that the "EPA disregarded information and made findings on selective information; ... deviated from its [standard procedures]; failed to disclose important findings and reasoning; and left significant questions without answers." The court's finding against the EPA was later overturned on appeal.

When the British Medical Journal published a similar meta-analysis in 1997, Milloy wrote, "Of the 37 studies, only 7--less than 19 percent--reported statistically significant increases in lung cancer incidence... Meta-analysis of the secondhand smoke studies was a joke when EPA did it in 1993. And it remains a joke today."[20] When another researcher published a study linking secondhand smoke to cancer, Milloy wrote that she, "…must have pictures of journal editors in compromising positions with farm animals. How else can you explain her studies seeing the light of day?"[21]

While at FoxNews.com, Milloy has continued to criticize claims that secondhand tobacco smoke causes cancer.[22] During the time that Milloy was criticizing claims of a link between secondhand smoke and cancer, his junkscience.com website was reviewed and revised by a public relations firm hired by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.[23] Milloy also worked as executive director of The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC), a "front group" established in 1993 by Philip Morris and its public relations firm "to expand and assist Philip Morris in its efforts with issues in targeted states."[22][24][25] Philip Morris memos describe "utilizing TASSC as a tool in targeted legislative battles";[26] a 1994 Philip Morris memo listed TASSC under "PM Tools to Affect Legislative Decisions".[27] In 2000 & 2001, Milloy received a total of $180,000 in payments from Philip Morris for consulting services.[28] According the its 1997 annual report, TASSC "sponsored" junkscience.com.[29]

U.S. Surgeon General

In 1998, Milloy, writing on behalf of TASSC, co-wrote an article which called for the abolition of the position of United States Surgeon General. "We have not had a surgeon general for three years. Has anyone noticed? Is anyone's health at risk," asked the authors.[30][31]

Asbestos and the World Trade Center

On September 14 2001, three days after terrorist attacks destroyed the World Trade Center, Milloy reported on the opinions of experts who believed that the World Trade Center towers might have stood longer, preventing many casualties, had the use of asbestos fire-resistant lagging not been discontinued during the Towers' construction.[32] Milloy's article reported that, "In 1971, New York City banned the use of asbestos in spray fireproofing. At that time, asbestos insulating material had only been sprayed up to the 64th floor of the World Trade Center towers," and cited experts who questioned the efficacy of the asbestos-free lagging that was used on the steel in the upper floors.

The environment

Milloy has been critical of the Clean Air Act, acknowledging that it has improved air quality but arguing that it has forced Americans to "surrender many freedoms." Milloy argued that "air pollution in the U.S. was more of an aesthetic than a public health problem [in 1970]. That is even more the case today."[33]

Milloy has consistently argued from the position of a global warming skeptic that human activity has little impact on climate change and that regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions are unwarranted and harmful to business interests.

In 2004, when the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment was released by the intergovernmental Arctic Council and the non-governmental International Arctic Science Committee, Milloy wrote that the report "pretty much debunks itself," in part because it showed that Arctic temperatures fluctuate in approximately 40 year cycles, with the most recent cooling period, in the mid-20th century, having occurred despite steadily rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.[34]

In April 1998 Milloy was part of the "Global Climate Science Team," which was founded in part by ExxonMobil to work out a strategy to influence the media to "understand (recognize) uncertainties in climate science."[35]

Milloy and long-time collaborator Tom Borelli are also involved with demanddebate.com, an organization that seeks to eliminate what it calls "bias" in environmental education.[36] According to Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Milloy is the "boss" of the group,[37] and a Competitive Enterprise Institute press release says he "coordinated" the group's activities at the recent Live Earth concert in New York, at which a plane circled the event pulling a banner reading, "DON’T BELIEVE AL GORE – DEMAND DEBATE.COM."[38]

Food safety

Responding to criticism of the safety of the food product Quorn by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Milloy accused CSPI of having an undisclosed relationship with Quorn's main competitor, Gardenburger. Writing for FoxNews.com, Milloy said that "CSPI appears to have an unsavory relationship with Quorn competitor, Gardenburger" and called the CSPI's complaints "unscrupulous shrieking".[39] Gardenburger denied Milloy's accusation, stating that Milloy's allegation of an "unsavory relationship" was "untrue and groundless".[40]

Evolution

Milloy's views on [evolution] are as follows:

Explanations of human evolution are not likely to move beyond the stage of hypothesis or conjecture. There is no scientific way - i.e., no experiment or other means of reliable study - for explaining how humans developed. Without a valid scientific method for proving a hypothesis, no indisputable explanation can exist.

The process of evolution can be scientifically demonstrated in some lower life forms, but this is a far cry from explaining how humans developed.

That said, some sort of evolutionary process seems most likely in my opinion. But there will probably always be enough uncertainty in any explanation of human evolution to give critics plenty of room for doubt.[41]


Corporate activism

Milloy and former tobacco executive Tom Borelli run a mutual fund called the Free Enterprise Action Fund (FEAF). The fund has criticised companies that voluntarily adopt high environmental standards. A statement issued by the FEAF on November 30 2005 began:

Action Fund Management LLC (AFM), investment adviser to the Free Enterprise Action Fund, requested that Goldman Sachs’ (NYSE: GS) Audit and Corporate Governance Committees review the firm’s recently announced Environmental Policy. “We are concerned that CEO Henry Paulson may have had a material conflict of interest and management may have breached its fiduciary duty to shareholders by adopting the policy,” said AFM’s Steve Milloy.

Through the platform of the FEAF, Milloy has criticized a number of other corporations for adopting environmental initiatives:

FEAF has been criticised by investment analyst Chuck Jaffe as being "an advocacy group in search of assets." Jaffe concludes "Strip away the rhetoric, and you’re getting a very expensive, underperforming index fund, while Milloy and his partner Thomas Borelli get a platform for raising their pet issues."[45]

Similarly, Daniel Gross, in a Slate magazine article, wrote that FEAF "seems to be a lobbying enterprise masquerading as a mutual fund." Gross noted that Milloy and Tom Borelli, the former head of corporate scientific affairs for Philip Morris, lack any money management experience; he also noted that FEAF had badly underperformed the S&P 500 during its first 10 months of existence. Gross concluded that "...in the short term, it looks like Borelli and Milloy are essentially paying the fund for the privilege of using it as a platform to broadcast their views on corporate governance, global warming, and a host of other issues."[46]


Praise

The late Philip Abelson, editor of Science from 1962 to 1984, wrote that "Milloy is one of a small group who devotes time, energy and intelligence to the defense of the truth of science."

Other prominant individuals who have praised Milloy's work include D.A. Henderson, Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health from 1977 to 1990, and a leader in the international fight to eradicate smallpox; Ronald Bailey, the science editor for Reason magazine; Frederick Seitz, president of the National Academy of Sciences from 1962 to 1969; and journalist John Stossel.


Criticism

Critics claim that, in practice, Milloy regularly criticizes research suggesting that corporate activities harm the environment or public health as "junk science", while praising scientific analysis that supports his preferred positions.[47]

Milloy has been accused by his critics of making misleading and false claims, and of misrepresenting himself as an impartial journalist on health and environmental matters while accepting funding and editorial input from tobacco and oil companies. Critics claim that, in practice, Milloy regularly criticizes research suggesting that corporate activities harm the environment or public health as "junk science," while praising scientific analysis that supports his preferred positions.[48]

Milloy's close financial and organizational ties to tobacco and oil companies have been the subject of criticism from a number of sources, in light of his attacks on the science linking secondhand smoke to health risks and human activity to global warming.[22][21][35][49]

DDT

Responding to an opinion column relying on Milloy’s arguments, parasitologists Alan Lymbery and Andrew Thompson wrote, in 2004:

The use of DDT...is not banned for public health use in most areas of the world where malaria is endemic. Indeed, DDT was recently exempted from a proposed worldwide ban on organophosphate [sic] chemicals.

One of the important factors in declining use of DDT was decreasing effectiveness and greater costs because of the development of resistance in mosquitoes. Resistance was largely caused by the indiscriminate, widespread use of DDT to control agricultural pests in the tropics.

To blame a reduction in DDT usage for the death of 10-30 million people from malaria is not just simple-minded, it is demonstrably wrong. [50]

In 2006, following a press release by the World Health Organization that recommended more extensive use of indoor residual spraying with DDT and other pesticides, Milloy wrote, "It’s a relief that the WHO has finally come to its senses."[51]

Tobacco

The American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation says Milloy's campaign against what he calls "junk science" is a carefully-crafted facade on behalf of the tobacco industry and other elements of big business to mislead the public in order to protect their profits:

Steven Milloy has adopted the role of a tobacco industry 'sound science' defender. Milloy has made it his life’s work to deny scientific studies conducted and published by the world’s most reputable and credible scientific agencies—such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization—and legitimate peer reviewed periodicals—such as Science, Nature, the Lancet, and the Journal of the American Medical Association—and label their objective evidence as “junk science"…Milloy has a lucrative and lengthy relationship with the tobacco industry that has resulted in his incarnation as Big Tobacco’s poster boy for 'junk science.'[52]

Global warming

In response to Milloy's criticism of the global warming hypothesis, James McCarthy wrote, "In order to take that position you have to refute what are hundreds of scientific papers that reconstruct various pieces of this climate puzzle."[49] Climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research wrote, "Scientifically, [Milloy's] argument holds no water: it is simply not possible to draw conclusions about the causes of climate variations by just looking at one time series" and criticized Milloy for taking "one result out of context and present[ing] unwarranted conclusions, knowing that a lay audience will not easily recognise their fallacy."[53]

Biographical claim

Template:TotallyDisputed-section Milloy's biography on his junkscience.com website claims that he was a member of the judging panel for the 2004 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Journalism Awards.[2] However, the AAAS website does not list him among the 2004 judges.[54] Journalist Paul D. Thacker reported that the AAAS initially invited Milloy as a judge, because he was listed in a media directory of journalists as a "science editor". However, Milloy quickly notified the other panelists that he had a conflict of interest due to his affiliation with the Cato Institute. His input was not considered and he was removed from the AAAS' list of judges, though Milloy's website maintains that he was a member of the judging panel.

The AAAS drew criticism for initially including Milloy on the judging panel; Sheldon Glantz, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said that "...for AAAS to have someone participating on their science journalism panel whose fundamental job is spreading anti-science and confusion... it’s just stunning." Tom Rosensteil, the director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, criticized the AAAS for not doing its homework, saying "They can’t have made him a judge and then take it away from him."[55][56]

Journalistic ethics

Template:TotallyDisputed-section Critics, including Paul Thacker and George Monbiot, have contended that Milloy is a paid advocate for Philip Morris, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco, and other companies.[22][23][28][57] A memo by a public relations firm employee hired by RJR Tobacco says that the PR firm reviewed Milloy's web site and provided him with material for use on his web site.[23]

In January 2006, Paul D. Thacker reported in The New Republic that Milloy, who is presented by Fox News as an independent journalist, was under contract to provide consulting services to Philip Morris through the end of 2005.[22] Philip Morris documents showed that Milloy was budgeted hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments while writing for FoxNews.com.[28] In the May/June 2005 issue of Mother Jones, Chris Mooney reported that non-profit organizations operated out of Milloy's home have also received large payments from ExxonMobil during his tenure with Fox News.[49][22]

A spokesperson for Fox News stated, "Fox News was unaware of Milloy's connection with Philip Morris. Any affiliation he had should have been disclosed."[22] Regarding ties to ExxonMobil, a Fox News spokesperson stated that Milloy is "...affiliated with several not-for-profit groups that possibly may receive funding from Exxon, but he certainly does not receive funding directly from Exxon."[49]

Milloy's association with the Cato Institute has since ended; however, as of October 2006, he continues to write for FoxNews.com, where he is described as a "junk science expert."[58]

Reaction to death of political opponents

In 1999, David Platt Rall, a prominent environmental scientist, died in a car accident. Milloy noted Rall's death on junkscience.com as the "Obituary of the Day," writing: "Scratch one junk scientist who promoted the bankrupt idea that poisoning rats with a chemical predicts cancer in humans exposed to much lower levels of the chemical — a notion that, at the very least, has wasted billions and billions of public and private dollars."[59][60] Cato Institute President Edward Crane called Milloy's attack an "inexcusable lapse in judgement and civility", but Milloy continued his attack on Rall, writing: "As far as David Rall is concerned, he was a bad guy when he was alive — shamelessly promoting the bankrupt notion that human cancer risk can be predicted by poisoning rats with chemicals. …Death did not improve his track record — no matter how many letters the Environmental Working Group sends to the Cato Institute." Since that time, Milloy has removed the attacks from his website, although he has not apologized.[59]

Following the death of Senator John Chafee (R-R.I.) in 1999, Milloy highlighted Chafee's death as the "Obituary of the Day", writing: "Unfortunately, Sen. Chafee too often acted like a Democrat on environmental and regulatory reform issues. The good news is his replacement as Committee chairman will be Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) who has shown courage in opposing the Kyoto protocol and the EPA air quality proposals."[61]

World Trade Center tragedy

Advocates for banning asbestos were highly critical of Milloy's September 14 2001 article about asbestos fire-resistant cladding in the WTC Towers.[32] They questioned his motives and disputed his conclusions, and charged him with "insensitivity that is hard to fathom."[62]

Laurie Kazan-Allen of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat wrote:

It takes a certain kind of person to capitalize on a human catastrophe such as the attacks on the World Trade Centre. While the rest of us remained desperate for news, some were plotting how these events could be used to maximum advantage. ... The fact that Milloy chose to make this and other such statements as ground zero was still smouldering shows an insensitivity that is hard to fathom. What decent human being could do anything during those early days but watch and wait as the emergency services worked 24/7 to locate survivors?[63]

Registration as a lobbyist

Template:TotallyDisputed-section The United States Senate Lobby Filing Disclosure Program lists Milloy was as a registered lobbyist for the EOP Group for the years 1998-2000.[64] The guidebook Washington Representatives also listed him as a lobbyist for the EOP Group in 1996.[65] The EOP Group's clients include the American Crop Protection Association (pesticides), the Chlorine Chemistry Council, Edison Electric Institute (fossil and nuclear energy), Fort Howard Corp. (a paper manufacturer) and the National Mining Association. Milloy himself was personally registered as a lobbyist for Monsanto and the International Food Additives Council.[66]

Milloy denies ever lobbying, and in a 1998 email response to his registration as a lobbyist under EOP he wrote:

I do not lobby for ANYONE. Before I became executive director of TASSC, I did some technical consulting for a D.C. firm which had the policy of registering all its employees and consultants as lobbyists (whether or not they lobbied) pursuant to a new law passed in 1995. I am aware of the listing and have asked it to be corrected since I no longer work for that firm.[67]


Responses

Milloy and Borelli have defended Exxon against criticism for funding global warming sceptics and others, though without declaring their own financial interest. In September 2006, Milloy's Junkscience.com site reproduced the following excerpt of a piece by Borelli published in Townhall.com, criticising the British Royal Society:

Battle for the boardroom - After over 200 years of independence, the British are still trying to direct U.S. public policy. The Royal Society – the British equivalent of the National Academy of Sciences – recently admonished Exxon Mobil for supporting organizations that question the link between man-made greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

Notwithstanding the offensive nature of a prestigious organization attempting to silence scientific debate, the Royal Society’s letter sheds light on the larger effort employed by agents of the Left to shut-down corporate support for pro-growth political organizations, politicians and policies. By cutting-off the financial supply lines for free-market thought and policies, these agents – labor unions, NGOs, the media – hope to dominate public debate and control public opinion. As these tactics continue to meet with success, liberal policies and politicians will gain a huge strategic advantage.

For those of us interested in promoting pro-growth ideas, loss of corporate support represents a huge threat to sound public policy. There is too much money, power and influence wielded by companies and free-market advocates can’t afford to give up that high ground to the Left.[68]

Books

Milloy has authored four books. [69]

  • Junk Science Judo: Self-defense Against Health Scares and Scams, Cato Institute, 2001, ISBN-10: 1930865120
  • Silencing Science, Cato Institute, 1999, ISBN-10: 1882577728, (with Michael Gough)
  • Science Without Sense: The Risky Business of Public Health Research, Cato Institute, 1996, ISBN-10: 1882577345
  • Science-Based Risk Assessment: A Piece of the Superfund Puzzle, National Environmental Policy Institute, 1995, ISBN-10: 0964746301

Notes

  1. ^ Milloy's Website, junkscience.com, accessed 20 Sept 2006.
  2. ^ a b Milloy's history and C.V., from his website junkscience.com, accessed 20 Sept 2006.
  3. ^ [1] from junkscience.com, accessed 17 June, 2007.
  4. ^ Junk Science of the Century: The DDT ban, by Steven Milloy, January 1, 2000
  5. ^ DDT Is Only Real Weapon to Combat Malaria, by Steven Milloy, October 27, 2005
  6. ^ At Risk from the Pesticide Myth, by Steven Milloy, July 28, 2000
  7. ^ www.RachelWasWrong.org Uncovering Silent Spring's Deadly Consequences (Competitive Enterprise Institute)
  8. ^ Rachel Carson's Genocide, by Keith Lockitch, Capitalism Magazine, May 23, 2007
  9. ^ a b The Malaria Clock: A Green Eco-Imperialist Legacy of Death
  10. ^ Rachel Was Wrong: Uncovering Silent Spring's Deadly Consequences, retrieved 19 June, 2007
  11. ^ Battle over anti-malaria chemical, 4 March, 2004
  12. ^ Uganda's Director of Health Services, Dr. Sam Zaramba: Give Us DDT (Wall Street Journal), 12 June 2007
  13. ^ 100 things you should know about DDT, by J. Gordon Edwards and Steven Milloy, retrieved 18 June, 2007
  14. ^ WHO gives indoor use of DDT a clean bill of health for controlling malaria, 15 September, 1996
  15. ^ Washington Post" WHO Urges Use of DDT in Africa; Call for Applications of Pesticide Changes 30-Year Policy, September 16, 2006
  16. ^ DDT - The Debate within the Malaria Community, WHO Roll Back Malaria Partnership, retrieved 27 June, 2007
  17. ^ Day of Reckoning for DDT Foes?, by Steven Milly, FoxNews.com, Thursday, September 21, 2006
  18. ^ Top Ten Junk Science Moments for 2006, by Steven Milloy, JunkScience.com, December 18, 2006
  19. ^ [2] Secondhand Smokescreen, By Steven Milloy, March 9, 2001
  20. ^ Secondhand Joking, by Steven Milloy
  21. ^ a b PRWatch.org article detailing Milloy's ties to the tobacco industry, accessed 23 Sept 2006.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g "Smoked Out: Pundit For Hire", published in The New Republic, accessed 20 Sept 2006. Also available without subscription at FreePress.net.
  23. ^ a b c Activity Report, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., December 1996, describing input from R.J.R. Tobacco's P.R. firm into Milloy's junkscience website. From the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library at the University of California, San Francisco. Accessed 5 October 2006.
  24. ^ Philip Morris 1994 Budget Draft, available at the Philip Morris Document Archive. Accessed 5 October 2006.
  25. ^ >Ong EK, Glantz SA (2000). "Tobacco industry efforts subverting International Agency for Research on Cancer's second-hand smoke study". Lancet. 355 (9211): 1253–9. PMID 10770318.
  26. ^ Letter from Margery Kraus, president of TASSC, to Vic Han, Director of Communications for Philip Morris, dated 23 September 1993. Accessed 5 October 2006.
  27. ^ Philip Morris Corporate Affairs Budget Presentation, 1994, from the Philip Morris Document Archive. Accessed 5 October 2006.
  28. ^ a b c Philip Morris budget for "Strategy and Social Responsibility", detailing $180,000 in payments to Steven Milloy (pp. 13 & 66). Accessed 5 October 2006.
  29. ^ Annual Report - 1997, Steven Milloy, January 7th, 1998. Document accessed at Legacy Tobacco Documents Library on July 7, 2007.
  30. ^ An Empty Uniform, by Michael Gough and Steven Milloy, The Wall Street Journal, 10 February, 1998
  31. ^ NCPA Idea House: Who Needs A Surgeon General?
  32. ^ a b Article: Asbestos Could Have Saved WTC Lives, published September 14, 2001.
  33. ^ Cato Institute Q&A with Steve Milloy. Accessed 10 October 2006.
  34. ^ Polar Bear Scare on Thin Ice, by Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com, 12 Nov., 2004
  35. ^ a b "Scientists' Report Documents ExxonMobil's Tobacco-like Disinformation Campaign on Global Warming Science". Union of Concerned Scientists. 3 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ Interview with Borelli on The Young Turks, accessed on www.lastvideo.net, July 12, 2007.
  37. ^ Live Earth Aftermath, Iain Murray, National Review Online, July 9th, 2007.
  38. ^ Bureaucrash and the "Demand Debate" Campaign Crash Live Earth New York, Competitive Enterprise Institute Press Release, July9th, 2007.
  39. ^ Steven Milloy (2002-08-30). "Quorn & CSPI: The Other Fake Meat". Fox News. Retrieved 2006-05-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  40. ^ Scott C. Wallace, CEO of Gardenburger. "Gardenburger rebuttal to: "The Other Fake Meat" by Steven Milloy". Retrieved 2006-05-20.
  41. ^ Steve Milloy. "Q and A With Steve Milloy". Retrieved 2007-01-11.
  42. ^ Free Enterprise Action Fund press release, criticizing Microsoft for abandoning the use of PVC in its packing materials. Accessed 11 October 2006.
  43. ^ Free Enterprise Action Fund press release chastising the Business Roundtable for insufficient vigilance in the defense of capitalism. Accessed 11 October 2006.
  44. ^ Free Enterprise Action Fund press release criticizing General Electric's environmental policy. Accessed 11 October 2006.
  45. ^ "Strange Bedfellows: Politics and Investment Fund", from the Boston Herald. Published 24 Jan 2006. Accessed 11 October 2006.
  46. ^ "Thank You for Investing: A very curious right-wing mutual fund." Article by Daniel Gross from Slate magazine, published 4 May 2006. Accessed 11 October 2006.
  47. ^ 'In the world according to Milloy, any scientific study that does not support the world view where all chemicals are safe is "junk science", all environmentalists are alarmist, and pollution and second hand smoke are harmless.' Tittabawassee River Watch article on Steven Milloy
  48. ^ CLEAR ("the anti-environmentalism watchdog group") article attacking Steven Milloy 'Environmentalist article which accuses Milloy of believing that "all chemicals are safe" and "pollution [is] harmless."'
  49. ^ a b c d Some Like It Hot, Mother Jones article on Milloy
  50. ^ "The UnAustralian". Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  51. ^ Day of Reckoning for DDT Foes?, by Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com, Thursday, September 21, 2006
  52. ^ [3] American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation.
  53. ^ [4]
  54. ^ AAAS Science Journalism Awards 2004 Judge Roster, which does not include Steven Milloy. Accessed 10 October 2006.
  55. ^ Thacker, Paul D. (2005-05-11), "The junkman climbs to the top", Environmental Science and Technology, retrieved 2007-07-09 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  56. ^ Thacker, Paul D. (2005), "In search of Mr. Junk Science and his influence" (PDF), SEJournal, 15 (2), retrieved 2007-07-09
  57. ^ PRWatch.com article describing the financial links between Milloy and the tobacco industry, accessed 20 Sept 2006.
  58. ^ Milloy column on global warming, published 12 October 2006, in which Milloy is described as a "junk science expert." Accessed 16 October 2006.
  59. ^ a b Grist Magazine article on Milloy's response to the death of David Rall, accessed 23 Sept 2006.
  60. ^ "The Trashman Speweth": PRWatch article on Steven Milloy. Accessed 3 November 2006.
  61. ^ Junkscience.com archives, October 1999, containing the "Obituary of the Day" on Senator John Chafee. Accessed 16 October 2006.
  62. ^ Criticism of Milloy's comments by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat. Accessed 11 October 2006.
  63. ^ Criticism of Milloy for blaming asbestos removal for the WTC collapses, from the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat. Accessed 16 October 2006.
  64. ^ United States Senate Lobby Filing Disclosure Program, listing Milloy as a lobbyist for the EOP Group from 1998-2000, accessed 28 June 2006.
  65. ^ Washington Lobbyists, 1996, Columbia Books, Washington DC.
  66. ^ Saving the Planet With Pestilent Statistics, by Karen Charman. Published in the PR Watch newsletter, Vol. 6 No. 4 (1999). Accessed June 29 2007.
  67. ^ "Junk Science and the Art of Spin-Doctoring" Stewart Fist Old Dominion University College of Sciences.
  68. ^ "Battle For The Boardroom", by Tom Borelli, posted on Junkscience.com. Accessed 17 October 2006.
  69. ^ http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-5488534-8746423?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=steven+milloy&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

See also

Milloy's Websites

Tobacco Documents

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