Tag Archives: risk

The EU Poised to Allow Gene-editing to Improve Farming Methods and Nutrition

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Thoughtscapism

The current EU GMO-legislation, based on late 1990s understanding of biotechnology, would leave Europe without access to current and future gene-edited crops, including existing ones like fortified tomatoes, soybeans with healthier fatty acid profiles, and nitrogen-fixing bacteria for fertilising agricultural … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, biology, environment, nutrition, organic, society | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

COVID-19 Vaccine Suspensions May Be Rash Rather than Precautionary

Posted on April 17, 2021 by Thoughtscapism

The wish to take time for careful deliberation of risks, which in itself is perfectly reasonable, immediately lead to decisions to suspend the vaccine while authorities deliberated. This is indicative of a natural quick and less measured reaction happening in tandem with the appropriate data-analysis. The natural reaction to be particularly averse of man-made, unfamiliar risks (like those from vaccine side-effects) easily overshadows our appreciation of natural ones (like the continuing spread and death toll from the pandemic). It feels more reassuring to actively take a step to avoid a risk (vaccination side-effect), while passively allowing the risk of disease to continue. Continue reading →

Posted in health, medicine, science communication, society, vaccines | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Visiting Chernobyl, Day One, The Most Dangerous Part of the Trip: Kyiv

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Thoughtscapism

I finally found time to write about my visit to Chernobyl. I hope to do justice to the tremendous impression left by the people I got to meet, including locals living in the area, former clean-up workers, as well as … Continue reading →

Posted in energy, environment, nuclear | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Risks of Failed Risk Assessments On Natural vs Unfamiliar Sources of Energy

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Thoughtscapism

German society Nuklearia kindly invited me to write about risk perceptions on the topic of energy on their blog, where this piece originally appeared in German. You can read it in English below. Humans are naturally bad at assessing complex … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, energy, health, psychology | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

What Level of Risk Justifies Denying People Their Homes? A Look at Fukushima vs Pollution in Big Cities

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Thoughtscapism

I was very moved after hearing the heartfelt testimonies of teacher Yoshiko Aoki, high-school student Moe Harada, and a group of students dialling in from Fukushima to the OECD NEA risk communication workshop in Paris. I previously shared with you … Continue reading →

Posted in energy, environment, health, nuclear, psychology, society | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Stories from Tomioka Town, Fukushima

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Thoughtscapism

I want to share with you the touching testimonies of a teacher and students of Tomioka town in Fukushima prefecture, whom I had the privilege of listening to while I attended a radiological risk communication workshop at OECD Nuclear Energy … Continue reading →

Posted in nuclear, psychology, society | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Chemical Exposures: The Good, the Bad, and the Tiny

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Thoughtscapism

I have often written about the lack of perspective on chemical scares, which is why I was happy to find out that Swedish Professor Emeritus in toxicology, Lennart Dencker, has written a book on this topic called “Not as dangerous … Continue reading →

Posted in biology, chemistry, environment, health, nutrition, science communication | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Radiation Exposures at a Glance

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Thoughtscapism

Inspired by a risk conference I attended, I decided to try my hand at visual demonstrations of toxicological safety limits and pesticide exposures. It struck me that the same kind of visualisation might work well for a demonstrating radiation dosages. I … Continue reading →

Posted in biology, health, nuclear | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Toward More Intuitive Toxicology Information

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Thoughtscapism

Last week I had the privilege to attend a conference on risk science in New Orleans, and hold a roundtable together with neuroscientist Alison Bernstein from SciMoms. We were kindly invited to talk about our approach to risk communication by Center … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, chemistry, health, science communication | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Do we fear the right things?

Posted on July 21, 2018 by Thoughtscapism

I had the privilege of giving a public presentation at a large Finnish political discussion and debate fair Suomi Areena for the Finnish Ecomodernist Society in Pori a few days ago. (Finnish readers can view the presentation here – skip over to … Continue reading →

Posted in biotechnology, health, nutrition, psychology | Tagged , | 4 Comments