Professor Howarth's adventures in science have become emblematic of the problems in modern science. Someone gets an idea--honestly or politically influenced--publishes a paper, that paper is universally condemned and yet the paper staggers on, zombie-like, as if nothing has happened. It is as if there was a constant torrent of information, studies, interviews, pictures and statistics showing that a one pound brick falls slower than a two pound brick or that the earth is flat.
Howarth's original research purported to show that burning natural gas emitted more carbon than burning coal. Multiple studies have been done since which refute this assertion and virtually no one believes it now. But Howarth's misinformation marches on. How can something like this happen?
Some inquires on the internet reveal some astonishing results. The Hastings Group, a professional PR firm, has been retained to publicize Howarth's original study despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Who retained the Hastings Group? Not Howarth. The Park Foundation from Ithica N.Y..
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