Pollution Is in Your Blood. Is That Legal Battery?

Published in the respected, peer-reviewed journal Biological Conservation, the analysis, which attempted to draw inferences between populations of feral cats and human females in and around the Chinese city of Nanjing, drew howls from ecologists — some of whom openly wondered if it was an elaborate joke.

In “The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception,” David Michaels shows how paid experts are routinely used to downplay risks and sow uncertainty. These tactics have made it easier for companies under pressure to dispute the science behind dissenter’s claims rather than debate policy.