Scientists unveil fossil of 47 million-year-old primate, Darwinius masillae

Hi Stile,As always there's a bigger picture to one specific media hyped story.Why are we beginning to put science in the media?The answer in my opinion can be found in this article: Real science comes to WashingtonA few quotes:

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Jan. 26, 2009 | The greatest task of the Obama administration -- and the next 10 presidents -- is to avoid catastrophic global warming. The latest science warns that the unstable West Antarctic ice sheet has been warming significantly since the 1950s, the rate of Greenland summer ice loss tripled last year, and the planet as a whole lost 2 trillion tons of ice in the last five years. The best mid-range estimate for sea level rise by the year 2100 is 5 feet, much higher than U.N. scientists projected just two years ago.

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But the path toward a carbon-reduced future will not be an easy one. President Obama will be challenged by a lack of awareness by the media and major opinion makers, who still don't grasp the scope of the problem, and by the majority of GOP politicians who refuse to accept the dire facts of climate science. If Obama is going to lead this country and the world in the fight to preserve a livable climate, he will be forced to do so in a partisan fashion. That task can't be underestimated. But it's a huge relief to see the energy team that Obama has assembled for the battle.

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In a society that is lead in their opinions by the media, is it any wonder why people care more about Britney than science? Of course not.How do you now shift peoples opinions about science, well, the same as you do with any product, media hype of course. What is being proposed is huge and tax payers must stand behind it. They must stand behind science. Science needs to be in the media now and this particular fossil finding begins to hype up science and perhaps get people interested in it, instead of Britney.

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Achieving the Obama target would require replacing the country's entire multitrillion-dollar energy infrastructure -- including the vast majority of power plants and cars -- in four decades. I would call this policy "radical," but in fact it is pragmatic. Failing to act quickly will most likely result, by century's end, in 5C to 7C global warming, sea levels rising 10 inches a decade or more, widespread desertification, the loss of the inland glaciers that provide water to a billion people and an ocean that is one large, hot, acidic dead zone.

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While Obama understands the paramount nature of the climate issue, the media still does not. In the Washington Post, David Ignatius writes, "Obama continued this political reformation in recruiting his cabinet, which is so centrist it almost resembles a government of national unity." A recent front-page Post headline read, "For Obama Cabinet, A Team of Moderates: In Picks, Few Hints About Policy Plans." The story states:

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- Oni

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"I smoke pot. If this bothers anyone, I suggest you look around at the world in which we live and shut your mouth."--Bill Hicks"I never knew there was another option other than to question everything"--Noam Chomsky

It will be dictated by public reaction, I'm assuming. There is of course the fact that certain media outlets are just prone to hyping up stories more than others. I think it's on us, the viewers, to limit and regulate ourselves as to what we buy into and what hype we get behind. The media is going to do what it's gotta do for those ratings. You can't blame them, it pays the bills....But I think it's still a long ways away from science being a desired news story. Here are todays top searches on Yahoo:(1)American Idol
(2)Tori Amos
(3)Angelina Jolie
(4)Dancing With the St
(5)Dolla
(6)Dane Cook
(7)Quit Smoking
(8)Palm Pre
(9)Fitness Programs
(10)Fuel-Efficient CarsStill no ape girl - but people wanna know about Doll(a), though. I think we'll see more hyped up science related stories in the coming years.Blue Planet, Planet Earth (both the series and the new movie), Inconvinient Truth, etc. I think they serve as an example that there is a current media push for these types of shows, movies, news stories, these days for reasons that I suspect have a bigger agenda behind them.- Oni

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"I smoke pot. If this bothers anyone, I suggest you look around at the world in which we live and shut your mouth."--Bill Hicks"I never knew there was another option other than to question everything"--Noam Chomsky

Just thought I should update.Here's todays top 10 Yahoo searches:(1)Kris Allen
(2)Moon Bloodgood
(3)Sarah Jessica Parke
(4)American Idol
(5)Michael Vick
(6)Missing Link
(7)Sherlock Holmes Tra
(8)Guantanamo Bay
(9)Airfare Deals
(10)AutismThere she is, she made the cut. One day publicity does wonders, eh?- Oni

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"I smoke pot. If this bothers anyone, I suggest you look around at the world in which we live and shut your mouth."--Bill Hicks"I never knew there was another option other than to question everything"--Noam Chomsky