Walkabout wednesday: dietary fat isn't bad and what's the best way to move crude oil?

IS there a good way to move crude oil?

My Health

In case you didn't get the memo, dietary fat isn't bad for you.

This is a nice summary of a recent conference focused on Low Carb High Fat from South Africa. I like it primarily because he highlights how focusing on a narrow slice of the science can be misleading, and arguably some proponents of LCHF are well on their way to what Tom Naughton calls "the anointed". I'd call them "Stealth Issue Advocates".

I was excited to read this piece on Gluten from Authority Nutrition, mainly because Kris makes all the same points I've made before (here and here), but better, with citations. But also because he says

But if you are personally convinced that wheat/gluten causes you problems, then there’s no reason to sit around and wait for the research to come in.

That's what I said too!

Your Education

Or maybe not your education, but someone's. Turns out that "laypersons" choice to accept a treatment is unrelated to the magnitude of the relative risk effect. Giving them information on the baseline level of risk didn't change their choice to accept the treatment or not. 

Our Environment

Which form of transporting crude oil is the worst? Depends on your objective(s). If you're worried about aquatic habitat, you prefer rail over trucks over pipes over boats. If you're worried about human deaths and property then you prefer boats over rail over pipes over trucks. Next time you're arguing with someone about whether the Keystone XL pipeline is a good idea, check what their objectives are. (ht: Hannah Birge)

If you love the beaches of the Pacific Northwest, you ought to check out The Outer Shores. Great pictures, entertaining anecdotes, and Surfperch Science, all mixed together. This week's post was on King Tides. Kind of like the Prairie Ecologist, but for high energy beaches.