Comments on: The Weekly Carboholic: Early deaths cost Appalachia more than coal jobs earn

By: KnowYourPlanet

KnowYourPlanet — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:31:05 +0000

Coal mining, tarsands, oil and gas production are all polluting the environment in ways we cant imagine. 50 years from now we are going to be cursing our stupidity!

By: Russ Wellen

Russ Wellen — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:03:58 +0000

At least coal mining gives them the illusion of a productive living.

By: Ubertramp

Ubertramp — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:10:36 +0000

Yeah. I think they charge that because individuals don’t usually buy them. Libraries do. It’s the only way most of the smaller journals stay alive. Well, that and the fees charged to authors (usually $1-2K per manuscript).

But availability is becoming less and less of an issue, at least in bio/medical related research. Basically, if it’s US government funded, then the primary source has to be accessible to the general public via PubMed. If it’s strictly external or industry research, then the rules are different, I believe.

By: Brian Angliss

Brian Angliss — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:00:50 +0000

Fair point, Ubertramp. I’ll edit the post shortly to add the reference.

I usually include a link to the paper abstract for the papers I refer to, but this is the first one that I’ve come across that I literally can’t do that. Most journals let you buy the single article online for an outrageous fee, but in the future I’ll put a reference in if I can’t find the link to the paper’s abstract (which has always had a reference that could be taken to the library).

By: Ubertramp

Ubertramp — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:49:18 +0000

Brian, I think he’s talking about the WV Gazette link. Also, you might want to consider adding the specific ref at the end of your blurb when you include stuff from scientific journals that are difficult to get. That way people could at least go to a university library and look it up if they are so inclined. I’m not sure what you’re citing, but this is the format I use for my stuff:

Pecaut MJ & Gridley DS, Radiation and secondary immune response to lipopolysaccharide. In Vivo. 22(4): p. 423-34, 2008.

By: Brian Angliss

Brian Angliss — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:16:34 +0000

The journal he published the study in isn’t set up for the purchase of individual articles or even a clean way to subscribe like most journals are. They’re not even set up to accept credit card payments online for the read online-only subscription – you have to print out a hardcopy subscription form and then mail it. That’s just crazy.

I’ve got an electronic copy that I used for this piece, but I can’t distribute it via email or by posting it online anywhere.

It’s weird to suggest this in these “everything’s available online” days, but I’d suggest trying a library.

By: jeff watson

jeff watson — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:33:03 +0000

Could you please provide a link to that paper that works, regarding the costs in Appalachia. While I agree that the poverty in that region is unconscionable, I remain skeptical about his numbers, assumptions, and wish to see the science he used to arrive at his conclusions.

Jeff