Bloggers for Positive Global Change

Thank you to Elisheva Hannah Levin at Ragamuffin Studies for tagging me with a meme, called the Blogger for Positive Global Change Award. And a special hat tip to Judy Aron at Yedies for her second.

This meme award is from Climate of Our Future, whose mission is: “changing the world we live in for the better — but we take great comfort in the fact that we’re not struggling alone to achieve this."

I am humbled to know that my blog is one these bloggers turn to for inspiration when “feeling too small to make a difference” and it’s an honor to be among others trying to make the world a better place. Elisheva is an education doctoral student and homeschooling mother. She included this blog among the five she saw as voices for positive change in our world.

She said Junkfood Science keeps her “up to date about the real science behind the propaganda put out by the diet industry. And she reminds me that human beings come in all shapes and sizes, and that this kind of diversity, like any other rooted in biology, is important for our health, happiness and our future as a species.” What a joyful comment to hear.

It’s hard to narrow down to five the blogs that I think are voices for positive change — there are so many exemplary bloggers. But I’ll try.

Elisheva has guided this meme into a scientific direction, one its creators may not have anticipated, but the importance of sound science in bettering our world is impossible to ignore.

So, in keeping with the spirit of the award (and the rules*) here are five of the blogs I turn to for inspiration, to hear viewpoints and scientific arguments guaranteed to keep critical thinking juices flowing, and where readers regularly come away with information they hadn’t before known or considered. These are bloggers who care and their sincerity and quality work regularly receives my admiration.

Dr. Steven Novella, a neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine with an impressive list of credentials, is a fellow consumer advocate who authors NeuroLogica Blog where he deals with all types of health fraud. He truly offers a “daily fix of neuroscience, skepticism, and critical thinking.”

Shinga at Breath Spa for Kids has been a tireless voice trying to bring factual, careful information in the UK to address fears and worries of parents on such issues as mercury in vaccinations and homeopathy, that could deter them from seeking life-saving medical care. Such passion for the truth, simply to better the lives of children, has been an inspiration to medical bloggers around the world. Check out her newest post, “ MMR Vaccine Does Not Contain Mercury, Thiomersal, Thimerosal and It Never Has” or Sunday’s on the myths surrounding measles.

Junkscience.com is where good and bad science are presented and skeptics are encouraged to use their Junkscience Judo to find and debunk the junk. It’s my morning synapse exercises. It’s usually good for a few laughs, too, as you can’t begin to make up some of this stuff. It daily reminds us to question popular beliefs, especially those most intensely marketed, as they’re often not where the most careful science is found.

Dr. Clark Bartram at Unintelligent Design is a pediatrician who takes care of newborns of all shapes, sizes, and degrees of health. He’s also a skeptic and critical thinker in the truest sense; an avid nemesis of health fraud; and has worked to help create a dynamic community of quality pediatric bloggers trying to make the lives of children and families healthier, happier and safer.

The doctors at Health Care Renewal are focused on “addressing threats to healthcare’s core values, especially those stemming from concentration and abuse of power.” They’re devoted to debunking quackery and pseudoevidence-based medicine, and work to promote integrity and responsibility in medicine.

These are a few of the voices helping to make positive changes in our world.

* Rules for the Bloggers for Positive Global Change Award:

1. When you get tagged, write a post with links to up to 5 blogs that you think are trying to change the world in a positive way.

2. In your post, make sure you link back to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

3. Leave a comment or message for the bloggers you’re tagging, so they know they’re now part of the meme.

4. Optional: Proudly display the “Bloggers For Positive Global Change” award badge with a link to the post that you write up.