Brickbat: Don’t Rock the Boat

James Cook University, a public university in Australia, has censured marine scientist Peter Ridd for “failing to act in a collegial way and in the academic spirit of the university.” Ridd’s offense? He questioned whether photos which the Centre of Excellence for Coral Studies and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority claim show the deteriorating health of the Great Barrier Reef may be misleading or even false.