April 6, 2007 The Pump Handle 0Comment

The Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. EPA was big news this week; Justin Pidot at Gristmill takes an in-depth look at the ruling’s implications, while Kevin Grandia at DeSmogBlog scrutinizes the stances of the parties opposing it. Then, of course, there was Bush’s recess appointment of Susan Dudley to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which Ian Hart at Integrity of Science describes as part of larger White House assault on science in policymaking.

At the state level, Lisa Stiffler at Dateline Earth notes that Washington State is the first in the nation to ban PBDEs in specific situations, and Josh Rosenau at Thoughts from Kansas describes one approach Kansans are taking to the water problems that plague the Western U.S.

In the medical community, mammograms are getting a lot of attention, and Orac at Respectful Insolence explores the complexity of early cancer detection (Part II here). The Institute of Medicine report on PEPFAR (the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) is also causing a stir; Nandini Ooman and Michael Bernstein at Global Health Policy and Naina Dhingra at RH Reality Check highlight some of its findings and recommendations.

Elsewhere in the blogosphere …

Tara C. Smith at Aetiology reminds us that the U.S. government can enforce quarantine and isolation – and is doing so right now, in the case of one man with extensively drug-resistant TB.

Benjamin Cohen at The World’s Fair traces the ongoing story of lead poisoning, from an 1846 medical journal issue to the current issue of lead pipes in municipal water systems.

Coturnix at A Blog Around the Clock reports on how social norms can affect people’s energy use.

Matthew C. Nisbet at Framing Science examines bloggers’ reactions to the “Framing Science” article that he and Chris Mooney have published in the latest issue of Science.

And, on a lighter note, it’s the season for Marshmallow Peeps – so visit Peep Research to learn about “basic attributes and reactions of Peeps to simple conditions and stimuli” and groundbreaking research in Peep Risk Analysis (hat tip to Janet Stemwedel).

What else is worth a read? Leave additional suggestions in the comments.

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