December 3, 2008 The Pump Handle 1Comment

In most of the worker deaths we cover, it’s clear what could have been done to prevent the tragedy – fall protection, cleanup of combustible dust, better crane inspections – and what kinds of regulations are needed to keep such disasters from occurring again. In the death of Jdimytai Damour, though, I can’t summon much […]

December 3, 2008 The Pump Handle

From the President who brought you “Clean Skies (cough)” and “Healthy Forests (not)” comes a slashing of the “Buffer Zone” rule which is supposed to prohibit mining companies from dumping waste rock—created by mountaintop removal to extract coal—within 100 feet of streams.  As we all know from 3rd grade science class, these small streams flow into larger streams, […]

December 2, 2008 The Pump Handle 1Comment

It’s nice to finally be able to report that the Bush administration EPA has issued what appears to be a strong pollution-curbing rule on medical waste incineration. Although medical waste incinerators account for a relatively small amount of overall air pollution, they can have significant effects in the 57 communities where they’re currently located. EPA […]

December 1, 2008 The Pump Handle

Today is the 20th annual World AIDS Day, and World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan reflects on what the global community has achieved over the past two decades:

December 1, 2008 The Pump Handle 3Comment

by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure A story on the wires about a paper in the journal Epidemiology this month (November) confirms what other work has shown: those beautiful flowers we buy in American florist shops have an added price attached to them, paid by the children of Central America. Epidemiology is one of the […]