Earlier this month, a bill that would have provided medical benefits and compensation for 9/11 first responders passed the House but couldn’t overcome a Republican filibuster. (Remember the old days of majority rule in the Senate, when 51 votes was enough to pass most legislation? We’re in a different era now.) Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and […]
Less than two months after taking office, President Obama issued a memorandum on scientific integrity, which stated: The public must be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy decisions. Political officials should not suppress or alter scientific or technological findings and conclusions. If scientific and technological information is developed and used […]
Environmental Health
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Combines Reporting and Epidemiology in Air Pollution Series
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is running a fascinating in-depth series on air pollution in Western Pennsylvania. While it’s got a local focus, I’m sure people from other regions can identify with some of the problems it highlights, like the difficulties in regulating pollution that easily crosses state lines and the frustration of seeing inadequate Clean Air […]
Yesterday a federal judge struck down the new healthcare law’s individual mandate, which requires everyone to have health insurance. (Actually, the mandate doesn’t apply to everyone: those who’d have to spend more than 8% of their income on coverage are exempt, as are undocumented immigrants – and if you don’t have coverage, you pay a […]
It’s been an interesting week of discussing urban issues, and I want to thank Sharon Astyk of Casaubon’s Book and all of our commenters for making it so fun. I learned some interesting things from the comments – especially that vertical agriculture probably doesn’t make sense, even if it sounds like a great idea to […]
Yesterday I mentioned sewer systems as an indispensable part of urban infrastructure, and today I want to focus on the more visible issue of transportation. The efficiency with which people and goods move into and within cities has a huge impact on both energy use and air quality. And the availability of non-driving modes of […]
In Monday’s post I mentioned how much I loved London when I visited – but London wasn’t always such an appealing place. During the Industrial Revolution, it was filthy and polluted. The stench was appalling, and an episode of particularly foul smells from the Thames River in 1858 was known as the “Great Stink.” Life […]
Environmental Health
Feeding the Hungry Cities: Backyard Chickens, Rooftop Gardens, and Vertical Farming
As I mentioned yesterday, Sharon Astyk of Casaubon’s Book and I are spending this week focusing on urbanization issues. Sharon is a farmer and has been writing for a long time about sustainable food production, particularly as it relates to climate change and a dwindling supply of fossil fuels. In her post yesterday, she linked […]
The Pump Handle and Casaubon’s Book are writing posts this week about the global trend of urbanization. More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities, and this shift has implications for the health of the planet. I grew up in suburban Delaware, and my first experience with urban living came in college […]
A few of the recent pieces I’ve liked: Robin Fields at ProPublica: In Dialysis, Life-Saving Care at Great Risk and Cost Timothy Noah at Slate: McSurance on Trial: A Senate committee puts the spotlight on the crap health insurance given fast-food workers EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in the WSJ: The EPA Turns 40 Kristen Lombardi […]