October 26, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

Andrew Leonard at How the World Works has rounded up posts about the role of climate change in the California wildfires, and concludes that environmentalists are expressing themselves with nuance. Ben at Technology, Health & Development points out that the particulate-matter density in the areas affected by the fires is still less than levels typically […]

October 19, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

Drug resistance is a big news topic this week. Tara Smith at Correlations describes MRSA’s move from hospitals to communities; Mike the Mad Biologist has numbers on the toll of that antibiotic-resistant bug; and Theo Francis at the WSJ Health Blog highlights a shortage of infection-control specialists to help hospitals tackle the problem. Also at […]

October 12, 2007 The Pump Handle

This week saw several new policy statements from presidential hopefuls, and bloggers have opinions about them. David Roberts at Gristmill responded to Barack Obama’s energy plans, while Amie Newman at RHReality Check focused what Obama’s saying in Iowa about abortion and abstinence-only sex ed. Jacob Goldstein at the WSJ Health Blog reported on John McCain’s […]

October 5, 2007 The Pump Handle

Several blog posts this week showcased successful steps in the global effort to bring healthcare to underserved populations. Anika Rahman at RH Reality Check profiles three winners of the International Awards for the Health and Dignity of Women. Aman at Technology, Health & Development highlights an ingeniously simple device for safely disposing of contaminated needles. […]

September 28, 2007 The Pump Handle

Before this week’s climate conference began, Climate Progress predicted, “The Bush Administration will use every opportunity to create the illusion of action without agreeing to meaningful, binding pollution reductions.” Today, that blog reports that Bush followed “the Frank Luntz playbook on how to seem like you care about the climate when you don’t,” while Bill […]

September 21, 2007 The Pump Handle

The FDA bill wasn’t the only thing getting health policy types excited this week. Senator Clinton unveiled her healthcare proposal, and provided fodder for bloggers, including: Ezra Klein (here, too) GoozNews, the Numbers Guy, RH Reality Check, and WSJ Health Blog. Also focusing on the executive branch, Tom Philpott at Gristmill reports on Chuck Connor, who’s played key […]

September 14, 2007 The Pump Handle 1Comment

Journalists and editors were in the spotlight this week. At the Society of Environmental Journalists conference, attendees grappled with journalists’ role in covering climate change; Robert McClure at Dateline Earth and Richard Littlemore at DeSmogBlog report. Tara C. Smith at Aetiology highlights one cringe-inducing example of a newspaper getting an important statistic wrong, while Revere […]

September 13, 2007 The Pump Handle 2Comment

One of the benefits of blogging at The Pump Handle is connecting with people who have first-hand experience with our nation’s inadequate public health protection system.  We’ve heard from parents and wives who appreciate us writing about their loved ones’ fatal on-the-job injuries, and federal employees who share their unique experiences with how scientific information […]

September 8, 2007 The Pump Handle

While we here at The Pump Handle have been focusing on popcorn problems (the big story is here, the latest installment here), other bloggers have been keeping tabs on public health issues in Congress: At RH Reality Check, Anika Rahman and Tod Preston explain the Global Gag Rule and why it’s a good thing that […]

August 31, 2007 The Pump Handle 3Comment

Coturnix at A Blog Around the Clock alerted me that today is the third annual Blog Day, which “was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest.” To participate, bloggers link to five new blogs – and I’m going […]