Environment and Health
The Top 10 Reasons We Don’t Need More Nukes
While it’s certainly true that our energy needs require a diversity of solutions, nuclear power shouldn’t be in the mix. Solar, wind, and geothermal power, combined with energy efficiency, can overcome our reliance on fossil fuels, provide energy security, and mitigate the climate crisis. Here are the top 10 reasons why we shouldn’t build any more nuclear reactors.
Big Pharma Divorces Billy Tauzin
Some marriages are made in heaven, some in hell. The matrimony of Billy Tauzin and Big Pharma was definitely hellish—especially for us innocent bystanders.
Strange Snow Patterns Consistent with Climate Change
Freak snowstorms plunged the nation’s capital and the rest of the mid-Atlantic United States into utter chaos in February. The federal government shut down for nearly a week, many schools turned President’s Day into an unexpected 10-day-long “snowcation,” public transportation ground to a screeching halt, and suburban power outages drove some families to burn Freak snowstorms plunged the nation’s capital and the rest of the mid-Atlantic United States into utter chaos in February. The federal government shut down for nearly a week, many schools turned President’s Day into an unexpected 10-day-long “snowcation,” public transportation ground to a screeching halt, and suburban power outages drove some families to burn furniture in their fireplaces to keep warm.
Warning: Consumer Products May Be Harmful to Your Health
A recent report by some of the nation’s leading public health professionals describes the toll that toxic chemicals are taking on our health and our budget. This report, called the Health Case for Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act, summarizes the insidious contribution of environmental toxins to an array of chronic health problems.
Agribusiness Profits, Mutant Germs, and Us
For decades, we have benefited enormously from the healing wonders of antibiotics. These drugs save millions of lives that would otherwise be lost to microbial infections. But more and more of the antibiotics in America’s medical kit are proving to be ineffective against the plethora of germs that endanger us. Why? Too much of a good thing.
Some Sanity Creeps into the Drug War
There’s one thing that Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama have all agreed on: expanding military aid to Latin America to fight the so-called “Drug War.”
Is Our Democracy Becoming a Joke?
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce held a dramatic press conference in October. The group promised to stop lobbying against pending climate legislation, and pledged to help make it even stronger. A few minutes later, the jig was up when an authentic Chamber representative barged in, sputtering, aghast.
Save Winter: Stop Tar Sands
Unfortunately, as the excitement of the winter games builds in Canada, that country is also pursuing an energy policy that could have a huge impact on winter sports by accelerating global warming—and the U.S. may soon start taking part.
As Death Nears, Be Prepared to Suffer
Have you heard about the Belgians? They now allow assisted suicide. Takers have quickly risen to two percent of the failing population. The Swiss too have developed a relaxed view of dying. Their immediate goal is to keep from becoming a one-way destination for sick Englishmen, where terminal pain is just part of the stiff-upper-lip image. But even that fine old tradition is now shredding, as a poll shows that 74 percent of Brits favor death with dignity. Of course mere popular support is often insufficient impetus to change such an ancient pointless policy.
Let’s Pretend to Do Something about Climate Change
More than 190 nations have now agreed: Climate Change is bad and we ought to do something about it…let’s meet again someday to decide what. Naturally, low-lying islands want quicker action. So do lands whose life-giving glaciers are melting, or whose rivers are drying up, and whose wells have gasped their last.
