Environment and Health
Clearing the Air
Here’s some good news: the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a new rule that would make coal-fired power plant operators clean up their act. It would block up to 123 billion pounds of carbon pollution annually from entering our skies by limiting emissions from next-generation power plants.
What Medical Mistakes?
Estimates vary, but every year an average of 195,000 Americans die from medical errors. These acts aren’t done on purpose — they are screw-ups, often dealing with medication. Other hundreds of thousands are annually injured. Surely, you say, Washington and the state capitals must be working feverishly to sort all this out.
We Can’t Afford Energy Subsidies and Tax Breaks
Last year, the top six U.S. oil companies made $148.7 billion in profits. That works out to about $407 million a day, $17 million an hour, or $283,000 per minute. At that pace, in roughly the amount of time it will take to read this commentary, just these six oil companies will have earned about $3 million in profits. Not revenues, profits.
Passing the Top Hat
Our Ruinous Game
The apparent suicide of Junior Seau, the former NFL superstar linebacker, has again raised the age-old question: “Is playing football dangerous, as in potentially lethal?”
Abortion Politics
You have to hand it to the Catholic bishops. They not only define abortion, but also birth control, as murder. And they’re willing to pin the very future of their Church to this arcane belief. Sounds a bit like the Republican Party.
A Watered-Down Education
Joe Camel. Ronald McDonald. Tony the Tiger. Spuds McKenzie. Kid-friendly advertising tricks by corporations seeking to lure young consumers clutter the annals of marketing history.
A More Meaningful Mother’s Day Gift
Americans love Mother’s Day. We love it so much that we’re collectively shelling out about $19 billion this year on gifts, special meals, and cards. But when it comes to educating our kids about how most women become mothers, we’re much less conscientious. Too many of our children aren’t learning about the connection between sex and parenthood before it’s too late. That means they lack the tools that help them avoid pregnancy until they are ready to be parents.
The Pipeline from the Black Lagoon
Poor TransCanada. Everything looked so promising. The company had just finished drawing a line across Saskatchewan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Oklahoma, with hardly a peep of protest. The folks back in Alberta were solidly behind turning their valued forests into moonscape to harvest all those petrodollars and all those jobs. The provincial government, too, had already dismissed the environment and embraced the delicious expected profits.
The Freedom to Fear
Serious commentators are telling us not to assume that the Supreme Court is going to find “Obamacare” unconstitutional just because the conservative justices gave the government lawyer a hard time when the case came before the Court last month.
