Environment and Health
Health Care Q & A
Not all the arguments about the Affordable Care Act take place in the Supreme Court. One major complaint from opponents is that they don’t want the government involved in their health care. I can imagine this conversation with a doctor:
Ryan’s Medicare Hot Air
Most of what the Wisconsin Republican calls “unfunded promises” are the future Medicare benefits that the government expects to have to pay through the late 2080s. To get a scare out of Medicare, you have look seven decades into the future.
Greening the Pentagon
The U.S. military is going green. Don’t take it from me. “[T]he Department of Defense…the world’s largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history,” President Barack Obama declared in this year’s State of the Union address.
Avoiding the Next Arctic Oil Disaster
Exxon’s Valdez disaster illustrated not only the risks of offshore drilling, but also the difficulty of cleaning up a spill in Arctic conditions. After weeks of effort and several failed attempts, Exxon only managed to clean up a small amount of the oil.
Our Health Care Racket
In most countries, health care is aimed at curing the sick. Here, not so much. In the United States, health care is a profit center, one of our nation’s few growth industries. Young people are wisely counseled to pursue health-related careers. As a service, it’s harder to ship overseas.
Rush Limbaugh and the Live Volcano
It’s not about free speech. Within extremely wide limits, Rush Limbaugh certainly has the right to say anything he pleases on the air.
Pumping Gas Prices for All They’re Worth
Oh my God. Gasoline is headed for five bucks a gallon. I read it in the newspaper, so I know it’s true. The national average is already creeping up on $4 and it’ll climb higher as the summer surge in travel arrives, those energy experts say.
The Freedom to Die with Dignity
You may have missed it amid all this fuss about Catholics and contraception. The Church’s pushback over routine birth control methods stemmed in large part from an important edict the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued in 2009, which remains poorly understood and could have a major impact on you and your loved ones.
Five Bucks a Gallon
No Nuclear Nirvana on the Horizon
When the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently approved two new nuclear reactors near Augusta, Georgia, the first such decision in 32 years, there was plenty of hoopla.
