What's Really Killing Carbon Capture and Storage?

This appeared here. I would like to thank Paul for allowing me to republish his works.  Paul will always cut past the propaganda, misdirection and lies and state the truth carfully and factually. For more information regarding all things green please order his book, Eco-Imperialism, Green Power, Black Death. RK

By Paul Driessen

Carbon capture and storage could ensure abundant electricity from coal, while cutting the CO2 emissions “responsible for climate change.” Yet, barely two years after “a sense of determination and common cause” inspired the Obama Energy Department to launch CCS projects, industry is “pulling the plug.”

What could have gone wrong? Environmentalists had “heralded” the projects. “What’s killing carbon capture?” Bloomberg Businessweek wondered.

The economy is “weak,” its reporters suggested. US climate policy is “uncertain.” There is a “national retreat from the goal of reversing climate change,” largely because of energy industry lobbying against cap-and-trade legislation. The administration spent its political capital on Obamacare. Republicans took over the House. Utility regulators refuse to underwrite growing CCS costs with massive rate increases. A CCS storage site in Saskatchewan began bubbling up carbon dioxide.

All these factors played a role. But talk about ignoring inconvenient elephants. While his magazine staff scratched their heads, owner Michael Bloomberg was working to scuttle carbon capture and coal-fired power plants. His foundation gave Sierra Club $50 million to finance disinformation campaigns aimed at shutting down one-third of the nation’s coal-fired power plants by 2020.

That’s the same coal that generates 48-98% of the reliable, affordable electricity in 26 states. It enables US companies to compete internationally, keeps millions employed, produces billions in tax revenue, powers air conditioners that keep people comfortable and alive when outside temperatures hit 90-115, and allows even poor families to enjoy the best living standards in world history.

That’s the same billionaire Michael Bloomberg who, as mayor of New York City, wanted to install giant wind turbines on the city’s bridges and skyscrapers. This, he insisted, would get NYC off the blackout-prone Northeast power grid and reduce the threat of heat waves – like the ones back in 1976, 1954, 1936 and 1924, before climate change and heat waves stopped being natural and became “manmade.”

By financing Sierra Club’s anti-energy crusade, Hizzoner is making it infinitely harder for any company to justify investing another dime in CCS demonstration projects. The Department of Energy and Businessweek reporters may still support carbon capture. But Bloomberg, Sierra Club, NRDC and Lisa Jackson’s Environmental Protection Agency want it and coal-based electricity priced out of existence.

Frustrated that Congress refused to enact cap-tax-and-trade, President Obama unleashed EPA to promulgate thousands of pages of rules governing carbon dioxide, “toxic” pollutants that have already been reduced dramatically, “cross-state transport” of emissions, and other power plant operations. All tout health claims based on virtual reality computer models, cherry-picked research and illusory benefits. But the adverse health and economic impacts of the new regulations are significant, real … and ignored.

Management Information Services, Inc. calculates that the air toxics and cross-state rules alone will cost utilities upwards of $130 billion, to retrofit existing plants or demolish them and build replacements – plus some $30 billion a year for operations and maintenance. National Economic Research Associates says power companies will have to pay $184 billion through 2030, including $72 billion in immediate capital costs, to comply with the two regulations. The rules will send electricity prices skyrocketing 12-60% and cost six Midwestern manufacturing states a combined 3.5 million jobs and $42-82 billion in annual state GDP, says MISI.

Few companies can justify those costs for older power plants. No wonder they’ve lost interest in CCS experiments. Utilities will simply close dozens of generating units, representing tens of thousands of megawatts. Illinois alone will lose nearly 3,500 MW of reliable, affordable baseload electricity by 2014. The cross-state rule alone will prematurely shut down nearly 25% of America’s coal-based electricity generating capacity, says Texas Environmental Quality Commissioner Bryan Shaw. The United States could lose as much as 60,000 MW by 2017 – enough to power 60,000,000 homes and small businesses.

And all this is before considering the cost of removing plant-fertilizing carbon dioxide from power plant exhaust streams, under EPA “endangerment” rules. Once EPA implements those plans, utilities will have to spend billions more to design, build, install and operate CCS equipment, pipeline and storage facilities.

These “parasitic” systems produce no electricity. In the process of pulling CO2 out of the exhaust stream and sending it to underground reservoirs, they consume one-third or more of a power plant’s electricity output – at $60-85 per ton of CO2 captured – adding yet another 30-80% to family and business electricity rates. We will need far more power plants to generate the same net electricity.

If Americans need still more reasons for “retreating” on “climate change prevention,” consider this. There has been no measureable increase in average global temperatures since 1995. The Climategate emails proved that unscrupulous scientists were colluding with each other, vying to publish the most alarmist “findings,” and pressuring scientific journals not to publish articles by climate realists. IPCC headline-grabbing “climate disasters” turned out to be rank speculation, computer model hogwash or fraud.

Moreover, China, India and other countries are constantly building coal-fired power plants. Thus, even slashing US carbon dioxide emissions to zero will merely destroy American jobs, companies and living standards – making our current unemployment, debt and family misery indexes seem like paradise.

Businessweek barely touched on this. Nor did it ask Mr. Bloomberg, Sierra Club, Lisa Jackson or President Obama just how they intend to replace all this lost electricity. Their glib sound-bite answer is always “renewable energy,” especially wind. Just once, it would be nice if they offered some specifics.

* Replacing just one 600-MW coal-fired power plant with wind turbines would require a 50,000-acre wind farm, like the one at Fowler Ridge, Indiana, assuming it operates 24 hours a day, every day – which of course no wind farm ever will. And these guys are talking about replacing a lot of power plants.

* Providing “green” electricity to meet New York City’s needs would require blanketing the State of Connecticut with wind turbines, says Rochester U environmental science professor Jesse Ausubel.

* Replacing the third of US coal-fired generation that Bloomberg wants shut down would require over 50,000 monstrous offshore turbines, one every half-mile, in a five-mile-wide obstacle course along the entire Atlantic coastline, according to calculations by Power magazine editor-in-chief Robert Peltier.

All these wind turbines would need to be backed up 90-100% by (mostly) gas-fired generators that can surge almost instantaneously from “spinning reserve” to full power, whenever the turbines stop working – which they tend to do on the hottest days, when electricity demand is at its peak. That means we will need vast natural gas resources.

Fortunately, America has them, especially now that we know how to use horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to unlock our abundant conventional and shale gas deposits. Unfortunately, Bloomberg Obama & Comrades oppose onshore and offshore drilling and “fracking.” And few really suppose these energy “purists” will ever support all these land-hungry, scenery-scarring, raw material-intensive, bat and raptor-killing wind turbine installations.

Talk about cognitive dissonance. These guys need some serious psychological counseling. We seem to be governed by petulant ideologues who detest and obstruct every energy system that works – and support large-scale systems that don’t work only until someone actually proposes to install one. The problem is pervasive, growing and seemingly intractable. But the bottom line is simple.

If Bloomberg Obama & Comrades have their way, America faces a grim future: of rampant energy deprivation, unemployment, poverty, heatstroke, misery and death – at the hands of these ruling elites. Saturday, July 30, 2011

Green and Problems of Democracy: Part II

There will be more on this next week. We shall also examine Shay's Rebellion, which is integral to the story of the Articles of Confederation and American society, then and now, regarding the abuses heaped on a people who defied their King for the abuses he heaped upon them.  Here is a quote from a meeting convened by aggrieved commoners, a farmer, Plough Jogger, encapsulated the situation:

Articles of Confederation.
Agreed to by Congress November 15, 1777; ratified and in force, March 1, 1781.

Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy seven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America, agree to certain articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, in the words following, viz:

Article I. The Stile of this Confederacy shall be “The United States of America.”

Article II. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.

Article IV. If any person guilty of, or charged with, treason, felony, or other high misdemeanor in any State, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of the united States, he shall, upon demand of the Governor or executive power of the State from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the State having jurisdiction of his offense.

Article V. For the most convenient management of the general interests of the united States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislatures of each State shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to each State to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead for the remainder of the year.

In determining questions in the united States, in Congress assembled, each State shall have one vote.

Article VI. No State, without the consent of the united States in Congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance or treaty with any King, Prince or State; nor shall any person holding any office of profit or trust under the united States, or any of them, accept any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever from any King, Prince or foreign State; nor shall the United States in congress assembled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility.

No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, confederation or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the united States in congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue.

No State shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the united States in congress assembled, with any King, Prince or State, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by congress, to the courts of France and Spain.

No vessel of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any State, except such number only, as shall be deemed necessary by the united States in congress assembled, for the defense of such State, or its trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any State in time of peace, except such number only, as in the judgement of the united States, in congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defense of such State; but every State shall always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition and camp equipage.

No State shall engage in any war without the consent of the united States in congress assembled, unless such State be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of Indians to invade such State, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay till the united States in congress assembled can be consulted; nor shall any State grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the united States in congress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or State and the subjects thereof, against which war has been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be established by the united States in congress assembled, unless such State be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the united States in congress assembled shall determine otherwise.

Article VIII. All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defense or general welfare, and allowed by the united States in congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States in proportion to the value of all land within each State, granted or surveyed for any person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated according to such mode as the united States in congress assembled, shall from time to time direct and appoint.

The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several States within the time agreed upon by the united States in congress assembled.

Article IX. The united States in congress assembled, shall have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth article — of sending and receiving ambassadors — entering into treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made whereby the legislative power of the respective States shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever — of establishing rules for deciding in all cases, what captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the United States shall be divided or appropriated — of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace — appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high seas and establishing courts for receiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of captures, provided that no member of Congress shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts.

The United States in Congress assembled shall also be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or that hereafter may arise between two or more States concerning boundary, jurisdiction or any other causes whatever; which authority shall always be exercised in the manner following. Whenever the legislative or executive authority or lawful agent of any State in controversy with another shall present a petition to Congress stating the matter in question and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of Congress to the legislative or executive authority of the other State in controversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint by joint consent, commissioners or judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question: but if they cannot agree, Congress shall name three persons out of each of the United States, and from the list of such persons each party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less than seven, nor more than nine names as Congress shall direct, shall in the presence of Congress be drawn out by lot, and the persons whose names shall be so drawn or any five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determination: and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons, which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse to strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each State, and the secretary of Congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing; and the judgement and sentence of the court to be appointed, in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or judgement, which shall in like manner be final and decisive, the judgement or sentence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to Congress, and lodged among the acts of Congress for the security of the parties concerned: provided that every commissioner, before he sits in judgement, shall take an oath to be administered by one of the judges of the supreme or superior court of the State, where the cause shall be tried, 'well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question, according to the best of his judgement, without favor, affection or hope of reward': provided also, that no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States.

All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under different grants of two or more States, whose jurisdictions as they may respect such lands, and the States which passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the same time claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall on the petition of either party to the Congress of the United States, be finally determined as near as may be in the same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different States.

The United States in Congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective States — fixing the standards of weights and measures throughout the United States — regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians, not members of any of the States, provided that the legislative right of any State within its own limits be not infringed or violated — establishing or regulating post offices from one State to another, throughout all the United States, and exacting such postage on the papers passing through the same as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said office — appointing all officers of the land forces, in the service of the United States, excepting regimental officers — appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the United States — making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing their operations.

The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denominated 'A Committee of the States', and to consist of one delegate from each State; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the United States under their direction — to appoint one of their members to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying the public expenses — to borrow money, or emit bills on the credit of the United States, transmitting every half-year to the respective States an account of the sums of money so borrowed or emitted — to build and equip a navy — to agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each State for its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such State; which requisition shall be binding, and thereupon the legislature of each State shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the men and cloath, arm and equip them in a solid- like manner, at the expense of the United States; and the officers and men so cloathed, armed and equipped shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled. But if the United States in Congress assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances judge proper that any State should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, cloathed, armed and equipped in the same manner as the quota of each State, unless the legislature of such State shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely spread out in the same, in which case they shall raise, officer, cloath, arm and equip as many of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And the officers and men so cloathed, armed, and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the united States in congress assembled.

The united States in congress assembled shall never engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque or reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defense and welfare of the United States, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the united States, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war, to be built or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander in chief of the army or navy, unless nine States assent to the same: nor shall a question on any other point, except for adjourning from day to day be determined, unless by the votes of the majority of the united States in congress assembled.

The congress of the united States shall have power to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any place within the united States, so that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six months, and shall publish the journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances or military operations, as in their judgement require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each State on any question shall be entered on the journal, when it is desired by any delegates of a State, or any of them, at his or their request shall be furnished with a transcript of the said journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several States.

Article X. The committee of the States, or any nine of them, shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of congress, such of the powers of congress as the united States in congress assembled, by the consent of the nine States, shall from time to time think expedient to vest them with; provided that no power be delegated to the said Committee, for the exercise of which, by the articles of confederation, the voice of nine States in the Congress of the United States assembled be requisite.

Article XI. Canada acceding to this confederation, and adjoining in the measures of the united States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of this union; but no other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine States.

Article XII. All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed, and debts contracted by, or under the authority of congress, before the assembling of the united States, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against the United States, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said united States, and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged.

Article XIII. Every State shall abide by the determination of the united States in congress assembled, on all questions which by this confederation are submitted to them. And the Articles of this confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a congress of the united States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every State.

And Whereas it hath pleased the Great Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said articles of confederation and perpetual union. Know Ye that we the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that purpose, do by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said articles of confederation and perpetual union, and all and singular the matters and things therein contained: And we do further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations of the united States in congress assembled, on all questions, which by the said confederation are submitted to them. And that the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the States we respectively represent, and that the union shall be perpetual.

In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in Congress. Done at Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania the ninth Day of July in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven Hundred and Seventy-eight, and in the Third Year of the independence of America.

On the part and behalf of the State of New Hampshire:

Josiah Bartlett

John Wentworth Junr. August 8th 1778

On the part and behalf of The State of Massachusetts Bay:

John Hancock

Samuel Adams

Elbridge Gerry

Francis Dana

James Lovell

Samuel Holten

On the part and behalf of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations:

William Ellery

Henry Marchant

John Collins

On the part and behalf of the State of Connecticut:

Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

Oliver Wolcott

Titus Hosmer

Andrew Adams

On the Part and Behalf of the State of New York:

James Duane

Francis Lewis

Wm Duer

Gouv Morris

On the Part and in Behalf of the State of New Jersey, November 26, 1778.

Jno Witherspoon

Nath. Scudder

On the part and behalf of the State of Pennsylvania:

Robt Morris

Daniel Roberdeau

John Bayard Smith

William Clingan

Joseph Reed 22nd July 1778

On the part and behalf of the State of Delaware:

Tho Mckean February 12, 1779

John Dickinson May 5th 1779

Nicholas Van Dyke

On the part and behalf of the State of Maryland:

John Hanson March 1 1781

Daniel Carroll

On the Part and Behalf of the State of Virginia:

Richard Henry Lee

John Banister

Thomas Adams

Jno Harvie

Francis Lightfoot Lee

On the part and Behalf of the State of No Carolina:

John Penn July 21st 1778

Corns Harnett

Jno Williams

On the part and behalf of the State of South Carolina:

Henry Laurens

William Henry Drayton

Jno Mathews

Richd Hutson

Thos Heyward Junr

On the part and behalf of the State of Georgia:

Jno Walton 24th July 1778

Edwd Telfair

Edwd Langworthy
Posted by Rich Kozlovich at 4:37 PM No comments: Links to this post Logical Fallacy of the Week, Argument from authority: Week 2

My Take - I have become convinced that many follow the green movement because they want to be accepted by their friends. Those in the lower echelons of the movement are clearly impressed by credentials, awards, titles and are concerned with peer pressure. The young need acceptance and they need to believe in something. That is why they are beguiled so easily by this secular pseudo-religious movement. Those at the top know better.  They use this as a tool to keep everyone off balance.  For them it is about money and power.

Argument from authority (also known as argumentum ad verecundiam) An appeal to authority is an argument from the fact that a person judged to be an authority affirms a proposition to the claim that the proposition is true. This alone does not make it true even if they're the most educated and most qualified to make such a determination. It still does NOT make it true.

Appeals to authority are always deductively fallacious; even a legitimate authority speaking on his area of expertise may affirm a falsehood, so no testimony of any authority is guaranteed to be true.

A. Occasionally, this argument is called the "argument from prestige" and is based on the belief that prestigious people cannot be wrong. In these cases, the fallacy is best termed the "snob appeal" variety of the ad populum.

However, the informal fallacy occurs only when the authority cited either (a) is not an authority, or (b) is not an authority on the subject on which he is being cited. If someone either isn’t an authority at all, or isn’t an authority on the subject about which they’re speaking, then that undermines the value of their testimony.

Murphy's law
Infinite monkey theorem, a mathematically rigorous probabilistic statement
Compare with: Axiom S5

Logical Fallacy of the Week: Week 1

Logical Fallacy of the Week: Week 1 Logical Fallacy of the Week, Argument from authority: Week 2
Logical Fallacy of the Week, Appeal to Probability: Week 3 American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 29

Science trumps emotion in a Federal 9/11 cancer report
ACSH staffers were surprised to read a New York Times piece reporting federal officials' conclusion that there is not enough evidence to link cancer to the dust and smoke originating from the World Trade Center attacks of September 11th.

Link between cell phones and childhood brain cancer gets no reception
The findings of the newest study on the link between childhood brain cancer and cell phone use will be a dropped call to those convinced that heavy cell phone users are a few minutes away from developing cancer.

More may not be better with glucose lowering efforts
A new study in the British Medical Journal should give pause to doctors considering intensive glucose lowering treatment for their type 2 diabetic patients.

Exercise good for the body and mind
Two studies published in the Archives of Internal Medicine demonstrate that cardiovascular exercise may not only help skim inches off your waistline, but it may also stave off the onset of cognitive decline as you age.

Heart Disease

Heart disease patients: take your aspirin, toss your cigarettes
Two recent studies offer a strong incentive for patients at risk of a heart attack to quit smoking and keep taking their daily dose of aspirin.

New study brings heartache to physicians trying to diagnose an acute coronary event
It would seem that the chest pain many patients fear to be a heart attack in the making does not accurately predict one's risk of having acute coronary syndrome or a heart attack (acute myocardial infarction, AMI), says a new study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

An old test, but a new way to predict heart disease?
As a rule, diabetic patients have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Now, the results of a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine suggest that a patient's blood level of glyco-hemoglobin (HbA1c, an indicator of long-term blood glucose control) might be a more precise indicator of that risk.

Ideology and the EPA

More science over feelings: BPA is safe. Can we now find something real to worry about?
The 9/11 cancer report is not the only sound-science publication whose results have been met with knee-jerk dismissal.

Dr. Kava gives Chicago Tribune some food for thought
In yesterday's Chicago Tribune, a reporter asked ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava if government anti-obesity interventions, such as taxing "junk" food, effectively reduce the toll of obesity.

Happy — and healthier — meals?
Bowing to government scrutiny and public concerns fueled by advocacy groups, McDonald's took steps today to make children's Happy Meals happier by boosting nutritional content while reducing calorie and sodium content.

Food police or Keystone Kops?
The New York Times' Mark Bittman is in favor of taxing soda. He's also in favor of taxing French fries. And doughnuts. And all "hyperprocessed snacks." In his halcyon vision, the resulting funds would be channeled into programs that make healthful foods affordable and accessible to all. This, Bittman says, would solve the nation's high rates of obesity, heart disease, and cancer.

Nothing to report: School food bans have zero effect
We were disappointed to see media coverage of what amounts to the non-results of a poorly executed study that was, somehow, published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Activists’ hot dog warning is a real car wreck
USA Today reports that a group referring to themselves as "doctors" wants NASCAR fans to stop eating hot dogs and race to a vegan diet.

ACSH’s newest publication appears in Harm Reduction Journal
We'd like to note that ACSH's newest publication on tobacco harm reduction will be published in the current issue of Harm Reduction Journal.

Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals

A compelling editorial on mandatory vaccines for health care workers
We at ACSH are happy to promote Dr. Arthur's Caplan's recent Lancet article on the importance of mandating flu vaccines for health care workers.

Break me off a piece of that...Lipitor?
As health care costs steadily rise, some people try to cut corners by splitting pills or holding on to certain medications past their expiration date - but are such practices safe?

New Hepatitis C treatment shows remarkable efficacy
After 20 years of intense research, the first two antiviral drugs (protease inhibitors) to treat hepatitis C, bocepravir (Victrelis, Merck) and telaprevir (Incivek, Vertex) were approved by the FDA one week apart.

Part D: An Ounce of Prevention
Devoting more funds to prescription drugs for Medicare patients saves money in the long run, a study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found. Observations From the Back Row: 7-29-11

“De Omnibus Dubitandum”
Everthing we are told should bear some resemblance to what we see going on in reality!
In law, if there is no defence, it’s a sham.
In business, if there is no competition, it’s a monopoly.
In science, if there is no debate, it’s propaganda. - Joanne Nova

Talent of the Day - If Every I Would Leave You - Robert Goulet Climate change suspect must be given a fair trial
GOVERNMENTS across the world have paid billions to find links between carbon dioxide and the climate, but very little to find the opposite, and that’s a problem. (Exxon was a rare funder of climate skeptics but with a contribution of $23 million over a decade, it barely paid 1 part in 3500 of what the US government did.) Teams of professionals have searched high and low for any possible hint that CO2 poses a threat, and that is all very well, but no one has been paid to find otherwise. CO2 has been convicted without a defence lawyer.....We’ve paid to find a crisis, and what-do-you-know, we “found” one. (Yes. It’s true, we got what we paid for.) Hundreds of scientists have been doing their jobs, most diligently, turning over every stone labelled “CO2″. But no one has been paid to turn over the other stones.
When politicians and journalists say they can’t find a credible voice of dissent, it’s only because they define “credible” as someone holding a government-funded position — and by definition, there are no government-funded sceptics.
My Take - This is true across the entire spectrum of green issues. In pest control it is Integrated Pest Management (IPM). If these universities, their researchers and grant chasing Ph.D.'s found out tomorrow that the only grant money that was available was to prove that there was no such thing as IPM in structural pest control they would do an about face so smartly that you think they were the color guard in a military parade.
New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism
NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth's atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing. The study indicates far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted, and supports prior studies indicating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide trap far less heat than alarmists have claimed. Study co-author Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and U.S. Science Team Leader for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer flying on NASA's Aqua satellite, reports that real-world data from NASA's Terra satellite contradict multiple assumptions fed into alarmist computer models.
NASA data proves global warming computer models wrong
“The satellite observations suggest there is much more energy lost to space during and after warming than the climate models show,” said study co-author Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), in a UAH press release. “There is a huge discrepancy between the data and the forecasts that is especially big over the oceans.”  “At the peak, satellites show energy being lost while climate models show energy still being gained,” Spencer said.
APNewsBreak: Alaska researcher who documented polar bears demise in Arctic is placed on leave
JUNEAU, Alaska — Just five years ago, Charles Monnett was one of the scientists whose observation that several polar bears had drowned in the Arctic Ocean helped galvanize the global warming movement.  Now, the wildlife biologist is on administrative leave and facing accusations of scientific misconduct.  The federal agency where he works told him he’s being investigated for “integrity issues,” but a watchdog group believes it has to do with the 2006 journal article about the bear.......Even if every scientist is objective, “what we’re being asked to do is turn our economy around and spend trillions and trillions of dollars on the basis of” climate change claims, he said.

My Take - Are polar bears decling in number?  No; it's just another greenie lie.  View This! You may wish to read the inspector general’s transcript of drowned polar bear researcher being grilled, and then explain to me how this isn't a Saturday Night Live skit.  One blogger goes on to say;

"What is downright scary is the way these bozos think that dressing up wildly extravagant theories resting on baseless extrapolations of insignificant anecdotal-level observations with jargon and a few formulae in order to reach preconceived and intensely desired conclusions is perfectly legitimate scientific activity.  If anybody wonders how junk science can become established science and the accepted basis for fabulously costly governmental programs and polices, just look at the work of Dr. Charles Monnett and at PEER."

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes, and ships, and sealing wax -
Of cabbages and kings,
And why the sea is boiling hot,
And whether pigs have wings."
Posted by Rich Kozlovich at 2:53 PM No comments: Links to this post Thursday, July 28, 2011

Observations From the Back Row: 7-28-11

Everything we are told should bear some resemblance to what we see going on in reality!
Talent of the Day - Camelot Final - Richard Burton

Book of the Day - Nullification - How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century.

‘I’m just quitting’: A scene right out of ‘Atlas Shrugged’ in Birmingham, Ala.
by David McElroy

If it had been a scene in “Atlas Shrugged,” the guy would have disappeared into the secrecy of Colorado with a shadowy figure who we would later learn to be John Galt. In real life, the story will probably be more complex. But I wonder how long it’s going to be before businesspeople really do start walking away and deciding it’s not worth doing business in America today. Or it it already happening and we just don’t know it?

The man you see in the picture at the right is named Ronnie Bryant. He operates coal mines in Alabama. I’d never heard of him until this morning, but after what I saw and heard from him, I’d say he’s a bit like a southern version of Ellis Wyatt from Ayn Rand’s novel. What I saw made an impression on me.

I was at a public hearing in an inner-city Birmingham neighborhood for various government officials to get public input on some local environmental issues.

There are several hot topics, but one of the highest-profile disputes is over a proposal for a coal mine near a river that serves as a source of drinking water for parts of the Birmingham metro area. Mine operators and state environmental officials say the mine can be operated without threatening the water supply. Environmentalists claim it will be a threat.

I’m not going to take sides on that environmental issue, because I don’t know enough to stake out an informed opinion. (With most of the people I listened to today, facts didn’t seem to matter as much as emotional implications.) But Ronnie Bryant wasn’t there to talk about that particular mine. As a mine operator in a nearby area, he was attending the meeting to listen to what residents and government officials were saying. He listened to close to two hours of people trashing companies of all types and blaming pollution for random cases of cancer in their families. Several speakers clearly believe that all of the cancer and other deaths they see in their families and communities must be caused by pollution. Why? Who knows? Maybe just because it makes for an emotional story to blame big bad business. It’s hard to say.

After Bryant listened to all of the business-bashing, he finally stood to speak. He sounded a little bit shellshocked, a little bit angry — and a lot frustrated.

I have no idea what Bryant will actually do. He might have made a quick emotional decision based on anger at feeling blamed for things that are frequently just normal health issues of life. He might reconsider and go ahead with his project.

The only thing I’m sure of is that what I saw today is a broken process and a sham. We all want a decent environment in which to live, but when various people at a public meeting — including federal officials and community members — talk about “environmental justice” and make it clear that their intent is to make it harder for businesses to operate, well, I can see why a businessman would decide to quit. I consider myself an environmentalist — because I want to live in a safe, secure, clean world — but what I saw isn’t reasonable concern for the environment as much as it’s an ideological agenda.

We need reasonable people to talk about how to balance various people’s property rights. (You have the right to use your property as you please, but I have a right not to be injured by it.) Even though we need a discussion, the modern equivalent of a kangaroo court that I observed today isn’t the way to go about it. It was more like a prelude to a lynching of business. If I were a businessperson or investor, I wouldn’t put the money or effort into opening new industry in this country today. I’d take my investment and jobs to somewhere they were wanted.

As Ronnie Bryant asked, “What’s the use?” Maybe Atlas really is starting to shrug.

Editor’s note: Here’s the audio clip of Ronnie Bryant speaking. The audio quality is poor since it was recorded on my iPad without any intention of broadcast or public sharing, but I’m providing it as verification of the story.

My Take - I recommend reading all the comments.  There is a major backlash brewing out there!

The rise of the eco-imperialists
But, last week, had several Western member states had their way, including Germany, the US and the UK, the security council would have been given yet greater scope for arbitrating, interfering and posturing on the world stage. In fact, had this coalition of the zealous got what it wanted - namely, a security council statement making climate change a peace and security issue - there had even been talk of decking out UN troops in nice green helmets to go along with the soft-tone, pastel-blue ones they currently sport when sorting out the affairs of the natives. In the words of US ambassador Susan Rice: ‘[The UN has an] essential responsibility to address the clear-cut peace and security implications of a changing climate.’ Another good reason to dump the U.N., along with the EPA.

Posted by Rich Kozlovich at 6:15 AM No comments: Links to this post Observations From the Back Row: 7-27-11

Talent of the Day - Time to Say Goodbye - Sarah Brightman and Andreas Bucelli

The New Green Economy Is Bleeding A Great Deal Of Greenbacks
The New Green Economy goes “thump.” That thumping noise is the sound of countless failed companies, temporarily and hopelessly propped up with mountains of other people’s money, hitting the ground and imploding as the foreseeable result of government claiming it is smarter than its citizens.
Salinas, Calif.-based Green Vehicles is the latest proud symbol of the New Green Economy to financially implode, leaving taxpayers high and dry after eagerly soaking up taxpayer money before failing to produce any marketable product. The City of Salinas had invested over $500,000 dollars in the company, which intended to manufacture electric plug-in vehicles, claiming Green Vehicles would simultaneously save the environment and bring economic prosperity to the city. Not to be outdone, the cash-strapped state government had given the company nearly $3 million.

Green Vehicles promised to create 70 jobs and pay $700,000 in taxes each year to the City of Salinas. City officials rushed to take credit for having the vision to invest taxpayer dollars in a company that curiously couldn’t attract private investors. Green Vehicles, city and state officials claimed, was the face of America’s new economic and environmental future.

Sadly, they may be right….. America became the great and prosperous nation it is by not infringing upon people’s rights to decide for themselves how and where to invest their money. There is nothing “noble” about turning us into a Green version of Venezuela.

My Take – Since this “let’s go green” mentality became an insane obsession I have been saying all along that we have lost our minds. Everywhere in the world at least 2.2 jobs are lost for every so-called green job that is created. And that is if you are generous as to how you count green jobs. In pest control I hear companies are going green. Baloney! There is no such thing as green pest control. Using different products doesn’t make pest control green, no matter the source of the finished product. It is still a chemical….and one that has probably not been tested anywhere as definitively as atrazine. Using techniques that emphasize exclusion is still just pest control that is nothing more than a choice in the practice of pest control. In order for anything to exist it has to have a logical foundation. Otherwise it is mere philosophy; and one that may not last as long as the latest ladies fashions. In every other field “green” dies on the vine as soon as government tax breaks and grant money disappear.

In agriculture Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is based on threshold limits. At some point a certain about of pests will do a certain amount of damage. When that damage is over the threshold cost of pesticide applications you make those applications. That has a logical foundation that is clear and concise. What is the logical foundation for IPM in structural pest control? There is none. Ultimately it ends up being defined by how much more paper work it generates. The same is true of “green pest control”! No matter what anyone says…there is no logical foundation for what constitutes “green pest control”. Green pest control and IPM simply don’t exist in structural pest control. I don’t care what you are using, I don’t’ care what you refuse to use; I don’t care what techniques you are using or choose not to use….it is just pest control. Everything else is advertising, promotions, public relations and propaganda.

The reality is this: If “all natural” and “green” was so great why did everyone give it up in the first place? Think about it; why would everyone abandon something touted as being fabulous? If those who have lived “green” and “natural” didn’t think it was so great….why should we? I will say this once again. There are going to be penalties to be paid for “going green” and unfortunately it will be society that will have to pay them….not the promoters of this irrational and misanthropic pseudo-pagan philosophy. Green is not an investment; it is a religion.

Tea Party Republicans Who Challenge Green Policies Rile the New York Times
Republican Lawmakers are standing up to green pressure groups at the state level and The New York Times is getting nervous. The action in Maine, Florida and North Carolina has attracted media scrutiny because it demonstrates that Tea Party activists are exerting influence in an area that was previously dominated by leftists. Property owners and business owners who have been back on their heels fighting environmentalists have allies in government for the first time in recent memory…… In Maine, Tea Party-backed Republican governor Paul LePage is rolling back environmental regulations with support from new Republican majorities in both houses of the state legislature. He faces a “green iron triangle” that is deeply entrenched, lavishly funded and closely aligned with state and federal government agencies…… The influence and reach of green pressure groups has gone unchecked and unchallenged far too long, crushing private citizens and business owners nationwide. The Iron Triangle, as I describe it in Maine, shows rank collusion between the Maine Audubon Society and the DEP [Dept. of Environmental Protection], jointly concocting false ‘science’ to justify catastrophic regulations.”…… “Budgets are on everyone’s minds these days,” Edwards noted. “The Tea Party has become a growing force and there is no reason for us to play defense.”

Environmentalists Want Pesticides Banned on Private Property
Towns and cities in Connecticut may be able to ban pesticide use on private properties if environmental activists in Connecticut can convince state legislators. The environmentalists would like to see a reversal of a 1983 law that prohibits municipalities from passing stricter lawn-care pesticide regulations than the state government has. .... Nancy Alderman, president of Environments and Human Health. She led a meeting of like-minded environmentalists on Wednesday at Yale University to decide what the anti-pesticide agenda should be for the next legislative session. State Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, and state Sen. Ed Meyer, D-Guilford, who co-chair the Environment Committee, were at the meeting, as well as state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport. .... according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Some pesticides may affect the nervous system, while others may affect hormone production, the agency says. Some pesticides may be carcinogenic.

My Take – “May” affect the nervous system; “may” affect hormone production; “may” cause cancer.....If you were to eliminate the weasel words out of all that these people spew out there would be nothing left for them to say because they have no valid peer reviewed evidence that any of this is true. Speculation and scare mongering! Another reason to get rid of the EPA!

h, what the heck. Another good reason to defund Yale also! And while we are at it, let’s stop grant money to all the universities, which has become a hot bed for irrational social thought at taxpayer expense. We may wish to look at the value of insisting that everyone ‘deserves’ a university degree at government expense or through student loans. The price of college tuition has gone up way beyond the value for many. Each time more money is given to students the price goes up. Like pigs feeding at the trough.  Let's defund all of this and let them compete on the open market place, just like all other businesses.  And universities and colleges are businesses!

I often wonder why someone would borrow $100,000 to get a degree in something that will not get them jobs that pay enough for them to pay off their loans. One manager of a restaurant told me he has too kinds of applicants in food service. The kind that that can barely read and write and college graduates! Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Observations From the Back Row: 7-26-11

This is a tendency or disposition that bespeaks the resurgence of an environmental romanticism wedded to motives rather than consequences, unachievable ideals rather than practical values. It consists largely of the cryogenized remnants of an antique crusade for unperturbed happiness and tranquility, actuated by a child-like desire for transcendence that is the curse of liberal political civilization, and that, in various spiritual and revolutionary forms, has caused untold harm and suffering in the past. Paraphrased quote by David Solway

Today's Talent - Leona Mitchell - O mio Babbino Caro

The Over-Regulated Family
Forget the crude scribblings of San Francisco anti-circumcision comic Monster Mohel, which missed its original publication date in Berlin by only seven decades, and think about the underlying idea behind the campaign instead. That direct democracy doesn’t mean running the government, it means telling other people how to live their lives. It’s not enough that you can choose how to raise your children, you have to be able to make other families raise them the same way.....

Studies of America show a country where marriage has become a class issue. In a country that is taxed to death, wealth has become a better predictor of marriage than love. Men and women with college degrees are sixteen percent more likely to marry than those without. The African-American family is vanishing, but the white working class family is in deep trouble too.

The American working class family was built on an industrial and manufacturing infrastructure that has been destroyed by regulators in the name of environmental and social justice. And the same activists who so intuitively understood that if you destroy wetlands, the spotted toad cannot survive, refuse to see that when you destroy the main source of working class jobs and raise the regulatory barriers to running a small business, you also destroy the ecosystem on which the working class family depends.

I’m a little late with this one but it deserves wider prominence

Dam Idiots Caught Using Junk Science on Klamath River
by Brian Sussman
In the name of saving salmon, radical environmentalists in Northern California have concocted a $1.4 billion plan to destroy four hydroelectric dams and dramatically restrict water to hundreds of thousands of acres of prime farmland. However, an independent panel of scientists hired by the federal government to review the proposal has determined the primary goal of the deconstruction project is based on junk science…..As usual, the environmentalists were caught ginning up their case to destroy the dams using phony data. In this case they concocted an imperfect computer-generated model to cast the dams as evil salmon-killers.

Everyone will believe if you just scream loud enough to drown out the truthSteve Jones tells the BBC: don’t give ‘denialists’ so much air-time
In his report for the BBC Trust, Steve Jones actually attacks the BBC for having too little global-warming bias. (Christopher Booker, TDT)

This is why they want to stop skeptics speaking – Monckton swings 9%
Christopher Monckton had no slides, no graphs, and only part of one hour, and was faced with tough questions from seasoned journalists, 100 stacked seats of activists who hate him, and yet in that time 9% of the people who saw the debate and thought we needed to act on CO2, changed their mind. Observations From the Back Row: 7-25-11 PM

Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I have a different perspective of talent.  Let's try this for real talent, and remember this was the music we heard on the radio.

Mario Lanza, who was, in my opinon, the greatest tenor who ever lived.  One of my favorite shows was and still is, Student Prince.  In the movie Edmund Purdom played the Prince, while Mario Lanza was the voice.  Purdom was a far better actor.

Serenade From the Student Prince,
The Drinking Song.....no pun intended!
Beloved....Mario Lanza's voice.

The Donkey Seranade.
Golden Days.

How about Kathryn Grayson,

Time After Time.
Love is Where You Find it,
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.

That was talent.
Posted by Rich Kozlovich at 4:29 PM No comments: Links to this post Observations From the Back Row: 7-25-11

Endangered Species paperwork to cost $206,098,920

According to the Budd-Falen law offices:

On July 12, 2011, the Justice Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) announced “an historic agreement” which will require the American taxpayers to pay $206,098,920 to just process the paperwork deciding whether to include over 1000 plants, bugs, worms, and other assorted creatures on the Endangered Species list. None of this money goes to on-the-ground conservation; this taxpayer funding is just to process petitions filed by only two, out of dozens, of radical environmental groups who think newts and moths are more important than the elderly or our children.

The two environmental groups referred to are Wild Earth Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity.  Here is the complete text of the memorandum from Budd-Falen:

SAN ANTONIO -- Ever since a federal judge threatened to seize control of the Edwards Aquifer to force compliance of the Endangered Species Act, resolving the issue has eluded public officials for two decades.ce a federal judge threatened to seize control of the Edwards Aquifer to force compliance of the Endangered Species Act, resolving the issue has eluded public officials for two decades.

Feds can't make up minds on mercury bulbs - Ban outdoor lights while mandating use indoors
In what critics call a classic case of the government working at cross purposes, Washington is forcing residents across the country to install mercury lighting inside their homes while phasing out mercury lighting outside homes to protect the environment. Yes, you read that right.

The world's biggest problem? Too many people
Our unsustainable population levels are depleting resources and denying a decent future o our descendants. We must stop the denial

Overpopulation is also fueling desertification and further deforestation around the world. We can dream of drastically decreasing overconsumption by the wealthy, but even realistic potential decreases are voided by sheer human numbers in all countries, rich and poor. Our unsustainable population levels are depleting resources and denying a decent future to our descendants.

What to do? Stop the denial. Perpetual growth is the creed of a cancer cell, not a sustainable human society…..Promote and support family planning education at the family and community levels as a cheap way to reduce poverty and severe climate change. Support organizations that are trying to get contraceptives to the 200 million women in the world who lack and want them, and help them obtain equal rights, education and job opportunities. Access to contraceptives and reproductive freedom are rights, not luxuries, that ultimately benefit all of humanity. Vote for leaders who vigorously promote those humane solutions. And demand that media start educating the public every day on the role played by the unsustainable human numbers behind environmental degradation and human calamities — and start covering the solutions. The public needs a constant message: "It's time to stop growing and become sustainable."

My Take – The fact that the Harte’s and the Ehrlich’s were involved in this piece is enough to let you know it’s loony. The real question however is this; is this filled with logical fallacies, and if so; what are they and what is the response.  The reality is that this population scare has been used to justify more and more central planning government control  over everyones life.  The next article should give you the answers.  The important thing to remember is that this answer has been known for years.  Bjorn Lomborg outlined the reality of population growth in his book, The Skeptical Environmentalist,  and takes the Ehrlich's and their scare mongering ilk to task.  To be green is to be irrational and misanthropic....sustainable is just another greenie word for misanthropy.

The World Is Not Overpopulated
An opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times declared the world to be overpopulated and even compared humanity to a cancerous growth. This reasoning is not only disturbing, but is almost certainly incorrect, as well.

The world, indeed, has a lot of people. By the end of 2011, there will be nearly 7 billion people living on the planet. But population growth rates will not sustain at those levels. An analysis by The Economist describes how each subsequent billion will take longer and longer to achieve, until population growth eventually plateaus at around 9 billion people by 2050.

Editor's note - I saved these next two pieces for last because they are especially long....but very insightful and informative.  The answer is always in the history.  Give me the history and I will give you the answer.

Jacoby's Hidden History of American Conservation By William Walter Kay
American environmentalism existed in a clearly recognizable form in the 1860s. The movement, then known as conservationism, became a dominant political force in the 1885 to 1915 era. Some salient features from that era: The overwhelming, and explicit, consensus of conservationists was that wilderness could be protected only by imposing martial law.

Plimer's Heaven and Earth: Global Warming the Missing Science By William Walter Kay
Ian Plimer is a world-class geologist with a successful career in mining and academia. The author of 120 scientific papers and seven books, Plimer has earned many commendations including two of Australia’s top scientific awards. His 493-pageHeaven and Earth: Global Warming the Missing Science (1) demolishes the anthropogenic global warming hypothesis. What follows is an attempt to lathe this text down to its 7,500-word filament.

Posted by Rich Kozlovich at 5:53 AM No comments: Links to this post American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 28

Link of the Week

Child-proof playgrounds are worse than no fun
Adults nostalgic for the monkey bars and tall slides of their childhood may have trouble finding them when they take their own children to a nearby playground.

Can healthy living reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s?
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have just pinpointed what they say are seven risk factors for dementia, which, if reduced by even 10 to 25 percent, could prevent nearly 500,000 cases of Alzheimer's each year in the U.S.

Heads up: Even minor brain injuries may increase dementia risk
A new study appears to headbutt the notion that only moderate or severe brain injuries can predispose people to dementia.

Antidepressants: Another failed treatment option for dementia patients
Sadly, another study presented at Monday's Alzheimer's Association International Conference has found that antidepressants are ineffective for Alzheimer's patients.

Statins safe and sans cancer risk
A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology analyzed the medical records of almost 92,000 U.S. adults and concluded that taking cholesterol-controlling statins is not associated with a higher risk of cancer.

A viable treatment option for some breast cancers, even after spread
A study just published in Clinical Cancer Research has confirmed that treating HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer with the drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) is as effective as chemotherapy or surgery.

Kids are (not) what they (won’t) eat
Efforts to improve the healthfulness of school lunches are increasingly evident, from upping kids' portions of fruits and vegetables to (rather unfathomably) removing chocolate milk from the cafeteria. Still, a news story from Colorado reminds us that there is still a ways to go.

Talking diet and exercise with teenage patients
Pediatricians may be missing out on opportunities to discuss diet and exercise with their overweight teenage patients, suggests new research published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Campbell’s soups back to being Mmm...Mmm Salty!
We've said it before, and we'll say it again: consumers, not the government, will ultimately dictate the recipes used by food manufacturers, and in this case, the public has spoken.

Contraception is a preventive health service, IOM report says
Commissioned by the Obama administration to recommend which preventive medical services should be covered under the nation's health care overhaul, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) - an independent, nonprofit organization - reportedyesterday that all U.S.-approved birth control contraceptives be included as part of that list.

Early induced deliveries may give birth to adverse outcomes
In today's hectic times, moms-to-be - and their OBGYN's - may not think twice about scheduling an artificially-induced early childbirth for the sake of convenience.

This and That

Never too old to listen to heat advisories
Resistance to acknowledging one's age may be what's keeping many elderly folk from heeding heat warnings meant for older populations.

NEJM editorial: e-cigarette users should resume smoking for their own good
A New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) perspective piece on electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) would have you believe that FDA-approved cessation methods like the patch are a superior means of quitting smoking compared to e-cigarettes and, therefore, smokers should not rely on these relatively new electronic devices to kick the habit.

New dissolvable tobacco products discussed at FDA hearing
This week, ACSH's Jody Manley and Dr. Gilbert Ross sat in on the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee's (TPSAC) preliminary hearing on the safety of dissolvable tobacco products such as RJ Reynold's Camel Orbs lozenges and Altria's dissolvable tobacco sticks.

Good news, and bad, about substance use and abuse
A large government study has found that fewer teens and young adults view heavy smoking as a high-risk activity. This same study also found that nearly one in four Americans binge drink.

Two strikes against TPSAC menthol “recommendation”
On his TobaccoAnalysis blog, Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor in the department of community health sciences at Boston University's School of Public Health, criticizes the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) for failing once again to make a recommendation to the FDA regarding a possible ban on menthol cigarettes.

The best use for tobacco plants yet: HIV meds of the future?
In a drug trial that would prove an advance for both HIV prevention and biotech, European scientists are testing the efficacy of an anti-HIV antibody that was cultivated via a genetically modified tobacco plant.

Prescriptions for cigarettes in Iceland? Hippocrates would be rolling in his grave
The parliament in Reykjavik, Iceland is considering some radical tobacco legislation: banning the sale of cigarettes from the usual retail outlets and allowing only pharmacies to sell them.

An “R” rating for smoking in movies: public health or censorship?
A new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) commends three major movie studios (Comcast/Universal, Disney, and Time Warner/Warner Bros.) for eliminating the depiction of smoking in youth-rated films by 96 percent since 2005.

Dr. Bloom takes a shot at CDC’s public hearings on vaccine approval
In a new National Review Online op-ed, ACSH's Dr. Josh Bloom takes issue with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) unprecedented decision to conduct a national four-city "listening tour" to garner the public's opinion on whether the agency should include a recently FDA-approved bacterial meningitis vaccine for infants as young as nine months as part of their schedule of recommended vaccines.

TB tests under WHO fire
Tuberculosis (TB) test-kit manufacturers were castigated by the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday, while their sales in developing countries were placed under immediate ban due to "unacceptable levels of wrong results" and "perverse financial incentives" to boost sales, according to a WHO statement.
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