MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'energy'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:47:50 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181980&cid=t_92564_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fwhy-are-millennials-vital-health-care Before we dive in, it is important to ensure we understand some of the characteristics of the Millennial Generation. The timing of this generation is generally those born between 1978 and 2000 (some say those born after 1980). Some of the characteristics of this generation include:* read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181980 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:14:43 +0100 5181980 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174593&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCF5PCpfSmmU%2F By Patrick J. MichaelsHurricane Irene (which seemed more like Tropical Storm Irene from Virginia Beach to New York City) has prompted the usual rhetoric from the usual suspects about global warming making these storms worse.  Too bad there is no evidence for this whatsoever on a global scale. Ryan Maue, at Florida State University, tracks global tropical cyclone energy back to 1970, which is the time at which adequate data on hurricane winds became available. His “Accumulated Cyclone Energy” (ACE) index peaked in the mid 1990′s and in recent years has been at or near the lowest point ever recorded. His most recent refereed paper, in press at Geophysical Research Letters, is called “Recent Historically Low Global Tropical Cyclone Activity.”  Enough said? Howe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174593 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:32:44 +0100 5174593 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174578&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008260.html If you want to get an electric vehicle (EV) obviously it will cost more due to expensive batteries. Look at the price of the Nissan Leaf at $35,200 USD before tax rebate (and I emphasize costs below before tax credits and rebates because a solution can not scale if it depends on taxes to fund it). One could get a similar-sized compact for half that price. Not cheap. Well, with the forthcoming Ford Focus EV you'll have the option to buy solar panels at the same time. Dearborn, Mich., Aug. 10, 2011 – Ford and SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA, SPWRB) have teamed up to offer customers a rooftop solar system that will allow Focus Electric owners to “Drive Green for... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174578 Sun, 28 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5174578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158890&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008254.html The US Geological Survey has cut its estimate of technically recoverable natural gas from the big Marcellus Shale by about 79.5%. You just got more energy poor. Get a more insulated water heater next time you need a new one. The shale formation has about 84 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas, according to the report from the United States Geological Survey. This is drastically lower than the 410 trillion cubic feet that was published earlier this year by the federal Energy Information Administration. These are technically recoverable estimates. Economically recoverable reserves will be some amount less than these numbers and to get anywhere near the full technically recoverable number above might require substantially higher costs. How... (Source: Futu... FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158890 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5158890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139876&cid=t_92564_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F18%2Fwhy-you-cant-make-a-good-decision-at-500-pm-decision-fatigue%2F We live in the most prosperous society on Earth at this moment. You can walk into any Gap or Target store and choose from more than 2 dozen different types of jeans (and in some cases, more than 3 dozen). All of that choice comes at a price, however. It’s called “decision fatigue” and its full impact is only starting to be fully understood by psychologists and researchers. Our brains can suffer from “mental fatigue,” just as our bodies can become physically fatigued after a long workout. What is so surprising about this phenomenon is just how little people appreciate the importance of mental fatigue and its resulting decision fatigue — even when making decisions that can be life-changing. John Tierney in The New York Times has the lengthy story (5,350 w... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139876 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:17:30 +0100 5139876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139953&cid=t_92564_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fmu-spurring-adoption-cpoe-or-it You say "po-tay-to," I say "po-tah-to." It often seems that the old song could be applied to any number of policy discussions, and it appears applicable once again to the latest news concerning the use of CPOE among hospitals. More to the point, what seems to be open to interpretation is whether “meaningful use” is successfully leading more providers to incorporate CPOE into their practices. read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139953 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:18:34 +0100 5139953 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125721&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0bjiCY6NxMA%2F By Jim HarperSomething as simple as the concept of tradeoffs can cause cognitive dissonance to good-hearted people who want too hard to drive the society toward their perception of the good. A nice illustration of that is the cost in lives of making cars that use less gasoline. How can doing good for the environment possibly be harmful? Oh, it can be deadly. Nicely illustrated by CEI’s Sam Kazman on John Stossel’s show. 2,000 Deaths per Year … for the Environment is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125721 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:49:08 +0100 5125721 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107795&cid=t_92564_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2F4yVzP4tkVKE%2F We all want to be that woman–you know, the one who never lets a day pass without posting about her five zillion accomplishments on Facebook. The woman who got up at 5am, did a two-hour workout, dressed in her perfectly-pressed suit, worked all day (in heels, no less), stopped at the bank, the grocery store and Target on her way home, did a quickie change of clothes, met friends out for dinner and made it home just in time to pay some bills, do the laundry and read three more chapters of her favorite book before getting up the next day to do it all over again. If this doesn’t sound like your day—or your energy level, you’re not alone. According to Health magazine, women are exhausted. In fact, we are four times more tired than men. And it has nothing to do with our incre... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107795 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:12:56 +0100 5107795 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107603&cid=t_92564_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F07%2Fnegawatts-the-positive-psychology-behind-negative-energy%2F Almost every way we make electricity today, except for the emerging renewables and nuclear puts out CO2. And so, what we’re going to have to do at a global scale, is create a new system. And so, we need energy miracles. ~Bill Gates A typographical error led Amory Lovins to coin the phrase negawatts. In a brilliant 1989 keynote address to the Green Energy Conference in Montreal he outlined what has become the blueprint for a radical business and energy concept. Pay people to do nothing. Twenty-plus years later the idea is deeply taking hold. Fast-forward to Dr. Ron Denbo who was recently featured on a TED global ideas project. He is the Founder and CEO of Zerofootprint, an international company that provides software to measure and manage carbon footprint.  Individuals, governments ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107603 Sun, 07 Aug 2011 10:24:31 +0100 5107603 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086150&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiVFFkpWpcg0%2F By Randal O'TooleHalf truths, innuendo, and pseudo-science form the basis of a response to my recent Cato paper, Intercity Buses: The Forgotten Mode. The response is produced by America 2050, a project of the Regional Plan Association, a New York City–area regional planning organization. The response’s basic thesis of the response is that intercity buses have a role to play in a “balanced transportation system,” but they are “no replacement for high-speed rail.” Of course, my report never argued that buses were a replacement for true high-speed rail. But it did show that existing bus schedules in many corridors are faster, more frequent, and charge far lower fares than Amtrak in the same corridors. Of course, there is a “replacement” for high-spe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086150 Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:36:51 +0100 5086150 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086126&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008207.html Imagine farm fields plowed with synthetic diamonds. Less friction, less power, less fuel – plowshares coated with diamond-like carbon (DLC) slide through the soil like a hot knife through butter. As a result, the tractors pulling them need less power and fuel. In some tests the power required has been reduced by more than 30 percent. Does this sound like a good development? Not so fast. If tilling becomes cheaper we'll get more tilling and therefore more soil run-off. Even better: eliminate tilling altogether. Not only is energy saved but the vast bulk of soil run-off is halted. One purpose for tilling is to control weeds. But other methods to do that are available. Genetically modified crops that can survive... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086126 Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5086126 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069440&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ffj6Hyf72wMY%2F By Jim HarperI don’t know what conclusion the correspondent who sent me this pair of articles meant for me to draw, but I think they nicely illustrate how centralizing power with the federal government fails to advance environmental values, while eroding others. First, there’s the AP story showing deep and extensive ties between offshore oil and gas companies and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Enforcement and Regulation. That’s the renamed Minerals Management Service, the agency that was supposed to prevent things like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill last summer. Everyone dreams of a “real regulator” that will clean up industry, protect public values, and smartly manage economic activity. What you routinely end up with is a pro-industry self-dealing ag... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069440 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:54:56 +0100 5069440 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062304&cid=t_92564_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F25%2Fthe-situation-of-the-energy-efficiency-gap%2F Brandon Hofmeister just posted his fascinating paper, “Bridging the Gap: Using Social Psychology to Design Market Interventions to Overcome the Energy Efficiency Gap in Residential Energy Markets” (forthcoming  19 Southeastern Environmental Law Journal 1 (2010) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * For decades, economists and energy policy analysts have noticed the existence of an “energy efficiency gap” – a significant underinvestment in energy efficiency measures whose benefits outweigh their costs – among residential consumers. Promoting energy efficiency is generally the most cost-effective manner to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to meet future energy demand, while simultaneously promoting economic growth and reducing poverty. Economists have attempted... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062304 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:20:28 +0100 5062304 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062338&cid=t_92564_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fcertifications-do-i-need-one It is often asked today whether obtaining certifications in health IT is of benefit to a healthcare career path and/or will obtaining a certification guarantee securing employment? Well, first thing nothing is ever a guarantee in securing employment because so many variables play into that next career step. But to level set the certification question, various professional certifications are found in almost every industry of today. read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062338 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:46:43 +0100 5062338 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062205&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008198.html If electric vehicles are going to become cheaper that change hasn't started happening yet. Nissan raises the price on the EV Leaf in order to add features needed in colder states. Nissan said the 2012 Leaf, which goes on sale in the fall, will cost at least $2,450 more than the 2011 model, but perform better in colder climates, with features like a battery warmer, heated seats and a heated steering wheel. The new price, $36,050 will bring it closer to the new (and lower) $39,995 price for the Chevy Volt. That latter price cut was made possible by cutting out a nav system. Maybe component costs for an EV are falling even as prices rise. Our ability to migrate... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062205 Sun, 24 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5062205 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062204&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008199.html Plastic feedstock made from sugar cane in Brazil might be competitive with oil-based plastic. Making plastic from sugar can be just as cheap as making it from petroleum, says Dow Chemical. The company plans to build a plant in Brazil that it says will be the world's largest facility for making polymers from plants.  If transportation can be shifted to electric power and then biomass only gets used to make plastics can enough biomass starter material be grown for this purpose? Trying to move all transportation to biomass liquid fuels seems like a non-starter. Not enough tillable land to do that.... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062204 Sun, 24 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5062204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050474&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008186.html Want to get away from nuclear power and all that runs on nuclear power? Your only choice: move off planet. Half the heat energy from Earth's core comes from nuclear fission. Advocates of geothermal power are really advocates of nuclear fission power. By contrast, advocates of solar energy are really advocates of nuclear fusion power. What spreads the sea floors and moves the continents? What melts iron in the outer core and enables the Earth's magnetic field? Heat. Geologists have used temperature measurements from more than 20,000 boreholes around the world to estimate that some 44 terawatts (44 trillion watts) of heat continually flow from Earth's interior into space. Where does it come from? Radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050474 Sun, 17 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5050474 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028572&cid=t_92564_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fso-where-can-i-really-find-job We keep hearing about healthcare IT jobs. And in fact, we are actually seeing more energy around creating healthcare IT jobs than ever before.  Sometimes, however frustration sets in when the jobs we seek don’t directly present themselves whether it be in ads, an article or even on-line job surfing.  So, having the ability to facilitate job searches and educational needs is exactly what HIMSS Career Services is energized to support. read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028572 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:12:43 +0100 5028572 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008725&cid=t_92564_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2F0li5fdjlUk4%2F With modern technology evolving, an increasing number of jobs involve sitting at a computer for at least 8 hours a day. You may think this makes for an easy life but sitting at a computer for prolonged periods of time can actually cause you to suffer from pains and strains; known as Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI’s). Along with RSIs; back and neck pain, poor circulation and insomnia can be caused by office jobs. Yoga is becoming an increasingly popular exercise as it’s gentle, and work wonders for office workers who are prone to stress, poor circulation, RSIs and low fitness levels. Another benefit of yoga is that it can easily fit into the busiest of schedules. Just 20 minutes of yoga a day can uplift your mood and reinvigorate your body. The following are common complaints many peop... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008725 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:32:02 +0100 5008725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008092&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008169.html Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are expected by some observers to become so cheap, efficient, and long-lasting that they will displace fluorescent light bulbs. Francis Rubinstein, a scientist in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Environmental Energy Technologies Division, says the imminent death of fluorescent lighting at the hands of LEDs has been exaggerated. "The common view," says Francis Rubinstein, a scientist and energy-efficient lighting expert at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Environmental Energy Technologies Division, "is that LED lighting is replacing fluorescent lighting with the same inevitability that mammals replaced dinosaurs as the dominant large life forms on Earth." ... But wait, says Rubinstein, who has been delivering a talk to lighting industry audien... FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008092 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5008092 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984688&cid=t_92564_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F00EJHTbmsSw%2F Three years after the FDA linked the Heparin scandal to contaminated supplies from China, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is expanding a probe into the episode and wrote 10 drugmakers, manufacturer reps and ingredients suppliers for documents, because the agency has indicated they have info about the Chinese heparin industry and supply chains. The move comes after the committee has twice lashed out at the FDA for failing to find those responsible for the scandal, which was linked to 81 deaths in 2007 and 2008 and traced to heparin sold by Baxter International (back story). The fatalities provoked harsh criticism of the FDA for not conducting greater oversight of foreign facilities - particularly those in China that make medicines or supply active pharmaceutical ingredients. Baxter... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984688 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:55:31 +0100 4984688 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975800&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008157.html The New York Times has gotten hold of internal documents of the US Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration where several EIA officials are found voicing their skepticism about the long term prospects for extracting large amounts of natural gas from fracturing shale rock. The term "irrational exuberance" gets used. In scores of internal e-mails and documents, officials within the Energy Information Administration, or E.I.A., voice skepticism about the shale gas industry. One official says the shale industry may be “ set up for failure.” “It is quite likely that many of these companies will go bankrupt,” a senior adviser to the Energy Information Administration administrator predicts. Several officials echo concerns raised during previous bubbles, in housing and in ... FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975800 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4975800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975844&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ft0srfeWOuoo%2F By Randal O'TooleIn Gridlock, I argued that the next great improvement in human mobility will come not from rail transit or high-speed rail but driverless cars. Companies such as GM and Volkswagen have invested heavily in research and development of cars that can drive themselves, and I expected that they would soon begin lobbying state legislatures to change laws to allow such driverless cars on the road. As it turned out, the lobbying was done not by an auto company but by Google, which has tested driverless cars (developed by the same Stanford University engineers who designed Volkswagen’s driverless cars) throughout the state of California. Google decided Nevada would be a good state to start legalizing driverless cars, and last week the Nevada legislature agreed. By coincidence,... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975844 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:06:45 +0100 4975844 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968432&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008154.html Globally the rate at which new nuclear power plants get turned on to start operating will more than double from 5 to 12 per year in the next 4 years. Assuming about five years for construction it can be expected that reactors will be coming online around 2012 at double today's rate of five per year, with this to rise to one per month around 2015. Each nuclear reactor takes years to plan and years to build. With many nukes in the pipeline decisions taken a few in the last few years to ramp up nuclear reactor construction in China and other Asian countries are starting to be felt. The Fukushima accident is too recent to affect the pipeline of... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968432 Sat, 25 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4968432 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4960119&cid=t_92564_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F06%2F22%2Fare-low-carb-diets-bad-for-the-brain%2F Are low carbohydrate diets bad for the brain? Ketogenic diets (low carbohydrate diets) promote the increased use of ketone bodies–soluble compounds produced by the body when fatty acids are broken down–by the brain. But, is this safe? When examining epileptic children who spend years in ketosis, or the accumulation of higher than normal ketone bodies, there seems to be no negative effect on cognitive function, except fatigue in the beginning stages of the diet (Hale, 2010). In addition, ketogenic diets are used as treatment for some diseases.  Klepper and colleagues (2003) reported that ketogenic diets have been used for decades to treat intractable childhood epileptics, but they can also be used for treating other conditions such as glut 1 deficiency syndrome and pyruvatedehy... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4960119 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:58:36 +0100 4960119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952759&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008149.html Small nuclear reactors might be the ticket to restarting growth of the US nuclear power industry. This week the Tennessee Valley Authority signed a letter of intent with nuclear-reactor maker Babcock & Wilcox to work together to build up to six small reactors near Clinch River, Tennessee. If the plan goes ahead, these could be the first small modular commercial nuclear power plants. Babcock & Wilcox has a long history of making nuclear reactors for US Navy ships. This gives them an advantage in the small nuclear reactor market. Whether this advantage can translate into a competitive product remains to be seen. In theory small reactors can be made in a manufacturing plant that can reach much higher levels of... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952759 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4952759 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952803&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbC4DuEg6ftg%2F By Ilya ShapiroIn the important global warming case decided today, American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court unanimously reached the correct result but one that still leaves room for plenty of mischievous litigation.  While it’s clearly true that, as the Court said, the Clean Air Act and the EPA exist to deal with the claims the plaintiffs made here—that the defendants’ carbon dioxide emissions are pollutants that cause global warming—the Court left open the possibility of claims on state common-law grounds such as nuisance.  And it unfortunately said nothing about whether any such disputes, whether challenging EPA action or suing under state law, are properly “cases and controversies” ripe for judicial resolution. The judiciary was not meant to be the sol... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952803 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:58:18 +0100 4952803 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934108&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLVNfBuzfyRE%2F By Randal O'TooleAccording to Transportation for America — which is largely a shill for the transit industry — the nation is about to face a new crisis: a shortage of mobility “options” for retiring baby boomers. According to a report published by the group on June 14, “By 2015, more than 15.5 million Americans 65 and older will live in communities where public transportation service is poor or non-existent.” The appropriate answer to that, of course, is “So what?” Most seniors don’t ride transit. Census data show that more than 12.5 percent of all Americans are over 65, yet data from the American Public Transportation Association show that only 6.7 percent of transit trips are taken by senior citizens. The average American rides transit less... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934108 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:36:42 +0100 4934108 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934047&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008138.html BP's 2011 Statistical Review of World Energy is out and the biggest news: China has become the biggest world energy consumer. BP, in its 60th annual Statistical Review of World Energy, said China accounted for 20.3 per cent of demand, compared with the United States' 19 per cent. The report said China's consumption rose by 11.2 per cent last year. American demand increased 3.7 per cent. For carbon dioxide emissions China already blew past the United States about 5 years ago due to China's much heavier reliance on coal. Now China has surpassed the US in total heat energy used across all energy types. The Chinese economy's heavy reliance on coal makes it more immune to high oil prices. Though... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934047 Fri, 10 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4934047 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911427&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008123.html A post by Big Gav at The Oil Drum reports on a decision by Shell to spend $12.6 billion to build a ship that will float above an Australian offshore natural gas field and liquify natural gas for shipment. The field is too far from the coast to have pipelines built to bring the natural gas onshore. My take: This ship illustrates the massive amounts of capital and engineering talent available to extract fossil fuels (about $490 billion total capital spending by oil companies in 2011). Offshore floating LNG production ships seem to be unrivaled in costs for a single energy extraction device. Even a nuclear power plant won't cost that much (caveat: nuclear power cost estimates cover a wide... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911427 Sun, 05 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4911427 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893393&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOZ9e91N17Gw%2F By Neal McCluskeyToday the Washington Post has a big story on efforts by the coal industry to get public schools to teach positive things about — you guessed it — coal. The impetus for the article is no doubt a recent kerfuffle over education mega-publisher Scholastic sending schools free copies of the industry-funded lesson plan “The United States of Energy.” Many parents and environmentalists were upset over businesses putting stealthy moves on kids, and Scholastic eventually promised to cease publication of the plan. Loaded curricula designed to coerce specific sympathies from children, however, hardly come just from industry, as the Post story notes. Indeed, as I write in the new Cato book Climate Coup: Global Warming’s Invasion of Our Government and Our Live... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893393 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:21:54 +0100 4893393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4883556&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4gQD5uysK4k%2F By Tad DeHavenLast week, a motion to proceed on a budget resolution introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was decisively defeated in the Senate (7 in favor, 90 opposed). Paul’s proposal would have balanced the budget in five years (fiscal year 2016) through spending cuts and no tax increases. Social Security and Medicare would not have been altered. Instead, the proposal merely instructed relevant congressional committees to enact reforms that would achieve “solvency” over a 75-year window. That’s hardly radical. Paul’s proposed spending cuts were certainly bold by Washington’s standards, but they weren’t radical either. For example, military spending would have been cut, in part, by reducing the government’s bootprint abroad. From the Paul proposal: The ability to ut... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4883556 Tue, 31 May 2011 19:14:12 +0100 4883556 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852838&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3hFOhsm_ZCE%2F By Randal O'TooleAmerica’s transportation system needs more centralized, top-down planning. At least, that’s what the Brookings Institution’s Robert Puentes advocates in a 2,350-word article in the May 23 Wall Street Journal. If that seems like an unlikely message from America’s leading business daily, perhaps it is because Puentes couched it in terms such as “spending money wisely,” solving congestion, and “adhering to market forces.” But not-so-hidden behind these soothing phrases is Puentes real argument: “America needs to start directing traffic” by developing “a clear-cut vision for transportation.” Such a vision “must coordinate the efforts of the public and private sectors.” “The big question,&... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852838 Mon, 23 May 2011 19:08:47 +0100 4852838 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862475&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008100.html In a sign of the times Toyota is going to bring up wagon and smaller coupe versions of the Prius and a Toyota executive expects Prius to eventually outsell the Camry (which is the best selling car in America). “We know the hybrid segment will grow faster if we add a little versatility,” Carter said. “It won’t happen in the next 12 to 24 months, but Prius will outsell Camry. It’s going to be what defines the Toyota brand in the future.” It is telling that Toyota foresees this shift. Though another Toyota executive has already made clear that Toyota expects Peak Oil by 2020. So the bigger role for the Prius seems consistent consistent with Toyota's expectation of fundamentals... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862475 Sun, 22 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4862475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828827&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008085.html A lesson: $100 per barrel oil is creates enough political pressure to open more oil fields for drilling in Alaska and offshore lower 48. The Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and Alaska's Pacific coasts are still to remain off-limits - for now. President Obama will open Alaska's national petroleum reserve to new drilling, as part of a broad plan aimed at blunting criticism that he is not doing enough to address rising energy prices. Environmentalist opposition to drilling in some areas has done us a favor by delaying the use of that oil until we really needed it. Of course, that wasn't their intent. But the practical result of their opposition to drilling was to prepare for Peak Oil. With... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828827 Mon, 16 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4828827 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828885&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmorgellons-when-people-mistakenly-believe-they-have-parasites%2F2011.05.16 I saw a patient recently for parasites. I get a sinking feeling when I see that diagnosis on the schedule, as it rarely means a real parasite.  The great Pacific NW is mostly parasite free, so either it is a traveler or someone with delusions of parasitism. The latter comes in two forms: the classic form and Morgellons. Neither are likely to lead to a meaningful patient-doctor interaction, since it usually means conflict between my assessment of the problem and the patients assessment of the problem.  There is rarely a middle ground upon which to meet. The most memorable case of delusions of parasitism I have seen was a patient who  I saw in clinic who, while we talked, ate a raw garlic clove about every minute. “Why the garlic?” I asked. “To keep the parasites at bay,” he told ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828885 Mon, 16 May 2011 13:00:07 +0100 4828885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820958&cid=t_92564_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2F2-green-energy-building-techniques-healthcare-facilities Health facilities consume about two and one-half times the power of a standard commercial facility. They are massive consumers of energy and utilities due to a multitude of contributing factors including:  lengthy hours of operations, constant volume environmentally filtered air management, complex waste control systems, and extraordinary primary and secondary power equipment. Healthcare facilities are easily identifiable as a case study for green technology programs and the applications can be overwhelming. No sticky read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820958 Fri, 13 May 2011 19:33:10 +0100 4820958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828828&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008082.html When Warren Buffett decided to buy the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad my reaction was that Warren must see rail as a great Peak Oil bet. Rail is a few times more energy efficient that trucks per ton-mile. He's certainly willing to invest to expand rail capacity. So my modest proposal: Warren should buy all the US railroads. Imagine the results. Warren would shift more freight to rail on a massive scale. That would cut oil usage, make highways safer and less crowded, and he'd earn a lot of money doing it. All this he'd do without taxpayer subsidies. Burlington Chief Executive Officer Matthew K. Rose is determined to take advantage of the industry's improved climate and the flexibility... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828828 Thu, 12 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4828828 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813242&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FN1KhQQSxd_Q%2F By Tad DeHavenFlorida Governor Rick Scott deserves a big round of applause for dealing a major setback to the Obama administration’s costly plan for a national system of high-speed rail. As Randal O’Toole explains, the administration needed Florida to keep the $2.4 billion it was awarded to build a high-speed Orlando-to-Tampa line in order to build “momentum” for its plan. Instead, Scott put the interests of his taxpayers first and told the administration “no thanks.” That’s the good news. The bad news is that the administration is going to dole the money back out to 22 passenger-rail projects in other states. Florida taxpayers were spared their state’s share of maintaining the line, but they’re still going to be forced to help foot the bill for passenger-rail projects in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813242 Wed, 11 May 2011 20:21:43 +0100 4813242 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813425&cid=t_92564_113_f&fid=39278&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogsite.mdbuyline.com%2F%3Fp%3D261 Women’s health providers must be excited about a $98 payment for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) bone tests.  Starting in 2007, DEXA technology has gone through a series of reimbursement cuts.   But, as a result of the health care reform bill, providers will see a 25% increase in payment instead of another decrease that was scheduled for 2012. CPT code 77080 (DEXA bone density, axial skeleton) the most common code used for bone scans has not seen an increase since 2006 despite rising costs in technology and labor.  Depending on volume, CMS has calculated that it costs at approximately $76 per patient.  Low-volume systems (500 patients per year) will have costs in the $90 range.  In 2010, CMS (under APC 0288) reimbursed DEXA bone tests at a rate of $70 per patient, making it... MD Buyline blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813425 Wed, 11 May 2011 13:21:40 +0100 4813425 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813263&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv8cVoY_dGYM%2F By Randal O'TooleTo sell his high-speed rail program, President Obama desperately needed a success story—a high-speed train operating during his administration that would awe the public and lead to a national demand for more such lines. That success story was going to be Florida’s Orlando-to-Tampa line, the only true high-speed route (as opposed to speeding up existing trains by 3 to 5 mph) that could have been completed during Obama’s term in office (assuming he is re-elected). Anticipating that success, the administration drafted a proposal to use federal gasoline taxes and a “new energy tax” to fund $53 billion for more high-speed rail lines over the next six years. (The proposal also included $250 billion for highways, $120 billion for urban transit, $27 billi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813263 Tue, 10 May 2011 17:10:46 +0100 4813263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813220&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008072.html When do electric cars make sense? A Time magazine piece quotes the company Better Place (that is setting up electric car battery swapping operations in Israel and Denmark as claiming that the Better Place electric battery swapping model makes sense at $9 per gallon. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of electric cars for people paying American or Canadian or Australian gasoline prices. The customers also pay a one-time fee equal to $2,000, but even so, in both Israel and Denmark where gas runs about $9 a gallon, Better Place calculates that the typical customers would stand to save 10% to 20% against a comparable gasoline car — and enjoy most of its satisfactions. Note that a Dane travels many fewer... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813220 Mon, 09 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4813220 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4797766&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008065.html Sounding very much like Ken Deffeyes on Peak Oil, Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency, says world oil production has already peaked. When we look at the oil markets the news is not very bright. We think that the crude oil production has already peaked in 2006. IMaybe we'll hit another production peak this year or next. All liquids production is up to about 2006 levels now. When you read about current oil production keep in mind that the term "all liquids" is often reported in the press as meaning oil production. But the "all liquids" term includes liquids condensed from natural gas, ethanol made from corn, and other liquids. The stuff that made Jed Clampett rich... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4797766 Sat, 07 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4797766 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4780278&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008062.html John Rowe, CEO of electric power utility Exelon, has gathered under Exelon ownership the largest fleet of nuclear reactors in the United States. As his last major deal before retirement he has even put together a merger of Exelon with Constellation Energy that will put even more nuclear power plants under the control of Exelon. Rowe spent several years supporting cap and trade carbon emissions regulations in order to shift more demand toward nuclear power. Yet now the low natural gas prices in recent years due to the development of methods to extract natural gas from shales has so lowered the price of natural gas that Rowe now favors natural gas over nuclear power for new electric power plants. Nukes... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4780278 Mon, 02 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4780278 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4775358&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008060.html Will depleting resources become an obstacle to economic growth? Jeremy Grantham, co-founder of money manager GMO with $106 billion under management, has developed an interest in resource limitations as obstacles to economic growth. It is disturbing to read that he doesn't just think Peak Oil is near. He's closer to a Peak Everything position. See his article on GMO's web site PDF), on The Oil Drum or on The Energy Bulletin (and easiest to read). The purpose of this, my second (and much longer) piece on resource limitations, is to persuade investors with an interest in the long term to change their whole frame of reference: to recognize that we now live in a different, more constrained, world in which... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4775358 Mon, 02 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4775358 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4767963&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008053.html Kevin Bullis in MIT's Technology Review reports on a company that can squeeze a lot more power out of existing solar cells. A startup called TenKsolar, based in Minneapolis, says it can increase the amount of solar power generated on rooftops by 25 to 50 percent, and also reduce the overall cost of solar power by changing the way solar cells are wired together and adding inexpensive reflectors to gather more light. The key innovation: a method to allow solar panels to not be limited by the output from their lowest output cells. They claim that in higher sunlight areas the result is solar for 8 cents per kilowatt-hour. If you are a high electric power user in southern California... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4767963 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4767963 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4762754&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCw8l22yj3j8%2F By Randal O'ToolePresident Obama’s dream of connecting 80 percent of Americans to a high-speed rail line appears to be dead. Congress appropriated $8 billion for high-speed rail in the 2009 stimulus bill and $2 billion more in the 2010 appropriations bill. But, after newly elected governors of Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin rejected high-speed rail projects in those states, Congress declined to include any more funds in 2011 and it is unlikely to spend any more on this boondoggle as long as Republicans have a hold on the House. What will Americans get for the $10 billion or so already committed? California appears ready to spend $5.5 billion building a 220-mph rail line from Corcoran–a town south of Fresno mainly known for the prison housing Charles Manson–to Borden–... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4762754 Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:30:02 +0100 4762754 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753643&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008048.html Some Wake Forest University researchers have developed a solar collector design that captures both electric power and heat for a higher overall efficiency. A new polymer-based solar-thermal device is the first to generate power from both heat and visible sunlight – an advance that could shave the cost of heating a home by as much as 40 percent. Geothermal add-ons for heat pumps on the market today collect heat from the air or the ground. This new device uses a fluid that flows through a roof-mounted module to collect heat from the sun while an integrated solar cell generates electricity from the sun’s visible light. If this approach can be commercialized then it could lower water and home heating bills.... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753643 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4753643 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734053&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaZoSG5ocmyE%2F By Walter OlsonYesterday the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in American Electric Power v. Connecticut, the massive greenhouse-gas suit. Like the other “big” global warming/climate change suits, this one suffers from a basic and incurable defect: it seeks to undermine the separation of powers established under the U.S. Constitution by inviting the courts to address “political questions” of a sort properly resolved by other branches of government. As Cato’s amicus brief by Ilya Shapiro and Evan Turgeon explained in the case of Comer v. Murphy Oil: “[W]hile it executes firmly all the judicial powers intrusted to it, the court will carefully abstain from exercising any power that is not strictly judicial in its character, and which is not clearly confi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734053 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:35:14 +0100 4734053 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734063&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOJ5BsPWZczg%2F By George Scoville Please join us this Thursday, April 21 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern for a book forum and debate on “green energy” policy, following the recent release of the Cato book The False Promise of Green Energy. On Thursday, University of Alabama Professor of Law and Business Andrew P. Morriss (one of the book’s authors) and Center for American Progress Vice President for Energy Policy Kate Gordon will debate the merits of the “green” economic agenda, moderated by Cato Institute Senior Fellow Jerry Taylor. Complimentary registration is required of all attendees by noon TOMORROW, Wednesday, April 20. We hope you can join us in person and for the reception following the event–if you cannot attend in person, we hope you’ll tune in online or on Faceb... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734063 Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:29:37 +0100 4734063 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734064&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1TK6Wboi4Xo%2F By Tad DeHavenWhat do these federal agencies and programs have in common? Agricultural Research Service, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Rural Development programs, Women, Infants & Children, Foreign Agricultural Service, National Institute of Standards & Technology, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Economic Development Administration, National Telecommunications & Information Administration, Small Business Administration, State Department foreign aid, Fund for African Development, International Development assistance, Economic Support Fund, Peacekeeping Operations, Trade Development Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, National Forest System, Appalach... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734064 Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:59:09 +0100 4734064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4723786&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNFg2b0upjHA%2F By Walter OlsonAs Iain Murray points out at National Review‘s “Corner,” there’s no date on the calendar each year that reminds us, the way income tax filing day does, of the huge share of our economic labors that the government commands in the name of regulation. In part this is because the costs of regulation are even better disguised than those of taxation: while paycheck withholding may lull us into complacency about our income tax burden, it is downright transparent compared with the costs of regulation, which the ordinary citizen may never recognize when passed along in the form of higher utility bills or sluggish performance by some sector of the economy. Iain notes the good work done by his colleagues at the Competitive Enterprise Institute: Regulations cost... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4723786 Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:19:45 +0100 4723786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4719882&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8cM-DqmEp10%2F By George Scoville Penalizing millionaires won’t help President Obama get re-elected, but partnering with Republicans on corporate tax reforms and spending cuts would boost the economy — and his prospects. Of course, both Republicans and President Obama will have to stop pretending to cut defense spending if either want the economy to recover. Chasing the energy independence white rabbit isn’t helping much, either. Soaking the rich definitely won’t work. When you look back at the grueling [sic] debate over an underwhelming $38 billion in spending cuts, you realize the fight was never about cutting spending–it was over how much to grow the size and scope of government: Friday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4719882 Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:57:51 +0100 4719882 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4719885&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjFmU0d2pZjw%2F By Christopher PrebleA little over a year ago, I posted two different graphs (with the help of my colleague Charles Zakaib) that showed the growth of U.S. national security spending vs. that of other NATO allies over the last ten years. The data, based on the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ annual Military Balance, showed that U.S. taxpayers spend far more on our military, both as a share of total economic output, and on a per capita basis, than do any of our allies. New data, for 2009, was made available in IISS’s Military Balance 2011, and the revised graphs are shown below. (Again, thanks to Charles for his help). As I suspected, the gap remains as wide as ever. In a few cases, it has grown wider. As you can see, the $2,101 that every American man, woman, and child ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4719885 Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:37:31 +0100 4719885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714722&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQ6GH8zSP-7k%2F By Thomas FireyWith gasoline in the United States moving toward (and in some places, above) $4 a gallon and motorists understandably unhappy, there is a growing desire to blame someone for the high prices. Previous gas price spikes in 2006 and 2008 brought blame upon ”Big Oil” (meaning firms like Exxon-Mobil, BP, Royal Dutch/Shell, et al., which really are just mid-sized oil — but whatever), the Bush administration and Republicans, environmentalists, and the federal government. But 2011 offers a new leader in the blame game: speculators. From Capitol Hill lawmakers, to business columnists, to finance websites, to activist websites, to newspaper articles, to letters to the editor and hyper-forwarded emails, people are calling out trading in the oil and gasoline futures ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4714722 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:03:37 +0100 4714722 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714827&cid=t_92564_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F14%2Fcatherine-zeta-jones-bipolar-i-vs-bipolar-ii%2F Although I wouldn’t wish the pain of bipolar disorder on anyone, I am sort of glad to find out another accomplished, beautiful movie star has joined our manic-depressive group. After spending five days in a mental health facility, Catherine Zeta Jones has been diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. I like to call bipolar II the “Diet Coke” of bipolar, if you recall the scene from “Austin Powers” when Dr. Evil says to his son, Scott: “You’re quasi-evil. You’re semi-evil. You’re the margarine of evil. You’re the Diet Coke of evil. Just one calorie, not evil enough.” That’s how I view bipolar II: one calorie short of bipolar I. Those with bipolar II experience the same symptoms as persons with Bipolar II, just not to the extreme. For example, when I get manic,... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4714827 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 15:37:29 +0100 4714827 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704627&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F37Y-u-NanmY%2F By Gene HealyThat’s the topic of my Washington Examiner column this week. In it, I discuss last week’s budget battle and the failure of “policy riders” designed to rein in the Obama EPA’s attempts to regulate greenhouse gases without a congressional vote specifically authorizing it. The Obama team believes it has the authority to implement comprehensive climate change regulation, Congress be damned. Worse still, under current constitutional law–which has little to do with the actual Constitution–they’re probably right. Thanks to overbroad congressional delegation, “the Imperial Presidency Comes in Green, Too.” At home and abroad, the legislative branch sits on the sidelines as the executive state makes the law and wages war, despi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704627 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:59:32 +0100 4704627 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4696595&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008017.html Steve Kopits says oil demand from China will surpass that of the United in just 7 years. To translate that into practical matters: Your price for gasoline will be a lot higher. You need to use something else to power your car (natural gas in his view) or use gasoline far more efficiently. In evidence to the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy and Power's hearing, April 4th, regarding the "The American Energy Initiative", Douglas-Westwood LLP's Managing Director, .Steve Kopits, gave dire warnings about the likely development of China's future energy demand "China's oil demand will likely keep pressure on oil prices for the indefinite future," said Kopits. "China consumes 10 million barrels of oil per day (mbpd) on... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4696595 Sun, 10 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4696595 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4696598&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008011.html Early Chevrolet Volt buyers are going a thousand miles between refills. Tony Posawatz, Vehicle Line Director for the Chevrolet Volt, said that early sampling has found that Volt drivers go an average of 1,000 miles before they have to refuel. The company is on track to sell 50,000 cars in 2011. Since the car goes only about 35 miles and then about 340 more miles on gasoline this suggests the users are rarely letting the batteries go all the way down. Only about a third of those 1000 miles would be on gasoline power. So the Volt is cutting gasoline consumption by early adopters by two thirds. Mind you, that's a rough calculation since the drivers might be buying more... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4696598 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4696598 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693267&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpH6INmUyxng%2F By Daniel IkensonThe angry Left has been calling for President Obama to fire Jeffrey Immelt from his position as head of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. I think that would be a good idea, but for different reasons. Sen. Russ Feingold, Moveon.Org, and the regular scribes at the Huffington Post see Immelt, the chairman and CEO of General Electric, as unfit to advise the president because GE invests some of its resources abroad and, despite worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, paid no taxes in 2010. No illegalities are alleged, mind you; GE — like every other U.S. multinational — responds to incentives, including those resulting from tax policy and regulations concocted in Washington.  But there are more substantive reasons for why Immelt is unfit to advise ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693267 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:30:21 +0100 4693267 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684228&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008008.html Kansas State University researchers claim that optimistic projections of algae biodiesel production are not realistic. "We found that phycologists -- algae scientists -- maintain that some popular estimates of producing 200 to 500 grams of algae per square meter of open pond per day weren't feasible because there's simply not enough sunlight coming through the atmosphere to do so," Pfromm said. "Unless we can change the sun, such production is physically impossible -- and the hard numbers prove that. Most economists wouldn't necessarily recognize this as an issue in a business plan because it's dictated by physics, not finances." The team used a more realistic, yet still optimistic, production number -- 50 grams per square meter per day. They determined... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684228 Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4684228 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676736&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008003.html A Wall Street Journal article reports on a big drop in demand for new wind power installations. Demand for electric power dropped when recession and economic crisis hit in full force and has yet to fully recover. It is hard for wind to compete against existing power plants. Wind really needs rising total electric power demand to grow. But the US Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration expects wind to become competitive with current low cost leader natural gas electric by 2016 in the windy plains states. The Energy Information Administration projects that, in 2016, the cost of producing electricity from a new wind farm will be about equal to that from a new gas-fired plant in the windiest parts... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676736 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4676736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676761&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnQEjtLnxHgw%2F By Jason KuznickiThis month at Cato Unbound we're discussing a practical, everyday issue -- parking! Yes, Cato Unbound is supposed to cover big ideas, deep thoughts, and the like, but parking policy is both important in its own right and also points to what I consider a very interesting problem: Given a theoretical or abstract commitment to free markets, well, how do we get there in the real world? What would a free-market policy look like in this or that issue area? The answer isn't always obvious, and the map isn't the territory. Parking is interesting in this respect and possibly helpful. Parking is all around us, most of us deal with it every day, and the unintended consequences of parking policy are I think maybe easier to see than the unintended consequences in other fields. Parking... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676761 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:00:10 +0100 4676761 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4670091&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTpfGnYThmvk%2F By Richard L. GordonWhen Barack Obama emerged as a serious contender for the presidency, he offered a core menu of curing everything by increased federal intervention in health care, education, and energy. Whenever new problems arose that lessened the urgency of earlier concerns, Obama has crafted assertions that his original prescriptions will also resolve the new difficulties. In energy, this has involved extending his program to new, even more dubious projects. He also has a habit of incessantly repeating the same tired arguments in the vain hope that his skill at persuasion will win the day. His March 30, 2011 energy speech and accompanying Blueprint are typical. About the only differences between these and his June 15, 2010 speech on energy were more bad ideas. He added to the panic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4670091 Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:24:37 +0100 4670091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4664143&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUpI76PeyRyA%2F By Steve H. HankeEvery president since Richard Nixon has asserted that we are sitting ducks for those who brandish the oil weapon. To keep the evildoers at bay, the government must adopt policies that ensure our energy independence. Like his predecessors, President Obama is worshiping at this altar. And why not? How many elections have been lost by blaming foreigners for an impending crisis? Despite their cynicism about politicians, most people actually believe that mineral resources, including oil, are doomed to disappear. It’s obvious: Start with a given stock of provisions in the cupboard, subtract consumption and eventually the cupboard will be bare. But what is obvious is often wrong. We never run out of minerals. At some point it just costs too much to produce them profitably. In t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4664143 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:06:22 +0100 4664143 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684231&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F008007.html A study from the John Muir Trust finds that British wind power output sometimes falls to less than 5% of peak (nameplate) capacity. The report, Analysis of UK Wind Generation, is the result of detailed analysis of windfarm output in Scotland over a 26-month period between November 2008 to December 2010 using data from the BMRS (Balancing Mechanism Reporting System). It's the first report of its kind, and drew on data freely available to the public. It challenges five common assertions made regularly by wind industry and the Scottish Government: 1. 'Wind turbines will generate on average 30% of their rated capacity over a year'In fact, the average output from wind was 27.18% of metered capacity in 2009, 21.14% in... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684231 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4684231 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658361&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxKTbpjkN3VQ%2F By Daniel GriswoldIn a speech today at Georgetown University, President Obama called for a goal of cutting America’s oil imports by one-third within a decade. Like all efforts to wean Americans from big, bad imports, such a policy will mean we will all pay more than we need to for the energy that helps to power our economy. I’ll leave it to my able Cato colleagues to dissect the president’s proposal in terms of energy policy, but it terms of trade policy, this is about as bad as it gets. We Americans benefit tremendously from our relatively free trade in petroleum products. Like all forms of trade, the importation of oil produced abroad allows us to acquire it at a price far lower than we would pay if we had to rely more heavily on domestic oil supplies. The money we save buying oil ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658361 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:36:08 +0100 4658361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658365&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDOoaNeXsr-o%2F By George Scoville Please join us on Thursday, April 7 at 2:00 p.m. ET for "The Economic Impact of Government Spending," featuring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), former Sen. Phil Gramm, former IMF director of fiscal affairs department Vito Tanzi, and Ohio University economist and AEI adjunct scholar Richard Vedder. We encourage you to attend in person, but if you cannot, you can tune in online at our new live events hub. The last time we saw a green energy economy was in the 13th century. This isn't quite what we meant by "defense spending." For a refresher, see this itemized list of proposed cuts that could save taxpayers $150 billion annually. "Prosperity reigns where taxes are low and right to work prevails." In case you missed it last Friday, che... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658365 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:32:15 +0100 4658365 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658351&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007995.html Can a nuclear power plant be designed to survive a tsunami? Tohuku Electric Power could teach Tepco lessons in nuclear power plant site construction. Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s Onagawa nuclear power plant was about 75 kilometers closer to the epicenter of the quake, and suffered no critical damage because it was built 15 meters above sea level, spokesman Yoshitake Kanda said. What to do with a nuclear power plant after a tsunami? Silly question. Turn it into a refugee center of course. 240 residents of Onagawa are now living at their nuclear power plant. ONAGAWA, Japan — As a massive tsunami ravaged this Japanese fishing town, hundreds of residents fled for the safest place they knew: the local nuclear power... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658351 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4658351 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642789&cid=t_92564_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2Fl48sZo5xdWo%2F These are my links for March 28th from 09:23 to 09:27: Bioenergy Crop Company Plants Its Flag in India – Super Green Biofuels Inc., which aims to make fuel from the inedible seed of the Jatropha plant, says it is expanding its operation into India. Better known as SG Biofuels, the company has amassed a huge library of DNA and genome information about Jatropha, so it can design hybrid seeds to best fit the land, sun and growing patterns of different areas. “Our expansion into India marks a significant milestone for the company as we continue to expand our commercialization efforts,” SG Biofuels Chief Executive Officer Kirk Haney said. “Our ability to quickly develop and scale productive Jatropha plantations using elite, high performing material will play a significa... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642789 Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:00:04 +0100 4642789 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653291&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007992.html Japanese Communist Party legislator Hidekatsu Yoshii warned the Japanese parliament that nuclear reactor backup systems could fail due to natural disaster and lead to core meltdown. TOKYO—A Japanese lawmaker last year raised in Parliament the possibility that a natural disaster could wipe out a nuclear reactor's backup systems, leading to melting in the core, but the country's top nuclear regulator responded that such a scenario was "practically impossible." In 2006 Yoshii-san said a tsunami could knock out the diesel back-up generators. If a legislator could figure out the obvious what's the excuse for Tepco and the regulators? Had Yoshii-san been listened to in 2006 preparations to enable back-up generator survival in event of a tsunami could have been carried out.... (Source: FuturePun... FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653291 Sun, 27 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4653291 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4636481&cid=t_92564_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F03%2F25%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-march-25-2011%2F It happened to me the other day. I was admiring a fellow writer’s accomplishment while someone else was admiring my own. The funny thing is that we were both shocked by the compliment. I guess I could dish it, but was surprised that I couldn’t take it. Why is it that we have such an easy time seeing the beauty, hard work and achievement in another, but neglect to see those same things in ourselves? The impact over time of finding the silver lining in our partner’s, friend’s, co-worker’s lives, but focusing on only the shadows of our own lives can make us jealous, bitter, resentful and depressed. It can reinforce negative thoughts and beliefs about what is possible for us instead of motivating us to take risks, play big instead of small and follow our dreams. O... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4636481 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:49:38 +0100 4636481 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4636402&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007985.html We all take electric power for granted (survivalists excepted). But as the Japanese are finding, we are one disaster away from electric power shortages. The first pitch of Japan's baseball season has been pushed back so that people don't waste gasoline driving to games. When the season does start, most night games will be switched to daytime so as not to squander electricity. There'll be no extra innings. Tokyo's iconic electronic billboards have been switched off. Trash is piling up in many northern Japanese cities because garbage trucks don't have gasoline. Public buildings go unheated. Factories are closed, in large part because of rolling blackouts and because employees can't drive to work with empty tanks. Just what disasters could cause... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4636402 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4636402 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4626776&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007982.html Writing in Britain's Guardian, George Monbiot makes a great point as he comes out for nuclear power in the wake of the failures of the Fukushima reactors: in spite of a very rare combination of severe geological events followed by mistakes on the part of reactor site workers and higher management, yes, in spite of all that what happend? With a reactor designed with 40 year old technology the result was far less than the worst case outcome scenarios. A crappy old plant with inadequate safety features was hit by a monster earthquake and a vast tsunami. The electricity supply failed, knocking out the cooling system. The reactors began to explode and melt down. The disaster exposed a familiar legacy... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4626776 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4626776 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622228&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBYJDNP1o0dQ%2F By George Scoville America's involvement in the war in Libya can't be justified on either security or humanitarian grounds. Obamacare can't be fixed, and now is the time to dismantle it. The no-fly zone over Libya can't mean good things for American politics or policy. Bureaucrats can't allocate goods more efficiently than market actors. President Obama can't blame former President Bush for Guantanamo Bay anymore: Tuesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622228 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:19:38 +0100 4622228 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615066&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007977.html The Wall Street Journal has an excellent article outlining some of the mistakes made in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. The top management of Tokyo Electric Power Company, (Tepco) which operates the Fukushima reactor, was too slow to accept the necessity of drastic measures. TOKYO—Crucial efforts to tame Japan's crippled nuclear plant were delayed by concerns over damaging valuable power assets and by initial passivity on the part of the government, people familiar with the situation said, offering new insight into the management of the crisis. Tepco did not want to lose the reactors as productive assets. Therefore Tepco hesitated too long to inject sea water whose salt would corrode the reactors so much as to make them... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615066 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4615066 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600570&cid=t_92564_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Fsix-science-selections-3.html How Radiation Threatens Health – Why and how does exposure to radiation make you ill? What levels of exposure are dangerous and what levels are lethal? Fukushima is a triumph for nuke power – Quake + tsunami = 1 minor radiation dose so far, says El Reg. Tragic as recent events in Japan have been. We should be building more nuclear reactors not fewer. Global warming caused by burning more and more fossil fuel in coming decades will have a far more detrimental effect on many more people than minor nuclear leaks. Dog walking ‘is good exercise’ – Owning a dog but not walking it is bad for the dog’s owner as well as the dog. NHS Choices unravels the spin on recent headlines proclaiming dog ownership good for health. Top banana – Atomic absorption spectr... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600570 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:00:06 +0100 4600570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4577900&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007964.html A New York Times story looks at why the Tampa-to-Orlando high speed rail project lost political support. The story of the line’s rise and fall shows how it was ultimately undone by a tradeoff that was made when the route was first selected. The Tampa-to-Orlando route had obvious drawbacks: It would have linked two cities that are virtually unnavigable without cars, and that are so close that the new train would have been little faster than driving. But the Obama administration chose it anyway because it was seen as the line that could be built first. Florida had already done much of the planning, gotten many of the necessary permits and owned most of the land that would be needed.... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4577900 Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4577900 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4575042&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfI09sNqlXxE%2F By Thomas FireyI generally admire the work of Roger Pielke Jr., a political scientist in the University of Colorado-Boulder's Center for Science and Technology Policy Research. His new book on climate change is refreshingly honest and non-ideological, if a bit overly technophilic. His broader work offers the important insight that science alone cannot direct public policy, but rather it can only lay out possible results of different policy choices. Given the quality of his work, I was disappointed by Pielke's op-ed in today's NYT defending Congress's legislated obsolescence of the incandescent light bulb. He argues that government standard-setting is an important contribution to human welfare, and the light bulb standard is just part of that standard-setting (though he does suggest som... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4575042 Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:16:01 +0100 4575042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4570522&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPc_OKJPdstk%2F By Patrick J. MichaelsThe Current Wisdom is a series of monthly posts in which Senior Fellow Patrick J. Michaels reviews interesting items on global warming in the scientific literature that may not have received the media attention that they deserved, or have been misinterpreted in the popular press. The Current Wisdom only comments on science appearing in the refereed, peer-reviewed literature, or that has been peer-screened prior to presentation at a scientific congress. **********  The recent publication of two articles in Nature magazine proclaiming a link to rainfall extremes (and flooding) to global warming, added to the heat in Russia and the floods in Pakistan in the summer of 2010, and the back-to-back cold and snowy winters in the eastern U.S. and western Europe, have gotten a ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4570522 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:26:05 +0100 4570522 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4549724&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007946.html Ford Motor Company Chairman Bill Ford does not know how fast electric car technology will develop and doesn't believe anyone else knows either. "We still don't know what the winning technology is going to be... Ford continued: "We've made a big bet on electric... but the pace at which that develops, I think anyone who can tell you that is lying." I'm with Bill Ford on this one: We do not know. One can certainly find confident claims of rapid electric battery cost reductions. Even the White House makes claims of coming rapid battery cost reductions. But the people who make the most confident statements are too often those who know the least or have motivations to deceive. How about... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4549724 Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4549724 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4536049&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_5nSumydwHM%2F By Michael F. CannonYesterday, the Senate Finance and House Energy & Commerce committees released a joint report on the costs that ObamaCare’s Medicaid mandate will impose on states.  That report, which is based on other reports, likely understates the cost of that unfunded mandate. In “Estimating ObamaCare’s Effect on State Medicaid Expenditure Growth,” Cato senior fellow Jagadeesh Gokhale constructed cost projections for the five largest states -- California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas -- which account for 40 percent of the nation’s population.  Gokhale carefully decomposed and organized micro-data and state-specific administrative data on Medicaid eligibility, enrollments, benefit recipiency, and average benefits per recipient.  Gokhale’s more meticulous a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4536049 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:50:03 +0100 4536049 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4525031&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdoes-cell-phone-use-stimulate-brain-activity%2F2011.02.26 We all know that using a cell phone can stimulate the brain to work a bit harder. “Mr. Skerrett? This is Dr. LeWine’s office. Do you have a minute to talk about your test results?” or “Dad, a bunch of kids are going to Casey’s house after the dance. Can I go?” But a new study published in JAMA is making me wonder what the energy emitted by the phone itself — not just the information it delivers — is doing to my brain. Here’s the study in a nutshell. Dr. Nora Volkow and her colleagues recruited 47 volunteers to have their brain activity measured twice by a PET scanner. Both times the volunteer had a cell phone strapped to each ear. During one measurement, both phones were turned off. During the other, one phone was turned on but muted so the volunteer didn’t know... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4525031 Sat, 26 Feb 2011 22:00:29 +0100 4525031 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517202&cid=t_92564_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Fsix-slick-science-picks.html Science video widget – Shortform offered me a sneak preview of their video widget, which allows users to embed a video channel into their blog. Contraceptive pill not to blame for feminized fish – Despite claims that excreted contraceptive hormones are causing endocrine disruption in aquatic animals evidence suggests that this is not the case. Dark Energy, Dark Matter – What is the difference between dark energy and dark matter? NASA explains…even though they don't know what either is. Two sides to every story – even the Lord of the Rings – What if we were to look at Tolkien's epic from Mordor's perspective? Gandalf is a war-monger intent on crushing the scientific and technological initiative of Mordor and its southern allies because scie... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517202 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:00:06 +0100 4517202 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4522077&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007931.html Occasionally someone brings up in the comments that a hybrid diesel would offer extreme fuel efficiency. But since diesel and hybrid both add costs the combination hasn't yet shown up in a car on the market. But now Volvo has build a V60 that lets you either cruise 30 miles on pure electric or 745 miles in diesel hybrid mode. In this new era of Arab oil producer revolutions this car offers obvious advantages. See the Wired article for more details. In “Pure” mode, it’s a commuter car with a 70-horsepower electric motor driving the rear wheels. The 12-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack offers a 30-mile range and can recharge fully in under three hours at a 16-amp outlet. Switch the... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4522077 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4522077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4501569&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007917.html Growth in domestic oil consumption in Saudi Arabia is cutting into Saudi oil exports. This trend will continue. Higher prices enable them to export less. Saudi Arabia’s exports fell to 6.05 million barrels a day in December from 6.36 million in November even as Saudi production rose to a two-year high of 8.37 million barrels a day, JODI said. Saudi oil exports have probably already peaked. Rising domestic oil consumption eats into exports. This is known in Peak Oil circles as the Export Land Model problem. Export Land is experiencing much faster consumption growth than the rest of the world. Export Land is exporting less as a result. This trend will continue. What I expect will happen: The peak in... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4501569 Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4501569 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4545162&cid=t_92564_136_f&fid=39027&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cancerlifeandme.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fdark-energy-dark-matter-and-the-great-mystery%2F I’ll try my best to keep this simple: According to current physics, the empty space we see in outer space is not actually empty. Scientists have figured, through charting stars and galaxy clusters, that the universe is expanding. Space itself is widening and getting larger and larger. This goes against the expectation, which would be that the Continue reading Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and The Great Mystery (Source: Cancer, life, and me) Cancer, life, and me blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4545162 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:00:36 +0100 4545162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482725&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007909.html A new energy report from Shell sees increased economic volatility due to high oil costs and rising demand. (thanks Lou Pagnucco) We believe that the world is entering an era of volatile transitions and intensified economic cycles. The recession interrupted the oil and commodity price boom but it may return. Emerging nations like China and India are going through materially intensive development and a tighter market will continue to put pressure on prices and generate volatility. Improvements in policy-making and strong gains in productivity have helped economies to grow without inflation in the last two decades. We do not believe the moderating effect of this combination of good policies, good practices, and good luck will continue into the future. Supply... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482725 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4482725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4464464&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007895.html You won't have to replace many parts in a pure electric car because they won't be there: Here are the top 25 items that usually require inspection, maintenance or replacement during the 10-year, 150,000-mile life of a conventional car that the driver of a Ford Focus Electric will never have to worry about: Air filter Alternator Battery Clutch Fuel filter Fuel injectors/fuel pump Motor mounts Motor oil Muffler Oil filter O2 sensors Power steering fluid Radiator Radiator hose, lower Radiator hose, upper Serpentine belt Spark plugs Spark plug wires Starter Thermostat Timing belt Transmission adjustment (automatics) Transmission filter (automatics) Transmission fluid or oil Water pump Things you do not use can not cause you to break down. How much have... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4464464 Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4464464 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455236&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007890.html The US government secretly takes seriously former Saudi Aramco exploration chief Sadad al-Husseini's belief that Saudi Arabia has far less oil than its official claimed reserves. Saudi Arabia's oil production might already be past peak. The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show. The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%. The cable even betrays a thorough understanding of why peak oil exports precedes peak oil production. The... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455236 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4455236 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445758&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007880.html An article in Technology Review takes a look at the use of vertical axis wind turbines to lower the center of gravity in order to enable a cost reduction by cutting the size of the flotation system. French oil and gas engineering company Technip and wind-power startup Nenuphar recently announced Vertiwind, a two-megawatt wind turbine that they plan to float in Mediterranean waters by the end of 2013. The project employs a turbine with a main rotor shaft that is set vertically, like a spinning top, rather than horizontally, as in a conventional wind turbine.  The benefit of the vertical-axis design is that it lowers the turbine's center of gravity. Vertiwind's design stands 100 meters tall, but places the generator,... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445758 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4445758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433080&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLxPM9_27Jk4%2F By Jerry TaylorThe other day, The Wall Street Journal provided a public service by lambasting Newt Gingrich for his absurd speech to the ethanol lobby in Des Moines last month (money line:  "Obviously big urban newspapers want to kill it because it's working, and you wonder, 'What are their values?'").  Today, Gingrich and fellow ethanol-maven James Woolsey struck back in those very same pages.  In doing so, Gingrich provided yet more evidence that he's intellectually unfit for office. "It is in this country's long-term best interest," he said, "to stop the flow of $1 billion a day overseas."  Really?  So money sent overseas is gone forever.  News to me.  The only thing you can buy with dollars earned from oil sales to the U.S. is to buy things denominated in dollars or to exc... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433080 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:32:14 +0100 4433080 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433090&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMguCJY080Ds%2F By Roger PilonToday POLITICO Arena asks: Ex-VP Al Gore says the snowstorms that paralyzed much of the U.S. this week are more evidence of manmade global warming. “The scientific community has been addressing this particular question for some time now and they say that increased heavy snowfalls are completely consistent with what they have been predicting as a consequence of man-made global warming.” Do you agree? My response: A scientific hypothesis that's essentially unfalsifiable -- cold corroborates "global warming," heat corroborates it, nothing really falsifies it -- is worse than useless. It's a scientific poseur, properly classified as a belief system, like religion. And the implication that there's an optimal earth temperature, or range of temperatures, or that global warmi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433090 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:43:23 +0100 4433090 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419112&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8PbpRgs3Pk8%2F By Tad DeHavenFreshman Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has raised the bar in Washington by releasing a bill that would make substantial, specific, and immediate cuts in federal spending. While policymakers on both sides of the aisle have largely paid lip service to stopping Washington’s record run of fiscal profligacy, Paul’s proposal makes good on his campaign promise to seriously tackle the federal government’s bloated budget. Paul’s bill would target $500 billion in cuts for fiscal 2011 alone. While audacious by Washington standards, cutting federal spending by that amount would still leave us with a projected $1 trillion deficit this year. Nonetheless, the federal government’s scope would be dramatically curtailed, which would pay dividends in coming years as the economy is unshackled ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419112 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:49:44 +0100 4419112 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419120&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMi9gpHdkF9U%2F By Roger PilonToday Politico Arena asks: Given that crude oil prices surged to nearly $90 per barrel on Friday, and could spike even higher if the crisis causes a shutdown of the Suez Canal, how should policymakers in Wasihngton respond regarding oil and the crisis in Egypt? Does the situation underscore a need for more domestic production? And does this crisis bolster or hamper Obama’s clean energy initiative that he called for in his State of the Union address last week? My response: The unrest in Egypt should have no bearing whatever on American energy policy. Like nearly every other commodity — food, clothing, shelter, education, health care — energy, from whatever source, is far more efficiently and equitably produced and distributed by the market than by government... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419120 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:23:04 +0100 4419120 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419143&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fshiver-yourself-thin%2F2011.01.30 British researchers are trying to causally link raising the thermostat to obesity prevalence. “Domestic winter indoor temperatures” appear to be rising, the researchers wrote, as is obesity. They focused on a causal link, focusing on acute and long-term effects of being comfortable in the winter. They write: “Reduced exposure to seasonal cold may have a dual effect on energy expenditure, both minimizing the need for physiological thermogenesis and reducing thermogenic capacity. Experimental studies show a graded association between acute mild cold and human energy expenditure over the range of temperatures relevant to indoor heating trends.” They also look at brown adipose tissue (BAT), aka “brown fat,” the type of fat that actually consumes energy inste... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419143 Sun, 30 Jan 2011 17:00:00 +0100 4419143 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4405887&cid=t_92564_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FJ4iZRHT3UoQ%2F More and more research suggests that our brains have difficulty differentiating between observing an action and actually participating in it. Empathy, for example, seems to hinge in part on our ability to “take on” another’s emotions through vicarious experience. I always think of this when watching a comedian fall flat. I can feel the embarrassment as if I’m standing there on stage looking at a room full of blank stares. A study in the journal Psychological Science investigated this dynamic, but from a different angle: researchers wanted to know if observing someone else exert self-control boosts or reduces one’s own self-control. Participants were asked to either take on the perspective of someone exerting self-control, or merely read about someone exerting self-control. They w... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4405887 Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:54:11 +0100 4405887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399478&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007854.html Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley lab have discovered a very manufacturable way to produce photovoltaic (PV) solar cells that can convert the Sun's full spectrum of light into electricity. Although full-spectrum solar cells have been made, none yet have been suitable for manufacture at a consumer-friendly price. Now Wladek Walukiewicz, who leads the Solar Energy Materials Research Group in the Materials Sciences Division (MSD) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), and his colleagues have demonstrated a solar cell that not only responds to virtually the entire solar spectrum, it can also readily be made using one of the semiconductor industry’s most common manufacturing techniques. The new design promises highly efficient solar cells t... FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399478 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4399478 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399479&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007853.html The XL1 concept car can get 261 miles per gallon of diesel fuel. The mad scientists at Volkswagen have wheeled out a bullet-shaped diesel-electric plug-in hybrid that gets a stunning 261 mpg. VW claims it is the most fuel-efficient hybrid ever, and it shows what’s possible when you let your engineers run wild. It has 2 seats and decent acceleration with electric assist. Come Peak Oil I'd rather drive to work in a really small car than on a scooter or motorcycle. You get better protection from the elements in a car. At 261 mpg even at $20 per gallon you'd spend only $766 on diesel to go 10,000 miles.... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399479 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4399479 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4394422&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJHtVMOW7kH0%2F By Tad DeHavenLast week the conservative House Republican Study Committee released its Spending Reduction Act of 2011, which would cut federal spending by $2.5 trillion over the next ten years. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) will introduce it in the Senate. The vast majority of the savings, $2.3 trillion, would come from freezing non-defense discretionary spending at fiscal 2006 levels over the next ten years. The rest would come from cutting the federal civilian workforce, privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, repealing the state Medicaid FMAP increase, repealing remaining stimulus funds, and immediately reducing non-security discretionary spending to fiscal 2008 levels. Of the $2.3 trillion over 10 years that would be saved by freezing nondefense discretionary spending at fiscal 2006 levels, o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4394422 Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:45:54 +0100 4394422 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382728&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007844.html Faced with China's increasing restrictions on rare earth elements exports (which aren't really that rare, but I digress), both Toyota and its supplier Aisin are developing electric induction motors that do not use rare earths. Aisin’s research, being conducted jointly with its research unit IMRA Europe in Brighton, England, is separate from Toyota’s own in-house development of an induction motor that doesn’t need rare-earth minerals, Toyama said. General Motors is also working on induction motors and Continental AG says it has a motor going into a European electric car this year that contains no REEs. Continental AG of Germany, one of the world's largest auto parts makers, said it already has developed a rare-earth-free motor that will be used in... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382728 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4382728 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4377555&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhknB7kgGm8M%2F By David BoazIt’s enviro vs. enviro in Washington’s most “progressive” suburb, Takoma Park. Indeed, the Washington Post reports, “a potentially bough-breaking debate between sun-worshipers and tree-huggers.” That is, which is more environmentally desirable, solar power or tree cover? The modest gray house in Takoma Park was nearly perfect, from Patrick Earle’s staunchly environmentalist point of view. It was small enough for wood-stove heating, faced the right way for good solar exposure and, most important, was in a liberal suburb that embraces all things ecological. Or almost all. When Earle and his wife, Shannon, recently sought to add solar panels to the house, which they have been turning into a sustainability showplace, the couple discovered ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4377555 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:01:57 +0100 4377555 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4377559&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWDHcDx3302k%2F By David BoazA new report says that traffic congestion is worse, and the American Public Transportation Association urges Congress to . . . spend more money on public transportation. Cato senior fellow Randal O’Toole has been challenging the received wisdom on traffic and mass transit for years. See his book Gridlock: Why We’re Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It, and lots of other studies. In November he debated the head of the American Public Transportation Association at a Cato Policy Forum: The Traffic Congestion Problem is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4377559 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:25:41 +0100 4377559 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4361327&cid=t_92564_167_f&fid=38271&url=http%3A%2F%2Frebeccascritchfield.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F18%2Fquoted-in-washingtonians-fit-foodie-blog-and-nbcs%2F If you know me, then you know I love sharing my opinion on things. And don’t get me started on nutrition, wellness, and dieting or you may not get me to shut up! So that’s why I love it when a reporter wants to interview me. I seem to have a knack for turning “a few short questions” into an hour long conversation! I love it when they end the call with “wow, this is really interesting!” That’s how I know I hit that sweet spot of giving practical knowledge. My lastest phone friend was from the Washingtonian (DC’s top magazine – DCers, you better subscribe). We discussed one of my FAVORITE topics — energy management! Who couldn’t use more energy?! The problem is most of us are going about it the wrong way. We’re hyped up ... Balanced Health and Nutrition Rebecca Scritchfield's Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4361327 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:41:16 +0100 4361327 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4349499&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKxScuSntUwc%2F By Doug Bandow I’ve decided the time has come to become an entrepreneur — as a black market operator. Come next January, 100-watt incandescent light bulbs will be illegal, courtesy of Congress and President George W. Bush.  Lower wattages will be banned the following year.  As usual, politicians in Washington believe they know best and are determined to inconvenience the public in the name of saving energy. No matter that incandescent lights offer a softer light and are a better value than fluorescent bulbs if turned on only briefly.  And no matter that breaking a fluorescent light will spill mercury, creating what in any other circumstance would be considered to be a biohazard. There are other consequences of the coming prohibition.  Notes Tim Carney of the Washington Examine... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4349499 Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:04:13 +0100 4349499 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4330994&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqoMKSShMLmA%2F By Randal O'TooleAnother city has discovered that light rail is not the road to utopia. In 2007, Norfolk, Virginia decided to revitalize its downtown by building a rail transit line. That line is now 45 percent over budget and its opening has been delayed by more than 16 months. When Flickr user DearEdward took this construction photo in July, 2008, Norfolk officials were promising to open the light-rail line in December, 2009 at a cost of $232 million. Now the cost has grown to $338 million and the opening delayed to late in 2011. A 45-percent cost overrun is about average for rail transit construction, but it has hit Norfolk particularly hard. In 2007, the Federal Transit Administration agreed to fund 72 percent of the then-projected $232 million cost, with the Commonwealth of Virginia ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4330994 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:43:47 +0100 4330994 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4337885&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007821.html The recent Detroit Auto Show and Consumer Electronics Show provided the settings for a number of auto company announcements about future electric car plans. First off, General Motors announced it plans to offer pluggable hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) for every GM brand. Note that GM calls these extended range electric vehicles. So if you see GM talking about extended range EVs they are really talking about hybrids that can run purely off of electricity, switch to gasoline when the battery gets low, and get recharged when you get home. GM is also going to bring out pure EVs. Ford announced hybrid and PHEV versions of both the Focus and the C-Max (from Europe) models as well as a pure EV... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4337885 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4337885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4326902&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-energy-drink%2F2011.01.09 By Scott Gavura, BScPhm, MBA, RPh for Science-Based Medicine My stimulant of choice is coffee. I started drinking it in first-year university, and never looked back. A tiny four-cup coffee maker became my reliable companion right through graduate school. But since I stopped needing to drink a pot at a time, an entirely new category of products has appeared — the energy drink. Targeting students, athletes, and others seeking a mental or physical boost, energy drinks are now an enormous industry: From the first U.S. product sale in 1997, the market size was $4.8 billion by 2008, and continues to grow. (1) My precious coffee effectively has a single therapeutic ingredient, caffeine. Its pharmacology is well documented, and the physiologic effects are understood. The safety data isn’... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4326902 Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:00:48 +0100 4326902 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4326892&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007812.html The Oil Drum has a great set of many graphs showing energy production and usage from a variety of perspectives. That page has over 100 charts and graphs and it takes quite a while to load them from a number of sites. The most sobering graph: World net oil exports peaked in 2005. A large and growing fraction of all oil extracted from the ground is used in the country of origin. So less is available to oil importing nations on international markets. Since oil demand is rising more rapidly in oil producer states than in oil importer states the fraction of extracted oil available for importers is declining. So for importers in a very real sense world oil production... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4326892 Sat, 08 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0100 4326892 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4318076&cid=t_92564_146_f&fid=38266&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsleepeducation.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Ffirst-time-cpap-users-feel-refreshed.html (Source: Sleep Education) Sleep Education blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4318076 Thu, 06 Jan 2011 22:56:00 +0100 4318076 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4318310&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmpXSjggRUJo%2F By Patrick J. MichaelsThe Current Wisdom is a series of monthly posts in which Senior Fellow Patrick J. Michaels reviews interesting items on global warming in the scientific literature that may not have received the media attention that they deserved, or have been misinterpreted in the popular press. The Current Wisdom only comments on science appearing in the refereed, peer-reviewed literature, or that has been peer-screened prior to presentation at a scientific congress. Better Model, Less Warming Bet you haven’t seen this one on TV:  A newer, more sophisticated climate model has lost more than 25% of its predicted warming!  You can bet that if it had predicted that much more warming it would have made the local paper. The change resulted from a more realistic simulation of the wa... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4318310 Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:36:06 +0100 4318310 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4313987&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLOu1IAoxepY%2F By Walter OlsonWhile others wish the new Congress well today on its swearing-in, I plan to light a 100-watt incandescent bulb and hoist a caffeinated alcoholic beverage in honor of a different milestone: starting today, the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee will no longer be under the control of Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). Some lawmakers can talk a decent game about lean ‘n’ smart regulation, but no one ever accused Waxman of having a light touch. (The 900-page Waxman-Markey environmental bill, mercifully killed by the Senate, included provisions letting Washington rewrite local building codes.) He’s known for aggressive micromanagement even of agencies run by putative allies: his staff has repeatedly twisted the ears of Obamanaut appointees to complain that their... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4313987 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:30:34 +0100 4313987 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4298670&cid=t_92564_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F12%2F29%2Fcalories-in-disguise%2F Low-carb proponents claim that eating a low-carb diet enhances weight loss irrespective of caloric content.  Low-fat proponents often make the same claim.  Many other advocates of special diets make similar claims: It’s not calories, it’s something else causing weight loss. In support of their diet’s efficacy, proponents often cite their own successes or the success of other followers. However, they often fail to acknowledge that many other people lose weight following radically different weight-loss plans.  And never mind the scientific research, as it provides evidence that all successful weight loss programs share a common characteristic: create a calorie deficit on a consistent basis and weight loss follows. Calorie Defined A calorie is a unit of energy. It is the amount ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4298670 Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:20:17 +0100 4298670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4298605&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007785.html John Hofmeister, former president of Royal Dutch Shell's US business unit, says gasoline in the United States is headed to $5 per gallon in 2 years and in 10 years shortages will become severe. But former Shell executive John Hofmeister offered a more aggressive estimate, saying Americans could be paying $5 a gallon in two years. And he predicted that sometime between 2018 and 2020, supply and demand will become so out of balance that gas stations in several regions of the country will simply start to run out. "I think it's going to be a cumulative problem that won't happen suddenly," Hofmeister, who now heads Citizens for Affordable Energy, told FoxNews.com. $5 per gallon by early 2013? That seems... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4298605 Tue, 28 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4298605 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4288552&cid=t_92564_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FR7OwX1XHZK4%2F How is that than an emergency doctor can find the energy to keep on going hour after after hour, even in the dead of night? LITFL now reveals the ultimate night-shift energy food. This is how the night-walking medico keeps on stoking the furnace and keeps the night train a chugging. (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4288552 Sun, 26 Dec 2010 00:00:03 +0100 4288552 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4272659&cid=t_92564_160_f&fid=36189&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.skinmdblog.com%2F332%2Fhoney-skin-and-hair-care-gold%2F Honey has for centuries been the workhorse of natural beauty and health.  Ancient Egyptians used it for face and body and even for health, including cataracts, cuts, and burns.  The Greeks, most notably Hippocrates, used honey for skin disorders and ulcers. In our current fascination with the new and the manufactured, many of us have forgotten the wonders of nature.  Honey should be a staple in anyone’s beauty cabinet. Honey contains small amounts of niacin, riboflavin (aids energy production and warding off of certain diseases), pantothenic acid, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese (ensures healthy bones), phosphorus, potassium, zinc (aids immune and digestive systems), and other vitamins and minerals that do a world of good wherever it’s applied.  It’s the only known fo... Skin MD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4272659 Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:53:40 +0100 4272659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265660&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36069&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffrankiespeakingfrankly.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fwhats-been-happening.html We presented the concept to the public and our local councillors in December, and from there managed to secure funding to get the plan off the ground and formed a new commercial enterprise, of which I have taken on the position as Head of Communications. I have therefore now resigned from the incinerator campaign, and have passed the EcoIvy site over to the local community to run, since I cannot afford to put the new company in any compromising commercial position as a result of my own personal campaigning elsewhere in the industry. For me this now this is about moving from campaigning against a flawed plan to instead promoting what I believe is the ultimate solution. My new position allows me to work flexibly, so I can still keep MedWorm running at the same time, and of course it gives me... Frankie Speaking Frankly blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265660 Sat, 18 Dec 2010 08:15:00 +0100 4265660 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4272274&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007759.html Olivier Chalouhi can only get the claimed 100 mile range at lower speeds. After picking up his car on Dec. 11 and taking it to a press conference at San Francisco City Hall, Chalouhi said he brought the Leaf home and plugged it in -- the battery was running low. He said the car's mileage varies wildly. Chalouhi said he can get 100 miles per charge in slow city driving, but only 50 or 60 miles at 75 mph on the freeway. Still, even if you commute 25 miles each way at high speeds the car would still work for you if you could charge it every night. If you are commuting more than that you have my sympathy. Ford's... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4272274 Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4272274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265644&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007750.html Ford will make gasoline, hybrid, pluggable hybrid, and pure electric versions of the Focus. Finally we will be able to compare consumer reactions to those 4 choices in a more apples-to-apples fashion. This promises to be interesting. Ford Motor Company's retooled Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., becomes the world's first plant to build not only fuel-efficient gas-powered vehicles, but three production versions of electrified vehicles – battery electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles Production of the all-new global Ford Focus, in four-door and five-door versions, is under way with sales to begin early next year. The Focus Electric battery electric vehicle goes into production late next year followed by a new hybrid and plug-in hybrid in late 2012 Come... (Source: FuturePundit... FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265644 Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4265644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4258842&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fju0qZPSZcWg%2F This study provides an elegant solution to one of the two key ice sheet instability problems” noted by the United Nations in their last (2007) climate compendium.  “It turns out that, contrary to popular belief, Greenland ice sheet flow might not be accelerated by increased melting after all,” he added. I’m not so sure that those who hold the “popular belief” can explain why Greenland’s ice didn’t melt away thousands of years ago.  For millennia, after the end of the last ice age (approximately 11,000 years ago) strong evidence indicates that the Eurasian arctic averaged nearly 13°F warmer in July than it is now. That’s because there are trees buried and preserved in the acidic Siberian tundra, and they can be carbon dated.  Where there is no forest today—because it... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4258842 Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:04:58 +0100 4258842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4249041&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fd-UKugQ-wc4%2F By Tad DeHavenIn 2006, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm told citizens, “In five years, you’re going to be blown away by the strength and diversity of Michigan’s transformed economy.” When those words were uttered, Michigan’s unemployment rate was 6.7 percent. It’s now almost 13 percent. Although Michigan’s economic doldrums can’t entirely be pinned on Granholm, her fiscal policies have not helped, such as her higher taxes on businesses. The Mackinac Center’s Michael LaFaive explains why Granholm’s grandiose proclamation in 2006 hasn’t panned out: In this case, Gov. Granholm was promoting her administration and the Legislature’s massive expansion of discriminatory tax breaks and subsidies for a handful of corporations. The purpose and main effect of this policy is... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4249041 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:33:12 +0100 4249041 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245269&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007733.html Check out this piece in the Wall Street Journal: The trucks, which have a top speed of about 50 mph and can carry 16,000 pounds, cost about $30,000 more than a diesel, but Staples expects to recover that expense in 3.3 years because of the savings inherent in the electric models, Mr. Payette said. Staples said the annual maintenance cost of a diesel delivery truck is about $2,700 in most years, including oil, transmission fluid, filters and belts. For an electric truck—which has no transmission and needs no fluids, filters or belts—the cost is about $250. A 3.3 year payback is pretty impressive. A delivery truck for stationary stores such as Staples might be one of the best cost fits... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245269 Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4245269 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233155&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDdXc4yKp1gc%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe Supreme Court is finally starting to put some interesting non-First Amendment cases on this term’s docket. Today, the Court agreed to review American Electric Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut, in which eight states, some non-profits, and New York City are suing a number of energy companies and utilities for harms they allegedly caused by contributing to global warming.  This is the third major lawsuit to push global warming into the courts (another being Comer v. Murphy Oil USA, in which Cato also filed a brief).  It’s America, after all, where we sue to solve our problems — even apparently, taking to court the proverbial butterfly that caused a tsunami. Mind you, you can sue your neighbor for leaking toxic water onto your land. Courts are well posi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233155 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:38:27 +0100 4233155 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233162&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYqpydtfq8zc%2F By Randal O'TooleTea party victories in November likely signal the beginning of the end for President Obama’s ambitious and expensive high-speed rail plans. Republican governors-elect of both Ohio and Wisconsin have vowed to return federal high-speed rail funds that had been granted to those states. The governor-elect of Florida is also a rail skeptic, and more and more obstacles are being thrown in front of California’s rail plans. Obama Replaces Costly High-Speed Rail Plan With High-Speed Bus Plan The prospects for high-speed rail are so dire that the Onion recently suggested that President Obama would shift his support to high-speed buses instead. Even the Washington Post has sounded caution about spending much more money on this obsolete form of travel. The California High ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233162 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:03:19 +0100 4233162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4237856&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007723.html US Energy Secretary and Nobel Laureate Steven Chu says electric cars are going to become competitive with internal combustion engines real soon now. "It's not like it's 10 years off," Chu said at a press conference on U.S. clean energy efforts on the sidelines of the climate talks. "It's about five years and it could be sooner. Meanwhile the batteries we do have today are soon going to get better by a factor of two." That's a pretty optimistic statement. Is it realistic? Note that electric cars will not become competitive for all drivers at the same time. There's a sweet spot in terms of daily miles driven, access to a garage for parking and charging, and other considerations that... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4237856 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4237856 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233138&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007722.html Robert Rapier has written a review of the new book The Impending World Energy Mess by Robert L. Hirsch, Roger H. Bezdek, and Robert M. Wendling. Rapier finds their coverage of adaptations to Peak Oil most interesting. This is where my own curiosity has shifted on the Peak Oil topic. That it is happening I have no doubt. But how will people and industries and governments respond? How quickly will they respond? I felt the book became much more interesting when they started to discuss “How is the oil debacle likely to unfold?” This is where I began to find a lot of value in the book for me personally. Future scenarios were very well thought-out, and pros and cons... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233138 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4233138 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225251&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpregnancy-as-a-pre-existing-condition%2F2010.12.03 Women who own individual healthcare policies, please take note. Should you become pregnant in the future, your individual healthcare policy might not cover your pregnancy. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times by Michelle Andrews was revealing. Andrews described the plight of a North Carolina biology teacher who subsequently left teaching after the birth of her twins. She became a small business owner and was covered under individual health insurance policies. However, when she became pregnant again, she had a rude awakening. Despite paying an insurance premium of $400 per month, her pregnancy wasn’t covered unless she had paid for a special rider, prior to becoming pregnant. Since half of all pregnancies are “unplanned” how can you pay for coverage six months in advance of an u... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225251 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:00:20 +0100 4225251 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225374&cid=t_92564_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F12%2F02%2Fis-exercise-necessary-for-weight-loss%2F Fitness industry professionals, or sometimes exercise enthusiasts, declare that “you have to exercise to lose weight.”  More precisely, they suggest that you have to conform to a formal exercise routine if you want to lose weight. The National Center for Health Statistics shows that 68.7 percent of Americans are overweight, with a little more than 34 percent being obese and slightly less than six percent being “extremely obese” (Reuters, 2009). With the amount of money being invested in gym memberships, exercise equipment, and personal trainers, you would think that more people would be losing weight. But many people who have invested money in exercise equipment and gym memberships don’t exercise on a regular basis.  Often, home gym equipment serves as a coat rack, or i... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225374 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:47:56 +0100 4225374 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219790&cid=t_92564_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F12%2F01%2Fsearching-for-true-meaning-during-the-holiday%2F How would you feel if I were to tell you that there are many children suffering in the world today? How about if I were more specific and told you that over 30,000 children under age 5 are suffering from hunger and preventable diseases? Does this resonate within the depths of your heart? Sweet, innocent babies die every day from a preventable disease in an indigenous country. That number could be considered huge by some, or perhaps quite small, depending on your perspective. If you are referring to population size, however, that is the size of a small city. In regard to time, 30,000 seconds is actually only a little over eight hours. Or 30,000 children could be like 30 large elementary schools disappearing from the face of the earth on Monday … and again on Tuesday … and so on. What&#8... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219790 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 20:53:16 +0100 4219790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219733&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuODHB7SGWHg%2F By Walter OlsonWe are told constantly that government can play a beneficial role in the marketplace by taking steps to make sure consumers are more fully informed about the risks of the goods and services they use. But what happens when the government itself helps spread health and safety information that is false or misleading? That question came up recently in the controversy over New York City’s misleading nutrition-scare ad campaign, and it now comes up again in a controversy over a new database of complaints about consumer products sponsored by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). As part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Congress mandated that the CPSC create a “publicly available consumer product safety information database... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219733 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:54:55 +0100 4219733 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4206036&cid=t_92564_133_f&fid=35124&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspergerwoman%2F%7E3%2FvoWr6_HJVlM%2Flight-in-darkness.html The past week I realised how stressful things have been lately. For months lots of serious things came upon my path. It was useful to deal with them. Now, finding my way to a new beginnning, my focus is set on finding Light in the Darkness. It's time to think things over and realise that what life is about. These days I have to deal with a special interest. After having the life experience in dealing with special interests, I know now what to expect. Somehow everytime this phrase of Aspergers shows itself with all his beautiful but also dark sides, I keep surprised by the impact this special interest might have. It is like a knock down, strangely enough a knock down which makes me get lots of extra energy. As we call those autism related special interest in Dutch "Fieps", my "Fiep" see... The Art of Being Asperger Woman blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4206036 Sat, 27 Nov 2010 10:11:00 +0100 4206036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203183&cid=t_92564_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSciencebaseScienceBlog%2F%7E3%2FrxNokmfSDr4%2Fsix-science-books-for-the-holiday-season.html subjects as diverse as molecular biology pioneer Sydney Brenner, the question of antimatter, how scientists can better explain their research to non-scientists, a history of the chemical elements, scientific feuds and how innovators exploit business and technology trends. Minitrends – Minitrends are emerging trends that promise to become significantly important within 2-5 years, but are not generally recognized. Unlike megatrends or microtrends, Minitrends are of a scope and importance to offer attractive opportunities to individuals and businesses of all sizes. The one that caught my eye is mention of nanotechnology and how it could be used in water purification and to make "fake" bone (I think they mean "artificial")! Scientific Feuds – Most science his... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203183 Fri, 26 Nov 2010 08:05:06 +0100 4203183 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4197068&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-low-can-oprah-winfrey-go-promoting-faith-healer-john-of-god-to-the-masses%2F2010.11.23 Several of the bloggers on Science-Based Medicine have been — shall we say? — rather critical of Oprah Winfrey. The reason, of course, is quite obvious. Oprah is so famous that if you mention her first name nearly everyone will know exactly of whom you speak. For the last quarter century, Oprah’s daytime TV talk show has been a ratings juggernaut, leading to the building of a media behemoth and making her one of the richest and most famous women in the world. Unfortunately, part of Oprah’s equation for success has involved the promotion of quackery and New Age woo, so much so that last year I lamented about the Oprah-fication of medicine, which scored me a writing gig in the Toronto Star. Whether it be promoting bio-identical hormones, The Secret (complete with a testimonial ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4197068 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:00:00 +0100 4197068 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4190114&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007672.html In the UK the added costs of living in a rural area raises the minimum income needed to live a fairly minimal existence. The Commission for Rural Communities said someone in a remote village needed £18,600 a year to get by, compared with £14,400 for an urban dweller. It means a villager must earn about 50% above the minimum wage of £5.93 an hour to reach a minimum living standard. The report cited transport and fuel as the main extra cost burdens. Curiously, the difference in living costs for a "rural town" versus an urban area was fairly small as compared to the additional costs of villages or, even more expensive, hamlets. Anyone know what the sizes are for each... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4190114 Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4190114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4190547&cid=t_92564_167_f&fid=36988&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.happynutritionistsnuggets.com%2F2010%2F11%2F10-iron-mineral-facts.html Iron is a mineral that is important to many, but may be cause for concern for others. Here are some facts about iron:1. Iron is needed and essential for the formation of hemoglobin found in our red blood cells.  2. Iron promotes transport of oxygen in the muscles through formation of myoglobin, also in the blood.3. Iron helps prevent anemia...a result of iron deficiency...and helps to stimulate the immune system.4. A lack of iron can cause fatigue.5. Iron is found in organ meats such as the liver, heart, kidneys, shellfish, and in vegetables such as whole grains, dried beans, fruits, leafy dark green vegies, nuts, and blackstrap molasses...oh, and from cooking with cast iron.6. Though there are vegetables that contain iron, some on vegetarian diets may benefit from iron supplemen... Happy Nutritionist's Nuggets blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4190547 Sun, 21 Nov 2010 05:41:00 +0100 4190547 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175999&cid=t_92564_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FQ9tWA7Uu_Io%2F It’s ten thirty in the morning. You’ve been working for an hour or two, so you decide to read your favorite blogs for a bit, and check out some web comics. But you feel a bit guilty. After all, shouldn’t you be powering through your work? You Need to Take Breaks No-one can work effectively for hours at a stretch – especially on tasks which require a lot of mental energy (like writing, planning strategy, designing, and anything involving creativity). So you need to take breaks. You’ll actually find that you get more done in a day where you stop for ten minutes out of every hour than on a day when you keep on and on working. Why? Because when you force yourself to stick with a task, you’ll slow down. You’ll end up checking your emails, getting distracted... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175999 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:50:44 +0100 4175999 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175657&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007652.html The Wall Street Journal reports that the Chinese government might place a limit on coal mining in order to make Chinese domestic coal reserves last longer. State-run media reported that Beijing is considering capping domestic coal output in the 2011-2015 period, partly because officials worry miners are running down reserves too quickly to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding economy. "China accounts for around 14% of global coal reserves but its share of global coal consumption is already over triple that at 47%, which is unsustainable," Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said in a report last month. Their main worry on coal consumption is not global warming. They want their reserves to last longer and would rather import... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175657 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4175657 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151747&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgKhRO7iRgbM%2F By Patrick J. MichaelsNovember’s Scientific American features a profile of Georgia Tech atmospheric scientist Judith Curry,  who has committed the mortal sin of  reaching out to other scientists who hypothesize that global warming isn’t the disaster it’s been cracked up to be.  I have personal experience with this, as she invited me to give a research seminar in Tech’s prestigious School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in 2008.  My lecture summarizing the reasons for doubting the apocalyptic synthesis of climate change was well-received by an overflow crowd. Written by Michael Lemonick, who hails from the shrill blog Climate Central, the article isn’t devoid of the usual swipes, calling her a “heretic,, which is hardly at all true.  She’s simply another hardworking sci... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151747 Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:48:35 +0100 4151747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151758&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_CauIySDjZU%2F By Caleb O. BrownVice President Joe Biden believes that human progress depends almost entirely on government vision and government incentive. Donald J. Boudreaux, Cato Institute adjunct scholar and George Mason University economics professor, details why Biden is wrong both generally and in the specific case he touts: Produced by Caleb O. Brown. Shot and edited by Evan Banks. VIDEO: Joe Biden’s Weak Case for Government Meddling is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151758 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:58:39 +0100 4151758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4152330&cid=t_92564_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FIvZkd95ZAwk%2F You’ve had days which got off to a fantastic start. You were focused, alert, energetic, and you stormed through a ton of work. By lunch time, you were feeling great: motivated to carry on and make great gains in the afternoon too. I’m guessing, though, that you sometimes have days which don’t go quite so well. Maybe you think you’ve done everything right – you got up on time, you ate breakfast – but somehow, you end up spending your morning sorting out emails, struggling with little problems, and failing to focus on what really matters. Here’s how to rock your mornings, every single day: Get Up Ten Minutes Earlier Some folks thrive on getting up really early and meditating, reading or working while the rest of the world is asleep. If that’s you, grea... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4152330 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 07:40:45 +0100 4152330 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4152321&cid=t_92564_180_f&fid=38607&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fsuccessbeginstoday%2FBHWQ%2F%7E3%2Fy8PZ2s83u0k%2F This last Sunday I participated in my third 5k run. It started inland on San Diego’s Shelter island and ended up along the big bay in San Diego. It was a beautiful sunny fall day, with just a few wispy clouds in the sky. The race was point to point, ending up at Humphreys by the Bay for a Champagne brunch to finish up the event. I started near the front of the pack, and started at a reasonably fast clip. As the race thinned out, I found some runners that seemed to have a comfortable clip and stayed with them. The first mile was easy, and my time through the one mile checkpoint was great. As we turned the corner the sun was rising and you could see the masts of sail boats and the bay in the distance. It was truly an incredible day. I stayed with my running partners who were a little ahea... Success Begins Today blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4152321 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:13:30 +0100 4152321 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133671&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDeOi65dU6nM%2F By Sallie JamesMy colleagues have done a thorough job of analyzing the policy implications of Tuesday’s federal election outcome as it affects trade policy, health care, immigration, education, and the scope and size of government generally (more here on federal spending). Most of them are cautiously optimistic that a Republican-controlled House is good news for liberty-minded folk. Let’s hope so. Unfortunately, there are fewer obvious reasons for optimism that Tuesday’s result will mean big changes in agricultural policy, a depressingly bipartisan area of federal intervention. Even Rand Paul, the poster child for the Tea Party, expressed “moderate” views on farm subsidies during his campaign. On the positive side of the ledger, our friends at the Envir... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133671 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:19:46 +0100 4133671 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133677&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F46XbEB_1zfg%2F By Daniel J. MitchellLast week, I highlighted nine ballot initiatives that were worth watching because of their policy implications and/or their role is showing whether voters wanted more or less freedom. The results, by and large, are very encouraging. Let’s take a look at the results of those nine votes, as well as a few additional key initiatives. 1. The big spenders wanted to impose an income tax in the state of Washington, and they even had support from too-rich-to-care Bill Gates. The good news is that this initiative got slaughtered by a nearly two-to-one margin.  I was worried about this initiative since crazy  Oregon voters approved higher tax rates earlier this year. In a further bit of good news, Washington voters also approved a supermajority requirement for tax incre... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133677 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:58:40 +0100 4133677 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4124986&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fy0B5vjHhx_A%2F By Patrick J. MichaelsThe Current Wisdom  is a series of monthly posts in which Senior Fellow Patrick J. Michaels reviews interesting items on global warming in the scientific literature that may not have received the media attention that they deserved, or have been misinterpreted in the popular press. The Current Wisdom only comments on science appearing in the refereed, peer-reviewed literature, or that has been peer-screened prior to presentation at a scientific congress.  More Good News About Sea Level Rise  In the last (and first) installment of  The Current Wisdom, I looked at how projections of catastrophic sea level rise—some as high as 20 feet this century—are falling by the wayside as more real-world data comes in. In the last month, there’s been even more hot-off-the-p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4124986 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 03:47:16 +0100 4124986 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133628&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=34902&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futurepundit.com%2Farchives%2F007619.html James Schlesinger served in high positions under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Secretary of Defense, Director of the CIA, and as the first US Energy Secretary. He's become convinced that the peak of world oil production is near: What is the evidence? First, we remain heavily dependent on super-giant and giant oilfields discovered in the 50s and 60s of the last century… I might add, of the last millennium. Only rarely in recent decades have discoveries equaled production. Mostly, it’s been one barrel discovered for every three barrels produced. Second, old super-giants like Burgan in Kuwait and [Cantarell] in Mexico have gone into decline earlier than had been anticipated… and going into decline... (Source: FuturePundit) FuturePundit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133628 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4133628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118873&cid=t_92564_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvW32KRuXn4c%2F By Michael F. CannonIn my recent “Bootleggers & Baptists, Sugary Soda Edition” post, I wrote that environmentalists and agribusiness team up to support ethanol subsidies. An alert Cato@Liberty reader writes to my colleague Jerry Taylor: [Cannon] is no doubt right that environmentalists and agribusiness worked together to promote government subsidies to ethanol through about 2006. But by 2007 (when the ethanol mandate was doubled) the environmentalists had dropped out of the pro-ethanol coalition, to be replaced by national-security hawks! If you run into him, please tell him to stop blaming environmentalists for current biofuels policies! If environmentalists have recently dropped their support for ethanol subsidies, they deserve credit for that. Mea culpa. I would rather h... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118873 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 20:11:31 +0100 4118873