A look at today’s science and health policy news:
Growing number of US scientists are mobilizing for public office
A.P.–There is a growing number of scientists who feel slighted and abused in the public debate in recent years and are mobilizing for a new effort to inject “evidence-based decision making” into public policy.
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Environmental Stances Are Balancing Act For McCain
Washington Post–McCain has made the environment one of the key elements of his presidential bid, but an examination of McCain’s voting record shows an inconsistent approach.
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Senator poses ‘grand challenges’ for energy independence
A.P.–Sen. Lamar Alexander drew a standing ovation from scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Friday as he proposed a massive national commitment to clean energy and reducing dependence on foreign oil.
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State Department Asks Congress To Keep Quiet About Details of Deal
Washington Post–Washington’s civil nuclear deal with India is in such desperate straits that the State Department has that Congress keep secret their answers to questions on the deal.
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Negotiators Agree on Farm Bill, but Bush Vows to Veto It
Washington Post–House and Senate negotiators reached final agreement on a new farm bill that will spend close to $300 billion on nutrition, conservation, energy and farm subsidies.
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Ethanol as cause of food crisis ‘flat-out wrong’
Washington Times–Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer yesterday said U.N. and other international aid officials are “flat-out wrong” to call U.S. ethanol production from corn a major factor in world food shortages and riots.
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Spaceport plan rocketing ahead
Houston Chronicle–Undaunted by widespread skepticism, New Mexico’s effort to build the world’s first commercial spaceport is nearly on schedule to open in late 2010.
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Group Urges F.D.A. to Take Contraceptive Off Market
N.Y. Times–A consumer advocacy group petitioned the government Thursday to pull the birth control patch off the market, calling it far riskier than the pill.
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New Wave of Nuclear Plants Faces High Costs
Wall Street Journal–A new generation of nuclear power plants is on the drawing boards in the U.S., but the projected cost is causing some sticker shock: $5 billion to $12 billion a plant.
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Major Shift In HIV Prevention Priorities Needed, Analysts Urge
Science Daily–According to a new policy analysis led by researchers at Harvard and UC Berkeley, the most common HIV prevention strategies are having a limited impact on the predominantly heterosexual epidemics found in Africa.
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States remove local barriers to eco-friendly homes
USA Today– Laws supersede homeowners groups that restrict solar or wind technology.
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Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit
N.Y. Times–With the price of gas approaching $4 a gallon, more commuters are abandoning their cars and taking the train or bus instead.
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British birds adapt to global warming
L.A. Times–Great tits adjust their breeding season so that chicks hatch when winter moth caterpillars — their main food source — are most plentiful, long-term research shows.
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Peregrine falcons in California’s urban areas are contaminated with toxic chemicals
L.A. Times–The birds were endangered by DDT in the ’70s. Now, scientists have found that falcons in cities including Los Angeles contain record-high levels of flame retardant.
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Gray wolf protection lawsuit to move forward
L.A. Times–A Montana judge refuses a delay that the federal government requested.
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Burma Faces ‘Public Health Catastrophe,’ Charity Says
Washington Post–An estimated 1.5 million Burmese are on the brink of a “massive public health catastrophe,” the British charity Oxfam warned.
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Oil powered Norway gradually turns into the wind
A.P.–As Norway prepares for a future after oil, the gale-force potential of harvesting wind power off its long coastline has become an increasingly attractive proposition.
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Data from Columbia disk drives survived the shuttle accident
Wired–Information from a melted disk drive that fell from the sky when space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in 2003 has been recovered.
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