Today’s Science Policy News for July, 2nd 2009

look at today’s science and health policy news:

Energy Policy’s ‘Lone Voice in the Wilderness’ Finds Place in Climate Debate

NY Times — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission invited Tyson Slocum in May to join the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee, which is preparing for regulation of the carbon derivatives market. And he has been working on toughening commodity regulations with House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and with staffers for Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

EPA Proposes Stringent Standards for Large Ships

Reuters — The US Environmental Protection Agency today announced the next steps in a coordinated strategy to reduce emissions from ocean-going vessels. The EPA is proposing a rule under the Clean Air Act that sets engine and fuel standards for U.S. flagged ships that would harmonize with international standards and are expected to lead to significant air quality improvements throughout the country, especially near ports.

Suicide Warnings for 2 Anti-Smoking Drugs

NY Times — Federal drug regulators warned Wednesday that patients taking two popular drugs to stop smoking should be watched closely for signs of serious mental illness, as reports mount of suicides among the drugs’ users.

Green Buildings Get Boost in Cap-and-Trade Bill

Wall Street Journal — The bill mandates that upon passage, all states move to adopt standards for residential and commercial structures that are at least 30 percent better than two widely accepted energy codes. The requirements get more strict over time, and states would get lots of money from the federal government to enforce them.

Scrubbing CO2 With Synthetic Trees

NY Times — Deploying technology on a grand scale to alter the planet and combat global warming — that is, the concept of geoengineering — has had scientists brainstorming for some time. Ideas vary, from spraying reflective particles into the atmosphere, to seeding the oceans with iron, to launching a giant reflective sunshade into space.

First Direct Evidence Of Lightning On Mars Detected

Science Daily — For the first time, direct evidence of lightning has been detected on Mars, say University of Michigan researchers who found signs of electrical discharges during dust storms on the Red Planet.

NASA Reconsiders Its Moon Plans

Popular Science — Next year, 33 years after its maiden flight, the space shuttle will retire. What happens after that has become subject to fierce debate within the space agency. The designated successor program, named Constellation, was the darling of previous NASA administrator Michael Griffin, but a new review now has the space agency looking elsewhere for a ride back into the firmament.

Justice tech a big winner in Senate spending bill

Federal Computer Week — The bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 25 would spend $95 million on the Justice Information Sharing Technology program, which is used for corporate technology investments. The committee’s recommendation is $15 million more than the program got this year but about $28.6 million below what President Barack Obama had requested for the program.

Defend America, One Laptop at a Time

NY Times (Opinion) — Our economy, energy supply, means of transportation and military defenses are dependent on vast, interconnected computer and telecommunications networks. These networks are poorly defended and vulnerable to theft, disruption or destruction by foreign states, criminal organizations, individual hackers and, potentially, terrorists.

Fuel Standards Are Killing GM

Wall Street Journal (Opinion) — General Motors can survive bankruptcy far more easily than it can survive President Barack Obama’s ambitious fuel economy standards, which mandate that all new vehicles average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.

The New Energy Politics

Washington Post (Opinion) — Hours before the House passed its cap-and-trade bill last week, freshman Democrats Tom Perriello and Frank Kratovil were pondering the political fallout of the votes they were about to cast in favor of a plan Republicans were denouncing as “cap-and-tax.”

Fuel Standards Are Killing GM

Wall Street Journal (Opinion) — General Motors can survive bankruptcy far more easily than it can survive President Barack Obama’s ambitious fuel economy standards, which mandate that all new vehicles average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.

Defend America, One Laptop at a Time

NY Times (Opinion) — Our economy, energy supply, means of transportation and military defenses are dependent on vast, interconnected computer and telecommunications networks. These networks are poorly defended and vulnerable to theft, disruption or destruction by foreign states, criminal organizations, individual hackers and, potentially, terrorists.

Justice tech a big winner in Senate spending bill

Federal Computer Week — The bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 25 would spend $95 million on the Justice Information Sharing Technology program, which is used for corporate technology investments. The committee’s recommendation is $15 million more than the program got this year but about $28.6 million below what President Barack Obama had requested for the program.

NASA Reconsiders Its Moon Plans

Popular Science — Next year, 33 years after its maiden flight, the space shuttle will retire. What happens after that has become subject to fierce debate within the space agency. The designated successor program, named Constellation, was the darling of previous NASA administrator Michael Griffin, but a new review now has the space agency looking elsewhere for a ride back into the firmament.

First Direct Evidence Of Lightning On Mars Detected

Science Daily — For the first time, direct evidence of lightning has been detected on Mars, say University of Michigan researchers who found signs of electrical discharges during dust storms on the Red Planet.

Scrubbing CO2 With Synthetic Trees

NY Times — Deploying technology on a grand scale to alter the planet and combat global warming — that is, the concept of geoengineering — has had scientists brainstorming for some time. Ideas vary, from spraying reflective particles into the atmosphere, to seeding the oceans with iron, to launching a giant reflective sunshade into space.

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Today’s Science Policy News for July, 1st 2009

A look at today’s science and health policy news:

No climate debate? Yes, there is

Boston Globe (Opinion) — In his weekly address on Saturday, President Obama saluted the House of Representatives for passing Waxman-Markey, the gargantuan energy-rationing bill that would amount to the largest tax increase in the nation’s history. It would do so by making virtually everything that depends on energy - which is virtually everything - more expensive.

Clean Energy and Security Act will reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The Hill (Opinion) — “If Congress does nothing, greenhouse gas emissions could be regulated administratively through the EPA without input from Members that represent diverse constituencies nationwide,” by Texas Dem. Rep. Gene Green.

Energy tax would move manufacturing jobs overseas

The Hill (Opinion) — “I opposed the “national energy tax” bill because it will only encourage the movement of more manufacturing overseas and increase global pollution to areas of the world that will not be encumbered by similar regulations.  There were numerous problems with the bill,” by Illinois GOP Rep. Don Manzullo.

U.S. works to speed solar energy development in the West

LA Times — The Obama administration on Monday announced that it would put solar energy development in the West on a fast track, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signing an order that sets aside more than 1,000 square miles of public land for two years of study and environmental reviews.

Amazon Conservation Policy Working in Brazil, Study Finds

Science Daily — The study, to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, contends state and federal governments in Brazil have created a sustainable core of protected areas within the Amazon. And even if the remaining Brazilian Amazon is deforested, the climate will not significantly change – thereby protecting the Amazon’s ecosystems.

FDA panel calls for restrictions on Tylenol, Vicodin, Percocet

LA Times — The Food and Drug Administration assembled 37 experts to recommend ways to reduce deadly overdoses with acetaminophen, the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., which sends 56,000 people to the emergency room annually. About 200 die each year.

EPA suppresses report calling into question global warming science

Examiner — The Environmental Protection Agency suppressed a report from leading experts calling into question the science behind the theory of manmade climate change. The 98-page report, submitted to agency leaders just prior to it recommending regulation of carbon dioxide emissions, continues to call into question the ‘consensus’ many have said the scientific community has about the theory.

China’s Internet backdown lauded by firms, activists

Washington Post — China’s ambitions to strengthen control of the Internet with filtering software became a show of the limits of its power on Wednesday, as activists and industry groups welcomed AN abrupt delay of the contentious plan.

Efforts to Overhaul Health Care Take Familiar Path

Wall Street Journal — Committee chairmen in both chambers are crafting bills they hope will attract the support of moderate Democrats and possibly some Republicans. The situation in many ways trods the path of then-President Bill Clinton’s failed bid to extend health insurance to all Americans in 1993 and 1994.

With Something for Everyone, Climate Bill Passed

NY Times — As the most ambitious energy and climate-change legislation ever introduced in Congress made its way to a floor vote last Friday, it grew fat with compromises, carve-outs, concessions and out-and-out gifts intended to win the votes of wavering lawmakers and the support of powerful industries.

EPA reverses Bush policy on states’ emissions limits

Houston Chronicle — The Environmental Protection Agency reversed a Bush administration ruling Tuesday and cleared the way for California and at least 13 other states, including New York and Washington, to impose restrictions on automobile greenhouse gas emissions that exceed federal limits.

New Tool Will Track Federal Tech Spending

NY Times — The new Web tools, called IT Dashboard, are part of a Web site set up to monitor government spending, USASpending.gov. Administration officials said the technology-tracking dashboard was a step toward greater openness and accountability in government, and a model for the kinds of tools it would increasingly make available to the public for other kinds of spending, like following the flow of dollars in the economic recovery package.

Scientific System Accurately Predicts Spread of H1N1

Science Daily — A new scientific system developed by a St. Michael’s Hospital physician, designed to rapidly evaluate the world’s air traffic patterns, accurately predicted how the H1N1 virus would spread around the world, according to research recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

EPA targets nitrogen dioxide emissions near freeways

LA Times — The EPA last Friday proposed to strengthen the limits on nitrogen dioxide (NO2), an air toxin that the agency says can lead to respiratory illnesses. Nitrogen dioxide is found in emissions from traffic and industrial facilities such as power plants. Even short-term exposure can increase the risk of respiratory effects, particularly among children, the elderly, and people with asthma, according to the EPA.

NASA manager pitches a cheaper return-to-moon plan

AP — Officially, the space agency is still on track with a 4-year-old plan to spend $35 billion to build new rockets and return astronauts to the moon in several years. However, a top NASA manager is floating a cut-rate alternative that costs around $6.6 billion.

Wal-Mart Says It Backs a Mandate on Insurance

NY Times — Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer, joined hands with a major labor union Tuesday to endorse the idea of requiring large companies to provide health insurance to their workers, a move that gives a boost to President Obama as he is pushing for health legislation on Capitol Hill.

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Today’s Science Policy News for June, 29th 2009

A look at today’s science and health policy news:

House Passes Bill to Address Threat of Climate Change

NY Times – The House passed legislation on Friday intended to address global warming and transform the way the nation produces and uses energy.

Climate refugee fears questioned

Nature News – Assumptions that up to a billion people will permanently migrate from poor to rich countries to escape the effects of climate change are “alarmist” and false, a meeting of population and climate experts in London heard yesterday.

Rockefeller seeks July action on cybersecurity bill

NextGov – Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller is aiming for a July committee vote on sweeping cybersecurity legislation he introduced in April with Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, a senior Rockefeller aide said today.

NASA gains Senate support over budget cuts proposed by House

Scientific American – The budgetary committee of the U.S. Senate yesterday approved a bill that would give NASA all the money President Obama requested for the agency for fiscal year 2010, undoing a proposed House cut of roughly half a billion dollars.

Grant System Leads Cancer Researchers to Play It Safe

NY Times — Many researchers argue that the Nation Cancer Institute has lost its focus in the fight against cancer. That it has become a sort of jobs program, a way to keep research laboratories going year after year with the understanding that the focus will be on small projects unlikely to take significant steps toward curing cancer.

NASA Wants Your Ideas for Digitizing Rocket Scientist’s Notes

Wired – NASA is taking the rare step of reaching out to the public for help. The space agency is looking for the best way to analyze and electronically catalog a precious collection of notes that chronicle the early history of the human space flight program.

Throwing a Lifeline to Struggling Teachers

Washington Post – Peer review, embraced by more than 80 school systems nationwide, confronts one of public education’s most vexing problems: What to do with under-performing teachers?

U.S. and Russia Differ on a Treaty for Cyberspace

NY Times – The United States and Russia are locked in a fundamental dispute over how to counter the growing threat of cyberwar attacks that could wreak havoc on computer systems and the Internet.

Filtering Companies Can’t Be Sued By Blacklisted Firms, Court Rules

Wired – A federal appeals court, in the first decision of its kind, said Thursday that companies providing malware, spyware and adware blocking services are immunized by the Communications Decency Act of 1996 from lawsuits claiming unfair business practices.

Rules May Limit Cash for Clunkers Program

NY Times — Limited resources and strict requirements could limit the reach of the federal government’s “cash for clunkers” program, scheduled to begin next month.

$32B bill for EPA clears House

Politico — The $32 billion bill, passed decisively Friday morning, includes  significant funding increases for the EPA, Department of the Interior, National Parks Service, and other federal agencies.

Obama Seeks Input on Classification of Records

Washington Post – A month ago, President Obama issued a memorandum directing national security advisers to recommend ways to improve the rules by which records are classified and later opened to the public. Starting Monday, tech-savvy citizens as well as federal officials will be able to weigh in on the complicated debate.

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Today’s Science Policy News for June, 25th 2009

A look at today’s science and health policy news:

Obama promotes climate-change bill in face of conflicting figures

LA Times — Obama has intensified his lobbying effort ahead of an expected House vote Friday on a Democratic energy proposal designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sharply by 2050. The plan is one of the president’s most ambitious legislative priorities, along with his push to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system.

Energy Bill Unfinished, but Vote Nears

NY Times — President Obama said the measure, sponsored by Representatives Henry A. Waxman of California and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, both Democrats, “will finally spark a clean energy transformation that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and confront the carbon pollution that threatens our planet.”

Energy Efficiency: Good Idea, Not Enough Believers

Greentech Media — Lawmakers and utilities have talked a lot about how much they love energy efficiency measures – technologies and programs to encourage consumers to conserve, particularly during peak hours. But deploying them has been slow-moving.

Obama: More Health Care Should Be Based on Science

CBS News — Held in the East Room of the White House and hosted by ABC, Mr. Obama used the town hall forum to defend the idea of comparative effectiveness research, a potential part of health care reform in which more support would be given for research-backed treatment. Members of the 164-person audience questioned, though, whether the government should be involved in determining what treatments are worth paying for.

State urges routine testing for HIV

Boston Globe — The new advice, issued by the state Department of Public Health,  recommends testing adolescents and adults from 13 to 64 years old in all heathcare settings, no matter what brings them to the hospital or doctor’s office. People who fall into high-risk categories should be screened annually for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Most Americans Want Health Reform but Worry About Costs, Quality

Washington Post — A majority of Americans see government action as critical to controlling runaway health-care costs, but there is broad public anxiety about the potential impact of reform legislation and conflicting views about the types of fixes being proposed on Capitol Hill, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Science journalism: Breaking the convention?

Nature — For technophiles and advocates of scientific openness, this is the way of the future. Online groups allow meeting attendees to post and discuss research as it is presented, and follow parallel sessions. They also provide an opportunity for researchers not at the meeting, as well as a far wider community, to actively participate in it.

Senate Panel Approves Spending Bill for Science Programs

Inside Higher Ed — The Senate measure approved by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies includes $5.55 billion for research, $122 million for research equipment and facilities; and $857 million for the foundation’s science education programs.

Study pans new radiation detectors

AP — The government should not buy more of the new radiation detection machines it has been developing to look for smuggled nuclear materials at ports, a report from the National Research Council says.

MD Science Center brings electric car rentals to Baltimore

Baltimore City — A fleet of electric cars buzzed their way to the Maryland Science Center this week. For now, visitors can test them out at the Science Center. “It’s what science centers do best,” MSC President Van Reiner says. “Bringing emerging technology to the public and to demonstrate it in a way that is practical. We hear so much about electric vehicles and what might be possible, but today we are putting the technology on the road and letting people see that it is a real and viable alternative to gas powered vehicles.”

The Only Public Health Plan We Need

NY Times (Opinion) — A better public plan would not be a new government-run insurer at all, but rather a government-chartered mechanism that would let employers and individuals buy health coverage from private insurers in a manner that uses the three most essential market forces — choice, competition and incentives — to reduce the price and improve care.

Government Health Plans Always Ration Care

Wall Street Journal (Opinion) — Only by expanding government control of health care can we bring down its cost. That’s the faulty premise of the various proposals for health reform now being batted around Washington. The claimed cost control depends on politically safe ideas such as preventive care or the adoption of electronic health records. And neither — even according to the Congressional Budget Office — will do much to reduce spending.

The Non-Debate Over Non-Reform

CBS News (Opinion) — As the discussion of health-care policy unfolds, what we are seeing is a non-debate over non-reform. The Democratic proposals promise to entrench the status quo, which does not fit with the principles of personal responsibility and fails to allocate resources sensibly.

Frank J. Low dies at 75; one of the fathers of of infrared astronomy

LA Times (Opinion) — One of the fathers of infrared astronomy, Low “basically unlocked problems such as how stars form, led to the first observations of light from extrasolar planets and totally revolutionized our view of the energetics and evolution of galaxies,” said Jet Propulsion Laboratory astronomer Michael Werner, project scientist on NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.

One More Threat to Clean Water

NY Times (Opinion) — A 6-to-3 decision on Monday will allow an American gold mining company to discharge 210,000 gallons a day of potentially toxic mining waste into a 23-acre lake near Juneau, Alaska. A joyous Sarah Palin, Alaska’s governor, called the ruling a “great victory” for Alaska and, astonishingly, “a green light for responsible resource development.”

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Today’s Science Policy News for June, 23rd 2009

A look at today’s science and health policy news:

Cybersecurity, info sharing: House approves 2010 funding boost

Federal Computer Week — A recently approved spending bill would provide Justice with more than $109.4 million for the Justice Information Sharing Technology fund, which is used for corporate technology investments.

Putting Teeth in Health-Care Reform

Washington Post — Oral health advocates worry that the Obama administration will overlook oral health as it pushes for sweeping healthcare reform.

Federal Saving From Lowering of Drug Prices Is Unclear

NY Times — The White House on Monday hailed what it described as a “historic agreement to lower drugs costs” for older Americans, but it was not immediately clear how much the government would reap in savings that could be used to pay for coverage of the uninsured.

Has NIH funding improved public health?

Nature News — An analysis of more than 50 years of research funding from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that it has helped to avert up to 1.35 million deaths per year from four chronic diseases: cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

Occasional Smoker, 47, Signs Tobacco Bill

NY Times — On Monday, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, a bill aimed at lowering the number of smokers who pick up the habit as teenagers.

Groups ask FCC for changes in ’special access’ fees

IT World –  group of public interest groups and regional telecom carriers has launched a new campaign to reform the fees paid to large telecom carriers for so-called special access to large-pipe connections between buildings and central switching facilities.

Modelling and simulation key to grid security, reliability and efficiency

Engineer Live — A new US report concludes that detailed simulations of how electric power is supplied and transferred around the country will bolster grid security, reliability, efficiency and resilience.

U.S. to Start Financing Efficient Car Design

NY Times — After months of uncertainty, the Energy Department is beginning to lend money from a $25 billion loan program to develop fuel-efficient cars. Ford Motor Company, Nissan Motor Company and Tesla Motors are slated to get the first round of loans.

Report Criticizes Nuclear Detectors

Washington Post — The Department of Homeland Security spent three years pushing for a costly nuclear detection system that does not work as billed, while neglecting to upgrade existing equipment that could have helped improve security, according to a new U.S. Government Accountability Office review and an interview with one of the authors.

Climate burden of refrigerants rockets

Nature News — Modern refrigerants designed to protect the ozone layer are poised to become a major contributor to global warming because of their future explosive growth in the developing world, scientists report this week.

Court Affirms Reimbursement for Special Education

NY Times — In a decision that could help disabled students obtain needed services and cost school districts millions of dollars, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that parents of special-education students may seek government reimbursement for private school tuition, even if they have never received special-education services in public school.

National parks aim to reduce emissions from both millions of visitors and their own operations

LA Times — The National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency have started the Climate Friendly Parks network program to help parks address climate change. Parks must measure their amounts of emissions, come up with plans to curb them and educate the public on what they can do to help.

House Climate Bills’s Annual Average Household Cost Is $175, CBO Says

NY Times — Comprehensive climate legislation pending in the House would cost an average of about $175 per household every year, though the price tag would be even larger for wealthier Americans while the poorest can expect to get a small dividend, according to a Congressional Budget Office study released late Friday.

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