In The News

Why Africa Must Make Health Spending a Priority

Helen Nyambura-Mwaura April 4, 2008
Health analysts agree that hiring of African nurses and doctors by hospitals in developing nations is a problem that invites the risk of new diseases emerging and spreading quickly around the globe. The 10 countries with the highest tuberculosis and HIV rates are in Africa. Health care workers are in short supply around the globe, but shortages are particularly acute in the poorest countries....

The Fungus That Conquered Europe

John Reader March 27, 2008
Globalization delivers both problems and solutions, and parallels can be found in the Great Potato Famine of 1845-46 and the current subprime mortgage crisis. The fungus, after originating in Mexico and spreading throughout the US, attacked Europe’s potato fields in the mid-1840s and led to widespread famine. The crisis prompted Britain to dismantle bureaucratic and protectionist Corn Laws that...

Shade Crusade: Why City Trees Are Good Medicine

Sandra Hines March 24, 2008
The largest cities in the US have lost more than 25 percent of their tree canopies since 1972. Even as concern about climate change mounts and consumers pursue products that are environmentally friendly, cities remove trees of all sizes, including ones that are more than 100 years old, for new construction and easy maintenance. Reducing storm run-off, removing pollutants from the air and...

Let’s Try a Dose. We’re Bound to Feel Better

Jacob S. Hacker March 23, 2008
Republicans have criticized Democratic health-care reform plans that rely on greater government involvement, arguing government will only increase costs and diminish the quality of care. Yet, Yale political science Professor Jacob Hacker suggests that the US government has a role in health care – ensuring care for the elderly. He cites how Medicare’s increases in expenditure rates compare...

The World's Rubbish Dump: A Garbage Tip That Stretches From Hawaii to Japan

Kathy Marks March 18, 2008
Humans discard massive quantities of plastic each day, and much ends up in the oceans. The non-biodegradable plastics remain intact, even after 50 years, and contribute to the ”Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” hundreds of miles of plastic floating in the Pacific. The fouled water, containing 100 million tons of debris, kills wildlife that ingests the plastic and destroys once-pristine beaches. The...

Dutch Incident Underscores Holes in EU Organics Legislation

Nils Klawitter March 17, 2008
Growing organic food is a booming industry in wealthy nations that care about every aspect of health. Pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals have been linked to health problems, but also give produce a more aesthetic appearance and longer shelf life. So some companies find it easy to slap an organic label on any produce – grown with pesticide or not. Growing organic crops requires tolerance...

Running for Cover

February 28, 2008
In a relatively rare instance of policy – rather than personal – disagreement, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hold differing views on how to make sure Americans have health insurance. While Clinton proposes an individual mandate, Obama contends that making health care affordable is the only way to achieve true universal coverage. Individual mandates have run into trouble, in legislation in...