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March 11th, 2013
An article in The Atlantic on Friday discussed the importance of bicycle helmets. It also discussed recent research around the effectiveness of helmet laws, and different ideas that people have around mandatory helmet use based on that research. That makes me think about research around guns. Say what? Let me explain. Read More
February 12th, 2013
Every one of us can think of a recent time when science has been misrepresented by a politician, company spokesperson, or self-appointed expert. The issues are many. Vaccine safety. Global warming. Guns. Fracking. You might begin to think that in America, facts have always been subservient to hype.
But that simply isn’t the case. As we’ve done research to support the new Center for Science and Democracy at UCS, I’ve been surprised at how closely science and American democracy were intertwined from the very beginning of our great republic. From the very beginning, scientific values have been American values. Read More
February 6th, 2013
Nearly two years after receiving a science-based proposal from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to protect workers from exposure to toxic crystalline silica dust, the White House Office of Management and Budget refuses to allow the agency to even seek feedback on its proposal. Public health advocates have put together a petition on the White House website urging the White House to act. The petition is worthy of your signature. Read More
January 22nd, 2013
There was a lot for me to like in President Obama’s second inaugural address yesterday. Many are focusing on the policy signals he sent, most notably related to climate change and renewable energy. The phrase that most piqued my interest, however, related to the truths articulated in the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence. Read More
January 15th, 2013
Since I last wrote about the need to end federal restrictions on gun violence research, the chorus calling for such a move has become larger and significantly louder. Read More
January 11th, 2013
The drug company Merck is suspending sales of its cholesterol drug Tredaptive and asking doctors not to prescribe it due to the drug’s ineffectiveness and some non-fatal side effects. What’s most interesting here to me is that U.S. consumers have nothing to fear: the drug was available in the European Union, but not here. FDA scientists rejected it in 2008. Read More
January 8th, 2013
Slate.com is using crowdsourcing to tally the deaths from gun violence since the December 14 Newtown shooting. It’s an interesting approach, and makes clear that people are hungry for data about this issue. To reduce gun violence in the United States, we need good scientific research that points us in the right direction. But as I outlined today in an opinion piece on CNN.com, Congress continues to work to prevent government research related to firearms. Read More
December 14th, 2012
The Environmental Protection Agency will revise the air pollution standard for particulate matter today to be in line with the best available science, reports the Washington Post. Particulate matter is the primary component of soot. It is encouraging to see the agency following the Clean Air Act, especially in the face of strong industry pressure to ignore science again. Read More
December 7th, 2012
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Obama administration’s decision to prevent the FDA from using the best available science in evaluating the emergency contraception drug Plan B. It was a setback in the Obama administration’s pledge to restore science to its rightful place and listen to scientists “even when it is inconvenient–especially when it is inconvenient.” In the interim, evidence has been mounting that the administration’s decision has placed unnecessary barriers to access to Plan B. It’s time for the administration to allow the FDA to revisit the decision. Read More
November 29th, 2012
NASA revealed new evidence that significant deposits of water ice can be found on Mercury’s poles in three papers published today in Science Express. In a press conference this afternoon, participating scientists said the ice in some parts could be as thick as twenty meters in places that are thermally stable. Read More
© 2013
