"Over-Reaching California EPA Regulators Promoted A False Breast Cancer Link," by Geoffrey Kabat. In 2005 the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA) issued a voluminous report on the health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) which attracted attention for its rash claim that ETS was associated with increased risk of breast cancer. Thirteen years earlier the US EPA had published a report showing a weak link between ETS and developing lung cancer. But, of … [Read more...]
Study on Smog and Birth Weight
February 13, 2013
"New Study Finds a Link between Smog and Birth Weight — Maybe," by American Council on Science and Health. A new international study is suggesting that pregnant women exposed to smog have a greater risk of having a baby with low birth weight. Researchers led jointly by Tracey J. Woodruff, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive sciences at University of California San Francisco and Jennifer Parker, of the National Center for Health Statistics at the US Centers for Disease … [Read more...]
Air Quality Researcher Targeted for “Politically Incorrect” Findings
January 4, 2013
"Epidemiologist Blows Whistle, UCLA Responds by Firing Him," by American Council on Science and Health. ACSH trustee Dr. James Enstrom is getting some support in his legal battle against the University of California at Los Angeles, which last year fired the epidemiologist from his post at the UCLA School of Public Health, a position he had held since 1976. Enstrom and many others contend UCLA’s actions seem clearly related to his “politically incorrect” research on fine-particulate air … [Read more...]
More Perspective on Autism Junk Science
November 27, 2012
"Autism and Junk Science," by American Council on Science and Health. As many as one in 88 children — and one in 54 boys — have a form of autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A new study attempts to pin the rise in autism to exposure to air pollution during pregnancy — but it’s a statistically invalid junk study, ACSH experts say. The researchers, led by Dr. Heather Volk of the University of Southern California, looked at the records of 279 children with autism and 245 … [Read more...]
Autism and Air Pollution
November 27, 2012
"5 Caveats About The Autism And Air Pollution Study," by Emily Willingham. Did you read about it? Air pollution levels within a certain range during a woman’s pregnancy and her baby’s early months are linked to an increased risk for autism! The news stories covering this latest “X linked to Autism study” often include commentary only from the report’s lead author, Heather Volk, Ph.D., M.P.H., at the University of Southern California, but no outside comment or critique on the findings. One … [Read more...]
Statistics, Regulation, and EPA
October 1, 2012
"Does Moneyball work for the EPA?: New EPA Particulant Regs Puffery?" by C. Johnson Back in 2003, Michael Lewis wrote “Money Ball,” a book about how an Oakland, CA baseball team under head coach Billy Beane used player statistics to hire team members that gave them the greatest chance of a championship season at the lowest cost. So by 2009 it was pretty clear what was coming when President Obama’s chief regulator, Cass Sunstein, began talking about how federal regulators should act less than … [Read more...]
EPA and Clean Air Cases
August 30, 2012
"Obama’s EPA before the bar: People Two, EPA Zero," By Sterling Burnett The EPA continues its terrible record in the federal courts this year. On March 27, I noted a series of setbacks that the EPA suffered in the courts — instances where EPA zealotry led to insupportable overreach on the agency’s part. For the EPA the hits keep on coming. In August alone two more appeals courts have ruled against the EPA. On August 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected the EPA’s … [Read more...]
Asthma, Air Quality, and Environmental Activism
August 30, 2012
"Green Games with Asthma Distract from Real Solutions," by Todd Myers The Seattle Times recently ran an excellent piece on an effort to prevent asthma in children and reduce attacks for those already living with asthma. The article, "Program uses home visits to help asthmatic kids breathe easier," highlights efforts to reduce the incidence of asthma among children by reducing the risk factors in homes. The article tells the story of one boy whose symptoms have disappeared... Read the full … [Read more...]
