News Analysis: The Internet Gets Physical

Steve Benen observes a curious exchange at the Senate Finance Committee: “Are you aware that if you take out gun accidents and auto accidents, that the United States actually is better than those other countries?” Ensign said. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) had been citing the health care systems of France, Germany, Japan and Canada as more effective, but with lower costs. Conrad responded that one can bend statistics in all sorts of ways.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is primarily about the provision of health insurance to people, but it does include a number of important provisions in the lifestyle, wellness, and prevention space that offers the most cost-effective route to improved health.

I’m not really sure how this came up, but it seems that earlier today Max Baucus (D-MT) said that undocumented immigrants are out of luck in terms of health care:

By Kate Sheppard Among the many positive outcomes of carbon-reduction policy often ignored when looking at the costs are the health benefits. In fact, health savings due to improvements in air quality alone would outweigh the potential costs of cutting carbon, as one study earlier this year found.

A bicycle commuter in Copenhagen, Denmark (cc photo by DavidDennisPhotos)

Energy conservation is our best strategy for pre-adapting to an inevitably energy-constrained future. And it may be our only significant option for averting economic, social, and environmental ruin.

Dora L. Costa, Matthew E. Kahn, 19 May 2010How should households be encouraged to reduce electricity consumption? This column presents evidence from the US of a randomised “nudging” strategy – providing energy saving tips as well as information on electricity usage relative to neighbours. It finds that while energy conservation nudges work with liberals, they backfire with conservatives. Certain pockets of Republican registered voters actually increased their electricity consumption in reaction to the nudge.