pootimes

Yemen could become first nation to run out of water

Imagine if the first country to run out of water was a developed/Western nation.  Take, for instance, Australia.  I bet so much more attention would be raised to the issue.  Unfortunately for Yemen, they lack the whiteness to really make people take notice ):

Number of Doctors Was Overstated, Study Finds

I hope I don’t end up specializing.  The implications of a reduced medical professional workforce is huge.

I saw the most infuriating advertisement while at the gym yesterday.  It was produced by Californians for Population Stabilization.

1. “Immigrants produce four times more carbon emissions in the US than in their home countries.”
   The US has one of the highest carbon emissions per capita.  It’s not that immigrants come to the US and decide to emit more carbon; it’s that the American way of life encourages increased wastefulness. (Union of Concerned Scientists)
2. “Immigration will drive a population increase equal to the American West in just 30 years.”
   Let’s ask the Natives how they feel.

Baaaah.

Should Parents of Overweight Kids Lose Custody?

It’s a complex question that needs to take socioeconomics into account.  But protective services do remove children from households wherein undernourishment occurs.  Overnutrition is just the opposite end of the malnutrition curve.  Its unprecedented sure, but so is this epidemic.

It also is important to avoid using BMI measurements as the holy grail.  Each child needs to be evaluated independently and on a variety of physical, emotional, and mental capacities.

Study: Alcohol Abstainers at Higher Risk of Depression

Not only is this hilarious, the article is written ridiculously.

Panel: Stimulus Created Or Saved 30,000 Private Jobs

Less interested in the jobs aspect, more interested in this:

In the short term, the most significant thing about the job numbers may be that they exist at all. The government has never before attempted to track the effects, in real time, of a huge government program. The data released by the independent Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board allow taxpayers to see not just where their money is going, but what the government is getting in return and how many people are on the job.

Wooo… trying to evaluate programs.  Welcome to planning 101.

Soda Tax Could Shake Up Industry

I’m sure the law would be more nuanced than a blanket “soda” tax, but I do hope it is a tax gradient that is dependent upon the amount of sugar in a beverage.  It would be a pity for energy drinks, enhanced waters, and the like to be excluded from such a law because they lack some carbonation.  I’m in support.  But then again.  I may be in more support of a high fructose corn syrup law than a sugar one.  I should research this more.

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

These ads in support of high fructose corn syrup are a bit ridiculous: #1 and #2

The New Republic: Winning With The Student Aid Act

Wow, we may actually get somewhere?  Hah.  I’m going to hope though for my sister.