by Jasper Scherer | Mar 17, 2016 | Topics
WASHINGTON – The failure of a 2008 program called Google Flu Trends was an early lesson in the limitations of big data in health and life sciences research: the ability of computers to analyze huge sets of information is limited by how researchers use it. The Google...
by Jasper Scherer | Mar 14, 2016 | Campaign 2016, Energy, Environment
Clinton’s positions on the environment have shifted amid pressure from Sanders and primary voters. (Photo credit: Natalie Escobar) During the Democratic presidential debate in Flint, Michigan, a student in the crowd asked candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie...
by Jasper Scherer | Mar 9, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON – A flood of new environmental regulations imposed by the Obama administration has jeopardized cooperation between states and the Environmental Protection Agency, Senate Republicans said Monday. The EPA doesn’t consult with states at the beginning stages of...
by Jasper Scherer | Mar 8, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON– The Forest Service is spending too much on managing and fighting wildfires – more than half its annual budget — and not enough on preventing the fires, members of both parties on the Senate Energy Committee said Tuesday. The Forest Service...
by Jasper Scherer | Mar 7, 2016 | Energy, Environment
Construction of new nuclear reactors came to a halt for years amid questions about cost and safety. (Source: Energy Information Administration) WASHINGTON – Thirty-seven years after a partial nuclear meltdown at the Three Mile Island power plant stunted the growth of...
by Jasper Scherer | Mar 2, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON – Regulations to restrict oil and gas drilling leases on federal land will lead to energy production shortfalls and lost federal revenue, House Republicans said Wednesday. But Democrats pushed back, saying current regulations do not go far enough in...
by Jasper Scherer | Mar 1, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON–House Republicans criticized the Department of Energy’s funding of clean energy research in its 2017 budget proposal, calling instead for more investment in coal, natural gas and nuclear energy. The Energy Department’s overall request for $32.5...
by Jasper Scherer | Feb 23, 2016 | Environment, Politics
WASHINGTON — Oil-producing Gulf Coast states would lose hundreds of millions of dollars if Congress approves the Interior Department’s budget request, which proposes a repeal of offshore oil and gas revenue-sharing allotted to four states —...
by Jasper Scherer | Feb 22, 2016 | Environment
WASHINGTON — Reducing carbon emissions to maintain a global temperature rise of less than two degrees will require greater reliance on nuclear energy, but the cost of nuclear power his risen while alternatives have become cheaper, making it an unlikely solution,...
by Jasper Scherer | Feb 17, 2016 | Politics
WASHINGTON — The media should stop reporting on young blacks and Latinos who are victims of police brutality or discrimination as if they are criminals, media researchers and civil rights advocates said Wednesday. “This matters because it’s not...
by Jasper Scherer | Feb 11, 2016 | Health & Science, Politics
WASHINGTON – Vice President Joe Biden is using his final 11 months in office to lay the groundwork for his next big ambition — to double the pace of cancer research. The White House recently established a task force with Biden to lead the effort, and President...
by Jasper Scherer | Feb 10, 2016 | Politics
WASHINGTON — In an effort to deter the Obama administration from imposing a slew of last-minute “midnight regulations,” House Republicans decried the lack of transparency and accountability in federal agencies at a hearing on Wednesday. The Science, Space and...
