CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. ENVIRONMENT
A House committee investigates whether global warming is threatening polar bears.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Steve Milloy on the current state of polar bear populations:
“There are no data indicating a downward trend in U.S. or global polar bear populations – that’s according to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s own fact sheet for the proposal [to list the polar bear as threatened]. There apparently are some reports of lower-weight polar bears and reduced cub survival in certain areas, but there are no firm explanations for these reports and their significance is unknown.”
2. ECONOMICS
The U.S. Census Bureau releases new statistics on poverty rates in America.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on the definition of “poverty” in America:
“…most people classified as poor by the federal government are actually not poor at all. Most people below the federal poverty line have a living standard that is higher than most Europeans, and higher than what Americans enjoyed in past generations. For example, 97 percent of ‘poor’ households have a color TV. Many of them own their own home, and those that do typically have a ‘three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.’”
3. HEALTH
The Food and Drug Administration’s clean bill of health for cloned meat proves controversial.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Food Safety Policy Gregory Conko on the opponents of farm cloning:
“Since Dolly the sheep became the first successfully cloned animal in 1996, thousands of other healthy sheep, cattle and pigs have been born, but critics still claim the process will create monstrous new hybrids. The scary predictions of anti-technology activists have been shown to be nothing more than science fiction.”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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