The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. ENERGY
Declining stock market values signal a weakening market for ethanol.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Study author Dennis Avery on the economic and environmental impact of ethanol as an alternative fuel source:
“The high price of fossil fuels, environmental concerns, and geopolitical instability in some major oil-producing nations have spurred intense interest in the United States in alternative fuels, especially from renewable energy sources. … Crop-based fuel production, especially corn ethanol, has been the main focus of interest, with government subsidies and mandates stimulating demand.”
2. SCIENCE
Thousands of cancer patients and survivors visit Capitol Hill to lobby for more federal funding of anti-cancer research.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: A national survey of oncologists commissioned by General Counsel Sam Kazman found that over 60 percent believe the Food and Drug Administration is too slow in approving new drugs and therapies:
“Almost two-thirds (61%) of the cancer specialists polled believe the FDA is too slow in approving new medical drugs and devices, and almost eight out of ten (77%) responded that the FDA’s approval process has hurt their ability to treat their patients with the best possible care at least once in their medical careers.”
3. HEALTH
The World Health Organization moves forward with plans to expand the use of DDT to combat malaria.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Steven Milloy on the millions who died unnecessarily during the years that DDT use has been restricted around the world:
“Overlooked in all the hoopla over the [WHO] announcement, however, is the terrible toll in human lives (tens of millions dead — mostly pregnant women and children under the age of 5), illness (billions sickened) and poverty (more than $1 trillion dollars in lost GDP in sub-Saharan Africa alone) caused by the tragic, decades-long ban. Much of this human catastrophe was preventable, so why did it happen? Who is responsible? Should the individuals and activist groups who caused the DDT ban be held accountable in some way?”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI Open Market.
Watch the latest video episode from the Bureaucrash Activist Network: Vodcrash 4: Biotech.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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