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Friday, February 10, 2012   |  Miller-McCune Homepage

Frank Nelson

Frank Nelson has written for newspapers and magazines in England (his original home), New Zealand (his adopted home), Australia (a temporary home) and the United States (his current home). The author of two lighthearted travel books, All You Need is Luck and A Little More Luck, he is now a freelance writer based in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Leaky Homes Show Green Intentions Gone Wrong

In another kind of housing crisis, New Zealand homes built with chemical-free wood are leaky, while their owners are up a creek.

New Zealand Imports Foreign Workers: Dung Beetles

Burned by past introductions of “helpful” foreign species, New Zealand inches toward releasing the imported insects to clean up its pastures full of other introduced animals.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T Is What Work Means to Me

In the recessionary times, it rings true that the best places to work don’t always offer the biggest paychecks or the most pingpong tables.

Immigrant Flow Shifts to Smaller Cities

While big cities have been the traditional gateways for America’s waves of immigration, midsize cities are becoming the new destinations.

When the Wheels of Justice Grind Out … Coupons

Critics draw attention to massive class actions that compensate attorneys well but recompense the afflicted with little or nothing of value.

Blue Day for Bluefin

U.N. body comes down heavily against ban on fishing for iconic bluefin tuna.

Pocket Guides Aim for Better Deal for Sea Fish

Bottom-up campaigns to educate seafood lovers and sellers about what species are in trouble haven’t turned the tide yet, but there’s still hope they’ll help.

Men Lag in Caring for Themselves

A different kind of health care reform is needed in America — how men treat themselves.

Tempest in a Cement Mixer

The world of carbonate chemistry is rocking over claims that a new kind of cement can sequester carbon.

Concrete Solutions for Climate Change

New concrete manufacturing processes are not only green, they take carbon out of circulation.

Let’s Get Wind Power Off the Ground

A new crop of entrepreneurs believes that wind power can and should take to the skies — literally.

Leaving No Leaf Untracked for Food Safety

Industry responds to produce safety scares with a tracking system from farm to fork.

Program Puts Sidelined Doctors Back in the Game

As medically underserved Hispanic communities cry out for doctors, a new program puts physicians in their midst back into practice.

High Noon in Aisle 9

Labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein has been following Wal-Mart for half a decade now, and he believes changes in China, and not in the domestic landscape, may force its day of reckoning.

US Tax Havens – Partisans Seek Safe Harbor

Opponents and (the much quieter) partisans of tax havens both see their causes as ‘leveling playing fields,’ but they seem to be playing different games, one featuring U.S. taxpayers and the other international tax rates.

Paging Dr. Fido. Dr. Fido to the Recovery Room, Please

Having friendly animals comforting the afflicted seems intuitively sensible. Now researchers are confirming that with measurable results.

Still Willing To Buy Green, Or So They Say

Consumers may be reeling from one economic sucker punch after another but they still seem prepared to dig deep into wallets and purses in support of ‘green’ products.

Space May Be the Final Frontier for Some Renewables

The transformation of landscapes to accommodate ‘friendly’ energy technologies like solar and wind are not inconsequential concerns, says a former Interior official.

Green Planting: Eco-Friendly Burials Catching On

The numbers are still small and even proponents admit to a whiff of fad, but backers of green burials see their way of death as the wave of the future.

When Fire Strikes, Americans Grab the Family Album

Turns out we may not be the nation of hedonistic, greed-fueled Gordon Gekkos now being blamed, at least in part, for the collapse of the housing market, the dot.com crash and various other boom-and-bust bubbles.

The Cleanest Power Plant Is the One Not Built

University centers harness brainpower and technology to stop wasting energy — conserve, baby, conserve!

Dog Bites Man: Was It Pedigree or Poverty?

Dog bite is a rare mishap for most people but your chances of being bitten start to go up if you live in a lower income neighborhood and own a pedigree pooch. If you also happen to be a boy under age 10 and it’s the middle of summer … watch out!

Even With Climate Change, Nuclear a Hard Sell

As political debate heats up about a potentially greater role for nuclear energy in a world struggling to abate global warming, British researchers have been looking at what influences public opinion on this issue.

Changing Lanes

A study of peak-hour traffic along the thousand-plus miles of high-occupancy vehicle routes in California shows that carpooling may not be the best solution for solving the state’s — not to mention the nation’s — traffic congestion problem.

Nuclear’s On the Road Again, But It’s Uphill

Climate change and fossil-fuel costs have re-energized the flickering nuclear movement in the United States, but many proponents are the fairest-weather of friends.

Small Wind, Big Business

The 2007 Farm Bill suggests tax credits as one way to offset the cost — as great as the environmental benefits — of small wind projects.

Going With the Wind

The United States remains on the low end of countries using energy powered by wind. Experts point to tax credits as a factor in efforts to establish wind as an energy source.


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from the source

Gender Wage Gap Skewed By Survey Flaws

The wage gap between the sexes in America has been closing much faster than anyone realized, but that’s tempered by learning it’s been much wider than measurements had shown.

‘Orcas as Slaves’ Argument Sinks

An effort to identify five performing orcas as slaves failed in part, argues one scholar, because there’s no legal precedent establishing them as persons.

The Perceived Delicacy of the Female Conductor

New research finds listeners judge symphonic music differently when they’re told the conductor is a woman.

House Puts Transportation in Partisan Crossfire

Transportation used to be one of the few guaranteed areas of agreement when ideology trumped pragmatism in D.C. But that’s no longer the case.

Pressure to Conform Can Inspire Creativity

New research suggests less-creative people do more innovative thinking when they are told individualism is the norm, and instructed to conform.

Better Super Bowl Makes for Better Ads

A lot of people say they watch the Super Bowl mostly for the ads. But it turns out a good game surrounding those ads makes them seem better.

Overseas Troops Finally Get Fair Shot at Voting

After decades of obstacles hindering the voting process, new laws will allow overseas and military voters to submit their votes in time for the 2012 election.

Neglected Tropical Diseases Neglected No More?

World health leaders announce coordinated push to eradicate or control neglected tropical diseases.

Children’s Books Increasingly Ignore Natural World

A survey of award-winning children’s picture books from 1938 to 2008 suggests our increasing estrangement from the natural environment.

Traffic Solution: Make Drivers Less Lonely

Rather than moaning about too many cars on the road, the Ridesharing Institute says the real key to battling traffic congestion and pollution is filling empty passenger seats.