The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion continues to dominate the headlines:
Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana declared a state of emergency Thursday afternoon, saying that the vast oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico “threatens the state’s natural resources.” Federal officials were concerned that the slick could reach the .Read more...
USA Today has an article on Oprah Winfrey’s new public service campaign:
Today is Oprah’s national “No-Phone Zone Day,” a grassroots campaign that is asking all Americans to be kind and save lives by not using their cell phones — texting or dialing by hand — while driving. She .Read more...
The Winnepeg Free Press reported on initial findings from the International Luge Federation (FIL) investigation of the tragic luge accident during the Vancouver Olympics.
The report said Kumaritashvili exited the 15th curve in the 16-turn course too late, causing him to take a less-than-favourable line into the final curve. .Read more...
The Hubble telescope, launched in 1990, is in the news again with a new film and the prospect of being moth-balled by NASA.
The New York Times reviewed the new IMAX film about the Hubble telescope:
“Hubble 3D,” a 40-minute film about the Hubble repair, directed by Toni Myers and .Read more...
A new book by a Peter Hessler looks at the state of roads and driving in China.
From Publishers Weekly:
In an epic road trip following the Great Wall across northern China, he surveys dilapidated frontier outposts from the imperial past while barely surviving the advent of the nation’s uniquely .Read more...
The headline in USA Today reads, “Traffic deaths down, but not low enough.” But what else can be done?
The approach is called Toward Zero Deaths, based on a philosophy that even one road death is morally and ethically unacceptable. The goal: to alter behaviors that cause fatalities, such .Read more...
The group Next Generation Healthcare created this attractive graphic illustrating World Health Organization statistics on road traffic accidents by region.
According to Jodie Humphries at NGH:
The WHO global status report on road safety makes for shocking reading. Over 3000 people die on the world’s roads every day. Tens of .Read more...
Deborah Blum’s newest book chronicles the history of forensic medicine and two of the early pioneers. The New York Times book review weighs in:
“The Poisoner’s Handbook” is structured like a collection of linked short stories. Each chapter centers on a mysterious death by poison that Norris and Gettler .Read more...
Law enforcement in New York have added to their arsenal in the battle against distracted driving with a new, barely marked, Ghost Car.
Michael Wilson of the New York Times writes:
The car, a 2009 Crown Victoria, joined the fleet two months ago. It is not an unmarked police car, but .Read more...
Hat tip: Tom Vanderbilt, How We Drive
