US Politics Mega-thread - Page 7963

The air Americans breathe has been getting cleaner for decades.

But air pollution is still killing thousands in the U.S. every year, even at the levels allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a study out Wednesday.

"We are now providing bullet-proof evidence that we are breathing harmful air," says Francesca Dominici, a professor of biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who led the study. "Our air is contaminated."

Dominici and her colleagues set out to do the most comprehensive study to date assessing the toll that air pollution takes on American lives.

The researchers used data from federal air monitoring stations as well as satellites to compile a detailed picture of air pollution down to individual zip codes. They then analyzed the impact of very low levels of air pollution on mortality, using data from 60 million Medicare patients every year for 12 years.

About 12,000 lives could be saved each year, their analysis concludes, by cutting the level of fine particulate matter nationwide by just 1 microgram per cubic meter of air below current standards.

"It's very strong, compelling evidence that currently, the safety standards are not safe enough," Dominici says.

Fine particulate matter — basically, tiny particles of dust and soot — appears to be especially dangerous for African-Americans, men and poor people, the researchers found.

Compared to the general population, African-Americans are about three times as likely to die from exposure to it, the researchers found.

The study did not examine why that would be the case, but Dominici has some theories.

"People of color tend to be sicker and more affected [by] disease," she says, pointing out that they also tend to live in places with more pollution and have less access to health care.

Taken together, she says, the results indicate that more should be done to push air pollution levels as low as possible. "I think it is the responsibility of the government to make sure that our air is clean," she says.

The EPA did not respond to NPR's request for comment.

Scott Segal, a Washington lawyer who works for the energy industry and has advised the Trump administration, argues the study is flawed. And he says that cutting air pollution even further would come with big costs.

"When we have very expensive environmental rules, they in and of themselves can adversely affect public health" by increasing the cost of medical care, suppressing economic growth, and siphoning off resources from more serious health threats, Segal says.

But Jeffrey Drazen, editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, defended the research in an editorial accompanying the study.

"What these data are telling us is that even with our current standards, if we cleaned up the air more, we could save lives," Drazen says. "Anything that we did that pushed things in the opposite direction — that gave us dirtier air — not only would be unpleasant, it's going to kill a lot of people."

And Drazen says the Trump administration's policies would make the air dirtier. He cited the administration's efforts to cut the EPA, increase the use of coal, relax air pollution standards and withdraw from the fight against global warming.

"If you look at what's happening in the Trump administration, the general direction is not to clean up the air," Drazen says. "So this is a warning that if we don't clean up the air, the people who are going to bear that burden are the poor and the disadvantaged, more than the rich and well-off."

Republican efforts to craft a new health care bill just hit another roadblock: An avalanche of public polling data dropped Wednesday, showing support for the legislation is under 20 percent.

That’s bad enough, but it’s not just the topline numbers that are near rock-bottom. Few voters think the bill will make the health care system or their own care better. And many of the policy changes in the various versions of GOP health legislation — like decreasing federal funding for Medicaid — are profoundly unpopular.

The dreadful round of polling represents more than just another obstacle for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who’s attempting to cobble together a bill that will capture enough votes to pass. The polling data has become a talking point among senators in both parties who are either opposed to the measure — or wary of passing a law with such little public support.

Separate surveys from NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist, USA Today/Suffolk University and Quinnipiac University — all released on Wednesday — show fewer than one-in-five voters back the GOP push to repeal and replace Obamacare. They were all conducted prior to McConnell’s decision to pull the bill on Tuesday — but it’s a jaw-dropping lack of support for major legislation that, earlier this week, the GOP-controlled Congress seemed poised to send to President Donald Trump’s desk before the Fourth of July.

Even in the rosiest scenario in a spate of public polls — this week’s POLITICO/Morning Consult survey — support for the bill is only at 35 percent, and opposition exceeds it by a significant margin.

In the NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll, only 18 percent of registered voters approve of the health care plan Senate Republicans have proposed, far fewer than the 57 percent who disapprove.

There is room for the bill’s support to grow, but the poll underscores the failure of Trump and congressional Republicans to sell the effort to their own base thus far. While 24 percent of voters overall say they haven’t heard enough about it to have an opinion, a whopping 39 percent of Republicans haven’t heard enough about it — well more than the 13 percent of Democrats and 17 percent of independents who say the same.

Only 20 percent of voters overall approve of the way congressional Republicans are handling health care, and Republicans are mostly split: 42 percent approve, versus 36 percent who disapprove.

The Quinnipiac University poll is nearly identical to Marist’s survey: 16 percent of registered voters approve of the Republican health care plan to replace Obamacare, and 58 percent disapprove. The numbers among Republicans are similar, too: 37 percent approve, 23 percent disapprove and 40 percent are undecided. By comparison, only 11 percent of Democrats and 26 percent of independents didn’t express an opinion about the GOP health bill.

Opposition to the bill is stout. Nearly half of all voters, 48 percent, say they strongly disapprove of the measure; only 6 percent strongly approve of it.

That means selling the bill won’t be easy. Far more voters, 41 percent, say their health insurance costs would go up if the bill is passed and enacted than the one-in-10 who say their costs would decrease. Only 16 percent of GOP voters think their health care will get cheaper under the bill.

And the Quinnipiac poll shows large majorities disapprove of decreasing federal funding for Medicaid (71 percent) and cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood (61 percent), two of the most pressing concerns among the more moderate GOP senators who have expressed reservations about the Senate bill.

The most striking headline comes from the USA Today/Suffolk University poll: Only 12 percent of Americans back the Senate bill, compared to 45 percent who oppose it and 40 percent who didn’t have an opinion.

There’s little public confidence in Trump or congressional Republicans on the issue, however, which threatens any effort to build support among the undecided. Forty-three percent of Americans, the poll shows, trust congressional Democrats most to protect them and their families' interest in the health care debate. Only 19 percent trust Trump most, and 10 percent trust congressional Republicans.

It’s not just the public, media polls that could push Republicans away from uniting around a bill. The American Medical Association, which opposes the measure, this week released surveys conducted in a number of states that are home to fence-sitting senators — Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio and West Virginia — that showed little support for the bill and its provisions.

On June 29 2017 06:28 Plansix wrote:

That seems like a problem that won’t go away on its own. It also seems like one that won’t be dealt with until Trump completely fucks something up. Until then, congress is just going to putter around the issue. I'm dreading hurricane season.

On June 29 2017 03:33 Falling wrote:

Well, I'm perfectly happy to say they are wrong I don't believe perception is reality, and I believe people should seek to use truth to correct their very often false perceptions. Unless they directly immigrated from Palestine and experienced oppression first hand, I don't see any reason to feel threatened by a flag that is vaguely similar to another country half a world away.

On June 29 2017 02:42 Danglars wrote:


This is kind of my point. It shouldn't matter if some pro-Palestinian demonstrators in a LGBT march take a flag with a normal symbol of Jewish identity to be an inadvertent Zionist message; it isn't the case and the solution should be patient education, not cowardice. I think more liberality would go a long way here.

On June 29 2017 08:35 Buckyman wrote:
Re: Fine particulate matter
The EPA standards are already below the lowest reasonable level; naturally occurring particles exceed the standards. The standards are so low that soot emissions from candles on a birthday cake render the entire room 'unsafe'.

Meanwhile, a recent, very high powered California study found fine particulate matter to have no effect whatsoever on mortality.

On June 29 2017 08:35 Buckyman wrote:
Re: Fine particulate matter
The EPA standards are already below the lowest reasonable level; naturally occurring particles exceed the standards. The standards are so low that soot emissions from candles on a birthday cake render the entire room 'unsafe'.

Meanwhile, a recent, very high powered California study found fine particulate matter to have no effect whatsoever on mortality.

On June 29 2017 08:47 WolfintheSheep wrote:

No effect on acute death. That seems like an overly narrow superlative for a subject that is concerned with constant exposure degrading overall health.

President Trump's support among independent voters has eroded since he took office. Though he still clings to a loyal base of supporters, his overall disapproval among Americans has reached record highs, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.

Just 37 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing just over five months into his tenure, while 51 percent disapprove. Forty percent of those polled strongly disapprove of Trump's performance, twice the 20 percent who strongly approved.

The most pronounced swing seen in the poll was among independents. Over the past four months, their approval of the president has dissipated. In February, 40 percent of independents said they approved of the job Trump was doing, with 51 percent disapproving. Four months later in June, just 31 percent say they approve of the president with 59 percent of independents disapproving — a 17-point net-negative drop.

Despite almost full employment nationwide, independents are particularly dissatisfied with Trump on the economy. That's likely driving much of their overall disapproval. Just 31 percent of independents say they have confidence in Trump's ability to improve the U.S. economy, while 49 percent doubt he can do so. Just three months ago, 44 percent thought Trump could turn around the economy, while 38 percent didn't — a whiplash-worthy 24-point swing.

Lee Miringoff, the director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, said the scope of the shift over the past few months among independents should cause "alarm bells to go off" at the White House.

"Independents were certainly willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt when he entered office," Miringoff said, "but on issues like the direction of the country and the economy, they've really soured on him. It's hard for someone like him to make a second impression. Independents have come to the conclusion that what you see is what you get."

The good news for Trump is that his base hasn't abandoned him even as he has faced mounting investigations. Eighty percent of Republicans still approve of the job he is doing, including 91 percent who identify as strong Republicans. Trump has an 89 percent approval rating among those who voted for him last November. He has a 65 percent approval rating among white evangelical Christians, though almost a quarter disapprove of the job he is doing.

Still, there are some warning signs for the president among some of his key demographic groups. Only 52 percent of white, non-college-educated Americans approve of the job he's doing, though just 37 percent disapprove. And that is higher than most other subgroups. More worrisome for the president, among older Americans, 60 and older, he's underwater — 47 percent disapprove, while 43 percent approve.

Overall, Americans' outlook under Trump is dismal. Almost double say the country is on the wrong track as those who think it's on the right track, 61 percent to 31 percent, a gap that has nearly doubled since February.

More people say they feel worse off — 40 percent — since Trump took office, than better off — 34 percent. There is a deep partisan divide on that question, of course — 73 percent of Republicans say they're better off, while 67 percent of Democrats say the opposite. Among independents, far more — 44 percent — say they're worse off, compared with just 27 percent who say they're better off.

Americans also think Trump has hurt the country on the global stage. Fifty-eight percent say the president has weakened the United States' position abroad, while 34 percent say he has strengthened it.

In addition, by a 24-point margin, Americans believe former President Barack Obama was, by far, a more effective leader in comparison to Trump, 58 percent to 34 percent. Among independents, there is an even more pronounced 36-point difference, 65 percent to 29 percent.

A narrow plurality do think Trump is keeping his campaign promises (48 percent who do and 45 percent who don't), but most people disagree with some of the president's recent decisions. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed said they opposed Trump pulling out of the Paris climate accord earlier this month, while just 30 percent supported it.

Just over half of Americans also think the Supreme Court should rule against Trump's travel ban, which would curtail the entry of people from six Muslim-majority countries, while 43 percent say the high court should rule in the president's favor and allow him to proceed with one of his key campaign promises. A slim majority of independents (52 percent) also think the court should strike down the ban.

There is a cloud of suspicion that hangs over the president as well, with mounting questions about his business ties that are only compounded by his continued refusal to release his tax returns. More than 6 in 10 Americans say they believe Trump has either done something illegal (33 percent) or unethical but not illegal (28 percent). Just 31 percent say they believe he has done nothing wrong.

One place where Trump is losing GOP support is over his Twitter habit. Sixty-nine percent of Americans say Trump's use of Twitter is "reckless and distracting," while only 21 percent say it's "effective and informative." Even among Republicans, only a narrow plurality (43 percent) say the president's use of Twitter is positive, while 42 percent agree it's reckless and distracting.

And while Americans have a sour view of Trump, their opinion of Congress — both Democrats and Republicans — is no better. Congressional Republicans have a 33-point net-negative approval rating (28 percent to 61 percent) while congressional Democrats are not much better with a 27-point net-negative approval (30 percent to 57 percent).

On June 29 2017 08:34 Nebuchad wrote:


Not sure why we keep ignoring that there were jews among the people who asked them to leave in the first place. One of them is on a rampage on twitter attacking everyone who thinks that was antisemitic for the last two days. I might be wrong cause you know, I was not there and I have no connexion to the issue, but I'm going to take the word of the jews that asked them to leave that they were spreading a zionist message over the vague notions put forward by Nyxisto and Falling that there is a lot of antisemitism out there and snowflakes can't handle nuance. I certainly understand why that won't be your approach of course.

I’m proud to have such a large gathering of tribal leaders here at the White House. I look forward to more government-to-government consultations with tribal leaders about the issues important to Indian Country. We love Indian Country, right?

Many of your lands have rich, natural resources that stand to benefit your people immensely. These untapped resources of wealth can help you build new schools, fix roads, improve your communities, and create jobs -- jobs like you’ve never seen before. All you want is the freedom to use them, and that’s been the problem. It’s been very difficult, hasn’t it? It will be a lot easier now under the Trump administration.

For too long the federal government has put up restrictions and regulations that put this energy wealth out of reach. It’s just totally out of reach. It’s been really restricted, the development itself has been restricted, and vast amounts of deposits of coal and other resources have, in a way, been taken out of your hands. And we’re going to have that changed. We’re going to put it back in your hands.

These infringements on tribal sovereignty are deeply unfair to Native Americans and Native American communities who are being denied access to the energy and wealth that they have on their own lands. Many of our states have also been denied access to the abundant energy resources on their lands that could bring greater wealth to the people and benefit to our whole nation. We’re becoming more and more energy dominant. I don’t want to be energy free, we want to be energy dominant in terms of the world.

From my first day in office, we’ve taken swift action to lift the crushing restrictions on American energy. Scott Pruitt has done an amazing job, an incredible job, in a very short period of time, and most people love him. There are a couple that don’t but that’s okay, right? (Laughter.) We’re also putting our people back to work by doing this.