Relatively little is known about perfluorinated acids where they are coming from, how they travel, how they get in the human body, or their long-term health effects. "We don't have the data to do more at this point than than to worry," said Dr. Gina Solomon, a physician with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
An apt summary of the default NRDC position on chemicals, in the New York Times, April 15, 2003, in an article with a title that could run in every issue: "EPA Orders Companies to Examine Effects of Chemicals"

We're fond of the year-old New York Sun newspaper and are no fans of intrusive regulations, but when the Sun chose to chronicle how New Yorkers are coping with Mayor Bloomberg's ban on smoking in bars, it was a reminder how little perspective people have on relative risks.

The front cover of a recent Time magazine announces a big story on women and heart disease inside. What are the main causes? How does the risk compare to that from other diseases facing women, such as breast cancer? What can be done to prevent heart disease?

New York City had a freak snowstorm on April 7, and as a result of an equally freak accident, Dr. Robert C. Atkins slipped on the sidewalk outside his office, fell, and hit his head. One week later, Dr. Atkins, trained as a cardiologist, world-renowned author of a diet named for him, died from injuries suffered in that fall.

It's that time of year again, time, not coincidentally, for spring flowers, pagan fertility rituals, Easter egg hunts, resurrections, Arbor Day, and, yes, Earth Day. The environmentalists will no doubt use Earth Day to reflect upon good and bad environmental developments (but especially the bad) from the past year.

If the Environmental Protection Agency bans something, it must be dangerous, right? Well...

For several years the pharmaceutical industry has been under attack by those who are using the industry for political purposes. Some attack the pharmaceutical industry with the goal of establishing a government-run healthcare system, while others are simply gaining votes and campaign contributions from those with a grudge against the industry.

Organic food buffs think they are wiser than the rest of us about what to eat, but:
"The truth is there is no scientific evidence to prove that organic foods are safer or more nutritious than conventionally grown foods. They both must meet the same safety and quality standards based on government guidelines and standards."
Dietician Terrie A. Holewinksi, quoted by HealthScoutNews

One of the most hotly contested issues in the popular nutrition press of late has been cutting carbs: that is, whether or not the much-touted low-carbohydrate, high protein, high fat diet espoused by such diet gurus as Dr. Atkins is better at helping people lose weight than a balanced, moderately high carbohydrate diet. Most mainstream nutrition experts have been leery of the rather extreme Atkins diet, partly out of concern that its high complement of total and saturated fats might cause or exacerbate heart-damaging blood lipid levels.

In a newly updated report, Traces of Environmental Chemicals in the Human Body: Are They a Risk to Health?, the physicians and scientists of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) conclude that the mere ability to measure small amounts of environmental chemicals in human blood and other tissue is not an indication of the presence of a health hazard.