Friday Blog Roundup

This week, bloggers look at whoâs making decisions about coal:

Elsewhere:

In the wake of the New York crane collapse that killed seven people, Kane at OSHA Underground chronicles OSHAâs slow progress on a crane standard.

Shelley Batts at Of Two Minds provides an overview of research on Gulf War Syndrome.

David Roberts at Gristmill looks at how the greenhouse gases associated with Iraq War and the opportunity costs of using money on those military efforts rather than fighting global warming.

Nandini Oomman at Global Health Policy highlights some encouraging steps and some still-difficult issues on Congressional reauthorization of PEPFAR.

Andrew Revkin at Dot Earth describes the problems caused by a serious global shortfall in sanitation, and attention-grabbing efforts to rally support for the International Year of Sanitation.

Carol Lloyd at Broadsheet gives a thumbs-down to a Russian brand of vodka aimed at women, and reminds us how it mirrors tobacco marketing trends. 

Abel Pharmboy at Terra Sigillata explains how differences between generic drugs and the corresponding brand-name pharmaceuticals can affect people taking the drugs, and what the FDA should be doing about it.

Gina Solomon at Switchboard warns that an air quality standard for toxic lead might get updated in a way thatâs not good for public health.

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