Policy Wise

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday proposed extending health care coverage to all of California’ss 36 million residents as part of a sweeping package of changes to the state’s huge, troubled health care system. The plan, which Mr. Schwarzenegger estimated would cost $12 billion, calls for many employers that do not offer health insurance to contribute [...]

It is perhaps not very surprising that Japan is leading the developed countries in energy conservation. According to this New York Times story, the country has achieved this by a combination of technology development;
In many countries, higher oil prices have hurt pocketbooks and led to worries about economic slowdowns. But here in Japan, [...]

Teachers in Britain are demanding greater control over Internet after a video of a student breaking a classroom window was posted on a video sharing site.
The shaky 15-second footage shows a clearly identifiable boy grinning as he strides up to throw the missile. Head teacher Gordon Cunningham said it had been the Year 9 [...]

As China rapidly develops, it’s getting increasingly concerned about the envoironment.
Is China getting serious about the environment, albeit out of concern for its continued economic growth? Seed magazine (via AFP) picks up two telling stories: First, China has just released its first official report on global climate change. The report concludes that greenhouse gases [...]

National Knowledge Commission has recommended allowing foreign universities to set shop in India.
Foreign educational institutions should be allowed in with policies that ensure that “there is an incentive for good institutions and a disincentive for sub-standard institutions to come to India”. It also clearly proposes that a “level-playing field must be ensured and all rules [...]

In an interview with New York Times, Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen offers some radical proposals to improve the US health care system (link via).
Prof Christensen believes that the current system is woefully inefficient in terms of affordability and accessibility. His basic premise is that with advances in medical diagnoses and cures, [...]

One of the biggest problems which developing nations face is the high cost of drugs. The patents are generally held by giant Western pharmaceutical companies who exploit their monopoly status to drive up prices. African nations have faced prohibhitive costs with H.I.V drugs and India will face the same challenges as it completes the change [...]

Walmart, the retailer everyone loves to hate, has decided to push the environment-friendly compact fluorescent light bulbs in its stores. These bulbs use about 75% less energy and last almost ten times longer – but their high cost has been a barrier to widespread use.
…the long-lasting, swirl-shaped light bulbs known as compact fluorescent lamps are [...]

Interesting new research points towards the benefits of adopting a team approach in treating patients.
That, not run-of-the-mill second opinions, is what Sabel set out to study when he examined what happened to 149 breast cancer patients who, in one year alone, came to Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center after being diagnosed, biopsied and getting a [...]

While the government had no trouble in finding 20,000 crore for expanding higher education subsequent to implementation of OBC reservations -a minister explicitly said that ‘money is not a problem’, it seems money indeed is the problem when it comes to ensuring a far more fundamental right. The right to primary education which every [...]