CNN.com - Bear guzzles 36 beers, passes out at campground - Aug 19, 2004
via John Lipe:

CNN.com - Bear guzzles 36 beers, passes out at campground - Aug 19, 2004: "'We noticed a bear sleeping on the common lawn and wondered what was going on until we discovered that there were a lot of beer cans lying around,' said Lisa Broxson, a worker at the Baker Lake Resort, 80 miles (129 kilometers) northeast of Seattle.

The hard-drinking bear, estimated to be about two years old, broke into campers' coolers and, using his claws and teeth to open the cans, swilled down the suds.

It turns out the bear was a bit of a beer sophisticate. He tried a mass-market Busch beer, but switched to Rainier Beer, a local ale, and stuck with it for his drinking binge.

Wildlife agents chased the bear away, but it returned the next day, said Broxson.

They set a trap using as bait some doughnuts, honey and two cans of Rainier Beer. It worked, and the bear was captured for relocation."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 7:38 PM (0) comments

 
IOM Financing Vaccines in the 21st Century: Assuring Access and Availability
IOM Financing Vaccines in the 21st Century: Assuring Access and Availability: "The national immunization system has achieved high levels of immunization, particularly for children, but faces new challenges, including: continued disparities in immunizations across geographic and socioeconomic populations; recent, unprecedented vaccine shortages; a diminishing number of vaccine suppliers; erosion and fragmentation of insurance coverage for immunization; and concerns about the level of private investment in both current vaccine production and future vaccine development.  
 
Financing Vaccines in the 21st Century: Assuring Access and Availability addresses these challenges by proposing new strategies for assuring access to vaccines and sustaining the supply of current and future vaccines. 

The report proposes a federal mandate, subsidy and voucher program for vaccines.  The mandate would require all insurance plans to include vaccine benefits.  The federal government would subsidize health plans and providers for the purchase costs and administration fees created by the vaccine mandate.  Uninsured individuals would receive a voucher that could be used to receive immunization from any provider.  The subsidy would be based on the societal value of vaccines and would be set in advance for vaccines not-yet-licensed, creating an economic incentive for their development. "
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 4:24 PM (0) comments

 
Hungry world 'must eat less meat'

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Hungry world 'must eat less meat': "World water supplies will not be enough for our descendants to enjoy the sort of diet the West eats now, experts say.

The World Water Week in Stockholm will be told the growth in demand for meat and dairy products is unsustainable.

Animals need much more water than grain to produce the same amount of food, and ending malnutrition and feeding even more mouths will take still more water.

Scientists say the world will have to change its consumption patterns to have any realistic hope of feeding itself."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 10:57 AM (0) comments