G-8 Climate Agreement; IndyMac Gets Out Of Lending: Cuts 3,800 Jobs; So Long Suburbs?; Cholesterol Screening For Children; Facing The Truth About The American Voter?
G-8 Climate Agreement
Leaders of the Group of 8 wealthiest nations today agreed to greenhouse gas emission goals for 2050. The plan, discussed at the Toyako Summit in Japan, is to cut emissions by 50 percent. There are problems, however: critics say the language of the agreement is so vague that it's unclear how these goals will be enforced. They add that the agreement lacks any strict, short term reductions--meaning it's doubtful that any serious limits on emissions will begin anytime soon. Larry gets the latest from Sheryl Gay Stolberg, White House Correspondent, New York Times, covering the G8 Summit from Rusutsu, Japan, and Roger Pielke Jr., Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder; author of "The Honest Broker: Making Sense of Science in Policy and Politics."
IndyMac Gets Out Of Lending: Cuts 3,800 Jobs
Ever since it became public that New York Senator Charles Schumer had requested the FDIC to prep for Pasadena-based IndyMac's collapse, it's been assumed that the one-time leader in the home loans business was not going to survive the mortgage crisis. Yesterday it announced that it would lay off 3,800 people, more than half its staff, and get out of the mortgage business. It is also closing nine regional offices, including four in California. Overall, that's a loss of over 7,000 jobs nationwide since 2006. Larry talks with business analyst Mark Lacter about the troubling economic implications for our region.
So Long Suburbs?
The real estate crisis has hit everywhere, but no place is the impact more firmly felt than in the far-out suburbs called exurbia. And that's attributed, at least in part, to gas prices--now that it's so expensive to get from point "A" to "B," there's a new premium on being close to job centers. That's got urban planners wondering: is the time of the suburban subdivision--a relatively new creation that's existence is predicated on the automobile and cheap gas--coming to a close? Those in the new urbanism movement say good riddance. But others fear a return to 19th century urban squalor as people clamor to find housing in job centers and downtown areas. Larry talks with Joel Kotkin, presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University, and Rick Cole, city manager for Ventura, about the future of the suburb.
Cholesterol Screening For Children
The current epidemic of childhood obesity has prompted concern about the risks of high cholesterol in children, which could lead to heart disease and other health problems later in life. The American Academy of Pediatrics this week released a new study recommending children and adolescents be screened for cholesterol and, if necessary, the use of prescription drugs such as statins, in children as young as eight years old. The authors of the study stress that diet and exercise are still seen as the first resort. Larry talks about the report's implications with pediatrician Dr. Jatinder Bhatia, a member of the AAP Committee on Nutrition that worked on the study, and Andrea Giancoli, LAUSD Nutrition Coordinator.
Facing The Truth About The American Voter?
The political doctrine of democracy poses a serious problem: power must reside with the average voter, but the business of governance requires a specialized, above-average knowledge. In his new book, "Just How Stupid Are We?," author and historian Rick Shenkman posits that voters are misusing, abusing, and abdicating their political power. He provides statistics that confirm the widely held opinion that the American political discourse lacks an informed and honest debate on meaningful issues. Larry talks with Shenkman about his premise and his suggestions for how to reform our government, media, civic organizations, and political parties.