Is Our Drinking Water Tainted with Pharmaceutical Drugs?; Oil $107 A Barrel, Why?; How Bluffing About Bias Makes Race Relations Worse; The Forensics Of Airplane Crashes
Is Our Drinking Water Tainted with Pharmaceutical Drugs?
The Associated Press published a five-month investigative report that revealed water supplies nationwide have been tainted with a variety of pharmaceutical drugs including antibiotics, mood stabilizers, and over-the-counter medicines such as ibuprofen. Though the drug concentration is small, the issue has caused alarm about the long-term consequences to human health. Larry Mantle talks with Mic Stewart, Manager of Water Quality for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and Aaron Coangelo, Health Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council about the issue.
Oil $107 A Barrel, Why?
The cost of oil reached a record high at $107 per barrel, and analysts are predicting that the oil spike will continue on through 2008. OPEC President Chakib Khelil says the dramatic increase in oil prices is a result of "speculation and geopolitical tensions." Larry talks with Adam Davidson, international business and economics correspondent for National Public Radio, and Keith Johnson, Wall Street Journal reporter who writes their "energy blog" about the spike in oil prices and if there is any relief in sight.
How Bluffing About Bias Makes Race Relations Worse
Author Richard Thompson Ford says the phrase "the race card" was coined after the O.J. Simpson murder trial where Simpson claimed he was wrongly accused because of the color of his skin. In his book, "The Race Card," Ford argues that the concept, and the actions taken because of it, has undermined the civil rights movement and race relations in this country. Larry talks with Ford about what the race card is, when it can be played and what it means to accuse someone of playing it.
The Forensics Of Airplane Crashes
When an airplane goes down, pictures of burning wreckage and broken fuselage dominate news coverage. But, many times, these graphic images overpower the fact that technological advancements make commercial air travel relatively safe. So says mechanical engineer and Professor George Bibel in his new book, Beyond the Black Box. He talks with Larry this morning about the importance of clues found on black boxes of past plane crashes and what that means to airline safety today.