No. 249 October 2003

VALUE OF LIFE: ELDERLY SHORT-CHANGED Safety regulations passed by the EPA and other agencies are intended to save lives. In regard to all Regulations passed, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is committed to the principle of calculating how many years of life would be added to individuals by enacting a regulation. What is the value of life? how is it calculated?, and are all lives equal? The OMB and its Federal Regulations calculates the dollar cost(s) of the lives of the people they save. OMB then compares the cost of the lives (i.e. the benefits) to the costs to be paid by the industry (i.e. the costs) of implementing the regulation. The Regulation’s benefits, to the people, should outweigh its costs to industry. It was recently revealed that the Clinton administration was using what some critics called a “senior death discount.” The Clinton administration considered the people under 70 to be more valuable than the people over 70 years of age. The life of the aged was valued at 37 percent less than the life of a younger person. The life of the aged person was worth $ 2.3 million instead of $ 3.7 million, which was the value of younger people. On May 30, 2003, a Memorandum to the President’s Management Council,  Benefit-Cost Methods and Lifesaving Rules, written by John D. Graham stated “In light of these developments, I advised EPA to discontinue use of this factor as an adjustment to the economic value of a statistical life (VSL). The VSL would thus be the same for all ages of people. I am also advising analysts at other agencies that such a factor should not be used in VSL analysis.” The Memorandum is as a pdf file at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/pmc_benefit_cost_memo.pdf that is on the OMB Regulatory Matters web page (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/regpol.html). 

COST AND BENEFITS 2003 As of February 3, 2003, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has made the latest report of  the Regulations costs and benefits for the Regulations issued between October 1, 2001 and September 31, 2002. At the top of the list of reports found at OIRA Reports to Congress (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/regpol-reports_congress.html) the Draft 2003 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations (February 3, 2003) which appeared as a Notice in the Federal Register, V. 68, No. 22, February 3, 2003, pages 5491-5527 and is found as a pdf file at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/2003draft_cost-benefit_rpt.pdf . These 37 pages will provide cost and benefits facts and figures which the public will read, review, and send comments to OMB which will  issue a Final version of the Report at a later date. 

FOOD DEFECTS/CONTAMINANTS: LEGAL/ILLEGAL LEVELS What is worse than finding a worm in your apple? Answer: Half of a worm. If there are any perfect food or foods, they would be found in your own garden. You may care enough to grow perfect food commodities free of any internal or foreign food defect. In any farm, where there are poor quality controls in food growing, processing, or manufacturing processes, the results are bad products with food defects. Regardless of the defect level, these food products are unlawful and are subject to FDA regulatory action. However, most of America’s food supply is a result of mass agricultural production; where, even with the best methods and goals, it is economically impractical to grow, harvest, or process raw food products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects.  Code of Federal Regulations, Title, 21, Part 110.110 allows the Food and Drug Administration to establish maximum levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods for humans that present no health hazard. These “Food Defect Action Levels” listed in The Food Defect Action Levels, Levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods that present no health hazards for humans, (Revised May 1998) http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dalbook.html are set on the premise that defects at these levels pose no inherent hazard to health. Food products which contain defect levels above those set in this list are considered adulterated foods, and are subject to enforcement actions under the current FDA adulterated food law. This manual, which is about 32 pages, consists of 7 parts which include a Glossary of all the terms which relate to the Defects found in food commodities, and an alphabetical listing of all the food commodities, their specific natural or unavoidable defect(s) identified, and the acceptable defect action level for that commodity. Any time the FDA reviews and changes the defect action levels on this list, or adds products and their defect action levels to this list, these revisions are published as Notices in the Federal Register. The natural and unavoidable defects found within sample quantities of each of the food commodities listed include a variety of molds, insects, rots, insect filths, rodent filths, shells, and bean grade defects. 

PEOPLE “FOR THE BIRDS” One Monday, while walking to my car in the parking lot, within about five minutes of observation, I saw three very large flocks of birds. Each flock consisted of hundreds of birds which were about the size of robins and looked black, or some similar color. It was surprising to see so many birds in three separate flocks. The birds in each flock stayed in formation yet appeared to have the rhythm and motion of an ocean wave breaking on the shore. I was concerned about getting into my car before the flock emitted any fecal precipitation. That was an interesting site, and even though I was watching birds, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis, Addendum to the 2001 Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, Report 2001-1, (I 49.98/4-2: B 53 and found as a pdf file at http://library.fws.gov/nat_survey2001_birding.pdf ), I do not qualify as a birdwatcher. Also, I was not included in the (over) 15,300 detailed wildlife-watching interviews of U.S. residents 16 years of age or older. This report identifies who birders are, where they live, how avid they are, where they bird, and what kinds of birds they watch. It also shows how much money they spend on birding, their economic impact, and the net economic value of birding. The National and State tables present age, sex, income level, marital status, education levels, racial and ethnic status, locations, sites visited, home vs. away, and the spending habits of birders. The “average birder” is defined as well as how many people can identify birds by sight or sound. I am definitely not an avid bird watcher who keeps a list of birds observed. In 2001, there were 46 million birdwatchers some traveled to watch birds and some stayed home. 88 percent (or 40 million) of those birders are backyard birders.

WILDLIFE WATCHING: MAJOR AMERICAN INTEREST AND MONEYMAKER In 2001, a total of 89 million people attended all major league baseball and professional football games. During this same year, 82 million people participated in hunting, fishing and wildlife watching; and, of that number 66 million participated in some form of wildlife watching. The principal reason for a trip, activity, or expenditure is related to wildlife-watching. Expenditure includes binoculars, cameras, wildlife food, organization memberships, camping equipment, motor homes, campers, and off-road vehicles. The direct expenditures by wildlife watchers for 2001 were $38.4 billion dollars. If these $38.4 billion dollars were seen as a company’s sales revenue, this company would rank 33rd on the Forbes 500 list, just below Proctor and Gamble and WorldCom, but above Motorola and Kmart. California leads the top ten states in the sales revenues which come from wildlife watchers, and also in the revenues which come from Nonresident State Wildlife Watchers who had decided that there was some wildlife in California worth watching. 2001 National and State Economic Impacts of Wildlife Watching, Addendum to the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, Report 2001-2, (I 49.98/4-2:W 64) issued August 2003 is where all the wildlife watching data and information can be found. This report is a pdf file at http://library.fws.gov/nat_survey2001_economics.pdf.

TECH-PULSE INDEX Do you know what an index is? Many books and publications have subject indexes which provide access to the content of that book. When someone is old enough to spend money and recognizes how the cost of a food item goes up each year, he experiences price changes. Putting it simply, the measurement, calculation, and statement of that price change from year to year is called the Consumer Price Index, and this index is an economic measure. There are many such economic indexes compiled by various federal agencies which monitor America’s economic weekly, monthly, and annual growth. The date October 23, 2003 is a major milestone in the history of America’s Economic Indexes. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has developed a new index to cover the high-tech sector of America’s economy. The introduction of the internet and its related high-tech industries present an economic picture not adequately monitored by the current economic indexes. Three economists at the Fed’s New York bank have made use of five existing Coincident Indicators and created the new Tech-Pulse Index. The Bank’s October 29, Press Release (http://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2003/rp031029.html), which announces this new index has the same title as its companion article: “Taking the Pulse of the Tech Sector: A Coincident Index of High-Tech Activity” by Bart Hobijn, Kevin J. Stirob, and Alexis Antoniades, is in Current Issues in Economics and Finance, V. 9, No. 10, October, 2003, pages 1-7 (http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci9-10.html). Both are found on the Bank’s website. The authors explain the need for this index, how it works, why it works, and what it tells us. Complementing this explanation is a copy of the Tech Pulse Index for November 2003 (http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/national_economy/tech_pulse_index.html), the premiere issue of this new monthly. “Each month’s numbers will be released on the second Wednesday of the following month” I would assume on the Bank’s website. 

THE MOON What do you know or what have you heard about the Moon? On Saturday November 8, 2003 about 8:00 P M, there was a lunar eclipse. Did you know that, did you see it? Do you know what a blue moon is? Have you seen one? Do you know when the next lunar eclipse or blue moon will occur? For the American Indians the Moon is a (four week) month and “many moons ago” means many months ago. But some calendar months such as January, February, March, 1999, November 2001, and July 2004, will have blue moons, i.e. two full moons. The blue moon is the name given to the second full moon. Some people want to learn more about the Moon, its phases, when it rises, and when it sets. Other people are “studying” the Man in the Moon, or want to know about the next lunar eclipse. There are answers to these and other questions about the Moon. There is Moon data for a day and Moonrise/Moonset data for an entire year. There is information about the dates of the primary phases of the Moon and recent and upcoming lunar and solar eclipses. The United States Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department Data Services web page (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/) whose year table of Moonrise/Moonset information should identify the occurrences of each blue moon. Some moon questions are answered by clicking on the link for What the Moon Looks Like Today.

THE OCTOBER SOLAR STORM HEAR IT? SEE IT? On October 28, 2003 one of the largest solar flares erupted on the Sun and moved outward toward Earth. On November 4, 2003 the largest flare yet, 13 times the size of Earth was sent out by the Sun away from Earth. Scientifically called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) these are magnetically charged clouds which when encountering the Earths Atmosphere can cause electrical disturbances and disrupt radio disturbances on Earth. They can also cause colorful aurora displays. Can you visualize this solar flare which is a massive cloud which is composed of billions of tons of electrically charged particles? These solar explosions and cloud movement also create plasma waves (sounds) which can be recorded in outer space and played for us to hear on Earth. The solar burst (also know as the X-17 Solar Flare) which occurred on October 28 was recorded by the Cassini Spacecraft and sent back to Earth. The sounds, produced by the moving electrons, were recorded by the Cassini Spacecraft and made available by Dr. Don Gurnett, at his University of Iowa website. This University of Iowa Space Audio site (http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/space-audio/ is where Type III Radio Bursts from the Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 Solar Flares can be found and heard moving out from the solar flare. The sounds emitted by X-28 Solar Flare of November 4 can also be heard by accessing this webpage. Anyone who wants to see these two Solar Flares, go to the NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) web page http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ or the SOHO Gallery http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/gallery/ which provides access to the NASA HOTSHOTS X-17 and X-28 and similar solar images (http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/hotshots/). 

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February 6, 2004

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