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Investing in health care stocks is still a good bet
Editor's Note: Peter Ricchiuti teaches courses in finance and investments at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business. He blogs monthly about regional stocks for Forbes.com. This is his most recent post:
When people are confused about an industry, it often creates an opportunity for investors, and there's no industry people are more confused about right now than health care.
People were bewildered by the potential impact of the Affordable Care Act even before the recent Supreme Court arguments. Now, with a Supreme Court reversal of Obamacare a real possibility, people don't want to touch health care stocks with a ten-foot pole.
While Obamacare may or may not be dead, reports of the death of the health care sector are, to paraphrase Mark Twain, grossly exaggerated.
To begin with, the fundamentals of the health care industry are simply phenomenal. In January, the oldest Baby Boomers turned 66, representing the first wave of 78 million prospective health care consumers. With or without the individual mandate, these consumers represent a tidal wave of business for health care companies for many years to come.
In addition to bright long-term prospects for the industry, many of the biggest health care companies are in fantastic financial shape. For example, Johnson & Johnson has $12 billion in cash; and Humana has $5 billion in their corporate coffers.
Why aren't investors buying up health care stocks? In short, I think it comes down to uncertainty. Investors are unsure about which way health care reform will go, and if there's one thing the market hates, it's uncertainty. Regardless of how the Supreme Court ultimately decides, I think once a decision comes down -- any decision -- investors will feel more comfortable and return to health care stocks with enthusiasm.
Here at Burkenroad Reports, the student equities research program I manage at Tulane University, there are a couple of health care stocks we cover that I think are worth taking a look at. While it's difficult to speculate on what effect a Supreme Court ruling might have on either, both may be good values now and can only benefit from the clarity a decision will bring.
The first is Cyberonics Inc., a Houston-based company that makes a medical device for the treatment of epilepsy. The tiny device, implanted in the shoulder of patients, delivers a pulse of electricity to the brain, and it's been found to be remarkably effective for the treatment of refractory epilepsy. Patients need to exhaust other treatment methods first, but when they do, the device is fully covered by insurance. Cyberonics is profitable based solely on its current U.S. business, so as the company continues to expand its international presence, I think earnings will improve.
Another upside for Cyberonics is in an entirely different line of business: depression. Research has shown that the device also produces positive results for patients with treatment-resistant forms of depression. The FDA approved the device for the treatment of depression in 2005, but when it comes to medical devices and treatments, the question isn't just, "Does it work?" It's, "Will insurance pay for it?"
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Transforming Health Care About Improving Patient Health Not Cutting Costs
OTTAWA, May 6, 2012 /CNW/ - Dr. John Haggie, President of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), today expressed his hope that the Ontario government would return to discussions with the province's doctors and continue the work already begun to transform the health care system to make it patient centred.
"Ontario's doctors have put forward several ideas around improving efficiency and boosting quality of health care services to patients," added Dr. Haggie. "They have much more to offer and now is no time for the government to turn its back on the role physicians can play in advancing the cause of improving care for their patients."
Over the course of the past year, Dr. Haggie has reached out to governments at all levels, urging them to pursue a principled-based approach to transforming the health care system so that it puts patients first. The Ontario health minister has also cited the need for health care transformation, going back as far as 2010, when she lauded proposals made for transformation put forward by Canada's doctors and shared them with counterparts at a meeting of federal, provincial and territorial health ministers.
"Every player in the health care system must be engaged in bringing about the transformational changes so desperately needed," said Dr. Haggie. "Seeking to impose change and taking a dictatorial approach is not the answer because engagement and buy-in is critical to creating a high-performing health care system."
Dr. Haggie added that Ontario's doctors have worked with government to identify solutions that would both save money and provide higher quality care to Ontario residents.
"We know that the Ontario government has championed the need for transforming health care so that it puts patients first," said Dr. Haggie. "It's baffling that the Ontario government would now ignore the opportunity to collaborate with physicians on finding efficient ways to provide high-quality health care."
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is the national voice of Canadian physicians. Founded in 1867, CMA's mission is to serve and unite the physicians of Canada and be the national advocate, in partnership with the people of Canada, for the highest standards of health and health care. The CMA is a voluntary professional organization representing over 77,000 of Canada's physicians and comprising 12 provincial and territorial medical associations and 51 national medical organizations.
For more information: Lucie Boileau Media Relations Manager Telephone: 613-731-8610 / 800-663-7336 ext. 1266 Cell.: 613-447-0866 lucie.boileau@cma.ca
For a copy of Dr. Haggie's speech at the OMA contact Lucie Boileau at:lucie.boileau@cma.ca
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Transforming Health Care About Improving Patient Health Not Cutting Costs
Henry Schein To Present At The Deutsche Bank 37th Annual Health Care Conference
MELVILLE, N.Y., May 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Henry Schein, Inc., (HSIC), the largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, medical and animal health practitioners, announced today that Steven Paladino, Henry Schein's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will present at the Deutsche Bank 37th Annual Health Care conference on May 9, 2012. The conference is being held at the InterContinental Boston.
Henry Schein's presentation is scheduled to begin at 10:40 a.m. EDT and can be heard via live webcast by visiting http://www.henryschein.com, clicking on "Investor Relations" and following the link for "Webcasts." A replay will be available on the Web site following the presentation.
About Henry Schein, Inc. Henry Schein, Inc. (HSIC) is the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, medical and animal health practitioners. The Company also serves dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care sites. A FORTUNE 500 Company and a member of the NASDAQ 100 Index, Henry Schein employs nearly 15,000 Team Schein Members and serves approximately 775,000 customers.
The Company offers a comprehensive selection of products and services, including value-added solutions for operating efficient practices and delivering high-quality care. Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 90,000 national and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 100,000 additional products available as special-order items. The Company also offers its customers exclusive, innovative technology solutions, including practice management software and e-commerce solutions, as well as a broad range of financial services.
Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein has operations or affiliates in 25 countries. The Company's sales reached a record $8.5 billion in 2011, and have grown at a compound annual rate of 18% since Henry Schein became a public company in 1995. For more information, visit the Henry Schein Web site at http://www.henryschein.com.
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Henry Schein To Present At The Deutsche Bank 37th Annual Health Care Conference
Health research: Cure for economy?
By Ben Sutherly
The Columbus Dispatch Monday May 7, 2012 5:23 AM
Dr. Michael Grever, chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at Ohio State University, gives a tour of the cancer research laboratories on the eighth floor of the Biomedical Research Tower at OSU.
Ohios health-care sector increasingly sees medical research as a way to help heal not only patients but the states economy.
To that end, economic-development officials and researchers say deriving more tangible results from the hundreds of millions of health-research dollars that flow through the states academic centers and hospitals is essential.
This is a very important economic driver for the state, said Mitch Horowitz, vice president and managing director of Columbus-based Battelles Technology Partnership Practice. The state already has 37,000 nonclinical jobs in health-care manufacturing, research and distribution, but the industry is not as fully specialized as it is in other states, leaving room for more potential high-paying jobs, Horowitz said.
In 2011, more than $710 million in federal funding from the National Institutes of Health flowed to Ohio. The state ranked 10th in the nation last year in NIH funding, a closely watched metric in academic, business and political circles.In 2008, $678 million in NIH funding came into Ohio.
Dr. Charles Lockwood, dean of Ohio State Universitys College of Medicine, called those federal dollars fresh money that have a multiplier effect as they circulate in the local economy. He said Ohio States Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Childrens Hospital together pump more than $300 million annually into the central Ohio economy as a result of NIH funding alone.
The state must do a better job of commercializing the academic research funded by those and other dollars, officials and academic leaders said.
Little of that (money) is leveraged well, said Tony Dennis, president and CEO of BioOhio, a nonprofit that promotes bioscience industries.
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GOP plan boosts Pentagon, cuts social programs
The Republicans who control the House are using cuts to food aid, health care and social services like Meals on Wheels to protect the Pentagon from a wave of budget cuts come January.
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Massachusetts Institutes Health-Care Price Controls. Is America Next?
Under Governor Deval Patrick, Massachusetts has tried a couple of methods for limiting the government's exposure to rising health-care costs. First, Patrick forced insurers to stop raising premiums, which led to a predictable train wreck, as insurers started hemorrhaging cash. When a state appeals board overturned Patrick's decree, he shifted gears, and began going after the prices charged by ...
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Massachusetts Institutes Health-Care Price Controls. Is America Next?
Massachusetts Moves Toward Health-Care Price Controls. Is America Next?
Under Governor Deval Patrick, Massachusetts has tried a couple of methods for limiting the government’s exposure to rising health-care costs. First, Patrick forced insurers to stop raising premiums, which led to a predictable train wreck, as insurers started hemorrhaging cash. When a state appeals board overturned Patrick’s decree, he shifted gears, and began going after the prices charged by ...
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Massachusetts Moves Toward Health-Care Price Controls. Is America Next?
Health-care costs worry near-retirees
Health-care costs are a top retirement fear, and thats even though many older workers vastly underestimate how much theyll have to pay.
Americans even those who have diligently saved for their golden years are not prepared for the reality of health-care costs in retirement and dont really understand how Medicare works, says John Carter, president of Nationwide Financial Distributors.
Nearly half of affluent Americans, who have at least $250,000 in household assets, say they are scared that rising health-care costs will deplete their retirement savings, according to a Harris Poll released today by Nationwide Financial.
And 43 percent of the affluent older workers dont know how much they will spend for health care in retirement, the survey says.
The pre-retirees who expect health care to be their biggest retirement expense estimated that their average annual health care cost will total $5,621. But that is a drastic underestimate. Citing a 2011 Fidelity study, Nationwide says out-of-pocket health care expenses will average as much as $10,750 a year.
One big reason is that pre-retirees often wrongly assume that Medicare covers the cost of long-term care, Carter says. That is a wake-up call that Americans need good financial advice to prepare for their future health care costs, he says.
There are a lot of things that are not covered by Medicare, such as most eye care, dental and hearing, says Henry Bud Hebeler, a former Boeing executive who developed the retirement planning website analyzenow.com. Ive had to have two pairs of hearing aids so far, and they cost me over $5,000 each time, says Hebeler, 78.
People also dont realize that Medicare will be financed partly by premiums deducted from Social Security checks, Hebeler says. Depending on a retired couples income, their annual Medicare cost could be over $9,000 a year, he says.
Last month, a government trustee report said that Medicare will be exhausted by 2024 and Social Security by 2033. That reality is forcing many workers to plan to work longer. This year, 57 percent of workers who have $50,000 to $250,000 in household assets plan to push back their retirement, citing health care costs as their top financial concern, up from 36 percent in 2011, says Bank of Americas Merrill Edge report.
Nobody gives workers a clue about the rising cost of health care, Hebeler says. Its incredible how many have no idea whats coming at them.
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Genetic abnormalities in benign or malignant tissues predict relapse of prostate cancer
Public release date: 7-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: David Sampson ajpmedia@elsevier.com 215-239-3171 Elsevier Health Sciences
Philadelphia, PA, May 7, 2012 While active monitoring of serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in men over 50 has greatly improved early detection of prostate cancer, prediction of clinical outcomes after diagnosis remains a major challenge. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have found that a genetic abnormality known as copy number variation (CNV) in prostate cancer tumors, as well as in the benign prostate tissues adjacent to the tumor and in the blood of patients with prostate cancer, can predict whether a patient will experience a relapse, and the nature of the relapse aggressive or indolent. Their report is published in the June issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
Copy number variations are large areas of the genome with either duplicated or missing sections of DNA. "Our analysis indicates that CNV occurred in both cancer and non-cancer tissues, and CNV of these tissues predicts prostate cancer progression," says lead investigator Jian-Hua Luo, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Divisions of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, and Anatomic Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "Prediction models of prostate cancer relapse, or of the rate of PSA level increase after surgery, were generated from specific CNV patterns in tumor or benign prostate tissues adjacent to cancer samples."
To detect the abnormalities, scientists conducted a comprehensive genome analysis on 238 samples obtained from men undergoing radical prostatectomy: 104 prostate tumor samples, 85 blood samples from patients with prostate cancer, and 49 samples of benign prostate tissues adjacent to a tumor. A third of the samples were from patients exhibiting recurrence with a PSA level increasing at a rapid rate, doubling in less than four months (rapid increases are associated with lethal prostate cancer); a third from patients exhibiting recurrence with a PSA level increasing at a slow rate, doubling time greater than 15 months; and a third with no relapse more than five years after surgery. Three commercially available prostate cancer cell lines were also tested to validate the results.
Deletions of large segments of specific chromosomes occurred with high frequency, whereas amplification of other chromosomes occurred in only a subset of prostate cancer samples. Similar amplification and deletion of the same regions also occurred in benign prostate tissue samples adjacent to the cancer. Prostate cancer patients' blood was found to contain significant CNVs. Most were not unique and overlapped with those of prostate cancer samples.
Using gene-specific CNV from tumor, the model correctly predicted 73% of cases for relapse and 75% of cases for short PSA doubling time. The CNV model from tissue adjacent to the prostate tumor correctly predicted 67% of cases for relapse and 77% of cases for short PSA doubling time. Using median-size CNV from blood, the genome model correctly predicted 81% of the cases for relapse and 69% of the cases for short PSA doubling time.
Dr. Luo notes that there are several potential clinical applications using CNV tests. "For a patient diagnosed with prostate cancer, CNV analysis done on blood or normal tissues would eliminate the need for additional invasive procedures to decide a treatment mode. For a patient already having a radical prostatectomy, CNV analysis on the tumor or blood sample may help to decide whether additional treatment is warranted to prevent relapse. Despite some limitations, including the need for high quality genome DNA, CNV analysis on the genome of blood, normal prostate, or tumor tissues holds promise to become a more efficient and accurate way to predict the behavior of prostate cancer."
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Genetic abnormalities in benign or malignant tissues predict relapse of prostate cancer
Lewis speaks on gene therapy at Lexington Community Education event
Tales of biotechnology advances are unlikely to raise a lump in the throat or bring a tear to the eye on their own. Thats what makes Ricki Lewiss recent talk at Lexington Community Education so clever and engrossing. Lewis wrapped a lecture on human genetics and gene therapy in the genuinely moving stories of children whose lives were altered -- some for good, some for bad -- since the field was born in the early 1990s.
As in her book, The Forever Fix: Gene Therapy and the Boy Who Saved It, Lewis talked about the children impacted by rare diseases and the scientists who labored to get closer to a forever fix, a cure that would repair problems at the genetic level.
Lewis is the author of the science textbook Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications, now in its 10th edition and used worldwide, Discovery: Windows on the Life Sciences, and the novel Stem Cell Symphony, about using rock music to activate stem cells in the brain to cure disease. She holds a Ph.D in genetics from Indiana University, and is currently a genetic counselor and teaches at the Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical College.
She began the lecture with the story of 8-year-old Corey Haas, who in 2008, only four days after undergoing gene therapy to cure his hereditary blindness, screamed in pain when visible sunlight impacts his eyes for the first time.
Lewis uses Coreys story, and how he came to be one of the early beneficiaries of gene therapy, to tell the story of the birth of that miraculous treatment.
Corey was in the right place and the right time, she said. His blindness was treatable but the treatment was experimental.
Gene therapy involves the placement of a gene that a person cant make in their own body into virus cell which is implanted in the body. In Coreys case, his eyes were unable to use Vitamin A, which is necessary for the eye to take in and process light. A virus delivered DNA wrapped in a protein to correct faulty instructions in the affected body part, Lewis said.
Lewis also discussed the story of Jesse Gelsinger, a teenager whose death during gene therapy trials nearly brought the experimental treatment to a close while it was still in its infancy. While Gelsingers story was a tragic failure, Lewis said that scientists were committed to learning from their errors and moving the field further.
One of the most famous children Lewis discussed was David Vetter the so-called Bubble Boy of the 1970s, depicted in the film The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, starring John Travolta. Vetter died of an immunological disease in 1984 at age 30, but the condition is now treatable through gene therapy.
By treating rare diseases such as Vetters, Lewis explained that researchers will learn what they need to treat more common diseases in the future.
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Lewis speaks on gene therapy at Lexington Community Education event
The Barnes collection mirrors the collector
The art collection assembled by Albert C. Barnes is a many-splendored thing, but also one shaped by paradox.
It's internationally famous for its exceptional group of impressionist, postimpressionist, and early modern paintings, but they're only part of what makes a visit to the foundation a memorable adventure.
As a collector, Barnes was something of an omnivore. Besides indulging in his favorite artists, Pierre-August Renoir, Paul Cezanne, and Henri Matisse, whose pictures constitute the core of his European holdings, he assembled an extensive body of pictures by American artists, including some Philadelphians.
Justifiably, these receive far less attention than the Big Three, which are augmented by such European masters as van Gogh, Seurat, Picasso, and Rousseau. The American reputations are smaller, the works themselves less prepossessing.
Like most collectors then and now, Barnes began before World War I with paintings, but after the war he branched out into other media. In 1923, he bought a select group of African sculptures, apparently because he recognized the influence of what was then called tribal art on European modernists.
Perhaps a connection to Pennsylvania German culture through his mother's family inspired an interest in its furniture and pottery, much of which he installed at his Chester County farm, Ker-Feal.
The foundation's collections of Southwestern Pueblo pottery and of Navajo silver and turquoise jewelry, which Barnes acquired in the 1930s, both include masterpieces of their kind. One consultant has called the jewelry collection world-class.
Finally, there's the celebrated ironwork - decorative hinges, door-pulls, and such. You can't miss them, because to illustrate his aesthetic philosophy Barnes distributed the hardware on the gallery walls among the paintings.
So the "collection" isn't unitary and focused but more like an amalgam of constituent parts, which Barnes related to one another.
The installation of the 23 galleries, which are today as Barnes left them at his death in 1951 (though in a different zip code), reflects this. European and American paintings are mixed together, accented by Pennsylvania German decorated chests and the aforementioned iron hardware. The African art is kept together, not distributed among the ensembles.
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Zimbabwe: Freedom Comes With Responsibility
This week we joined our colleagues worldwide in commemorating World Press Freedom Day. A day that was set aside by the United Nations General Assembly to celebrate the fundamental principles of Press freedom, evaluate Press freedom around the world, defend media freedom and pay tribute to media practitioners who face danger in the line of duty.
World Press Freedom Day was established by the UN General Assembly in December 1993 in the wake of a seminar on Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press that was held in Windhoek, Namibia in 1991.
For us, in the public media, the commemorations came at a time six of our colleagues from Zimpapers and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, who had been placed on European Union sanctions for writing contrary to Anglo-Saxon interests, were removed from the sanctions list.
We will not applaud the EU for that gesture as the sanctions, which were an unwarranted attack on media freedom, should never have been imposed in the first place.
We call on the EU to urge their cousins across the Atlantic to follow suit and stop victimising journalists who do not toe the Western line.
This year's theme of "New Voices: Media Freedom Helping To Transform Societies", is providential for us in Zimbabwe as we strive to get our voices heard amidst the Western bedlam.
Be that as it may, we joined our colleagues worldwide in celebrating this day that is geared at promoting professionalism, work ethics, freedom of the Press and socially responsible journalism.
As the perceived fourth estate of the realm of governance, the best way we can work towards building mutual understanding is by strengthening a culture of freedom with responsibility.
This usually manifests in a media that is vibrant, independent, pluralistic, inclusive and fair, editorially free and beyond censorship and influence from inimical interests - political, commercial, or otherwise - only a free media will innately contribute to the dialogue and understanding across divides.
A responsible media defends the national interest and is an indispensable partner in nation building.
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Freedom's just another word
EDITORIAL
The constitution supposedly guarantees that every Thai "shall enjoy the liberty to express his or her opinion, make speeches, write, print, publicise and make expression by other means". It also says that writers and broadcasters employed by the mass media "shall enjoy their liberties to present news and express their opinions".
Unfortunately, neither of these articles of the supreme law is actually true. Thailand is still a country where even professional journalists are killed for trying to present news and opinions. And the rest of the world has very little respect for the country when it comes to press freedom.
Last Thursday was World Press Freedom Day. There was no acknowledgement of this by agencies and ministries charged with defending constitutional rights. The media itself saw no reason to celebrate. But the head of the United Nations and journalism groups in other countries did take note of the day. And most reports on World Press Freedom Day noted the low international regard for Thailand on the issue.
Reporters are increasingly at risk, for a number of reasons. Thailand is one of the few countries with the ignominious reputation of witnessing journalists being killed regularly without any ongoing war or violent conflict. There are only five such countries around the world _ the others being Brazil, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
On Jan 12, a gunman in Phuket shot and killed the freelance reporter Wisut Tangwittayaporn, a familiar figure known as "Ae Inside" because he was a tenacious newsman. To their credit, Phuket police not only pursued the case, but actually indicted three suspects including the alleged killer and his motorcycle driver, both of whom are still at large.
The third suspect has been charged as the mastermind. He is Assadakorn "Pod" Seedokbuab, 48, who is not simply another influential Phuket figure, but one of the most influential. Mr Assadakorn, who is on bail for 3.4 million baht despite the serious charges, is vice-president of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce. He is the owner of a Phuket TV station, KPP Cable.
Police have not said why they think Mr Assadakorn arranged to kill Wisut. It is no secret in Phuket, however, that Wisut was about to release more stories about the very troubled housing market in Phuket. The real estate industry in the province has seen violence before, including other murders. We may never know exactly what Wisut was onto, but no one doubts it was his reporting that caused his violent death.
Two entirely separate surveys this year have rated Thailand's press freedom. Reporters Without Borders says the country ranks 137th in the world, with 61.5 out of a possible 100 freedom points. The US-based Freedom House gives Thailand 62 out of 100, good enough to tie the country with Libya, Liberia and Zambia in 132nd place in the world. Both drolly comment that Thailand's press freedom actually improved because of the end of the 2010 emergency decree invoked during the Bangkok violence.
This is a terrible performance by a country striving for real democracy. Successive governments have not only failed to protect press freedom, but have actually encouraged censorship with actions such as appointing the ICT ministry as official internet censor. A democratic government does not make such choices. Our authorities must support the constitution on freedom of information, or be branded as opponents of a free press.
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Scotland's wind turbines less eco-friendly than they appear
Wind turbines in Nether Monynut, Scotland. Scotland plans to use all renewable energy by 2020. (Photo by Flickr user cowrin.)
Scotland plans to harness it's high wind concentration as a renewable energy source with wind turbines. Wind turbines have often been criticized as ugly and loud, but now they're being called potentially harmful to the environment. That's because wind turbines have been releasing carbon stored in peat bogs into Scotland's atmosphere.
Scotland, the windiest place in Europe, plans to harness its wind power and rely on only renewable energy by 2020, a plan that's drawn criticism from Donald Trump.
The turbines, however, do more damage than simply disrupting Trump's golf game. Many are concerned with building wind turbines on peat bogs because the bogs contain massive amounts of CO2, and the turbines release carbon from the bogs into the atmosphere. They may even release more carbon than they save.
Dave Gilvear, professor and River Science expert at Stirling University, pointed out the distinction between renewable energy and going green.
"I think most people understand what renewable energy is," Gilvear said. "Its getting power from the sun. Its getting power from water. Its getting power from the wind. But that doesnt necessarily mean that its green, in that the construction of a wind farm, the construction of a hydropower station, is going to have an environmental impact, so if you put a dam across a river, for example, and you dont have a fish pass built into it, its going to stop the migration of fish. And thats an environmental impact."
Gilvear was one of the first to discover the environmental impact of wind turbines built on peatland. He said four or five years ago, his team monitored dissolved organic carbon in streams near the turbines and found a higher concentration of carbon in the water than in streams near peatlands without it. He noted, however, that turbine planning has improved since his discovery.
"Weve also been monitoring another wind farm down in Ayrshire. Were not finding the same results there, in that best practice methods of construction are being adhered to. The Brazer Dune site is now seen as sort of poor practice, and hopefully those sorts of construction wont be happening again," Gilvear said.
As a response to this, the Scottish government launched a carbon payback calculator, an estimator of how much time it would take for wind turbines to save more carbon than it cost to build them.
"The initial estimates that this group came up with, I think, were kind of between 3 and 30 years," Simon Drew, biologist at Stirling University said. "Now the operational lifetime of a wind farm is about 25 years, so, potentially, although you have a sort of non-fossil fuel energy source, its not carbon neutral if its going to be for that long."
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Peru warns against beaches due to pelican, dolphin deaths
Peru's Health Ministry is urging people to stay away from Pacific beaches from Lima northward after recent large-scale deaths of pelicans and dolphins.
Neither the Health Ministry nor Peru's oceanographic institute has determined the cause of the deaths, and there is no indication the deaths of the birds and the mammals are related.
And the weekend's warning did not indicate why it might be dangerous to visit beaches. Peru's agricultural safety service ruled out Friday that the pelicans could have died of avian flu, which could be contagious to humans.
Since February, some 877 dolphins and, more recently, at least 1,200 pelicans have been found dead on Peruvian beaches for unexplained reasons.
Local fishermen and restaurant owners said the warning hasn't had much effect on their businesses.
It's the low season for Peruvian beach-goers, in any case.
A check of Lima's beaches found no dead animals on the shore but sanitation crews were cleaning up an unusually large amount of garbage and debris including plastic bags and bottles and pieces of wood.
AP
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Peru: After mass pelican deaths, stay off beaches
Environmental scientists are trying to find out why hundreds and dead pelicans and dolphins are washing ashore in northern Peru. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.
By Reuters
LIMA, Peru - Peru's government declared a health alert along its northern coastline on Saturday and urged residents and tourists alike to stay away from long stretches of beach, as it investigates the unexplained deaths of hundreds of dolphins and pelicans.
At least 1,200 birds, mostly pelicans, washed up dead along a stretch of Peru's northern Pacific coastline in recent weeks, health officials said, after an estimated 800 dolphins died in the same area in recent months.
The Health Ministry recommended staying away from beaches, though stopped short of a ban, and called on health officials to use gloves, masks and other protective gear when collecting dead birds.
The peak tourism season around Lima's beaches is over, though many surfers are still venturing into the waters near the capital.
The Agriculture Ministry said preliminary tests on some dead pelicans pointed to malnourishment. Oscar Dominguez, head of the ministry's health department, said experts had ruled out bird flu.
Watch World News videos on msnbc.com
"The Health Ministry ... calls on the population to abstain from going to the beaches until the health alert is lifted," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website, along with a photograph of a dead pelican.
Stringer/Peru / Reuters
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Keep off beaches, Peru warns after pelican deaths
LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's government declared a health alert along its northern coastline on Saturday and urged residents and tourists to stay away from long stretches of beach, as it investigates the unexplained deaths of hundreds of dolphins and pelicans. At least 1,200 birds, mostly pelicans, washed up dead along a stretch of Peru's northern Pacific coastline in recent weeks, health officials ...
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Keep off beaches, Peru warns after mass pelican deaths
LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's government declared a health alert along its northern coastline on Saturday and urged residents and tourists alike to stay away from long stretches of beach, as it investigates the unexplained deaths of hundreds of dolphins and pelicans. At least 1,200 birds, mostly pelicans, washed up dead along a stretch of Peru's northern Pacific coastline in recent weeks, health ...
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Peru warns against beaches due to bird deaths
Since February, some 877 dolphins and, more recently, at least 1,200 pelicans have been found dead on Peruvian beaches for unexplained reasons.
Local fishermen and restaurant owners said Saturdays warning hasnt had much effect on their businesses.
Its the low season for Peruvian beach-goers, in any case.
A check of Limas beaches found no dead animals on the shore but sanitation crews were cleaning up an unusually large amount of garbage and debris including plastic bags and bottles and pieces of wood.
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