The headlines were alarming. Traces of cancer-causing contaminants in New Orleans and Pittsburgh public drinking water supplies. Lead from water supply pipes in Boston tap water. In response, in 1974 Congress enacted the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which was designed...

Last month hackers stole Internal Revenue Service data belonging to more than 100,000 taxpayers. This sort of attack on the IRS and other federal computer systems keeps happening – and succeeding...

As Donald Trump continues his quest for the Republican nomination, free trade agreements remain in his crosshairs.

The billionaire has been making waves by opposing American free trade initiatives like the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – just signed earlier this month by ministers of the 12 Pacific Rim member nations – and...

E-cigarettes are smoking hot. They are the most popular nicotine-delivery products used by kids and the majority of adult smokers have tried them. E-cigarettes are a multi-billion dollar industry, with the website Yelp tallying more than 10,000 vape shops across the country. Wall Street analysts are predicting that revenue from e-cigarettes will...

The explosive spread of Zika throughout the Americas is raising questions about the best ways to control this and future epidemics. We first need to identify what factors contribute to the spread of Zika and understand...

As the United States adopts policies to lower greenhouse gas emissions, some communities will benefit from the shift to lower-carbon energy sources. But others will lose.

Communities that have historically relied on coal production – especially in Appalachia – have been...

Problematic Internet Use is now considered to be a behavioral addiction with characteristics that are similar to substance use disorders.

Individuals with PIU may have difficulty reducing their Internet use, may be preoccupied with the Internet or may lie to conceal their use.

A recent study that I...

Earlier this month, a dozen Asia Pacific countries including Australia, Canada, Japan and the U.S. signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement in Auckland, New Zealand.

Despite the fanfare, the agreement will actually not take effect until at least six countries have ratified it. The U.S., for one, is unlikely to do so until at least after...

With the unexpected death of United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia this weekend, the political battle lines have been drawn. President Obama has made clear that he plans to nominate a successor. His opposition is equally adamant that he should not do so, but allow the choice to be made by the next president.

Many Republicans, including...

Justice Antonin Scalia will be remembered for his brilliant intellect, his acerbic wit and his insistence on interpreting law by reference to text and history.

He was long the intellectual leader of the conservative wing of the United States Supreme Court. However, he often seemed more interested in being a leader than in having followers. He was...