Current Events in August 2013

Even before its widespread availability, Google Glass has been the butt of many jokes and derisive comments. It's been called frivolous, too nerdy and, perhaps most damning, a privacy invader.

But at least one sector of society -- police and rescue workers -- see some redeeming values in the face-mounted device that's sort of a cross between a smartphone, a computer and a dashboard camera.

Cops like their dashboard cameras, after all, so why wouldn't they like a camera that's attached to their head?

A company called Mutualink, which provides communications systems for police,  first responders and the military, is planning a demonstration of how it proposes to integrate Google Glass into what it calls its "multimedia interoperability platform" at an upcoming trade show.

Joe Mazzarella, senior vice president and chief legal counsel of Mutualink, said he expects to see police and firefighters using Google Glass soon, possibly as early as next year at the World Cup in Brazil.

Michael Wengrovitz, VP of innovation at Mutualink, said Google Glass could be a way to  "enable anywhere, anytime communications and information sharing" using a hands-free device, while avoiding technical incompatibilities between different systems.

For example, he said firefighters could review building plans before entering a burning structure, EMTs could view a patient's medical records while on the scene and police could conceivably view images from security cameras in remote locations.

The Mutualink folks think public safety uses of Google Glass would silence much of the carping about privacy, since government agencies already have broad powers to use surveillance technology -- and such systems are sometimes seen as protecting citizens who might otherwise fear mistreatment at the hands of police. 

It's been suggested that New York City Police be fitted with personal cameras to discourage them from needlessly roughinig up the taxpayers. Google Glass might be just what generations of hoody-wearing teen-aged males have been waiting for.

You've heard the phrase "bad technology day." Nearly everyone has them now and then, but not on the scale we've seen the last few days.

On Friday, Google went dark just about everywhere in the U.S. causing a 40 percent drop in web traffic. And today, Amazon.com went down for about 30 minutes.

No one has calculated the cost of the Google outage or thought much about possible consequences other than lost business. Maybe it will be like those big blizzards or black-outs that hit the East Coast every now and then? They're often followed by a baby boomlet nine months later. But just 30 minutes? Well, maybe not.

Back in June 2008, Amazon had a big outage that cost it about $31,000 per minute. Forbes calculates today's outage at $66,240 per minute, or nearly $2 million.

AWS affected too

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's giant web hosting and data storage cloud business,  was also affected by the outage. Advisories to customers said "increased latency" affected some services for about an hour around noon Eastern time.

With each passing year you get closer to retirement. So, it would make sense that each year you squirrel away a little more as that time approaches, right?

You would think so, but a new report from Bankrate.com says just 18% of working Americans are saving more for retirement now than they were a year ago. Additionally, 17% are actually saving less and 54% are saving about the same amount.

Bankrate commissioned similar surveys in August 2011 and August 2012. The results this year are virtually identical to last year's. But, there has been some improvement since 2011, when 29% of working Americans were saving less for retirement than they were in 2010.

Employed Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 are the most likely of all age brackets to be saving less this year than last.

"This is troubling considering the availability of catch-up contributions for those 50 and up, as well as the higher 2013 contribution limits for all eligible IRA and 401(k) contributors," said Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com's senior financial analyst.

Trouble at the higher levels

Upper-middle-income households are another trouble spot, according to the report with 21% saving less for retirement than they were last year and only 14% saving more.

Overall, the Bankrate.com Financial Security Index is down for a second straight month, but at 100.5, it is clinging to a level above 100 that indicates financial security has improved from a year ago. The Index has been above 100 for six consecutive months.

Across the board declines

Readings slipped on all five components in August (job security, net worth, debt, savings and overall financial situation). Still, four of the five are still showing improvement over the past year. Savings remains the weak link, with those saying they're less comfortable outnumbering those that are more comfortable by a margin of nearly two-to-one. Consumers have voiced negative sentiment on savings in every month since polling began in Dec. 2010.

Following the disappointing unemployment report for July, job security among the highest-income households (annual income greater than $75,000) turned negative compared with a year ago.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI).

One of the nation’s largest check authorization service companies will pony up $3.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Certegy Check Services, Inc., based in St. Petersburg, Fla., is a consumer reporting agency (CRA) that compiles consumers’ personal information and uses it to help retail merchants determine whether to accept consumers’ checks. Under the FCRA, consumers whose checks are denied based on information Certegy provides the merchant, have the right to dispute that information and have Certegy correct any inaccuracies.

Improper dispute handling

The FTC’s complaint claims, among other things, that Certegy did not follow proper dispute procedures. The complaint further alleges that Certegy failed to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information it provided to its merchant clients, as required by the FCRA.

The settlement requires the company to make improvements in these areas. The case is part of a broader initiative to target the practices of data brokers, which often compile, maintain and sell sensitive consumer information. Consumer reporting agencies like Certegy are data brokers that sell information to companies making important decisions about consumers, such as their ability to get credit or pay for goods and services by check.

“Inaccurate information in a consumer reporting agency’s file can have a huge impact on a person’s everyday life, starting with their check being denied at the grocery store,” said Jessica L. Rich, Director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “In this case, we alleged that Certegy delivered a one-two punch: the company not only failed to assure that the information it provided to retailers was accurate, but it also failed to follow proper dispute procedures.” The settlement, she said, “will benefit consumers who use checks to pay for essential goods and services, including many older consumers and people without alternate means of payment, such as credit cards.”

Other violations

In addition to the allegations described above, the complaint alleges that Certegy violated the FCRA by failing to create a streamlined process for consumers to obtain free annual reports that they are entitled to; and establish and implement reasonable written policies and procedures regarding the accuracy and integrity of information it furnishes to other CRAs.

This is the first FTC action alleging violations of the Furnisher Rule, which went into effect on July 1, 2010. The settlement requires Certegy to comply with the Furnisher Rule, as well as the requirement to maintain a streamlined process so that consumers can request their free annual reports.

Herbal Give Care is recalling all lots of Esbelder man (30 capsules), Esbelder fem (30 capsules) and Esbelder siloutte (30 capsules).

The products have been found to contain undeclared Sibutramine, N-Desmethylsibutramine, and N-di-Desmethylsibutramine, making them unapproved drugs.

The products may pose a threat to consumers because sibutramine is known to substantially increase blood pressure and/or pulse rate in some patients and may present a significant risk for patients with a history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias or stroke.

The company says it has not received any reports of adverse events related to this recall.

• The Esbelder fem (30 capsules) is packaged in a white plastic bottle with a screw cap containing 30 capsules per bottle. All lots of this product are being recalled. The product was distributed nationwide to retail customers and via the internet. UPC code for this product is 7502011000251.
• The Esbelder man (30 capsules) is packaged in a white plastic bottle with a screw cap containing 30 capsules per bottle. The product was distributed nationwide to retail customers and via the internet. UPC code for this product is 7502011000275.
• The Esbelder Siloutte (30 capsules) is packaged in a white plastic bottle with a screw cap containing 30 capsules per bottle. The product was distributed nationwide to retail customers and via internet. UPC code for this product is 7502011000268.

Consumers who have the affected product(s) should immediately stop using them and return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions regarding this recall can contact Herbal Give Care by calling to (972) 602-6850 Monday- Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm CDT, or by email at hgc-usa@hotmail.com.

They look like candy and that's the problem. Laundry detergent pods have been wildly popular with consumers because they make laundry chores a little easier. But unfortunately, the brightly-colored pods look pretty good to infants and children too.

There have been thousands of cases of children putting the pods in their mouths and either choking on them or chewing on them and ingesting the detergent, but the case of 7-month-old Michael Williams is the first known fatality.

Michael and his mother were staying in a battered-women's shelter in Kissimmee, Fla., last week. The boy's mother was preparing to do her laundry using a detergent pod given to her by the shelter. She placed the pod in a laundry basket on the bed where Michael was sleeping.

She stepped away for a moment and, when she returned, Michael had eaten one packet and was starting on a second one, police investigators said. The boy was taken to Osceola Regional Medical Center, where he died, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Don't look dangerous

The problem with the pods is that, unlike cribs, infant seats and playground equipment, they're not something the average parent or caregiver sees as hazardous, which is exactly why they're so dangerous.

Aside from the choking danger, the highly-concentrated detergent can make children very sick and can even be fatal. The official cause of Michael's death won't be known for weeks but the pod obviously played a major role.

"People are working on it," said Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids in Danger, a Chicago-based advocacy organization. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been working for a year or so with some of the manufacturers but it is likely to be at least a year before a new standard is adopted by ASTM, the non-profit organization that maintains manufacturing standards in more than 150 countries, she said.

Cowles said detergent manufacturers are cooperating, which may speed things up slightly. Some manufacturers are already moving towards more opaque packaging that would make the pods less attractive to children.

"Michael's case is very tragic, since if the shelter had been more aware of the danger of the product, they would have warned parents to keep them out of reach of their children," Cowles told ConsumerAffairs. "A prominent warning and a childproof lid would have been enough to alert the shelter."

The message to consumers

Cowles said the message to consumers is simple: Treat the detergent pods like any other hazardous household substance -- lock them up or put them on a high shelf where small children can't reach them.

Experts recommend you call your local poison center at 1-800-222-1222 immediately if you suspect a child has come in contact with a detergent. The poison center can provide immediate guidance.

Parents and grandparents should also help spread the word by mentioning, "liking" or forwarding this and other stories to help alert busy parents and caregivers who may not yet have heard about the issue.

Consumers Union said retailers should improve in-store signage to better alert shoppers and agreed with Kids in Danger that the pods should be made less attractive to infants.  

“Companies should consider changing the color of the pods to make them less appealing or coating them with a foul-tasting material,” said Ami Gadhia, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union.

It's not just children who are attracted to the pods. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) saw one on a staffer's desk and was tempted to pop it into his mouth, he said at a news conference Sunday, the New York Daily News reported.

Schumer said the CPSC should crack down on detergent manufacturers but said there's no need to ban the pods.

“We don’t want to throw out the baby with the detergent water,” he said. “I don’t know why they make them look so delicious.”

A fast-growing menace

While Michael's case is the most tragic, it is far from the only serious incident involving the pods.

In 2012, poison centers received reports of 6,231 exposures to highly concentrated packets of laundry detergent by children 5 and younger, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported. There have been 5,753 through July 31 of this year -- setting the pace to double the number of cases reported last year.

Poison centers receive many calls each year about children getting into laundry detergent. Swallowing it often causes mild stomach upset, if there are any symptoms at all, but poison center experts say the new highly concentrated single-load liquid laundry detergent packets seem to be different.

Some children who have gotten the product in their mouths have had excessive vomiting, wheezing and gasping. Some get very sleepy. Some have had breathing problems serious enough to need a ventilator to help them breathe.  There have also been reports of corneal abrasions (scratches to the eyes) when the detergent gets into a child’s eyes.

Except for Arkansas, no state saw an increase in obesity rates in the past year, according to the latest report from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

But it's small consolation. Thirteen states now have adult obesity rates above 30%, 41 states have rates of at least 25%, and every state is above 20%.

Three decades ago, in 1980, no state had an obesity rate above 15%. Two decades ago, in 1991, no state was above 20%. In fact, the trend appears to be climbing higher, faster. In 2007, just six years ago, only Mississippi was above 30%.

The question is why. What is causing America – and indeed much of the world – to pack on the pounds? Is it something in the food? Too much food and not enough exercise? Or some combination of factors?

Modern life

A 2003 study (pdf file) by Harvard economists David M. Cutler, Edward L. Glaeser and Jesse M. Shapiro placed much of the blame on changes in the way we prepare and consume food. The new ways make it faster, easier and cheaper to prepare food and the results are not always healthier. They say the potato provides a good illustration. 

“Before World War II, Americans ate massive amounts of potatoes, largely baked, boiled or mashed,” the economists write. “They were generally consumed at home. French fries were rare, both at home and in restaurants, because the preparation of French fries requires significant peeling, cutting and cooking.”

Then along came technology. French fries are now typically peeled, cut and cooked in a few central locations using sophisticated new technologies. They are then frozen and shipped to restaurants and supermarkets. Today, the French fry is the dominant form of potato and America’s favorite vegetable.

Baked potato vs. French fries

Now, let's compare the calories in a baked potato and French fries. A medium-sized baked potato has 129 calories before you add butter or sour cream. A medium order of McDonald's French fries contains around 380 calories. According to Cutler, Glasser and Shapiro total potato consumption increased by about 30% between 1977 and 1995, accounted for almost exclusively by increased consumption of potato chips and French fries.

The bottom line, according to the economists, is the technological advances of modern life have made calories cheaper to buy and easier to prepare. Our self-control, they say, hasn't kept up with these advances.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has cited the environment as a contributing factor that increases the obesity trend. Fewer jobs involve manual labor and more require sitting at desks. There are a lot more automobiles than there used to be and we spent a lot of time sitting in them. Then, there's Madison Avenue.

“Food is everywhere, and so are messages telling us to eat and drink,” the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of NIH, says on its website. We can get something to eat in places where it was never available before—like the gas station. “Going out to eat or getting carryout is easy.”

Obese Baby Boomers

And what about demographics? It's no secret that you tend to become heavier as you get older. Members of the huge Baby Boom generation, active, lean and trim in their 20s and 30s, are a lot less active in their 50s and 60s and account for a significant number of obese Americans. But it may be more than just numbers.

A 2011 AP-Life Goes Strong poll found that higher percentage of Baby Boomers are obese than any other group in the U.S. While the poll showed that 36% of Baby Boomers were obese, only 25% of the generations directly above and below them were.

For Boomers, the news is getting worse. While the AP-Life Goes Strong poll found 36% of Boomers were obese in 2011, this latest survey finds the percentage has climbed to 40% in just two years.

"While stable rates of adult obesity may signal prevention efforts are starting to yield some results, the rates remain extremely high," said Jeffrey Levi, Ph.D., executive director of TFAH. "Even if the nation holds steady at the current rates, Baby Boomers—who are aging into obesity-related illnesses—and the rapidly rising numbers of extremely obese Americans are already translating into a cost crisis for the healthcare system and Medicare."

The report makes a number of policy recommendations to reduce obesity. They include many that are already being implemented in some areas – serving only healthy food in schools, posting calorie information on restaurant menus and encouraging people to walk and bike, rather than ride in cars.

Okay, so you've been struggling with insomnia for the past several months, and you've finally decided to do something about it.

First you hit the Internet to see what steps you can take. Then you talk to your family and friends about your problem and they give you all kinds of advice.

After that, you head to your doctor and he tells you the same thing the Internet and your family said. "Start to exercise, and once you begin, it'll help you with your insomnia tremendously."

So you wake up the next day and go for a jog. The day after that, you do a little aerobics from an old DVD you found. And on day three, you go for a brisk walk.

You continue these exercises for the rest of the week and you do the same the following week. And what happens after that? Absolutely nothing. You still haven't gotten one wink of sleep.

And why is that?

According to researchers from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, it'll take at least four months of exercise before it helps your insomnia.

Not a quick solution

Kelly Glazer Baron, director of Northwestern University's behavioral sleep program, and lead author of the study, said using exercise as a fast solution to a health problem isn't the answer. You'll have to be more patient.

"The message here is that exercise is not a quick fix, which I don't really think is discouraging at all," she said. "Our previous work found that exercise over a 16-week period is very effective in promoting sleep, on par with any kind of medication. But like with weight loss or any sort of behavioral chance, it doesn't happen immediately. You have to measure progress over months, not day-to-day."

Which is why Baron and her team began this study. She said many of her patients were coming back discouraged after they started to exercise but still couldn't sleep. 

"Where the idea to explore this came from is that my patients were coming in and saying that they heard that exercise is good for sleep," explained Baron. "But people generally want a quick fix. And they weren't seeing improvements right away. So they were getting discouraged."

Plan ahead

In addition, researchers found that many people with insomnia go through a bad cycle of not being able to sleep and being too tired to work out the next day. So Baron said insomniacs will really have to fight through those tired feelings if they expect to turn their condition around. 

"So, what this means is that patients need to plan ahead," she said.

"They need to schedule exercise. Make it premeditated and part of one's routine, especially on those days when they feel tired or fatigued or didn't sleep well, because even if the sleep benefit doesn't come quickly, with time and commitment it may eventually come."

Phyllis Zee a neurology professor, who also worked on the study, said people with insomnia are completely removed from their normal routine and getting back that routine doesn't happen in a day or two.

"And although exercise is more of a long-term solution for insomnia, it's still healthier than taking medication," she said. "Patients with insomnia have a heightened level of brain activity, and it takes time to reestablish a more normal level that can facilitate sleep."  

"Rather than medication, which can induce sleep quickly, exercise may be a healthier way to improve sleep because it could address the underlying problem," Zee said.

Dr. James Pagel, director of the Sleep Disorders Center of Southern Colorado in Pueblo, said for many people with insomnia, exercising won't do any good, because folks have to learn how to take their minds off of overdrive.

"I have a large group of patients who run marathons," he said.

"I have people who are insomniacs and run many miles a week. And they still can't sleep, because insomnia is an abnormality of arousal, and for some people you're not just unable to sleep, but you're also hyper-aroused during the day and often committed to a very intense exercise pattern."

"And for these individuals, and those with a genetic form of insomnia, for example, exhausting themselves with exercise will not induce sleep," Pagel said.

Skeptics might say that intelligence agencies aren't likely to respond to petitions, but that's not stopping the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) from trying.

EPIC, joined by over 3,000 members of the public, privacy experts, and journalists, has petitioned the National Security Agency for the ninth time, urging the suspension of the NSA domestic surveillance program pending public comments.

EPIC first petitioned the agency on June 17, 2013. When the agency didn't respond, EPIC renewed the petition and has been doing so on a weekly basis since then.

"NSA's collection of domestic communications contravenes the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and violates several federal privacy laws, including the Privacy Act of 1974, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 as amended," the petition states.

By law, the NSA is required to respond to the petition, EPIC said, noting that General Keith Alexander, NSA Director, has publicly stated that the agency is interested in receiving public comments.

"Help us defend this country and protect our civil liberties and privacy. And if anybody has a better way to do it than what we are doing today, we want to hear that," he said recently.

EPIC said it intends to renew its request for a public rulemaking each week until the NSA responds. 

Earlier, EPIC charged that an internal audit revealed that the NSA violated both legal rules and privacy restrictions thousands of times each year since 2008, leading to the unauthorized surveillance of American communications. According to the 2012 report, there were 2,776 violations in the previous 12 months alone.

The audit also found that a "large number" of calls placed from Washington DC were intercepted when its area code was confused with that of Egypt.

Google Glass, who needs it? Samsung will introduce a wristwatch-like device named the Galaxy Gear next month that can make phone calls, surf the Web and handle e-mails, reports today say. 

The Galaxy Gear will be powered by Google's Android operating system and go on sale this year to beat a potentially competing product from Apple Inc, the sources said, according to Bloomberg.

The device will be unveiled Sept. 4, two days before the IFA consumer electronics show begins in Berlin, one of the sources quoted by the news service said. 

Does this mean that Samsung will beat arch-rival Apple to market with a watch-like device? It looks that way. Apple has been said to have a team of about 100 designers working on a device that's expected to be introduced later this year.

Samsung overtook Apple last year to become the world's largest smartphone maker.  

Specialty Compounding has issued a clarification to its August 12 recall of sterile medications.

The company previously said the recall applied to all unexpired sterile compounded products dispensed since May 9, 2013. In fact, it applies to ANY sterile medication that has not reached its expiration date -- including all strengths and dosage forms.

The recall was issued following reports of bacterial infection affecting 15 patients at two Texas hospitals: Corpus Christi Medical Center Doctors Regional and Corpus Christi Medical Center Bay Area: Treatment of those patients included IV infusions of calcium gluconate from Specialty Compounding. There is a potential association between the infections and the medication. No calcium gluconate was shipped outside of the State of Texas.

If there is microbial contamination in products intended to be sterile, patients are at risk of serious infections which may be life threatening.

“Because of the potential association between the hospital-based infections and sterile compounded medications produced by Specialty Compounding, we are voluntarily recalling all sterile products out of an abundance of caution,” said Ray Solano, R.Ph., pharmacist in charge at Specialty Compounding.

Recalled products were distributed directly to hospitals and physician offices in Texas. They also were sent directly to patients located nationwide with the exception of North Carolina.

Users or recipients of these products should immediately discontinue use and return the recalled unexpired products to Specialty Compounding.

To return product or request assistance related to this recall, users should contact Specialty Compounding at 512-219-0724, Monday through Friday, between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. CDT.  

Hyundai is recalling 20,300 model year 2013 Santa Fe Sport vehicles manufactured July 13, 2012, through March 12, 2013; and equipped with 2.4 liter engines.

Due to a manufacturing issue, the right front axle shaft may fracture. A fractured front axle may result in a loss of power to the wheels. Additionally, if the vehicle is parked without the parking brake applied, it may roll away. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.

Hyundai will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front axle shaft assembly, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in August 2013.

Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai's recall number is 112.

Owners of the Ford C-Max hybrid will be getting a check for $550 from Ford, as compensation for what the company now concedes was a mileage estimate that didn't live up to consumers' real-world experience.

Ford said late Friday that it would reduce the fuel-economy rating for the C-Max to 43 miles per gallon from the 47 mpg that it had widely advertised in its quest to produce a Prius-killer. Customers who leased their C-Max will get $325.

Eligible customers, about 32,000 of them, will be notified by mail. Dealers will be attaching new mileage labels to cars on their lots.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it did not plan to take any action against Ford, saying the automaker did not do anything illegal. "Ford did not do anything illegal," EPA official Christopher Grundler told Automotive News. 

Ford has long contended that it arrived at its 47 mpg estimate by following the EPA's rules, an assertion the agency has not disputed. Grundler said the EPA will be updating the rules that automakers follow in arriving at mileage estimates.

Angry owners

Ford has faced withering criticism and lawsuits challenging its claimed 47 mpg rating, which is expected to be lowered to 43 mpg. The ratings are based on data gathered under (EPA) Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. 

In an initial attempt to quell the clamor, Ford said in July that it would recalibrate the software on the C-Max to deliver better fuel economy. 

The Ford Fusion hybrid uses the same technology but has not been the subject of widespread complaints. Many C-Max owners, on the other hand, have been vocal about their displeasure. 

"I thought my 2013 C-MAX would be a Prius Killer? NOT! As a returning Ford buyer I feel deceived," said Ronald of South Portland, Maine. "Based on the advertised EPA estimates, I would have been ok with low 40's but 28-33 mpg is not even in the ballpark."

The Toyota Prius, which is smaller and lighter than the C-Max, has a combined rating of 50 mpg, making it the only non-plug-in nameplate with higher EPA fuel-economy than the C-Max.

Hybrid ratings difficult

Although the C-Max episode is a serious blow to its image as an emerging leader in fuel economy, Ford is not alone in tripping over attempts to wring the highest possible mpg ratings out of its hybrids and other high-mileage vehicles.

Hyundai and Kia backed down on lofty fuel claims earlier this year, retreating from their 40 mpg claim and modifying it to values ranging from 36 to 38 mpg, depending on the model.

That move came about under pressure from the EPA, which said the ratings had been based on flawed test results. The companies offered about 900,000 customers prepaid fuel cards as compensation for the error.

Toyota's Prius has also come in for heavy criticism from many of its owners, although it also has a large band of loyalists.

All manufacturers and the EPA are battling a number of variables that make it harder to accurately predict the real-world fuel economy of hybrids as compared to gas- and diesel-powered models.

Perhaps the biggest variable is speed. Most hybrids beat internal combustion engines hands-down in stop-and-go urban driving, since the electric motor does most of the work. But it's a different story on the highway, where the often-small gas engine takes over.

While hybrids may turn in respectable mileage at 55 miles per hour or so, their performance suffers at higher speeds. It takes a lot more energy -- and, therefore, fuel -- to push a car along at 70 than at 55, perhaps 25% more in cars with smaller engines.

While 55 may be the speed limit on many Interstates, it's downright dangerous to drive that slowly, a circumstance government regulators don't seem eager to address.

Weather can also be a factor. Drivers who live in cold climates can expect worse mileasge in the winter, regardless of what kind of car they're driving. Vehicle condition is also a factor. New cars tend to get poorer mileage until they are "broken in" and all cars deliver poorer mileage with worn tires and engines in need of maintenance.

Automakers have made great strides in increasing fuel efficiency of all manner of cars and trucks. Not only are electrics and hybrids beginning to change the way consumers think about fuel efficiency, even four-cylinder gasoline-powered cars can get eye-popping MPG.

But an often-overlooked alternative is the diesel engine – which is much more common internationally than in the U.S. If you haven't considered diesel because it's smelly and dirty, you may not have been following the recent developments in technology that have led to what is known as “clean diesel.”

Automotive engineers have developed engines that burn the fuel cleaner and more efficiently, getting some of the best fuel economy on the road. Using urea exhaust-stream injections and a few other bells and whistles, engineers have designed engines with emissions that are a far cry from what they were just a few years ago.

Better mileage

They get better mileage too. Diesel engines have always given drivers more bang for the buck but modern turbocharging technology has boosted the advantage. Last week two popular clean-diesel vehicles were on display – not at an auto show where you would expect them, but at the 2013 National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) summit, attended by legislators and policymakers from around the U.S.

On display were the newly introduced 2014 Chevy Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel  and the 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI clean diesel, which recently set a mileage record.

In June, the 2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI set a new Guinness World Record  for the lowest fuel consumption in the 48 contiguous U.S. states in the non-hybrid car category. It averaged a jaw-dropping 77.99 miles per gallon during a 14-day trip that covered 8,122 miles.

Beat hybrids hands down

How does that compare to hybrids? The Passat TDI mileage mark also beat the hybrid vehicle U.S. record of 64.6 miles per gallon by more than 13 MPG.

The 2014 Chevy Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel earned an EPA 46 MPG highway ratings – an impressive performance that suffers only in comparison to the Passat TDI. The 2014 Cruze has gotten good initial reviews and reduces emissions without sacrificing power.

Mercedes Benz has also been pushing the envelope of clean diesel technology. The German carmaker offers diesel versions of both the M-Class and GL-Class crossovers. Now, the E350 BlueTEC is also offering clean diesel mileage in a stylish, luxury package. Despite its 210 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque, it serves up an EPA 32 MPG highway rating.

Volkswagen is also putting its TDI engine in its Beetle, which is a far cry from the horsepower-challenged “bugs” that were popular with Baby Boomers in the 1960s. Back then the Beetle's stingy fuel economy stood in stark contrast to the prevalent V-8s that powered most cars, but even the Beetle of old couldn't match its offspring. The clean diesel Beetle is expected to crack the 40 MPG highway barrier.

'Tremendous advancements'

"Diesel technology has made tremendous advancements in recent years as manufacturers have invested billions of dollars in new research and development,” said Allen Schaeffer, the Executive Director of the Diesel Technology Forum, part of the NCSL summit. The NCSL summit provides us an excellent opportunity to showcase the latest in clean diesel technology to policy makers from all 50 states.”

Policymakers are interested in clean-diesel technology for two reasons. It reduces air pollution while it reduces the demand for energy. That's important for consumers, of course, but also governments, who operate huge motor vehicle fleets. Shaeffer cites a study from ExxonMobil that predicts diesel will surpass gasoline as the number one global transportation fuel by 2020.

The same report suggests natural gas will retain only a small share of the transportation fuel mix, despite predictions of large scale conversions to the plentiful fuel. Some transportation analysts have suggested natural gas may play a more important role in transportation by firing electric plants.

After all, those electric cars are going to require a lot of electricity to recharge.

Cameras at traffic signals, known to drivers as “red light cameras,” are there to catch you if you blow through a red light. The chances of a police officer being at the intersection to nab you are pretty remote. But the camera is always there.

When a car runs a red light the camera captures the license plate number. A few days later, the driver receives a picture of their car going through an intersection, along with a ticket.

But these cameras have become increasingly controversial, and not just because people object to being under surveillance. There have been a number of lawsuits against municipalities that employ them -- Rochester, N.Y., is among the latest -- by drivers who have challenged the legality or validity of their tickets.

And there is a larger issue. Municipalities that install these cameras have discovered they are a lucrative source of revenue at a time of shrinking budgets. There is a growing suspicion that cities and towns are adjusting the timing of the lights to write more tickets.

Money generator

“When red light cameras are used to make money for local governments, these governments are unlikely to jeopardize this income source,” the National Motorists Association says in a statement on its website. “This includes traffic-light synchronization, which is the elimination of unneeded lights and partial deactivation of other traffic lights during periods of low traffic.”

If governments are adjusting lights to increase tickets -- shortening the period the light remains yellow, for example -- it is not just an ethical issue, critics say, but one that centers squarely on safety. The controversy attracted the interest of traffic engineering professors at the University of Tennessee, who analyzed the issue to determine if traffic control measures intended to boost red light revenue -- such as shortening yellow light time or increasing the speed limit on a street -- compromise safety.

The study by professors Lee Han, Chris Cherry and Qiang Yang, in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, is published in the August issue of Transport Policy Journal. 

Cherry, who says the proper use of red light cameras can promote safety, believes the vast majority of traffic engineers would not yield to the pressure to rig the lights in an effort to trap motorists.

Anecdotal reports

“That said, there's been plenty of anecdotal reports and lawsuits that suggest that some traffic engineers have used red light camera revenue generation as one of the criteria that they consider when they time traffic signals,” Cherry said.

The authors analyzed previous research related to four traffic signal measures: shortening yellow duration and/or lengthening all-red duration, shortening cycle length, increasing the speed limit and increasing high volume-to-capacity conditions such as with an unwarranted turn signal—and their impacts on red light running, safety and efficiency.

Among their findings, shortening the yellow and/or lengthening the all-red, shortening the cycle length, and increasing the speed limit increased the chance of drivers running a red light. Shortening the yellow and increasing the speed limit increased the chance of a crash. So, if a municipality is doing that, it stands to reason they aren't doing it to promote safety, but for some other reason.

Hazardous at best

The timing of yellow lights is a significant issue for drivers under the best of circumstances. For drivers, it requires a judgment call, unlike the unambiguous red and green signals.

"There are circumstances, as you approach a yellow light, where the decision is easy," said Hesham Rakha, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, who conducted a 2012 study of yellow light timing. "If you are close to the intersection, you keep going. If you are far away, you stop. If you are almost at the intersection, you have to keep going because if you try to stop, you could cause a rear-end crash with the vehicle behind you and would be in the middle of the intersection anyway."

If some in authority are tweaking the time the signal remains yellow, shortening it in hopes of forcing a motorist to run a red light, it can make an intersection more dangerous.

Cherry says part of the problem stems from the cost of installing and operating these systems. He says it can provide added pressure to make the system at least pay for itself, even if it doesn't generate revenue.

Shouldn't pay for themselves

“The most effective red light camera is one that doesn't produce any revenue, that doesn't pay for itself,” he said. “They deter red light running so much that the municipality can't issue citations.”

According to various media reports a record number of tickets were issued by cameras in the District of Columbia in 2012, pulling in nearly $13 million for the city government. In June Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI) drafted a bill that would ban red light cameras in the nation's capital -- suggesting the issue of ticket-writing cameras at intersections and whether governments are gaming the system -- could spill over into the political arena.

Addiction is a powerful word that gets thrown around a lot these days. There's drug addiction and alcohol addiction – we're all familiar with that. There's also sex addiction and gambling addiction.

But can we be addicted to our smartphones? Increasingly psychologists are saying yes we can.

Dr. Ira E. Hyman, Jr., a professor of psychology at Western Washington University, says there's a difference between addiction and dependence. Writing in Psychology Today, Hyman admits to being dependent on his cellphone but not to the extent of not being able to control his use. When you arrive at that point, he writes, you're looking at addiction. 

He isn't alone in drawing that conclusion. Experiments have shown that some users, especially young users, will pass up money offered in exchange for waiting to reply to a text message from a friend and instead will reply immediately.

And it's not just texting. Some people will take a call in a crowded restaurant -- even in a movie theater.

TMI

"Cell phones have become a necessary part of our daily lives. Still, it is important to remember when to silence or turn them off -- like during meals and while studying or on the Internet," said Courtney Stewart, research associate at the Indiana Prevention Resource Center, an organization originally established to deal with drug addiction. "Too much information can overwhelm our senses and leave us feeling depleted. So put the phone down and spend some time talking with your friends face to face or better yet, take a walk with your friends if you want to connect and get some mood-boosting exercise."

Stewart says cellphone addiction may be hard to identify because, unlike drug and gambling addition, it can be hard to define. Feelings of withdrawal if you don't have your phone, compulsive checking of the phone, and using it to feel good characterize cell phone addiction, she says. And the consequences can be real, just like with other more-recognized additions.

"Students and others could experience the inability to concentrate on the task at hand, be it school work, your job or an important conversation," Stewart said. "School work may suffer, deadlines are not met, and many instructors and employers now ban the use of cell phones while in class or on the job. Failure to comply with these rules can result in declining grades, removal from the classroom and losing your job."

Life and death

It can also be a matter of life and death. Using your mobile device when you should be placing your undivided attention elsewhere can lead to accidents. In 2011, about 1.3 million automobile accidents involved cell phone use, although a recent study calls into question the link between accidents and talking on a cellphone. 

There are even some humorous accessories to help cellphone users control their habit. One is a pouch for your phone that blocks the signal – for those who can't bring themselves to turn off their devices. Another is a cage in which you can lock up your phone. Stewart, however, suggests just confronting your cellphone demons.

Her advice? Make a habit of turning off your phone. When you go to a movie, go out to dinner with friends or doing work that requires concentration, turn it off.

If you are unsure if you are really addicted to your phone, you can take this test.

A lawsuit charges that the American Heart Association (AHA) defrauds consumers by selling its "Heart-Check" logo to Campbell Soup and other processed-food manufacturers.

In the suit, which seeks class action status, lead plaintiff Kerry O'Shea says Campbell's motto should be: "Unhealthy, but maybe not as bad for you as other products."

On its website, the AHA boasts that the Heart-Check mark "has the strongest aided brand awareness and trust among leading on-package nutrition icons."

"Since its creation in 1995, the Heart-Check Food Certification Program has helped consumers eat healthier and lead by example for friends and family. Identifying heart-healthy foods is a solid first step in building a heart-healthy lifestyle," according to the AHA. 

But O'Shea's suit says the Heart-Check is for sale to food manufacturers whose products are not exactly health food. Campbell pays an annual licensing fee for at least 97 of its products that the suit says "run directly counter to the AHA's stated mission," which is to eliminate cardiovascular diseases and stroke, Courthouse News Service reports.

"The AHA, for a fee, abandons its general, noncommercial dietary and nutritional guidelines -- which categorically rule out unhealthy processed products, including Campbell's soups ... and agrees to certify as heart-healthy products that merely meet the minimum criteria for certain FDA-regulated health claims, rather than the AHA's own more demanding standards."

"When you spot the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark, you'll instantly know the food has been certified to meet the American Heart Association's guidelines for a heart-healthy food," AHA says in a section of its website aimed at consumers. 

The suit charges that the practice "not only causes consumers to overpay for Campbell's AHA-certified soups, but also presents substantial health risks to all consumers, including the more than five million American consumers suffering from congestive heart failure."

A single serving of Campbell's AHA-certified soups contains nearly three times the amount of sodium permitted by the AHA's noncommercial nutritional guidelines, while a full can contains between six and seven times that amount, the lawsuit alleges.

You can find all kinds of studies claiming beneficial effects from coffee but a new study finds that drinking four cups a day raises your risk of dying prematurely if you're under 55.

The findings come from a large-scale University of South Carolina study of 43,727 individuals aged 20 to 87. Researchers said they suspect excessive coffee consumption may somehow adversely affect the body’s metabolism.

"The exact mechanism between coffee and mortality still needs clarification. Coffee is high in caffeine, which has the potential to stimulate the release of epinephrine, inhibit insulin activity, and increase blood pressure," said Xuemei Sui, a co-author of the study.

The reason younger consumers are more at risk isn't clear but Sui said coffee consumption could be related to other unhealthful activities, including heavy drinking and smoking.

"Heavy coffee consumption behavior might cluster with other unhealthy behaviours such as sleeping late, and eating a poor diet," he said.

43,000 studied

The study, published online at Science Direct, used data from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study representing 43,727 participants. Baseline data were collected by an in-person interview on the basis of a standardized questionnaires and a medical examination, including fasting blood chemistry analysis, anthropometry, blood pressure, electrocardiography, and a maximal graded exercise test.

There were 2,500 deaths during the 16-year study, about a third of them because of heart and artery disease. The study found that people who drank more coffee were also more likely to smoke and had less healthy hearts and lungs than other participants.

The risk of death from all causes rose by 56 per cent for men and women younger than 55 who drank more than 28 cups of coffee a week, according to a report in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Nearly everything you read about the cratering American newspaper industry blames the "free news" that readers are able to find on the Internet. Newspapers have responded with paywalls that bring in pocket change but mostly chase away readers.

But in fact, the most catastrophic impact of the Internet on newspapers has nothing at all to do with news. Rather, it's the dowdy but powerful site called Craigslist, which took about $5 billion away from newspapers during the period from 2000-2007, according to a new study.

How? Simple. Craigslist offers free classified ads, enabling consumers to sell their old exercise machines, auto parts and attic fans without shelling out the $50 or so most newspapers would have charged them. Equally important, it made it possible for employers to advertise jobs for as little as $25 instead of the hundreds of dollars big-city dailies charge.

Point of view

Whether this is a bad thing depends on your point of view. If you own a newspaper, it's bad. But it has saved consumers billions and has probably expanded economic activity by making it easier to buy and sell goods and find jobs. It has certainly made it easier for free lance writers, designers, programmers and others to find part-time gigs or even open their own businesses, although we're not aware of any rigorous research on the topic. 

The professors found that local newspapers that relied heavily on classifieds suffered an average 20.7% drop in classified advertising rates after the entry of Craigslist in their markets, according to the study by professors at the NYU Stern School of Business and Harvard Business School.

The study, titled “Responses to Entry in Multi-Sided Markets: The Impact of Craigslist on Local Newspapers,” found that newspapers that were more reliant on classified revenues saw a bigger drop-off after Craiglist entered their markets.

Besides cleverly walling off their newspaper content online, many newspapers responded to falling classified revenue by raising their home-delivery subscription prices, thus chasing off even more business. 

The NYU-Harvard study found that, sure enough, the migration of their classifieds business to Craigslist had secondary impacts on local newspapers. They found subscription prices rose an average 3.3% while circulation fell an average 4.4% and display advertising rates fell 3.1%.

The authors note that these results are still relevant today -- and not just to newspaper publishers -- as “the boundaries between media industries are blurred and advertisers are able to reach relevant consumers through a variety of platforms, such as TV, the Internet and mobile devices.”