Links, 3-28-12

Here's an overview of what the Supreme Court will hear about health care this week.  The hearings represent a "moment of truth" for health care reform.  Among other things, the court will decide what parts of the health care law, if any, can stand if the mandate is unconstitutional.  The federal government is arguing that they cannot require insurers to accept all applicants or cover pre-existing conditions without the mandate.  Here's an update on what's happened the past two days.


In other health news, hospitals and other medical providers charge different users and insurers vastly different amounts for the same procedures.

Romney may be the consensus Republican candidate now, but that doesn't mean everybody is okay with that.  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Romney needs to check his watch from time to time and realize "it is 2012, not the mid-1970s".  And Rick Santorum said that Romney was the "worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama" on the issue of health care.

Newt Gingrich, meanwhile, is scaling back his campaign -- firing one-third of his staff and replacing his campaign manager


The Economist reports that nudges are catching on around the world.

Climatologists report that the Earth is on the brink of crossing a tipping point past which global warming will be irreversible.

The electric car seems to be losing steam.

THE future would appear bright for the electric car. Gasoline prices are high. The government is spending billions on battery technology. Auto companies are preparing to roll out a dozen new electrified models. Concern is growing about the climate impacts of burning oil. And tough new fuel economy standards are looming.
Yet the state of the electric car is dismal, the victim of hyped expectations, technological flops, high costs and a hostile political climate. General Motors has temporarily suspended production of the plug-in electric Chevy Volt because of low sales. Nissan’s all-electric Leaf is struggling in the market. A number of start-up electric vehicle and battery companies have folded. And the federal government has slowed its multibillion-dollar program of support for advanced technology vehicles in the face of market setbacks and heavy political criticism.