LA Times Science Files for 2007/06/13

These are items compiled by staff of the LA Times.

• OBITUARIES
  Don Herbert, 89; TV’s ‘Mr. Wizard’ taught science to
  

  young baby boomers WASHINGTON – Don Herbert, who explained the wonderful world of science to millions of young baby boomers on television in the 1950s and ’60s as “Mr. Wizard” and did the same for another generation of youngsters on the Nickelodeon cable TV channel in the 1980s, died Tuesday. He was 89. By Dennis McLellan, Times Staff Writer.

• PUBLIC HEALTH
  Tragic Catch-911 for dying woman
  

  In the 40 minutes before a woman’s death last month at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, two separate callers pleaded with 911 dispatchers to send help because the hospital staff was ignoring her as she writhed on the floor, according to audio recordings of the calls. By Charles Ornstein and Francisco Vara-Orta, Times Staff Writers.

• GLOBAL WARMING
  Universities pledge to go ‘climate neutral’
  

  SAN FRANCISCO – The presidents and chancellors of 284 colleges and universities nationwide have signed a pact to combat global warming by making their campuses “carbon neutral” as soon as possible, leaders of the initiative announced Tuesday. By Richard C. Paddock, Times Staff Writer.

• ENVIRONMENT
  Obama yields to a greener side
  

  WASHINGTON – With pressure mounting on Democratic presidential candidates to adopt hard-line positions on curbing global warming, Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday backtracked from his long-held support for a controversial plan to promote the use of coal as an alternative fuel to power motor vehicles. By Peter Wallsten, Times Staff Writer.

• ENVIRONMENT
  Energy bill faces big hurdles
  

  WASHINGTON – The White House on Tuesday found a lot to dislike about the first big energy bill to come before the Democratic-controlled Congress, complicating passage of the measure. By Richard Simon, Times Staff Writer.

• FOOD SAFETY
  China says its foods are safe
  

  China steps up damage control after recent scandals as the 2008 Olympics loom. By Ching-Ching Ni, Times Staff Writer.

• DISEASE
  Early cholera season adds to Iraq’s woes
  

  BAGHDAD – Iraq has reported five cases of cholera among children in the last three weeks, a worrying sign as summer sets in and the war leaves sewage and sanitation systems a shambles. By Tina Susman and Zeena Kareem, Times Staff Writers.