“I Am an Optimistic Person”
Friederike Otto, the scientist who studies climate catastrophes By Sandra Laville Cycling over London Bridge as the dry heat pushed the temperature above 40C and a hot wind gusted down the River Thames, Friederike Otto…
April 2023
US Transition to Electric Cars Threatens Environmental Havoc
By Nina Lakhani The US transition to electric vehicles could require three times as much lithium as is currently produced for the entire global market, causing needless water shortages, Indigenous land grabs, and ecosystem destruction…
The Carbon Footprints of the Rich
Dramatically unequal consumption at the heart of the climate crisis By Genevieve Guenther What can you do, as a single individual, to help halt global heating? Social science research suggests that one of the most…
Tax Private Jets of the Superrich
By Lloyd Alter Scientist and policy analyst Vaclav Smil taught us that energy is money—the universal currency. That’s one reason why rich people have such high carbon footprints: They have lots of money and converting…
Police Violence At All-Time High
Are We Ready to Shrink Police Budgets? By Sonali Kolhatkar The year 2022 was the deadliest year on record in the United States for fatalities at the hands of law enforcement. According to the Washington…
Citizens’ Assemblies: Are They the Future of Democracy?
By Eva Talmadge When Fauzia Bajwa, a retired software developer who lives in St-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, received an invitation to participate in something called a citizens’ assembly, her first impulse was to write the letter off…
The Last Free Space
Libraries, as they exist in the twenty-first century, are the only remaining public domain. By Linda Stack-Nelson I will absolutely be the first person to romanticize libraries. I come from a home with thirty-two bookcases…
NC Charter Schools Are Failing
By Shawgi Tell Privately-operated charter schools in the United States have a long record of failure. They have been over-promising and under-delivering for decades. Over the years, many people, especially low-income minority parents living in…