Tag: The Conversation
5 years after Paris: How countries’ climate policies match up to their promises, and who’s aiming for net zero emissions
Even if every country meets its commitments, the world will still be on track to warm by more than 3 degrees Celsius this century, a new UNEP report shows. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images by Morgan Bazilian, Colorado…
The Marshall Islands could be wiped out by climate change – and their colonial history limits their ability to save themselves
The Marshall Islands and other small island nations are urgently threatened by rising seas. Stefan Lins/Flickr, CC BY by Autumn Bordner, University of California, Berkeley and Caroline E. Ferguson, Stanford University Sunday, December 13, 2020 Along…
Why shielding businesses from coronavirus liability is a bad idea
by Timothy D. Lytton, Georgia State University Congress may be close to a deal on another coronavirus bailout, but Senate Republican demands for liability protections for businesses remain a major obstacle. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell…
This type of sexual harassment on campus often goes overlooked
Teaching assistants often remain silent when sexual harassment comes from the students they teach. Hill Street Studios / Getty Images. Sarah Ives, City College of San Francisco and Ann E. Bartos When the #MeToo movement gained…
Has Donald Trump had his Joe McCarthy moment?
“We have to interrupt here, because the president made a number of false statements, including the notion that there has been fraudulent voting…” — Lester Holt NBC Nightly News The moment Lester Holt of NBC News cut…
How QAnon uses satanic rhetoric to set up a narrative of ‘good vs. evil’
A QAnon supporter waiting to see Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. Rick Loomis/Getty Images by Paul Thomas, Radford University Tuesday, October 20 In front of a TV audience on Oct. 15, President Donald Trump…
Exposure to man-made chemicals influences genes controlling aging, immune system and metabolism
Most genes in the human body can be disrupted by man-made chemicals. Göran Andersson/Getty Images by Alexander Suvorov, University of Massachusetts Amherst Sunday, October 18 Today humans are exposed to thousands of man-made chemicals. Yet the…
279,700 extra deaths in US so far this year
A girl views the body of her father, who died of COVID-19, while mourners who can’t visit in person are onscreen. Joe Raedle/Getty Images News via Getty Images by Ronald D. Fricker Jr., Virginia Tech The…
Americans aren’t worried about white nationalism in the military – because they don’t know it’s there
There is a long history of links between white nationalist movements and the U.S. military. Bo Zaunders/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images by Jennifer Spindel, University of New Hampshire; Matt Motta, Oklahoma State University, and Robert Ralston,…
Teens want COVID-19 advice that gives them safe ways to socialize – not just rules for what they can’t do
Social interaction can be risky during a pandemic, but it’s also important for young people’s development and mental health. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images by Tammy Chang, University of Michigan and Matthew Dunn, University of Michigan America’s teens…
Disaster work is often carried out by prisoners – who get paid as little as 14 cents an hour despite dangers
Prison systems have long championed the work of incarcerated persons in emergencies and disasters as a demonstration of the value of prisons to local communities and the state. Prisoners clearing vegetation to prevent the spread of…
The labor-busting law firms and consultants that keep Google, Amazon and other workplaces union-free
Rite Aid hired anti-union consultants to try to prevent workers from successfully organizing. Amy Niehouse/Flickr, CC BY-SA by John Logan, San Francisco State University August 24, 2020 American companies have been very successful at preventing their…
Why police unions are not part of the American labor movement
In a way, some police unions have created an alternative justice system that prevents police departments and municipalities from disciplining or discharging officers who have committed crimes against the people they are sworn to serve. Minneapolis…
What’s in that wildfire smoke, and why is it so bad for your lungs?
The health impact of wildfire exposure depends in part on on the fire itself and how much smoke a person breathes in, how often and for how long. by Luke Montrose, Boise State University If I…
After the civil rights era, white Americans failed to support systemic change to end racism. Will they now?
Will white people’s participation in Black Lives Matter protests yield real change? (Photo: Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images” by Candis Watts Smith, Pennsylvania State University The first wave of the Black Lives Matter movement, which crested…
As the coronavirus rages in prisons, ethical issues of crime and punishment become more compelling
A 1970 image of prisoners in cell blocks at Rikers Island Prison. Bettmann / Contributor/Bettmann via Getty Images by Austin Sarat, Amherst College Thursday, August 6 Across the United States, prisons and jails have become hot…
How to hide from a drone – the subtle art of ‘ghosting’ in the age of surveillance
When DHS redirects large, fixed-wing drones from the U.S.-Mexico border to monitor protests, and when towns experiment with using drones to test people for fevers, it’s time to think about how many eyes are in the…
People are dying in US prisons, and not just from COVID-19
According to investigations by the Miami Herald, corrections officers gassed Randall Jordan-Aparo as he begged for help, likely killed Latandra Ellington for speaking out about sexual abuse and scalded Darren Rainey to death in the shower….
With fewer cars on US streets, now is the time to reinvent roadways and how we use them
New priorities in Boulder, Colo. Kevin Krizek, CC BY-ND Kevin J. Krizek, University of Colorado Boulder Sticking closer to home because of COVID-19 has shown many people what cities can be like with less traffic, noise,…
As Arizona coronavirus cases surge from early reopening, Indigenous nations suffer not only more COVID-19 but also wrongly from blame
At the Navajo Nation town of Fort Defiance, Arizona, staff pack food boxes. The Navajo Nation now has the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in the U.S. (Getty Images/Mark Ralston) by Lisa Hardy, Northern Arizona…
From grandfather to grandson, the lessons of the Tulsa race massacre
“More than 1,000 businesses and homes were burned to the ground, scores of black families were herded into cattle pens at the fairgrounds, and one of the largest and most prosperous black communities in the United…
Militias evaluate beliefs, action as President threatens soldiers in the streets
Constitutionalists say they fear – a forceful expansion of government power against its people. But most militia groups have been silent. To date, only a few have made any sort of public statement. Members of militia…
Coronavirus deaths and those of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery have something in common: Racism
In Minneapolis, the memorial near the spot where George Floyd died while in police custody. Getty Images / Kerem Yucel by April Thames, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences The…
Blocking the deadly cytokine storm is a vital weapon for treating COVID-19
Immune cells release proteins called cytokines which alert the rest of the immune system that a virus is present. www.scientificanimations.com, CC BY-SA by Alexander (Sasha) Poltorak, Tufts University The killer is not the virus but the…
