Will Women Save Us From Donald Trump?
In the New York Review of Books, Judith Shulevitz rounds up some of the current research on the resistance: The Harvard political scientist Theda Skocpol [studied] counties that went for Trump in four states that went for Trump: Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. Skocpol says she was startled to find so many flourishing anti-Trump…
Australian Voters Say a Resounding “Yes” to Same-Sex Marriage in Historic Survey
Supporters of marriage equality hold a rally in Sydney, in September.Richard Milnes/Rex Shutterstock via ZUMA Press Same-sex marriage could soon be legal in Australia, after voters overwhelmingly returned “yes” ballots in a historic, months-long postal survey on whether the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to wed. The vote is nonbinding, but Prime Minister Malcolm…
Study: Black People Are 75 Percent More Likely to Live Near Toxic Oil and Gas Facilities
A child plays in front of a public housing project which borders an oil refinery in West Port Arthur, Texas.LM Otero/AP Environmentalists have long contended that communities of color are disproportionately affected by pollution from the oil and gas industry, and a study released on Tuesday details the extent of the harm. According to Fumes Across…
California Will Get Half its Energy From Renewables by 2020
California Coastline along State Road 1Robert Bohrer/Shutterstock The US fight against climate change hasn’t exactly made much progress recently. Just this week, for instance, the Trump administration spent its time at the UN conference on climate change in Bonn praising the benefits of coal. But there is actually one bit of good news. A report released Monday from the California Public Utilities Commission shows that the state will get half of its…
Here’s What Climate Change Is Doing to the West
A wildfire burns in Medford, Ore.Usfs/Planet Pix/Zuma This story was originally published by High Country News and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The complexity of climate change means it’s hard to trace simple lines from cause to effect in daily life, much less plan for the future. That’s one reason the federal government updates its…
Cory Booker’s New Bill Has a “Snowball’s Chance in Hell” of Passing
Mel Evans/AP This story was originally published by CityLab and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. On October 23, Senator Cory Booker, one of the members of Congress most capable of harnessing bipartisan cooperation, introduced the Environmental Justice Act of 2017, which was devoid of one Republican sponsor. If passed, the bill would force the federal government to…