Category: Uncategorized
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Why the Permitting Reform Bill is Bad for our Democracy and for the Climate
(In other words, here we go again…) Image Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/climate/data-centers-pollution-trump-ai-energy.html On Wednesday, a group of Senators introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA). The bill aims to reform the federal environmental review and permitting process for energy projects in the US. The release was notable for including a diverse list of co-sponsors, including…
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Assessing Democracy in America before the Midterms
I had the opportunity to review the third report from the Democracy for All Project before it was released this week. The project is a collaboration between the Charles F. Kettering Foundation and Gallup and involves an annual survey of more than 23,000 American adults to understand civic life and Democracy in America. The results…
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Who’s Talking About Climate Change (and why does it matter)?
This week, we are releasing the first landscape assessment of climate communicators in the US and Canada. The project was conducted in collaboration with the folks at The Talking Climate Collaborative and maps out the ecosystem of climate communication. For anyone who doesn’t understand why communicating about climate change is so important, remember that the…
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Will the Polycrisis Get the Attention it Deserves at Climate Week NYC?
Source: World Economic Forum, Global Risks Report, 2023, p. 10. In a week, the largest climate event in the US–Climate Week NYC–gets underway. Intentionally scheduled to coincide with the meeting of the UN General Assembly, Climate Week NYC “brings together more than 100,000 people across 1,000+ events in New York City. From global leaders shaping…
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On Overshoot and Democratizing AI
I had planned to take this weekend off since it’s Labor Day here in the states, but there’s just too much to say… This week, the UN Environment Programme released its new report: Limiting Overshoot – Navigating exceedance of 1.5°C and pathways towards return. The report “examines the implications of entering an era of 1.5°C…
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How Climate Shocks Motivate Social Change
Even though September begins on Tuesday, this summer of climate shocks has yet to slow down: record-breaking heat and extreme weather are continuing across much of the northern hemisphere and thousands of people are missing and hundreds of lives are confirmed lost after a glacier’s collapse triggered a flash flood in Nepal and Tibet this…
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Can the 2026 Election Save Our Democracy?
It is 80 days until the 2026 midterm elections take place across the US. There’s been a lot of discussion about what the progressive wins against moderates around the country mean for America and the Democratic Party. I expect even more speculation and coverage as the general election approaches and the Democratic Party decides whether…
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There’s Something Happening Here…
With the outcome of Tuesday’s primary elections, progressive democratic candidates have accumulated a large number of wins against centrists in the Democratic Party. While much of the public discussion has been focused on Republicans using the wins to paint the Party as extremist and captured by the far-left and the ways ‘corporate democrats’ are working…
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Experiencing the Climate Crisis First Hand
I’m just back from our annual family vacation to the beach in Delaware. My sisters and I always go with our families the same week in July. For the first time ever this year, the ocean was overrun with jellyfish. Apparently, warmer waters are causing jellyfish to “move in and thrive earlier and more often…
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The Summer of Climate Shocks Rages On
The summer of 2026 will go down as a summer of climate shocks. “Climate shocks are deviations from normal environmental patterns in the form of droughts, floods, heat waves, or other extreme events that have been exacerbated by climate change” (Saving Ourselves, p. 3). While I write this newsletter, the US and Europe continue to…
