Anti-intellectualism delays action on emergencies from pandemics to climate change. On the final day of 2019, China first reported cases of the COVID-19 virus. As the crisis grew in Wuhan, the World Health Organization started to warn people with increasing urgency. It started with advice on hand washing and coughing…

Well, it’s certainly not bad. And yet… Let’s be clear that $10 billion is serious money. And the climate fight can use all the help it can get. But before getting too excited, there are some open issues: Questions What’s the time frame? Is the $10…

Nearly 10,000 more people died prematurely in 2018 because of rising air pollution. Air pollution kills. According to the World Health Organization, every year, 7 million people die early because of air pollution — from more strokes, heart attacks, and deadly lung and respiratory infections. A month ago, as this Fox station reported, a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research…

What the science of climate change is telling us about the future is hard to process. Here’s how I handle it. Recently, my mother asked me why I seemed down. It’s taken me awhile to articulate what I wanted to say, and how. There are big, macro issues that weigh on me as a feeling human and in my work. One is the state of democracy and rise of autocrats around…

Everyone seems to be giving Republicans a pass on keeping their oath of office to the Constitution. Enough already. — Just so we’re grounded in reality, here’s the section of the U.S. Constitution on impeachment, which gives the power to impeach to the legislative branch (the House of Representatives impeaches and the Senate convicts): Article II, Section 4: “The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States…

Thoughts on a challenging letter to greenies from a prominent think tank — Some important articles are going around the climate change twitter and social media spheres (yes, that’s a thing). The discussion focuses on the Green New Deal (GND), its theory of change, and its chances of ever becoming a reality. A skeptical policy grenade was lobbed this week by Jerry…

The Market is Doing Fine, but it Did Better Under Obama (and Many Other Presidents) — During this week, I’d like to declare independence from a big myth — that the market and economy under Trump are outperforming. When you ask Trump supporters what they like about him, they often say something about the rise in the stock market or reduction in unemployment. “What don’t you…

Teens are leading a mass movement on guns. Don’t write them off. Young people have shown the way before. — After surviving yet another mass murder at a school — a problem that only America seems to struggle with — many students have had enough. Led by impressive, articulate, passionate teenagers from Parkland, Florida…

Obsessing over just short-term shareholder value is bad business…and big investors are finally figuring that out — New diet fads come and go. Avoid fat. No, actually eat only fat and avoid carbs. Now avoid all sugars. Wait, drink only juice to cleanse. Eventually health advice settles back into some version of “most things in moderation.” Over time, people realize that focusing on any single number is…