A paper published in the journal Nature Energy identifies five ways that people of high socioeconomic status have a disproportionate impact on global greenhouse gas emissions – and therefore an outsized responsibility to facilitate progress in climate change mitigation. In their roles as consumers, investors, role models, organisational participants, and citizens, people in this group can help shape...
Governance
1 in 3 Americans Might Consider Abolishing or Limiting Supreme Court
As the Supreme Court’s fall term begins, a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania finds that more than a third of Americans say they might be willing to abolish the Supreme Court or have Congress limit its jurisdiction if the court were to make decisions they or Congress disagreed with....
Just Because They’re Angry Doesn’t Make Them Guilty: New Research
Computer equipment is missing from a company storage room. Of the three employees who have access, two respond calmly when questioned by management. A third yells and swears. Who is most likely guilty? If you chose the angry one, you’re not alone. New research shows we tend to equate guilt with an angry response to...
An Entire Generation of Americans Has No Idea How Easy Air Travel Used to Be
During the mid-1990s I traveled between Dayton, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., twice a month during the school year as half of a commuting couple. I could leave Dayton by 5:15 p.m., drive nearly 80 miles to the Columbus airport during rush hour, park my car in the economy lot, and still get to my gate...
‘Get Out Now’ – Inside the White House on 9/11, According to the Staffers Who Were There
On Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, I anticipated a busy but relatively calm day at the White House. I was the special assistant to the president for management and administration, and President George W. Bush was in Sarasota, Florida, promoting the No Child Left Behind legislation. The senior official in the White House was Vice President...
As Brands Adopt New Bangladesh Accord, a Look at How Disputes Are Handled by the Legally-Binding Pact
An updated version of the Bangladesh Accord will get a two-year term, following months-long back-and-forth between international brands and retailers, and local trade unions, in furtherance of the aim of “working towards a safe and healthy garment and textile industry in Bangladesh.” Primarily governing factories producing Ready-Made Garments, such as those used by H&M and Zara’s...
Historic Lynchings in the U.S. South Are Linked to Lower Levels of Voter Registration Among Black People
Black Americans who reside in counties in the South where there was a higher number of lynchings from 1882 to 1930 have lower voter registration today, a likely sign of the lasting effects of historical racial animus, according to a new study. Even after considering other factors that could logically influence voting registration such as education,...
Biden Is Caught in the Middle of Polarizing Abortion Politics
It took five months for the Biden administration to make a substantive policy change to advance abortion rights. And even that change was buried in a 61-page regulation setting rules for 2022’s Affordable Care Act enrollment. The policy would reverse a Trump administration rule requiring insurers that cover abortion to send separate bills for that...
What Are ‘Ghost Guns,’ a Target of Biden’s Anti-Crime Effort?
It’s not expensive or difficult to produce large numbers of untraceable firearms in the United States. Whether for private use, sale on the criminal market or arming violent extremists, it’s actually startlingly cheap and easy to mass-produce firearms that police can’t track – what are often called “ghost guns.” For just over US$2,000 I can...
Gender Stereotypes Still Hold True for Youth and Types of Political Participation
Gender roles absorbed at an early age seem to have shaped today’s youth regarding their involvement in politics, in line with traditional stereotypes, concludes a new study, conducted amongst adolescents and young adults aged between 15 and 30 in Italy, within the Horizon 2020 project: “CATCH-EyoU. Processes in Youth’s Construction of Active EU Citizenship“. In their...