Biden plans to fight climate change in a way no U.S. president has done before

Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter explains how the new administration can mobilize all parts of his government as it faces five big climate challenges.

Bill Ritter Jr., Director, Center for the New Energy Economy, Colorado State University • conversation
Jan. 12, 2021 • ~9 min
climate-change energy environment electricity electric-vehicles joe-biden regulations colorado clean-energy climate-policy john-kerry biden-administration

Report outlines route toward better jobs, wider prosperity

MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future identifies ways to align new technologies with durable careers.

Peter Dizikes | MIT News Office • mit
Nov. 17, 2020 • ~17 min
machine-learning artificial-intelligence poverty manufacturing industry economics policy employment jobs research innovation-and-entrepreneurship-ie global president-l-rafael-reif faculty technology-and-society business-and-management administration industrial-performance-center

On environmental protection, Biden's election will mean a 180-degree turn from Trump policies

The Trump administration has used executive orders, deregulation and delays to reduce environmental regulation. Biden administration officials will use many of the same tools to undo their work.

Janet McCabe, Professor of Practice of Law, Indiana University • conversation
Nov. 12, 2020 • ~6 min
donald-trump air-pollution water-pollution environmental-justice joe-biden donald-trump-administration regulation us-environmental-protection-agency clean-air-act clean-water-act cost-benefit-analysis us-environmental-policy 2020-us-elections science-advice executive-orders

Poor US pandemic response will reverberate in health care politics for years, health scholars warn

Health policy and politics scholars expect political fallout from the federal response to the pandemic will play out for years, with trust in government taking a big hit.

Sarah E. Gollust, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota • conversation
Nov. 3, 2020 • ~8 min
public-health covid-19 coronavirus pandemic health-care-policy trump-administration us-health-care-reform

Fotini Christia named director of the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center

Political science professor will spearhead the Institute’s interdisciplinary center that studies high-impact, complex societal challenges.

Terri Park | MIT Schwarzman College of Computing • mit
Oct. 14, 2020 • ~3 min
data networks research school-of-humanities-arts-and-social-sciences faculty technology-and-society idss political-science administration mit-schwarzman-college-of-computing

The 2020 elections will determine which voices dominate public land debates

Republicans and Democrats take sharply different positions on managing US public lands, but there's solid consensus on some issues.

James R. Skillen, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Calvin University • conversation
Oct. 6, 2020 • ~10 min
joe-biden donald-trump-administration national-parks national-wildlife-refuge oil-and-gas-exploration malheur-occupation national-monuments donald-trump-jr public-lands us-elections-2020

A proposed mine threatens Minnesota's Boundary Waters, the most popular wilderness in the US

Conservation or copper? A proposed mine in northern Minnesota pits industrial jobs against a thriving outdoor economy.

Char Miller, W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis and History, Pomona College • conversation
Oct. 5, 2020 • ~10 min
conservation forests water-pollution fishing donald-trump-administration mining rivers minerals outdoors lakes copper wilderness us-forest-service minnesota sonny-perdue camping

Monarch butterflies' spectacular migration is at risk – an ambitious new plan aims to help save it

Can a plan that brings together government and private landowners create enough habitat for monarch butterflies?

D. André Green II, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan • conversation
Sept. 18, 2020 • ~9 min
conservation insects migration wildlife-conservation pollinators trump-administration endangered-species habitat butterflies endangered-species-act

Looser standards for showerheads could send a lot of water and money down the drain

The Trump administration is trying to roll back a regulation that requires showerheads to conserve water and saves owners an average of $70 and nearly 3,000 gallons of water yearly per showerhead.

Robert Glennon, Regents Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy, University of Arizona • conversation
Sept. 2, 2020 • ~8 min
covid-19 water energy-efficiency deregulation drought regulation trump-administration water-conservation water-efficiency us-department-of-energy

Will the new 15-minute COVID-19 test solve US testing problems?

The new BinaxNOW antigen test is quick, easy, accurate and cheap. It could solve the US testing problem, but the emergency use authorization only allows people with COVID-19 symptoms to get tested.

Zoë McLaren, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County • conversation
Sept. 1, 2020 • ~6 min
covid-19 coronavirus fda screening sars-cov-2 food-and-drug-administration testing viruses abbott emergency-use-authorization antigen-test pcr-testing covid-test

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