What's behind $15,000 electricity bills in Texas?

Some Texans are receiving eye-popping electric bills after power providers passed on volatile costs to some of their customers – legally.

Seth Blumsack, Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics and International Affairs, Penn State • conversation
Feb. 24, 2021 ~7 min

If Big Tech has the will, here are ways research shows self-regulation can work

Misinformation isn't an inevitable product of social media. Proven techniques can help tech companies clean up their acts.

Anjana Susarla, Omura-Saxena Professor of Responsible AI, Michigan State University • conversation
Feb. 22, 2021 ~10 min


How the Texas electricity system produced low-cost power but left residents out in the cold

The Texas electric power market is designed to give energy companies incentive to sell electricity at the lowest possible cost. That focus helps explain why it collapsed during a historic cold wave.

Theodore J. Kury, Director of Energy Studies, University of Florida • conversation
Feb. 18, 2021 ~9 min

Banning disruptive online groups is a game of Whac-a-Mole that web giants just won't win

Deplatformed groups can all too easily flock to alternative platforms to coordinate.

Andrea Baronchelli, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, City, University of London • conversation
Feb. 8, 2021 ~8 min

Living with natural gas pipelines: Appalachian landowners describe fear, anxiety and loss

Pipeline companies have run roughshod over several regions where they're building, racking up safety and environmental violations. Many residents feel trapped, with no control over their property.

Martina Angela Caretta, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Lund University • conversation
Feb. 3, 2021 ~10 min

To make the US auto fleet greener, increasing fuel efficiency matters more than selling electric vehicles

Electric cars get a lot of hype, but EV sales today are actually increasing transportation's carbon footprint. Here's how federal clean-car standards produce this counterintuitive result.

John DeCicco, Research Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan • conversation
Jan. 28, 2021 ~9 min

Kamala Harris abuse campaign shows how trolls evade social media moderation

New research suggests tech firms need to improve how they detect abuse in response to the evolving use of coded language.

Alexandra Pavliuc, PhD Candidate at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford • conversation
Jan. 25, 2021 ~7 min

Biden has pledged to advance environmental justice – here's how the EPA can start

The US environmental justice movement dates back to the early 1980s, but federal support for it has been weak and inconsistent. Here are four things Biden's EPA can do to improve that record.

David Konisky, Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University • conversation
Jan. 25, 2021 ~8 min


Biden has a congressional shortcut to cancel Trump’s regulatory rollbacks, but it comes with risks

The Trump administration used this shortcut liberally in 2017, but its potential pitfalls and impact raise a question: Should Congress repeal it?

Daniel Farber, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley • conversation
Jan. 18, 2021 ~7 min

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

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