By Chirag Dhara and Vandana Singh | – ( Scientific American ) – The electric vehicle (EV) has become one of the great modern symbols of a world awakened to the profound challenges of unsustainability and climate change. So much so that we may well imagine that Deep Thought’sanswer today to Life, the Universe and […]
Archives for July 2021
Gasoline and Coal’s Climate Freak Show: Fire-nado, 1 Billion Dead Marine Animals, and Earth’s All-Time Record Heat
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Gasoline demand in the U.S. rebounded vigorously in the week leading up to the 4th of July, to an average of 9.6 million barrels a day, the highest rate seen since September, 2019, well before the pandemic. This is bad. During the 2020 pandemic year, global carbon dioxide emissions plummeted […]
In Disappointment, even the Israeli Left voted for Racist Palestinian Family Separation Law
( Middle East Monitor ) – This week, Israel’s Parliament the Knesset failed to pass an extension to Israel’s racist marriage law. The law bars the spouses of Palestinian citizens of Israel from receiving citizenship. This means that Palestinians from Haifa, Acre or Jaffa are effectively banned from marrying Palestinians from the West Bank and […]
Facebook cracks down on propaganda campaign in Jordan
( Al-Bab.com) – Facebook reported this week that it removed 2,784 accounts in June for “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”. Among those, 947 related to countries in the Middle East and North Africa region: Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria and Sudan. Facebook treats online campaigns as “coordinated inauthentic behaviour” if they seek “to mislead people about who they […]
40% of the World’s People, 3 billion Souls, cannot Afford a Healthy Diet
By William A. Masters and Anna Herforth | – ( The Conversation ) – The COVID-19 pandemic has caused price spikes for corn, milk, beans and other commodities, but even before the pandemic about 3 billion people could not afford even the cheapest options for a healthy diet. Recent analysis of global food price data […]
UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur on Palestine slams Israeli Squatter-Settlements as ‘War Crime,’ Urges Practical Punishment
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Canadian academic and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, Michael Lynk, made waves on Friday. Lynk asked the nations of the world to classify the Israeli government practice of sponsoring Israeli squatters on Palestinian-owned land on the Occupied Palestinian […]
The Ugly Truth: The Republican Party is trying to Outlaw Democracy
( Otherwords.org ) – Ralph Waldo Emerson told of a dinner guest who went on and on about the virtue of honesty, offering his own life as a model of perfect rectitude. “The louder he talked of his honor,” said Emerson, “the faster we counted our spoons.” That’s my reaction to the cacophony of phony […]
Shanghai leads way in China’s carbon transition, but Does not have Much Time to Act
By Shi Yi | – ( China Dialogue ) – Many Chinese cities and provinces are working on plans to hit peak carbon before 2030. Shanghai, China’s most developed city, is set to lead the way. Somewhere on the eastern side of Shanghai’s Chongming Island, 300,000 solar panels lie over rows and rows of aquaculture […]
Heart health: Cities are badly Arranged — A Redesign can help us live longer
By Tolullah Oni and Rizka Maulida | – ( The Conversation ) – By 2050, it is projected that almost 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities, up from 55% today. The fastest urban growth is happening in Asia and Africa, which is also where we’re seeing a rapid rise in people […]