Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Time Magazine does an annual feature on unsung moments in American history for their 4th of July edition. This year they asked me to submit one of the 15 vignettes. Influenced by the work of Jeffrey Einboden on Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880), I suggested as my unsung moment the 1855 […]
June Hottest Month on Record, As Antarctica Melts: Top 3 Signs We are Cooking the Planet . . . and Ourselves
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – 1. A European Union satellite has confirmed that June, 2019, was the hottest month on earth since scientific record-keeping began around 1850. In fact, if you take the averages of 1850-1900, June was 5.4 degrees F. warmer (3 degrees C.) Some parts of Europe were actually 10 degrees C. (18 […]
Iran hasn’t Breached the Nuclear Deal– Trump had already Destroyed It
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Monday that Iran has exceeded 300 grams of Low Enriched Uranium. The 300-gram limit was part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated between Tehran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council […]
Europe, Defying Trump, Implements New Currency Exchange with Iran
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Frances Coppola at Forbes reports that European powers have made operational their Instex exchange mechanism, which will allow European and other companies to do business with Iran while avoiding US Treasury Department sanctions. The move is the biggest split between the US and Europe over an international policy issue since […]
Dear Trump: CO2 is Polluting our Atmosphere and Acidifying our Water: They aren’t “the Cleanest”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In remarks to the press at the G20 meeting in Osaka, Trump was asked about climate change. He replied that taking steps to combat climate change would be too heavy a burden for the US economy. Trump said, “We have the cleanest air we’ve ever had, but I’m not willing […]
Scotland’s Green Energy makes Enough Electricity 1st Quarter to power 88% of Households
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In the first three months of 2019, Scotland produced 17 percent more electricity from renewables than in the same quarter a year earlier. Driven mainly by onshore wind, Scotland’s burgeoning green energy sector keeps breaking records, making enough electricity the first quarter of this year to provide 88% of the […]
Saudi Arabia erases Science, Blocks Progress at Bonn Climate Summit, Pushing Dirty Oil
If this Makes you Angry, buy an Electric Car
Why Tiffany Caban’s Win for Queens DA is Good News For Progressive Dem Presidential Candidates
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It is very close, with only an 1,100-vote margin and 3400 absentee ballots to be counted, but it appears to be that Tiffany Caban, the Democratic Socialists of America candidate for the Democratic primary district attorney for Queens, has won. If so, she will be the new district attorney. Democratic […]
No, Iranian President Rouhani didn’t Call Trump “mentally Retarded”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The New York Times and other Western news outlets reported on a speech of Iranian president Hassan Rouhani that expressed frustration with the US government in general and President Trump in particular, alleging that he called Trump “retarded.” There has been a long history of mistranslation from Persian in US […]