New US climate pledge: Cut emissions 50% this decade, but can Biden make it happen? By Morgan Bazilian and David Victor for the Conversation 4/23/2021
Photo Credit: UN News.
Stopping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius ‐ the aim of the Paris climate agreement‐ will require an immediate global effort that can transform energy systems and make emissions plummet at rates never observed before in history. Statements from the 40 world leaders at the virtual summit reflected both ambitious visions for that future ‐ and the reality that words don't always match actions on the ground.
Can the U.S. meet its new goal?
Our chief concern is industrial reality ‐ cutting emissions by half within a decade implies transforming the electricity system, transportation, industry and agriculture. But the Biden administration has to move carefully.
Minnesota faces its racism by Rashad Shabazz for the Conversation, 4/24/2021
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That false assumption was easy to believe when the Black population was small, contained and largely out of sight. But Black Minneapolis' population growth in recent decades, and the torrent of police violence that has followed, proved otherwise.
The murder of George Floyd last year and Daunte Wright's killing in a nearby community last week demonstrate that despite the state's liberal posture and Lutheran ethic, institutional anti–Black racism is as Minnesotan as ice fishing, untaxed groceries and “ya, sure, youbetcha” memes.
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US bans travel from India amid soaring coronavirus surge by Harry Johnson for eTN, 5/1/21
Photo Credit: Author Provided
Earlier, US citizens were told to get out of India as soon as possible as the country's COVID‐19 crisis worsens at an astonishing pace. The US Department of State issued a Level 4 travel advisory – the highest of its kind, telling US citizens “not to travel to India or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so.”
According to the department, there are 14 direct daily flights between India and the US and other services that connect through Europe.
The COVID‐19 spike in India has worsened tremendously over the past weeks. New coronavirus cases in the country have skyrocketed to more than 380,000 in a single day.
Census results shift political power in Congress, presidential elections by Dudley L. Poston Jr. for The Conversation, 5/1/21
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The seven states that each lost one seat in the House as a result of the 2020 census are California, from 53 to 52; Illinois, from 18 to 17; Michigan, from 14 to 13; New York, from 27 to 26; Ohio, from 16 to 15; Pennsylvania, from 18 to 17; and West Virginia, from 3 to 2.
The six states that gained one or more seats after the 2020 count are Colorado, from 7 to 8; Florida, from 27 to 28; Montana, from 1 to 2; North Carolina, from 13 to 14; Oregon, from 5 to 6; and Texas, which gained two, from 36 to 38.
Who gets counted?
During the census, the U.S. Census Bureau counts the number of people who live in each state on census day of the census year – in this case, April 1, 2020. The bureau also counts all military and U.S. government employees and their dependents who live overseas on that day – and determines which states they claim as their residences when in the U.S.
NYS Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn's Statement of Solidarity with the Asian American community
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“We are deeply concerned with the rise in hate-related offenses against Asian Americans in the United States. I pray for the victims and their families and condemn these violent acts of harassment and hatred.”