Sometimes scientific studies reaffirm things we already knew based on good ol’ common sense. You can look at those studies and be all, “Ugh, lol, duh, #wasteofmoney,” or you can say, “Wow, huh, I guess maybe now we can try to get to the root of all these human experiences we take for granted.” This is one of those studies. …
Sea-level rise could nearly double over earlier estimates in next 100 years
A new study from climate scientists Robert DeConto at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and David Pollard at Pennsylvania State University suggests that the most recent estimates by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for future sea-level rise over the next 100 years could be too low by almost a factor of two. Details appear in the current issue of Nature. …
Yearly cost of US premature births linked to air pollution: $4.33 billion
The annual economic cost of the nearly 16,000 premature births linked to air pollution in the United States has reached $4.33 billion, according to a report by scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center. The sum includes $760 million spent on prolonged hospital stays and long-term use of medications, as well as $3.57 billion in lost economic productivity due to physical …
Trump angst pours in from overseas
Lobbyists in Washington say they are being flooded with questions and concerns from foreign governments about the rise of Donald Trump. Officials around the globe are closely following the U.S. presidential race, to the point where some have asked their American lobbyists to explain, in great detail, what a contested GOP convention would look like. After a recent trip to London, …
Credit Card Debt Levels Reaching Unsustainable Levels, Says CardHub CEO
Interview with Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of CardHub, on their latest study examining the accelerating increase in credit card debt levels, why he thinks this is unsustainable, and may soon “spiral out of control.” Subscribers can access the full broadcast on Thursday by logging in and clicking here. Not a subscriber? Click here. Forgetting Lessons of Great Recession “A lot of consumers have …
US Saber Rattling Continues With Plans to Beef Up Troops in Eastern Europe
U.S. military officials announced Wednesday plans to beef up numbers of American troops and equipment in Eastern Europe to counter what the Pentagon described as “an aggressive Russia.” It comes just weeks after Russia’s foreign minister warned that NATO’s military build-up near Russia’s borders is “counterproductive and dangerous,” and that the military alliance’s members “are whipping up ‘Russia’s threat’ myth.” …
David Zetland – Climate Change Alert: Life Is About To Get Much Worse
Climate change is hard for people to understand or take seriously because its FUTURE impacts will be so vast in scale and intensity. It would be easier for people to “believe in”face if its signs were more local and present (one reason I suggested rebranding it “local warming” years ago). Sadly, it seems that we’re about the arrive in that moment of …
George Lardner Jr. and P.S. Ruckman Jr. – On pardons, Obama could go down as one of the most merciless presidents in history
George Lardner Jr., a former Post reporter, is scholar in residence at American University’s Investigative Reporting Workshop. P.S. Ruckman Jr. is a professor of political science and editor of the Pardon Power Blog. When the Obama administration’s new acting pardon attorney, Bob Zauzmer, arrived on the job last month, he ran headlong into a backlog of more than 9,000 clemency petitions …
STEPHANIE CEGIELSKI – An Open Letter to Trump Voters from His Top Strategist-Turned-Defector
Even Trump’s most trusted advisors didn’t expect him to fare this well. Almost a year ago, recruited for my public relations and public policy expertise, I sat in Trump Tower being told that the goal was to get The Donald to poll in double digits and come in second in delegate count. That was it. The Trump camp would have …
Research: TV Is Intellectually And Socially Dumbing Down Young Children
It is common for parents to feel that their children are spending too much time in front of the television set. According to a Canadian study, children who watch an excessive amount of television exhibit a multitude of negative side effects including poor language and social skills, and increased bullying. The 2013 study was set out to determine whether or …