Tag Archives: law

The Sky as an Inspiration

A week ago, I got a new email from a young friend, reacting to the recent verdict by the Supreme Court that negates Roe vs. Wade, which has defined the abortion landscape for the last 50 years: I was reading … Continue reading

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Breaking With Business as Usual

My last three blogs focused on our collective attempts to limit anthropogenic global warming to an increase of 1.5oC in global temperature or, failing that, no more than 2oC. The series of blogs started with a detailed road map recently … Continue reading

Posted in Anthropocene, Anthropogenic, Climate Change, IPCC, Sustainability, US | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sputnik and China: US Response to Tech Rivalry

Back in April, I outlined President Biden’s new American Job Plan. Granted, the $2.3 trillion plan was more of a wish list than a proposal; given the 50-50 split in the Senate and the narrow majority in the House, it … Continue reading

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First-Principle Chemistry: Carbon Intensity

My last two blogs (May 4th and 11th) dealt with the challenges inherent in a new law that mandates carbon footprint reduction within large buildings in New York City, where I live and work. As with many other laws, there’s … Continue reading

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From Commitments to Penalties: Measuring Carbon Emissions

  Since President Biden’s inauguration, I have looked a lot at carbon emissions and what we are doing to minimize them. As an educator and a New York City resident, I am especially invested in this change. Not only do … Continue reading

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The American Jobs Plan

I started to write this blog a day after President Biden presented his infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The location’s symbolism was obvious; this was the same city where President Trump announced his withdrawal from the Paris Agreement: I was … Continue reading

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Freedom and Liberty

Today is election day. We’ll be voting for state and local officials but the race the whole world is watching is the one for US president. People everywhere are calling this the most important election of our lifetime. Of course, … Continue reading

Posted in administration, Election, politics, Trump, US | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Presidential Debates and Science

After President Trump refused to take part in the newly virtual debate following his coronavirus diagnosis, the debate was cancelled. However, the debate didn’t stay cancelled, per se; it merely changed form. Originally meant to be one town hall, the … Continue reading

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Using COVID-19 to Measure Energy Consumption at Brooklyn College

I am on the faculty at both CUNY Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan. CUNY is a huge institution: The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social … Continue reading

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Buildings: Emissions

In urban environments, buildings are major contributors to climate change. In fact, according to the NYC Greenhouse Gas Inventory of 2016, they are responsible for two-thirds of New York City’s annual emissions. I have been looking at mitigation efforts of … Continue reading

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