Scientists first suspected a link between greenhouse gases and climate in the mid-19th century. Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius won the Nobel Prize in chemistry with calculations in 1897 that linked burning coal to global warming. From that time onwards, scientists took up studying this linkage with better tools, more resources, and coordination.
Social Justice Policy Brief #187 | Yelena Korshunov | February 23, 2026 About 170 years ago, Frederick Douglass proclaimed that “it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”Few would argue with the idea that a child growing up in a family in...
Indiana can be considered a relatively safe Republican stronghold. Both the senators from the state are Republicans, and only 2 of the 9 representatives are Democrats. This year, neither Senator Todd Young nor Senator Jim Banks are up for election, but the house is a different story. All nine seats are up for grabs in theory, although most seats are drawn in a way that all but ensures the current party makeup from changing. That didn’t stop President Donald Trump from trying, however, as late last year he urged the state of Indiana to redraw its congressional districts to unseat incumbent Democrats Frank Mrvan of the 1st district and André Carson of the 7th district. Despite a Republican-supermajority in the Senate, a Trump vow to primary Republican holdouts, and anonymous bomb threats, the measure failed and the maps remained unchanged.
A year ago, at the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term as President, he signed Executive Order 14199, requesting a “government‑wide review” of all international intergovernmental organizations, conventions, and treaties that the United States formally supports. That review resulted in a signed a memorandum on January 6th of this year that specifies that the U.S. formally withdraw from 66 “organizations, conventions, and treaties.” Included in the 66 are the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and other important climate treaties. In all, the U.S. withdrew from 31 UN bodies.
The Amazon rainforest is rapidly degrading. The ecological functions of the rainforest such as absorbing greenhouse gases and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere are diminishing as the size of the rainforest shrinks. Global precipitation patterns depend upon the Amazon’s unique location on the planet. The diversity of plant life in the Amazon constitutes about a quarter of the globe’s stock of carbon biomass. There are 80,000 species of plants.
During a small outing by President Trump and a small group of officials at a public restaurant in Washington, D.C., the President was met by a small group of protesters. The protesters chanted “Free DC” and “Free Palestine” and also “Trump is the Hitler of our time!” The protesters were ultimately removed. However, the President later suggested the protesters should be charged under a racketeering statute since he said one of the protesters was a “paid agitator.” It is unclear where the President receivedthis bit of info or if it is even true. After this incident, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche gave an interview where he defended the idea of prosecuting protesters.
For the 2026 federal budget year, beginning October 1st, the White House has proposed a $1.2 billion – or 36% – cut to the National Park Service (NPS). Prior to this proposed budget cut, around 2,800 NPS employees had either been fired or resigned their positions under an early retirement buyout. Under the Biden administration, the NPS employed around 20,000 staff. The NPS manages 63 national parks and 370 other sites that include lesser-known historic sites, monuments, and national seashores.
Earlier this month, on Thursday, July 10, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that children of undocumented immigrants will no longer be allowed to attend Head Start—the free, federally funded program for low-income families that provides education, nutrition, and health services to 800,000 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Head Start is remarkable for enjoying bipartisan support for most of its 60-year existence.
Coal is not going away anytime soon; it remains the dominant source of the world’s electricity. 15% of U.S. electricity is fueled by coal. Globally, it is forecasted that carbon in the form of coal will still contribute 22% of power generation by 2040. In China and India, the reliance upon coal is significantly higher, almost double that of the U.S. and Europe. And for good reasons: it is the most economical, stable, and reliable power source.
Through an Executive Order issued March 1, 2025, there is to be an expansion of American timber production that meets goals to achieve “sound forest management, reduce time to deliver timber, and decrease timber supply uncertainty.” Approximately 100 million acres, the equivalent of 60% of our national forests, are to be within earshot of a chainsaw. In so doing, the Trump administration declares this a “new era” in national forest management. Legally protected forest land and parts of old growth forest are slated be part of the expanded production.