Author Archives: Harry Katz

Held v. Montana: A Landmark Climate Victory

This is worth celebrating. Yesterday in a Montana district court, 16 youths, aged 5 – 22, won a lawsuit against the State of Montana for violating their right to a “clean and healthful environment” under the state constitution. This trial … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Law and justice | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Life on the Rocks: Building a Future for Coral Reefs

I was expecting this book to be full of dismal doom and gloom, but it was surprisingly hopeful. Then again, it was written before this year’s horrendous record-breaking ocean heat waves. More on this later. Coral reefs are under existential … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Environment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Timeline of Climate Change Warnings

I’m trying something different in this post: an infographic. Over the last couple of years I’ve been reading a lot about climate change. One thing I’ve learned is that the science of climate change is not new. Scientists have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The Climate Book

Climate change is happening now. Record-setting heatwaves, devastating forest fires, intense tropical storms and extreme flooding are no longer distant predictions, they’re daily events. In The Climate Book, Swedish environmental activist Geta Thunberg has gathered the expertise of over 100 … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Environment | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Eunice Newton Foote

Today’s Google doodle celebrates the 204th birthday of Eunice Newton Foote. You’ve probably never heard of her, but back in 1856, she was the first person to discover that carbon dioxide absorbed and retained heat in the atmosphere. Today we … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Podcast: What’s next for clean energy and climate mitigation?

Back on the 28th of June, I had the pleasure of attending a live recording of the Volts podcast hosted by David Roberts here in Seattle at an event sponsored by Canary Media. Roberts interviewed energy analyst and author Ramez … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Environment, Science and technology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again

Do you have trouble focusing these days? Are you getting interrupted by so many notifications, beeps and pings that you can’t concentrate on anything? Are you reaching for your phone every two minutes to check for the latest updates, likes … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Health and wellness | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Biden v. Nebraska: Black-Robed Oligarchs

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden Administration announced a plan to cancel up to $10,000 of student loan debt for about 43 million borrowers. Six States sued the federal government claiming that the loan cancellation plan was not … Continue reading →

Posted in Law and justice, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College: Colorblind or Just Blind?

From the very beginning, affirmative action – using race as a factor in university admissions – has been controversial. Some say it’s unfair, that it amounts to reverse discrimination. Some have argued that it violates the Equal Protection Clause of … Continue reading →

Posted in Law and justice | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Moore v. Harper: A Win for Sanity and Democracy

Holy crap! A sensible decision from the United States Supreme Court on election law. On June 27, in a case from North Carolina known as Moore v. Harper, the Supreme Court ruled that state legislatures do not have unlimited power … Continue reading →

Posted in Law and justice | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment