Venetian council room floods after councilors reject climate proposals
In a metaphor too apt to be made up, the council has been forced to relocate until the flood waters recede.
15 November, 2019
(Photo: Andrea Zanoni/Facebook)
- The City of Venice is currently enduring the worst flooding to strike it in 50 years.
- The mayor has declared it to be a result of climate change.
- During a debate over next years budget, and right after rejecting environmental proposals, the main chamber of the regional council flooded.
Keep reading
Show less
Dehumanization has been trending for decades. Here’s how.
There is greater social distance between Americans than ever before.
12 November, 2019
- There has been a trend toward dehumanization the past four or five decades. This dehumanization has made it easier for us to see others more as commodities than as co-citizens.
- This dehumanization manifests in four different pillars: political polarization, income inequality, automation, and marketization.
- Whether through political splits, or income differences, there is more social distance between us than ever before. This distance makes it easier for us, out of ignorance, to treat others in ways that are inhumane.
Keep reading
Show less
Italy to require schools to teach climate change, in world first
Should other nations start requiring schools to teach climate science, too?
11 November, 2019
Barbara Alper / Getty
- Starting September 2020, public schools in Italy will have to incorporate 33 hours of climate-related lessons into their annual curriculum.
- Italy's education minister said it's part of an effort to place "the environment and society at the core of everything we learn in school."
- In the U.S., not all states have implemented teaching standards that call for lessons on climate science, but about 80 percent of parents said they support such standards.
Keep reading
Show less
Is the end near? Podcaster Dan Carlin discusses his new book.
The host of Hardcore History has written his first book, The End Is Always Near.
11 November, 2019
Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images
- In his debut work of nonfiction, Dan Carlin discusses the last 6,000 years of apocalyptic moments.
- The podcaster talks about the choices we're collectively facing in view of the historical record.
- Carlin warns against judging past deeds on current standards, as we're setting a bad precedent on future generations.
Keep reading
Show less
How outrage mobs silence academics — and what we can do to stop them
When the protection of academic freedom is compromised, scholarship and greater society suffer the effects.
08 November, 2019
Image via Getty
- Social media has made it easier than ever to succumb to mob mentality and let our worst instincts and impulses run rampant. Outrage mobs pose a new and unique threat to professors' academic freedom.
- Although expressing moral outrage can feel good, bad actors can use outrage mobs to further their own specific agendas, leaving careers ruined and productive discourse even further out of reach.
- University leaders should stop caving to outrage mobs and start standing up for academic freedom, both for students and professors.
Keep reading
Show less
Most Popular
