A C. T U. A L. L Y

Today is my 50 th college reunion.   I won’t be able to attend, which is a shame, because Al Gore will be the Class Speaker, Mr. Tick Tock the Climate Clock himself.  I'd love to have gone.  I haven't seen Cambridge for years, and it would have been a revelation to reconnect face-to-face with some of my classmates.     So as the next best thing,  I'm going to take a fantasy flight across the Atlantic and share with you the personal statement I wrote just a year ago for our Class of ’69 50 th Anniversary Report.   My theme was, “ What did I learn at Harvard ?” Here it is. The first thing I note as I sit down at my computer to write this personal statement for the 50 th Anniversary Report is that I had no computer 50 years ago.   None of us did.   So some things have changed dramatically.   Many of these changed things are technological in nature and their development is (mostly) for the good.   Some other things have...

Remember book reports?   Well, buckle up, because today’s post is a book report.   And a memorial to American democracy. If you haven’t read How Democracies Die , by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, and you care about your country, you really ought to.   Despite its gut-punch title, the book is actually cautiously optimistic.   The authors, two Harvard professors of government, make their case using historical examples of democracies in crisis and decay, and in resurgence and endurance, in Latin America, Europe, and the United States.   It’s an easy, quick read and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Their thesis is quite simple:   The constitutional protections (separation of powers, checks and balances) we rely on to secure democracy in America are insufficient without the democratic norms of mutual tolerance (compromise) and institutional forbearance (no nuclear options).   These norms are critical to keeping the building blocks...

Let’s take a look at the climate positives for a change this Sunday. I’m a Bee-liever .   The three hives that are home to the 180,000 bees that live inside Notre Dame’s roof survived the fire and the bees are alive and well, according to the beekeeper who oversees them.   “Thank goodness the flames didn’t touch them,”the hives’ beekeeper said . “It’s a miracle.”   Indeed! Money Talks .   Companies across virtually all sectors of the economy, including big oil, are lobbying Washington to put a price on CO2 emissions.   Why? I nvestor demands, legal pressure, falling prices for renewables, cleaner-burning natural gas, and public concern about climate change.  'Bout time! 2,300 Strikes and You're Out!   2,300 school strikes in more than 130 countries took place on Friday, making it the largest-ever environmental action demonstration. The students are taking it to the streets to demand more ...