You could say that the impact hit me head on as soon as I read the first line. The average American commute grew to just over 27 minutes one way in 2018, a record high, according to data released in September by the U.S. Census Bureau. This was reported in The Washington Post‘s October 7th, … Continued

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The State Department last week released its ceiling for refugee admissions for FY2020. Set at 18,000, the ceiling is just above half of the 30,000 admissions in FY2019 and well below the ten-year admission average of 58,900. Criticism of the FY2020 ceiling, including the outcry by refugee resettlement organizations, are largely predicated on the idea … Continued

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The number one threat to endangered species in the United States — habitat loss — is closely related to the increase in the number of Americans. The destruction of ecosystems often occurs around heavily populated cities, which were established on some of the richest bio-systems the land has to offer. Our expansion literally paves over … Continued

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Human Numbers Up, Bird Numbers Down: Not Just a Coincidence Fewer flocks and feathers grace our skies, forests, coasts, grasslands, and deserts these days. A team of scientists writing in the journal Science reports that the number of birds in North America has dwindled by about 30 percent since 1970, or nearly three billion individual … Continued

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In today’s polarized America, there are certain “third rail” or “hot potato” issues one just can’t touch without an explosive reaction. They’re too hot to touch, and so most politicians ignore them rather than risk getting burned. Emotionalism, knee-jerk responses, heaping scorn, and scoring cheap political points trump rational deliberation, discussion, and debate. Right and … Continued

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There’s little doubt that the issue of immigration will be on the minds of voters throughout next year’s presidential elections. That’s why I was somewhat surprised at how little time ABC dedicated to the issue during last night’s third Democratic Presidential debate. Of the nearly three hour debate, ABC allowed for only 12 minutes of … Continued

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Yet another ongoing tempest between the White House and mainstream journalists has erupted over the last couple of weeks. The Washington Post’s White House Bureau Chief Philip Rucker allegedly leaked content from an off-the-record dinner, leading to the firing of White House aide Madeleine Westerhout. This preceded The Washington Post’s “Trump’s lost summer: Aides claim … Continued

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A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to tour the ICE detention facility in Aurora, Colo., owned and operated by The GEO Group. This facility has been at the center of the immigration-enforcement debate ever since protesters replaced the facility’s American flag with a Mexican flag and defaced a Blue Lives Matter flag earlier … Continued

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The Trump administration recently finalized new rules that it insists will “modernize” the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Unsurprisingly, environmental groups and their media allies are expressing alarm, while extractive industries aligned with Trump reassure the public that the new rules represent an improvement for everyone, not least threatened and endangered species. Yet neither the Trump … Continued

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