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Columns

July 21, 2022

Water, water, no longer everywhere

“Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is only halfway descriptive of the planet’s current water situation. Water is drying up everywhere; oceans and rivers are becoming more polluted and poisoned; watersheds are being drained at a phenomenal rate to meet the needs of industry, sports and agriculture. Quality drinking water, especially in developing countries, is becoming a major challenge. And everywhere, good water, access to which should be a human right, is becoming expensive and privately owned.

July 14, 2022

The 4 civic skills we need to keep our democracy

As primaries roll out around the country, we’re tracking voter turnout. Raised on the cartoon civics lessons of “Schoolhouse Rock,” I know that being a good American means voting.

July 7, 2022

Freedom in the West, but not for women

I moved to Wyoming a few years ago for its outdoor recreation, but I also liked the state’s history of championing equal rights for women. As early as 1869, it codified women’s voting rights, 50 years before the 19th Amendment did the same thing. Western women in the 19th century quickly proved their mettle, helping to build communities in rugged and isolated landscapes.

June 30, 2022

We need every tool to fight today’s wildfires

We know now that the largest recorded fire in New Mexico history was started by an escaped “prescribed burn,” or rather by two. The Hermit’s Peak fire bolted away on April 6, when unexpectedly gusty winds blew sparks beyond control lines.

June 23, 2022

Can we finally start dealing with gun violence?

It was an ordinary Valentine’s Day four years ago when my class was interrupted by incoming news of an active shooter in a Florida high school. On Feb. 14, 2018, a 19-year-old opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, but the impacts were far-reaching indeed.

June 23, 2022

We can all take steps to protect our democracy

“The threats became much more specific, much more graphic, and included not just me by name but included members of my family…” This is how Al Schmidt, the former City Commissioner of Philadelphia and a Republican member of the election board, described the intimidation he faced during and after the 2020 election.

June 9, 2022

Do we want chaos or community?

Fifty-five years ago this month, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. published his fourth and final book: “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” In it, he described the turmoil then engulfing American cities as representing a new phase in the struggle for freedom: as a shift from a primary focus on dismantling Southern apartheid to a broader grappling with racism and economic inequality nationwide. Extending his analysis globally, Dr. King called for an end to the madness of the Vietnam War, for an eradication of global poverty, and for a recognition of nonviolence as the only sane path forward.

June 2, 2022

Manufacturers back to building inventory

Before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world, factory workers were humming along, assembling products just after components were delivered. It was called “just-in-time” production. It was efficient, predictable and cost-effective.