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Columns/Opinion

Advice for climate-conscious: Don’t sweat small stuff

It can be confusing for climate-conscious consumers to sort through the carbon-reduction options out there in search of the ones that can truly make a difference. Even with a background in carbon footprint analysis, I still find it tricky to separate the good ideas from the bad. I have learned to follow a simple rule of thumb that helps me cut through all the climate-related noise: Don’t sweat the small things when it comes to climate change. Focus your energies and investments on a few big actions that you can sustain over the long term. But misconceptions about what can move the ...

Can’t we just enjoy the movie

I adored the story of Cinderella as a child. The prospect of having a man so in love with me that he’d criss-cross the kingdom searching for my size 6 ½ foot was heady stuff. It never occurred to me that Cindy was oppressed by the patriarchy or that she should just buy her own darn pair of shoes. Similarly, I was untroubled by the fact that Snow White was victimized by her stepmother, or lived with a variety of short men to whom she was not married. While the scenario seemed to present a negative view of both blended families and female sexuality, my 8-year-old psyche survived ...

Barriers zigzag across America like a scar

A few words about walls. Unsurprisingly, the one Donald Trump is trying to build on the southern border — the one he swore Mexico would pay for — has proven, like most things he touches, an embarrassing failure. First came news early this month that smugglers have been able to cut through the barrier with a simple reciprocating saw, available at Home Depot for prices starting at less than $100. Then, TBS’ “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” aired a segment demonstrating that the wall, which Trump has said “can’t be climbed,” can actually be climbed in as little as 15 ...

Sanctions on North Korea hurt women

The policy of the United States toward North Korea can be summed up succinctly: Sanctions, sanctions and more sanctions. The U.S. believes its policy of “maximum pressure” will cause North Korea to denuclearize, but it appears to be having the opposite effect, hardening North Korea’s resistance and strengthening its resolve to keep pursuing its nuclear ambitions. Not only have the “maximum pressure” sanctions applied since 2016 failed to change policies in Pyongyang, they have led to grave costs. New research commissioned by Korea Peace Now!, a women-led global campaign to ...

Traffic stop isn’t just a stop

The Fourth Amendment prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures.” But the Supreme Court has interpreted that protection pretty loosely when it comes to traffic stops, for which the police need only “reasonable suspicion” that the law is or has been broken. (The same indulgent standard applies when police stop and frisk a pedestrian.) Last week the justices heard arguments in a case that could make it even easier for the police to stop — and potentially search — a car. Ominously, the majority seemed likely to give police an additional benefit of the doubt. The case stems ...

Pennsylvania 2020: It’s going to get complicated

Pennsylvania is not a slam-dunk for Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. That’s one takeaway from Tuesday’s elections, which turned the Philadelphia suburbs even bluer, as Republicans suffered additional congressional losses following last year’s midterms. The Democrats have gone from a 13-5 minority in the House to a 9-9 split. These results in the eastern part of the state “are not helpful to Trump’s re-election prospects in Pennsylvania,” said Jeff Brauer, political science professor at Keystone College. “The big question will be the extent of enthusiasm of his ...