fondew

I just read the new Haaretz article about how Israeli planted pines are suddenly dying en masse and it is absolutely worth dissecting. Here are a summary & my observations as a Palestinian scholar who writes on green colonialism. 1/

Selling federal land for housing is the first real test of Democrats' commitment to the abundance agenda, and the results aren't promising. It's easy for a politician to embrace abundance at a high level. It's much harder when there's a specific policy with tradeoffs and politics and opposition from interest groups. The GOP budget bill includes a narrowly tailored provision to sell less than 1% of federal landholdings in the West. Eligible parcels must be near existing infrastructure, have no ecological or recreational value, and be used for housing. Land must be nominated by state or local governments, which also have a right of first refusal. This is exactly the kind of decision required to make housing more plentiful and affordable. However, many Democratic politicians who publicly support abundance are loudly decrying the provision, even spreading misinformation about it. The abundance agenda only works if it's more than a campaign slogan. Politicians who claim to support it but oppose every concrete policy to increase supply are still trapped in the everything bagel.

Kamala Harris strongly defended industrial policy today. She says it's necessary for the US to stay ahead of China and the rest of the world. "When we make an intentional effort to invest in our industrial strength, it leads to extraordinary prosperity and security, not only for years but for generations." Harris pledges to invest more in: -biomanufacturing -aerospace -AI -quantum computing -blockchain and other remerging technologies -clean energy (plus the semiconductor investments already underway)

Climate change is a monster of a problem. We need solutions at the same scale to beat it. It's time to unleash... BUILDZILLA

“Were there no Israel, there wouldn’t be a Jew in the world that is safe,” Biden says at the White House Hanukkah party as he reaffirms support for Israel against its war against Hamas.

Hudbay working hard to get this ridgeline of the Santa Rita Mountains prepped for mountaintop removal. This is part of the vast home range of the jaguar El Jefe and some of the most important, federally designated jaguar critical habitat in the United States.