Medicare For All bill unveiled: ‘Complete transformation’ of health care. NBC: “As the debate over Medicare For All heats up on the 2020 trail, House progressives are opening a new front in Congress with a detailed single-payer bill that they plan to aggressively push this year. ‘We intend to make sure that Americans across this country know that we are …
Re-imagining governance. We must insist on representatives who will share governing power. Co-governance means that elected officials are actively working with our communities—not corporate lobbyists—to draft policies and to move them forward together.
Whom candidates surround themselves with and listen to is crucial. Progressives should look at the structure of candidates’ campaigns: Who is funding them? Who are their advisors? Are they investing in real conversations with voters? We must insist on representatives who will share governing power. Co-governance means that elected officials are actively working with our communities—not corporate lobbyists—to draft policies …
Addressing the climate crisis is a top-tier issue for Democratic primary voters, shared only with universal health care coverage
After decades near the bottom of Democratic priority list, climate has broken into the top two or three, according to Hart Research, which detailed the findings of a poll conducted of Democratic primary voters in California, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. The poll was conducted for the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the Center for American Progress Action Fund, …
Prolonged presence of green space is important: children who grew up with the lowest levels of green space had up to 55% higher risk of developing a psychiatric disorder independent from effects of other known risk factors
Growing up in urban environments is associated with risk of developing psychiatric disorders, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Green space can provide mental health benefits and possibly lower risk of psychiatric disorders. This nation-wide study covering >900,000 people shows that children who grew up with the lowest levels of green space had up to 55% higher risk of developing …
Practical and cost-effective ways to reach renewable energy goals in Colorado
From EnergyFreedomCO.org Many Colorado cities have ambitious energy goals but no practical and cost-effective way to reach them. Over one million Coloradans live in cities with the goal of obtaining 100% of their electricity from renewable energy sources. Many large companies also have aggressive renewable energy goals. This paper reviews six possible solutions that would allow cities and large companies …
Public Banking for Infrastructure Finance
By providing counsel, BND helps municipalities with limited knowledge of financial markets or the grant application process to access capital at lower rates and with cheaper transaction costs. Second, to address declining public revenues for infrastructure, BND’s direct low-interest loans allow it to leverage capital on terms that are favorable to the public. Finally, the centralized management of public funds …
The World’s first renewable island – when a community embraces wind power
RapidTransition.org story posted 4 February 2019. See lessons The Danish island of Samsø went from being entirely fossil fuel dependent to becoming the World’s first 100% renewable island, in under a decade. In 1997, the Danish Government launched a competition to develop a model renewable energy community, in order to prove that the country’s Kyoto climate target to reduce carbon emissions …
Smart cities focus on well-being and staff as community builders who help foster trust, harmony and, indeed, happiness
Report, “Smart Cities: A Toolkit for Leaders,” urges city leaders to rethink their roles. They should see themselves not as managers of bureaucracies but as community builders who help foster trust, harmony and, indeed, happiness. The critical first step is reimagining the role of city leaders. They should see themselves first and foremost as stewards of citizen satisfaction. Once they change …
Integrating Higher Levels of Renewables: Hawaii’s Interoperable Grid Communications and Next-Gen Grid Planning
DistribuTech Spotlight: Hawaii’s Interoperable Grid Communications and Next-Gen Grid Planning, JEFF ST. JOHN GTM FEBRUARY 08, 2019 HECO picks Landis+Gyr for world’s first Wi-SUN-certified smart grid network and startup Opus One for novel “integrated distribution planning” software. This is a very different kind of advanced metering infrastructure. Distributed energy integration is the watchword for this year’s DistribuTech conference in New Orleans, even if the …
David Roberts’ review of what’s in the Green New Deal
The resolution consists of a preamble, five goals, 14 projects, and 15 requirements. The preamble establishes that there are two crises, a climate crisis and an economic crisis of wage stagnation and growing inequality, and that the GND can address both. The goals — achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, creating jobs, providing for a just transition, securing clean air and …