Hurdles to Achieving US Climate Goals, If Free College is a Good Idea, and More

May 11, 2021

Ahead of its Earth Day climate summit, the Biden administration released a new nationally determined contribution (NDC), pledging massive emissions reductions by 2030. Though several studies show that the goals outlined in the NDC are achievable, Samantha Gross writes that there are major challenges ahead.

“It is not often that an idea comes around that addresses a widely acknowledged problem and has both research support and a fair degree of bipartisan political support.” Douglas Harris analyzes outcomes from financial aid programs and discusses what they indicate about a potential free college program.

There seem to be mass shootings on a weekly basis in the United States. How bothered are people about these regular occurrences of violence? Looking at Twitter data on emoji and hashtag use, Mary Blankenship and Carol Graham find that society is increasingly angered by gun violence, rather than simply adapting to it.

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