~ Today’s Water Cooler ~
Saturday, January 10, 2026
UN Report Assesses Dire State of Global Soil Pollution
The UN last week issued a report assessing the dire state the world’s soil. The calls to action are inadequate to the scale of the problem.
Environmental Activists Call on Biden Administration to Pursue Ratification of the Basel Convention to Block U.S. Exports of Plastics and e-Waste
California lawmakers and NGOs call on the Biden administration to press for U.S. ratification of the 1989 Basel Convention and subsequent amendments.
G7 Countries Reach Deal on 15% Global Minimum Tax Rate for Multinational Corporations
One critic of the agreement said that “by settling for anything less than a 25% tax rate, the G7 is telling their citizens and the world that they’re willing to keep the race to the bottom alive and kicking.”
Wolf Richter: Oh Lordy, Yellen Comes Out for Higher Interest Rates: “A Plus for Society’s Point of View and the Fed’s Point of View”
“We want them to go back to” a normal interest rate environment.
Quaking Aspen: The Keystone Species that Clones Itself
The world’s oldest and heaviest living being is an aspen clone!
In Missouri and Other States, Flawed Data Makes It Hard to Track Vaccine Equity
Just as an uneven approach to containing the coronavirus led to a greater toll for Black and Latino communities, the inconsistent data guiding vaccination efforts may be leaving the same groups out on vaccines
Food Insecurity: A Potentially Underrated Collateral Damage of the Pandemic
Increases in hunger and food insecurity under Covid are significant, yet have gone largely under the radar.
Rethinking Unemployment: From Adam Smith to Marx “Reserve Army of the Unemployed” to the Neoliberal War on Full Employment
Unemployment as a balancing act between workers ‘fearing the sack’ and employers ‘fearing the quit,” with employers usually winning out.
2:00PM Water Cooler 6/4/2021
~ Today’s Water Cooler ~
Ranked Choice and Most-Least Voting
Ranked choice voting is getting a following in America. But how does it work in practice compared to similar-seeming systems like most-least?
