Those listening carefully in the runup to the January 6, 2021, insurrection may have heard Senator Ted Cruz mention the Hayes-Tilden Compromise as a model for challenging the vote of the American people. He presented his views in an oleaginous and corrosive attack on our democratic process, saying:

“The most direct precedent on this question arose in 1877, following serious allegations of fraud and illegal conduct in the Hayes-Tilden presidential race. Specifically, the elections in three states-Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina-were alleged to have been conducted illegally.

“In 1877, Congress did not ignore those allegations, nor did the media simply…

Steadily and incrementally, heat is building in Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. Our atmosphere is like a warm duvet wrapped around a sparkling blue gem, hanging in the cold darkness of space. In this duvet, the feathers are greenhouse gas molecules, trapping and retaining heat and keeping the planet warm. We tend to focus on carbon dioxide (CO2) as the primary agent of global warming, but methane (CH4) is also a significant player on the climate change stage. Methane is colorless, odorless, and invisible to the naked eye, but it is a super greenhouse gas.

Understanding its significance requires some knowledge…

First, I must disclose I am not a doctor or medical researcher. But, I have investigated enough to understand the basics of bio-farmed viral vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and mRNA vaccines. I looked into the subject as part of a larger endeavor I am currently working on, mainly to understand the age-old battle between humans and viruses and to try and peek into what the future may hold for humans in this battle.

All indications are that viruses have a history on Earth as long as that of cellular life. So, despite what we think about viruses, they have a proven…

My childhood summers were spent along the banks of the Chesapeake Bay, specifically around the lower reaches of the Rappahannock River. In this estuarine environment, the daily rhythm of life marched in beat with the tide’s rise and fall. Fresh water delivered by inland rivers mingled with the salty ocean water, creating a rich brackish-water ecosystem filled with aquatic life of all sorts. Ospreys and other animals of prey connected the forested shores with the teaming life below the water’s surface. …

The date was April 16th of 1963, and Martin Luther King, Jr. sent out his now-famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This iconic historical document was issued to his fellow clergymen as he languished under lock and key in the Birmingham City Jail. The letter provides historical context regarding the social and philosophical background leading to the birth and rise of the civil rights movement in the United States. However, merely calling it a historical document does not do justice to the social insights it provides. It is more of a living document, since fifty-eight years on, key observations made by…

Despite the many conversations and news reports about moving to clean energy, we still see confusion around the differences between clean energy and renewable energy. A recent article entitled “What Would It Take to Run a City on 100 Percent Clean Energy?” addresses the efforts by some U.S. cities to reduce their carbon footprint. The article does a great job of identifying key obstacles to carbon reduction, but it blurs the line between clean and renewable.

One of the examples given in the article is Burlington, Vermont’s claim they have reached an energy milestone by producing enough power from renewables…

Our story picks up on the northern shores of the Indian Ocean, where the Bay of Bengal laps onto the shores of Bangladesh. The year is 2052, and 230 million people call this country home. Of these 230 million, over 200 million live on the delta. To understand Bangladesh, you must first know its life springs from the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. This delta system, also known as the Bengal Delta, dominates the country’s geography and makes it one of the most fertile regions on the planet Earth.

The Bengal Delta also has the distinction of being a geological triple point. The…

The events of January 6, 2021 laid bare a wound in our democracy as 147 members of Congress openly expressed their tacit support for a movement bent on attacking the constitutional foundations of our country. A mob of thousands descended on the United States Capitol Building with the intent of preventing a lawful certification of votes cast by the American people during the November 2020 election. The de facto leader of this insurrection is the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. His key Congressional enablers are Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley. We cannot sugarcoat what has happened…