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Dear friends of VTIPG and CCC,
We share five articles each week that we find timely and meaningful that address significant concerns related to the state of our democracy and civil society. We aim to offer pieces that illuminate a wide array of dimensions of our country's policy and governance challenges and the state of social norms that sustain the possibility of addressing them successfully. Please note, the views expressed in these essays do not necessarily reflect the perspectives of VTIPG or Virginia Tech. We also upload these essays and stories to our website. You may find the archive at News and Opportunities at http://ipg.vt.edu.
If you would like to suggest an article for consideration for this series please contact the series editor at the address below.
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First up is an Associated Press article that discusses Representative Mike Johnson's (R-LA) election as Speaker of the House of Representatives and its potential implications for critical national interests.
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Our second story, from Brookings, contends that strategic manipulation of elections is now more prevalent in the U.S. than in the recent past and that it could play a factor in the 2024 elections.
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A third piece, from NPR, reports on the Supreme Court's decision to decline to intervene in Louisiana's decision not to draw a second majority Black district despite that state previously being ordered to do so by lower courts.
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Our fourth article, from Cardinal News, discusses environmental and transparency/accountability concerns related to a proposed small nuclear reactor in Wise County, VA.
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Last, we share a story from BBC News that highlights how one major paper production plant in Uruguay is responding to that industry's high level of water consumption and pollution amidst a major drought.
Brief synopses of these articles appear below. We hope the perspectives offered in these pieces encourage reflection and conversation!
Best wishes,
Billy Parvatam
VTIPG Communications Coordinator
pbilly97@vt.edu.
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Photo: Mike Johnson. Credit to NPR. |
Mike Johnson is the new House speaker, but the ally of Donald Trump faces same GOP challenges ahead
This Associated Press article discusses Representative Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) election as Speaker of the House of Representatives after weeks of GOP chaos in selecting an individual for that office, and what to expect as he begins his tenure. Congress faces a deadline of November 17th to fund the national government or risk its shutdown. Although he has spoken of the importance of supporting Israel in its fight against Hamas, Johnson has shown little interest in providing additional funding to Ukraine, in contrast to President Biden’s desire to link the two in any spending package. Johnson is unlikely to muster much goodwill across the aisle since he has been a staunch supporter of former President Trump and also has strongly supported the "Big Lie" and past efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Mascaro, L., Groves, S., Amiri, F., & Freking, K. (2023, October 26). “Mike Johnson is the new House speaker, but the ally of Donald Trump faces same GOP challenges ahead.” Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/congress-speaker-johnson-republicans-trump-98143477c7cd0069d8d59e59594a277
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Photo: The Supreme Court. Credit to Brookings. | |
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Democratic decline in the United States: Strategic manipulation of elections
Vanessa Williamson argues in this Brookings piece that strategic manipulation has become a recurring and increasingly significant feature of U.S. elections. This phenomenon includes deliberate efforts to make it more difficult to vote or to reduce an opposing party’s voter/citizen representation through gerrymandering. She contends that as long as a major political party, the Republicans in this case, will not commit to accepting political defeat as a legitimate outcome, democracy cannot be viewed as secure. Given the rising number of election deniers in the GOP, there is reason for concern that the party will simply refuse to accept defeat as legitimate in the coming 2024 elections.
Williamson, V. (2023, October 18). “Democratic decline in the United States: Strategic manipulation of elections.” Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/democratic-decline-in-the-united-states-strategic-manipulation-of-elections/
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Photo: New Orleans residents vote during the 2020 elections. Credit to NPR. | |
Supreme Court ducks, leaving Louisiana redistricting stuck in uncertainty
This NPR story describes the Supreme Court’s choice not to review a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to delay the redrawing of Louisiana’s congressional map ahead of the 2024 election. Inaction could prevent creation of a second majority-Black district in time for that change to influence the coming national election.
Totenberg, N., & Gersh, A. (2023, October 19). “Supreme Court ducks, leaving Louisiana redistricting stuck in uncertainty.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/10/19/1205408391/supreme-court-louisiana-redistricting
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Photo: Mineral Gap. Credit to Cardinal News. | |
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Advocates worry residents are being left out of conversations about where to build Virginia’s first small nuclear reactor
This Cardinal News article discusses the environmental concerns associated with two properties identified as potential sites for a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) in Wise County, VA. SMRs are smaller versions of traditional nuclear reactors that produce about a third of the power of their older counterparts. Advocates are concerned that the sites now under consideration for this possible reactor are located too near residential properties to ensure public safety and that the general public thus far has had too little opportunity to provide input concerning this possibility.
Cameron, S. (2023, October 24). “Advocates worry residents are being left out of conversations about where to build Virginia’s first small nuclear reactor.” Cardinal News. https://cardinalnews.org/2023/10/24/advocates-worry-residents-are-being-left-out-of-conversations-about-where-to-build-virginias-first-small-nuclear-reactor/
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Photo: The process of turning wood into paper requires significant amounts of water. Credit to BBC News. | |
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Does the paper industry need to cut its water usage?
This BBC News analysis by Grace Livingstone examines how companies in the pulp and paper sector use and dirty large amounts of water in their production processes even as paper is often depicted as a green alternative to plastic. She reports that Uruguay, a major paper producer, is now suffering its worst ever drought after recording low levels of rainfall this year. That fact has demanded that major producers address their level of water use and also how they treat water used during production. Livingstone reports that in addition to devising ways to address the volume of water it uses, Uruguay's UPM Paso de Los Toros facility, one of the world’s largest pulp mills, is currently experimenting with a recycling technology that condenses water vapor to return cleaner water to its source river, the Rio Negro, following production.
Livingstone, G. (2023, October 23). “Does the paper industry need to cut its water usage?” BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67144689
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