VTIPG's Five Pieces Worth Reading- August 11, 2023

Welcome

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, and I encourage you to do so, please contact me, Billy Parvatam, at pbilly97@vt.edu.

Our first piece, from the Cardinal News, describes a Virginia Tech study of large solar farms in the state.
Our second story, from CBS News, analyzes the fact that a large majority of Ohioans voted against ‘Issue 1’, an outcome that could protect abortion rights in that state.
A third article, from The Associated Press, argues that the Federal Reserve’s goal of reducing inflation below two percent will be a difficult task.
Our fourth offering, from The New York Times, outlines how the prosecution of former President Donald Trump, although justified, may have terrible consequences for the political and legal systems.
Last, we share an article from Vox detailing right-wing criticism of the U.S. women’s national soccer team following its elimination in the current World Cup competition.

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.

Five Pieces Worth Reading

Virginia Tech-led researchers to study large solar farms’ impact on soil and water

Matt Busse describes the efforts of a Virginia Tech-led research team to investigate how large solar farms in the Commonwealth are affecting soil erosion and stormwater runoff patterns. Professor Ryan Stewart of the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences has received a $3.4 million grant from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to study these impacts at six solar installations in a range of locations across the state.

Busse, M. (2023, August 7). “Virginia Tech-led researchers to study large solar farms’ impact on soil and water.” Cardinal News. https://cardinalnews.org/2023/08/08/virginia-tech-led-researchers-to-study-large-solar-farms-impact-on-soil-water/

Ohio votes against issue 1 in special election

In this CBS News piece Melissa Quinn analyzes Ohio voters definitive rejection of ‘Issue 1’, a GOP-backed referendum that would have raised the threshold for approving future changes to the state constitution through the ballot box from a simple majority of 50 percent plus one to 60 percent. Quinn reports that this outcome could pave the way for abortion rights to be upheld in the state in November.

Quinn, M. (2023, August 9). “Ohio votes against issue 1 in special election. Here’s what that could mean for abortion rights.” CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-issue-1-fails-to-pass-2023-results/

US inflation has steadily cooled. Getting it down to the Fed’s target rate will be the toughest mile

Christopher Rugaber discusses the decline of inflation to three percent in this Associated Press article, but cautions that lowering it to the Federal Reserve’s goal of 2 percent will be difficult. Rugaber contends that “core” inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices is only likely to slow gradually in the next year. Additionally, the price slowdown has reflected minimal changes such as the price of physical goods are likely not to be repeated again.

Rugaber, C. (2023, August 8). “US inflation has steadily cooled. Getting it down to the Fed’s target rate will be the toughest mile.” AP News. https://apnews.com/article/inflation-prices-costs-economy-federal-reserve-rates-67149484e11abd8d0d18e0fdd69ec256

The prosecution of Trump may have terrible consequences

Jack Goldsmith argues in this New York Times piece that the prosecution of former President Donald Trump could have unintended consequences, given the possible costs these efforts imply for our nation’s legal and political systems. Goldsmith contends that the timing of these prosecutions, occurring as they are when Trump is the clear favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination, however justifiable, does not look good for the Biden administration, as Republicans can contend that the investigations are simply partisan efforts. Goldsmith is concerned that while the current indictments may be justified, future lawmakers could use today’s unfortunate situation to investigate members of the opposing political party regardless of the merits.

Goldsmith, J. (2023, August 8). “The prosecution of Trump may have terrible consequences.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/opinion/trump-indictment-cost-danger.html

The right-wing backlash against the US Women’s national soccer team, explained

In this Vox story Alex Abad-Santos analyzes the right-wing backlash against the U.S. women’s national soccer team following their recent round of 16 loss to Sweden in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The team’s elimination was widely considered an upset since the United States entered the tournament as two-time world champions. Abad-Santos contends that much of the criticism from conservatives was aimed at the advocacy among some players for LGBTQ rights, equal pay, and against police brutality. Abad-Santos suggests that these arguments are meritless and in fact the team suffered its narrow loss because other nations are fielding improved teams, which is making the contest more competitive than ever.

Abad-Santos, A. (2023, August 7). “The right-wing backlash against the US Women’s national soccer team, explained.” Vox. https://www.vox.com/culture/2023/8/7/23823612/us-women-soccer-team-uswnt-world-cup-loss-politics

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