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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. Thank you to IPG's Deputy Director Mary Beth Dunkenberger for contributing a University of Virginia piece to this edition.
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First up is a Cardinal News article that highlights the fact that the City of Roanoke is still working to address the consequences of the severe flood that occurred there in 1985.
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Our second story, from the University of Virginia's UVA Today, profiles Associate Professor Dr. Rachel Wahl's "Political Discourse" class.
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A third piece, from Vox, contends that prices have remained high despite steadily declining inflation during the last 20 months or so and that fact does not look set to change anytime soon.
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Our fourth article, from Politico, argues that global emissions have actually increased despite the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015.
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Last, we share a story from BBC News that highlights why Western businesses have stopped reinvesting profits in China and in some cases moved plants out of that country.
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: During the Flood of '85, 32,300 cubic feet of water per second moved past the Walnut Bridge Gauge in the City of Roanoke, VA. The base flow for the Roanoke River at that point was approximately 200 cubic feet per second. That fact implies that the river’s flow during the flood was more than 160 times its normal rate. Courtesy City of Roanoke. Credit to Cardinal News. |
Thirty-eight years after the flood of ’85, Roanoke is still preparing for the next one
This article, by Randy Walker, which appeared in the Cardinal News, suggests that the City of Roanoke continues to address the consequences of the severe flood of 1985. After that event, voters passed a referendum to help fund the $72 million Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project. That initiative, completed in 2012, was aimed at acquiring flood prone properties and protecting critical assets. Today, the City continues to work to ensure against a future catastrophic flood by revisiting and updating its permitting and insurance requirements.
Walker, R. (2023, November 3). “Thirty-eight years after the flood of ’85, Roanoke is still preparing for the next one.” Cardinal News. https://cardinalnews.org/2023/11/03/thirty-eight-years-after-the-flood-of-85-roanoke-is-still-preparing-for-the-next-one/
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Photo: Dr. Rachel Wahl. Credit to UVA. | |
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For democracy, talking is more important than agreeing
This University of Virginia (UVA), UVAToday piece, profiles Dr. Rachel Wahl’s “Political Dialogue” course at that university that combines study of academic theories of democracy with active dialogue and efforts to apply those conceptions. An associate professor and director of the social foundations of education program at the university’s School of Education and Human Development, Dr. Wahl works with her students to study theory and dialogue and thereafter to apply and reflect actively on what they learn in conversations concerning current events with their classmates. The course is one of several “democracy practicum” classes now being offered in departments across the institution in concert with UVA’s Karsh Institute for Democracy.
Hoxworth, L. (2023, October 23). “For democracy, talking is more important than agreeing.” UVA. https://news.virginia.edu/content/democracy-talking-more-important-agreeing utm_campaign=UVATodayWeekend&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=October28&utm_content=democracy-talking-more-important-agreeing
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Photo: Prices aren’t going up as fast as they were ... they also aren’t really moving downward. Credit to Vox. | |
The problem isn’t inflation. It’s prices.
Emily Stewart argues in this Vox piece that prices are the reason that consumers are facing higher expenses today, not inflation. Although inflation has steadily decreased since 2022, prices have not declined correspondingly, and in many cases, she contends, are unlikely ever to return to their pre-pandemic level. Although, Stewart suggests, we now live in more expensive times, one silver lining is that many people have received pay increases in the last few years as the economy and labor markets have tightened and that fact has helped to offset higher prices.
Stewart, E. (2023, November 8). “The problem isn’t inflation. It’s prices.” Vox. https://www.vox.com/money/2023/11/8/23951098/economy-inflation-prices-job-market-sticker-shock
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Photo: An oil terminal in the United Arab Emirates that serves supertankers. A United Nations report says the climate plans of 195 nations are cumulatively failing to stem greenhouse gas emissions. Credit to Politico. | |
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Global carbon emissions are rising under the Paris Climate Agreement
Sara Schonhardt argues in this Politico story that a new United Nations report by that body’s climate change secretariat demonstrates that emissions have actually increased since adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, that was supposed to decrease such global emissions by 43 percent by 2030. The new study builds on previous analyses that have also revealed the failure of signatory nations to increase funding for green energy and reduce fossil fuel production sufficiently to meet the agreement’s targets. Schonhardt reports that United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell recently argued that this disturbing trend shows that bold steps are now needed to reduce carbon emissions rates.
Schonhardt, S. (2023, November 14). “Global carbon emissions are rising under the Paris Climate Agreement.” Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/14/global-carbon-emissions-paris-climate-agreement-00127018
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Photo: President Biden meets with President Xi Jinping in San Francisco on November 15, 2023 for a one-day summit on US-China relations. Credit to BBC News. | |
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Why businesses are pulling billions in profits from China
This BBC News article by Annabelle Liang describes a trend that now finds foreign businesses choosing not to reinvest their profits in that nation. Liang suggests that companies have adopted this stance as a result of multiple factors, including China’s slowing economy, heightened geopolitical risk and ongoing policy uncertainties. Liang contends that the Biden-Xi summit in San Francisco on November 15 will play a role in shaping company confidence in the two nation’s ties and thereby in shaping whether the current trend of capital outflow continues.
Liang, A. (2023, November 14). “Why businesses are pulling billions in profits from China.” BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67353177
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