It's the ecology, stupid!

+ what is wabi-sabi? US Edition - Today's top story: Climate change matters to more and more people – and could be a deciding factor in the 2024 election [View in browser]( US Edition | 12 March 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Life on Mars? Finding out is complicated and expensive]( - [Salt alters your gut microbiome – and that ain’t good]( - [The legitimacy crisis hobbling the Palestinian Authority]( Lead story When it comes to presidential elections, voters’ preferences all come down to how the economy is doing, right? Perhaps in some cases this is true. But there are other issues that increasingly preoccupy Americans’ thoughts as they head to the polling place. One of these sleeper issues is climate change, which likely influenced voters in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, [according to research conducted]( by Matt Burgess, a scholar of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, and colleagues. This is likely true despite most voters not listing climate change as a leading priority. “So, if most voters − even Democrats − do not rank climate change as their top issue, how could climate change opinion have tipped the 2020 presidential election?” Burgess writes. The connection between climate change and the economy, or the overwhelming evidence of climate change happening, could help explain this gap. “Nonetheless, if the election were held today, the totality of evidence suggests that most voters would prefer a climate-conscious candidate, and that most climate-conscious voters currently prefer a Democrat,” Burgess adds. [[The latest from the the world of philanthropy and nonprofits. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, Giving Today.](] Amy Lieberman Politics + Society Editor Young people demonstrate ahead of a climate summit in New York in September 2023. Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images [Climate change matters to more and more people – and could be a deciding factor in the 2024 election]( Matt Burgess, University of Colorado Boulder Research shows that climate change had a significant effect on voting choices in the 2016 and 2020 elections – and could also influence the 2024 presidential race. International - [US attempt to ‘revitalize’ Palestinian Authority risks making the PA less legitimate, more unpopular]( Dana El Kurd, University of Richmond Israel has made it clear that Hamas should have no role in Gaza after the war. But seeking an alternative in the Palestinian Authority is fraught with problems. - [3 things to watch for in Russia’s presidential election – other than Putin’s win, that is]( Adam Lenton, Wake Forest University While Putin is all but guaranteed to win, war fatigue, electoral engineering and extreme risk-aversion suggest that the Kremlin is anxious to get these elections over and done with. - [How Haiti became a failed state]( Nicolas Forsans, University of Essex Haiti is facing a wave of chaos as gang violence grips the country. Politics + Society - [Pennsylvania overhauled its sentencing guidelines to be more fair and consistent − but racial disparities may not disappear so soon]( C. Clare Strange, Drexel University The new guidelines are not intended to reduce punishment but aim to reduce disparities in punishment that are linked to race and ethnicity. - [Yes, sexism among Republican voters helped sink Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign]( Tatishe Nteta, UMass Amherst; Adam Eichen, UMass Amherst; Jesse Rhodes, UMass Amherst Given her strengths and Donald Trump’s vulnerabilities, why did Nikki Haley fail to seriously challenge Trump’s dominant position in the GOP primaries? Sexism is part of the answer. - [Growing secrecy limits government accountability]( David Cuillier, University of Florida After years of anecdotes, data provides a fuller picture of government agencies hiding their work from the public they ostensibly serve. Environment + Energy - [Solar power occupies a lot of space – here’s how to make it more ecologically beneficial to the land it sits on]( Matthew Sturchio, Colorado State University Solar development isn’t always good for the land, but pairing it with agriculture can produce multiple benefits. Science + Technology - [NASA’s search for life on Mars: a rocky road for its rovers, a long slog for scientists – and back on Earth, a battle of the budget]( Amy J. Williams, University of Florida Determining whether or not life exists on another planet is an extraordinarily complicated – and expensive – scientific endeavor. - [Salty foods are making people sick − in part by poisoning their microbiomes]( Christopher Damman, University of Washington Salt is an essential nutrient that has helped civilizations flavor and preserve their foods for millennia. Too much dietary salt, however, is linked to a host of health problems. Ethics + Religion - [What is the Japanese ‘wabi-sabi’ aesthetic actually about? ‘Miserable tea’ and loneliness, for starters]( Paul S. Atkins, University of Washington ‘Wabi’ and ‘sabi’ are Japanese words with long histories, but they are rarely used together in the way Western designers have come to use the term. Education - [National parks teach students about environmental issues in this course]( Seth T. Kannarr, University of Tennessee Students are provided the opportunity to use America’s national parks as case studies for environmental issues and tough conversations in this course. Trending on site - [Chinese migration to US is nothing new – but the reasons for recent surge at Southern border are]( - [Titanosaurs were the biggest land animals Earth’s ever seen − these plant-powered dinos combined reptile and mammal traits]( - [I’m a political scientist, and the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF ruling turned me into a reproductive-rights refugee]( Today's graphic 📈 [A breakdown of global carbon emissions based on data from S&P Trucost Environmental shows Scope 3 emissions -- from supply chains and users -- are companies' largest source. Scope 1 are companies' direct emissions. Scope 2 emissions are associated with companies' power use.]( From the story, [SEC approves first US climate disclosure rules: Why the requirements are much weaker than planned and what they mean for companies]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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