This California Law Offers Biden a Tool in the Fight for Environmental Justice
The Nation, December 2020
California's landmark 2017 environmental justice law seeks to address air pollution hotspots in state-designated disadvantaged communities by putting concerned citizens at the table on committees charged with developing mitigation plans. Berkeley researchers argue that the law could inspire regulatory actions by the Biden administration's EPA.
The Nation, December 2020
California's landmark 2017 environmental justice law seeks to address air pollution hotspots in state-designated disadvantaged communities by putting concerned citizens at the table on committees charged with developing mitigation plans. Berkeley researchers argue that the law could inspire regulatory actions by the Biden administration's EPA.
Paid Family Leave is a Game-Changer for New Parents' Health, Not Just Their Economic Security
The Nation, August 2019
The U.S. stands alone among wealthy nations for not providing paid family leave. Instead, the nation guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid time off following the birth of a child--a policy that covers only about 60 percent of private sector workers. Research indicates that paid family leave policies could provide new parents with myriad health, as well as economic, benefits.
The Nation, August 2019
The U.S. stands alone among wealthy nations for not providing paid family leave. Instead, the nation guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid time off following the birth of a child--a policy that covers only about 60 percent of private sector workers. Research indicates that paid family leave policies could provide new parents with myriad health, as well as economic, benefits.
"Racism Got You Stressed? That May Be Holding Kids Back at School, Too."
(The Nation, Oct. 2016)
Research suggests the stress all of today's widespread racial conflict generates may itself do lasting damage to the next generation of people of color in the United States. According to a new paper out of Northwestern University, race-based stress kick-starts psychological and biological changes among black and Latino children that compromise their school performance and ultimately widen school achievement disparities between races.
(The Nation, Oct. 2016)
Research suggests the stress all of today's widespread racial conflict generates may itself do lasting damage to the next generation of people of color in the United States. According to a new paper out of Northwestern University, race-based stress kick-starts psychological and biological changes among black and Latino children that compromise their school performance and ultimately widen school achievement disparities between races.
"It's Science: Raising the Minimum Wage Would Make America a Happier Place." The Nation, Oct. 2015
“There’s this idea that our society is premised on the pursuit of happiness,” says Laura Smith, a psychologist at Columbia University’s Teachers College. That premise, she reasons, is tied to the implicit American social contract, “which is that a hard day’s work is going to be the pathway to full enfranchised citizenship. And when full-time contributors to the necessary fabric of society can’t earn enough to lift their families out of poverty, our tacit social contract is compromised.”
“There’s this idea that our society is premised on the pursuit of happiness,” says Laura Smith, a psychologist at Columbia University’s Teachers College. That premise, she reasons, is tied to the implicit American social contract, “which is that a hard day’s work is going to be the pathway to full enfranchised citizenship. And when full-time contributors to the necessary fabric of society can’t earn enough to lift their families out of poverty, our tacit social contract is compromised.”