VTDIGGER 12/10/17 By Michael Shank Editor’s note: This commentary is by Michael Shank, Ph.D., of Brandon, who is the communications director for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. He writes in his personal capacity. Economists love it. Republicans love it. Democrats love it. Big multinational […]
Author: Michael Shank
12 Ways to Improve Climate Change Communications
12 Ways to Improve Climate Change Communications HUFFINGTON POST 11/22/17 CNCA 11/08/19 By Michael Shank Environmentalists have long depended on good data and sound science to determine the direction of their advocacy agendas. Climate change campaigns are an excellent example of this. They’re reliant on rigorous modeling, and the science-based […]
We Can’t Solely Rely on World Leaders at the UN to Effect Global Change
VICE 9/22/17 By Michael Shank As diplomats meet at the United Nations this week, it’s more important than ever that all people are empowered to engage the challenges of these times. This September, as world leaders gather in New York City for the General Assembly of the United Nations, the […]
Thousand Oaks-Oxnard-Ventura Area Ranks Eighth in Nation in Sustainability Efforts
VENTURA COUNTY STAR 08/28/17 By Mike Harris The Thousand Oaks/Oxnard/Ventura metropolitan area ranks eighth among the 100 most populous such areas in the nation in terms of progress toward sustainable development, according to a new survey by a group that works with the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Solutions Network […]
Building Political Will for a More Sustainable America
THE HILL 08/21/17 By Michael Shank and US Congresswoman Yvette Clarke This country desperately needs a positive vision, some goals for where we’re going. Instead, it’s all negative all the time; a daily slashing and burning of hard-fought protections. Take the environment, for example. In this month, the Trump administration […]
The U.S. Cities SDG Index
UNSDSN 08/10/17 By Mihir Prakash, Katerina Teksoz, Jessica Espey, Jeffrey Sachs, Michael Shank and Guido Schmidt-Traub Abstract America is the world’s richest large economy, with the world’s leading technologies and institutions of higher learning. Yet, the United States of America (U.S.) is falling behind other countries on a range of indicators […]
Doubling Down on Drone Mistakes
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 06/29/17 By Michael Shank America’s trigger-happy president, Donald Trump, is increasingly getting the United States into trouble with dramatic ramp-ups of military intervention. The latest, Russia’s threat to retaliate in response to the Defense Department’s downing of a Syrian jet and Trump’s vague threatening over […]
Trump’s Tomahawk Missiles Won’t Help Somalia Find Peace
NEWSWEEK 06/16/17 By Michael Shank Blowback is already happening in response to President Donald Trump’s foreign policy. This week’s car bombing and siege at a restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia, which killed 31 people and resulted in dozens of hostages, is an apparent reaction to Trump’s airstrikes over the weekend, which […]
By Pulling Out Of The Paris Agreement, Trump Just Threw Away America’s Biggest Business Opportunity
FAST COMPANY 06/01/17 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Steve Cohen This is the opposite of winning. Forget, for a moment, the environmental implications that come with undercutting an unprecedented climate commitment by the international community, such as beach erosion, the loss of coastal cities, famine-causing droughts, and more severe […]
Bailing On the Paris Climate Deal Would Be a Huge Security Risk
TIME MAGAZINE 06/01/17 By Michael Shank and U.S. Congressman Raul Grijalva U.S. Representative Grijalva (D-AZ) is a ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee. Shank is an adjunct assistant professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs. The Trump Administration is poised to isolate itself from reality once […]