Congressional Coauthors

We Must Take Action on the Nation’s Coming Water Supply Crisis

THE HILL 07/17/18 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Matt Cartwright Most Americans take water for granted. It’s a resource that people assume will always be accessible, available, and consumable. For most people in this country, whether they’re at a public drinking fountain, a restaurant or at home, water is […]

Goal-Setting Necessary to Save Our Environment

VTDIGGER 06/25/18 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. The offensive has been non-stop. Thanks to months of […]

Toward Sustainable Diets and Food Security

VTDIGGER 05/08/18 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Matt Cartwright Editor’s note: This commentary is by Michael Shank and Matt Cartwright. Shank, of Brandon, teaches at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs and is the communications director for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network. Cartwright represents […]

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 […]

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 […]

Dumping Military Kit on Cops Makes Main Street a War Zone

NEWSWEEK 03/17/17 By Michael Shank and U.S. Congressman Hank Johnson As thousands of Native Americans protested across the country this weekend, led in part by the Standing Rock Sioux, taking the protest to the White House and to Trump Tower, it’s important to remember that Standing Rock was recently a […]

Everyone In Donald Trump’s Cabinet Is Failing Americans

TIME 02/17/17 By Michael Shank and U.S. Congresswoman Yvette Clarke As President Donald Trump’s Cabinet confirmation hearings continue, it’s shocking to see how far the President has deviated from Republican presidential precedent when it comes to selecting his Cabinet. President Richard Nixon, for example, after reading and reacting to the […]

Meryl Streep is Right; Bullying Hurts Us All

THE HILL 01/09/17 By Michael Shank and Former US Congressman Michael Honda Meryl Streep concisely summed up America’s increasingly violent temperament at the Golden Globes Awards ceremony this week, “When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.” Streep said it plainly and powerfully. “Disrespect invites disrespect. […]