The Conversation

Why solar 'microgrids' are not a cure-all for Puerto Rico's power woes

Written by Peter Fox-Penner, Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy, and Professor of Practice, Questrom School of Business, Boston University

In addition to its many other devastating human consequences, Hurricane Maria left the island of Puerto Rico with its power grid in ruins. Power was knocked out throughout the island, with an estimated 80 percent of its transmission and distribution wires incapacitated. When hospitals and other critical users could not get backup power and water...

How the tax package would slam higher ed

Written by Ted Afield, Associate Clinical Professor and Director of the Philip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, Georgia State University

The proposed tax bill could make higher ed even less affordable. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

The tax code overhaul pending in Congress is littered with provisions that would make it a lot harder for most Americans to go to college or grad school.

All told, the changes proposed by House Republicans would require Americans to spend US$65 billion more to...

Public shaming of workplace harassers may force employers to stop protecting them

Written by Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Oregon

Companies are likely taking notice as more women speak up about workplace harassment.AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, a growing number of workplace harassment victims have decided to go public. Since this used to be pretty rare, it marks an important shift.

Along with the torrent of harassment revelations through the...

Democrats' sweep of Virginia shows the state is moving beyond its Confederate past

Written by Toni-Michelle C. Travis, Professor of American Politics, George Mason University

In its first election since Trump became president, Virginia gave Democrats a sweeping victory. This one-time swing state and former Confederate capital elected Democrats in all three statewide races – governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, a mild-mannered physician from Virginia’s eastern shore,...

The emotional challenges of student veterans on campus

Written by Ann Cheney, Assistant Professor, Center for Healthy Communities, University of California, Riverside

For veterans going back to school, student life can involve many stresses.US Department of Education, CC BY

This Veterans Day, Americans will honor the heroism and sacrifice of the nearly 22 million men and women who have served in the U.S. military. Among them will be student veterans. Since 2009, nearly one million veterans have benefited from...

The magazine that inspired Rolling Stone

Written by Peter Richardson, Coordinator, American Studies, San Francisco State University

'When you look back on it, where else would those articles appear? The Saturday Evening Post?'Nick Lehr/The Conversation via flickr, CC BY-SA

The 50th anniversary of Rolling Stone magazine has arrived, and not without fanfare. Joe Hagan’s biography of co-founder Jann Wenner appeared in October to stellar reviews, and earlier this month, HBO...

Gun violence in the US kills more black people and urban dwellers

Written by Molly Pahn, Research Manager, Boston University

A man changes a flag to half-staff near the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.AP Photo/Eric Gay

On Nov. 5, just 35 days after the deadly Las Vegas shooting, a man walked into a church in a small Texas town and murdered 26 people with an assault rifle. The coverage dominated the news.

But the day before, even more people – 43 –...

The climate science report Trump hoped to ignore will resonate outside of Washington, DC

Written by Gary W. Yohe, Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, Wesleyan University

Flooding in Port Arthur, Texas during Hurricane Harvey, Aug. 31, 2017. According to the Climate Science Special Report released on Nov. 2, heavy precipitation events are becoming more frequent and intense in most regions of the world.SC National Guard

Last week, without comment, the White House published a study officially titled the Climate...

As angry voters reject major parties, Mexico's 2018 presidential race grows chaotic

Written by Salvador Vázquez del Mercado, Conacyt Research Professor, National Laboratory of Public Policy, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas

Mexico’s 2018 campaign season has not officially begun, but the race for the presidency is already a nail-biter, featuring a powerful ruling party, dozens of independent aspirants – including two women – and very strange bedfellows.

In my two decades analyzing Mexican elections as both an academic and a pollster, I have never...

GOP plan to tax college endowments like Yale's and Harvard's would be neither fair nor effective

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State University

Harvard, located along the Charles River in Cambridge, boasts the largest endowment at $37.6 billion. Jorge Salcedo/Shutterstock.com

Tucked away in the recently announced GOP tax bill is a small item you may have missed: a new tax on university endowments. As I have spent decades working in higher education, the proposal immediately piqued my...