tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/texas-14161/articles
Texas – The Conversation
2024-03-27T17:07:01Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/226558
2024-03-27T17:07:01Z
2024-03-27T17:07:01Z
The total solar eclipse in North America could help shed light on a persistent puzzle about the Sun
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584141/original/file-20240325-24-ot473c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/totality-during-2023-australian-total-solar-2344355767">aeonWAVE / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/types/#hds-sidebar-nav-1">total solar eclipse</a> takes place on <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/">April 8 across North America</a>. These events occur when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the Sun’s face. This plunges observers into a darkness similar to dawn or dusk.</p>
<p>During the upcoming eclipse, the path of totality, where observers experience the darkest part of the Moon’s shadow (the umbra), crosses Mexico, arcing north-east through Texas, the Midwest and briefly entering Canada before ending in Maine.</p>
<p>Total solar eclipses occur roughly <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/solar-eclipse-guide.html">every 18 months at some location on Earth</a>. The last total solar eclipse that crossed the US took place on August 21 2017. </p>
<p>An international team of scientists, led by Aberystwyth University, will be conducting experiments from <a href="https://www.fox4news.com/news/2024-eclipse-dallas-crowds-traffic">near Dallas</a>, at a location in the path of totality. The team consists of PhD students and researchers from Aberystwyth University, Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, and Caltech (California Institute of Technology) in Pasadena. </p>
<p>There is valuable science to be done during eclipses that is comparable to or better than what we can achieve via space-based missions. Our experiments may also shed light on a longstanding puzzle about the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere – its corona.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Eclipse shadow" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584503/original/file-20240326-18-9yqs13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584503/original/file-20240326-18-9yqs13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584503/original/file-20240326-18-9yqs13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584503/original/file-20240326-18-9yqs13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584503/original/file-20240326-18-9yqs13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584503/original/file-20240326-18-9yqs13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584503/original/file-20240326-18-9yqs13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The path of eclipse totality passes through Mexico, the US and Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5186/">NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Sun’s intense light is blocked by the Moon during a total solar eclipse. This means that we can observe the <a href="https://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/corona.shtml">Sun’s faint corona</a> with incredible clarity, from distances very close to the Sun, out to several solar radii. One radius is the distance equivalent to half the Sun’s diameter, about 696,000km (432,000 miles).</p>
<p>Measuring the corona is extremely difficult without an eclipse. It requires a special telescope <a href="https://www.space.com/what-is-a-coronagraph.html">called a coronagraph</a> that is designed to block out direct light from the Sun. This allows fainter light from the corona to be resolved. The clarity of eclipse measurements surpasses even coronagraphs based in space.</p>
<p>We can also observe the corona on a relatively small budget, compared to, for example, spacecraft missions. A persistent puzzle about the corona is the observation <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119815600.ch2">that it is much hotter</a> than the photosphere (the visible surface of the Sun). As we move away from a hot object, the surrounding temperature should decrease, not increase. How the corona is heated to such high temperatures is one question we will investigate.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Solar eclipse." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584507/original/file-20240326-20-xairh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584507/original/file-20240326-20-xairh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584507/original/file-20240326-20-xairh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584507/original/file-20240326-20-xairh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584507/original/file-20240326-20-xairh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584507/original/file-20240326-20-xairh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584507/original/file-20240326-20-xairh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/solar-eclipse-diagram-1146598682">Andramin / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We have two main scientific instruments. The first of these is Cip (coronal imaging polarimeter). Cip is also the Welsh word for “glance”, or “quick look”. The instrument takes images of the Sun’s corona with a polariser. </p>
<p>The light we want to measure from the corona is highly polarised, which means it is made up of waves that vibrate in a single geometric plane. A polariser is a filter that lets light with a particular polarisation pass through it, while blocking light with other polarisations. </p>
<p>The Cip images will allow us to measure fundamental properties of the corona, such as its density. It will also shed light on phenomena such as the solar wind. This is a stream of sub-atomic particles in the form of plasma – superheated matter – flowing continuously outward from the Sun. Cip could help us identify sources in the Sun’s atmosphere for certain solar wind streams.</p>
<p>Direct measurements of the magnetic field in the Sun’s atmosphere are difficult. But the eclipse data should allow us to study its fine-scale structure and trace the field’s direction. We’ll be able to see how far magnetic structures called large “closed” magnetic loops extend from the Sun. This in turn will give us information about large-scale magnetic conditions in the corona.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Coronal loops." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584489/original/file-20240326-24-zlpsmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584489/original/file-20240326-24-zlpsmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584489/original/file-20240326-24-zlpsmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584489/original/file-20240326-24-zlpsmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584489/original/file-20240326-24-zlpsmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584489/original/file-20240326-24-zlpsmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584489/original/file-20240326-24-zlpsmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coronal loops are found around sunspots and in active regions of the Sun.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/coronal-loops-an-active-region-of-sun/">NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second instrument is Chils (coronal high-resolution line spectrometer). It collects high-resolution spectra, where light is separated into its component colours. Here, we are looking for a particular spectral signature of iron emitted from the corona. </p>
<p>It comprises three spectral lines, where light is emitted or absorbed in a narrow frequency range. These are each generated at a different range of temperatures (in the millions of degrees), so their relative brightness tells us about the coronal temperature in different regions. </p>
<p>Mapping the corona’s temperature informs advanced, computer-based models of its behaviour. These models must include mechanisms for how the coronal plasma is heated to such high temperatures. Such mechanisms might include the conversion of magnetic waves to thermal plasma energy, for example. If we show that some regions are hotter than others, this can be replicated in models. </p>
<p>This year’s eclipse also occurs during a time of heightened solar activity, so we could observe a <a href="https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/coronal-mass-ejections">coronal mass ejection (CME)</a>. These are huge clouds of magnetised plasma that are ejected from the Sun’s atmosphere into space. They can affect infrastructure near Earth, causing problems for vital satellites. </p>
<p>Many aspects of CMEs are poorly understood, including their early evolution near the Sun. Spectral information on CMEs will allow us to gain information on their thermodynamics, and their velocity and expansion near the Sun.</p>
<p>Our eclipse instruments have recently been proposed for a space mission called <a href="https://www.surrey.ac.uk/research-projects/feasibility-study-moon-enabled-sun-occultation-mission-mesom">Moon-enabled solar occultation mission (Mesom)</a>. The plan is to orbit the Moon to gain more frequent and extended eclipse observations. It is being planned as a UK Space Agency mission involving several countries, but led by University College London, the University of Surrey and Aberystwyth University.</p>
<p>We will also have an advanced commercial 360-degree camera to collect video of the April 8 eclipse and the observing site. The video is valuable for public outreach events, where we highlight the work we do, and helps to generate public interest in our local star, the Sun.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226558/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Huw Morgan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The eclipse will allow scientists to get rare measurements of the Sun’s atmosphere.
Huw Morgan, Reader in Physical Sciences, Aberystwyth University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/226202
2024-03-19T20:42:27Z
2024-03-19T20:42:27Z
Texas immigration law in legal limbo, with intensifying fight between Texas and the US government over securing the Mexico border
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582914/original/file-20240319-18-3mjl2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=502%2C0%2C5479%2C3970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Texas National Guard soldier watches over a group of migrants who crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 18, 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/texas-national-guard-soldier-watches-over-a-group-of-more-news-photo/1865364688?adppopup=true">John Moore/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. Supreme Court <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4542285-supreme-court-texas-law-state-police-to-arrest-migrants/">issued an opinion on March 19, 2024, that Texas can</a> – at least for now – have <a href="https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2023-12-18/gov-abbott-signs-bill-that-makes-unauthorized-entry-a-state-crime">state authorities</a> <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/15/texas-immigration-law-sb4-border-court-hearing/">deport undocumented migrants</a>, which has traditionally been the federal government’s responsibility. </p>
<p>Three liberal judges dissented from the opinion that temporarily backed Texas’ controversial new law, known as Senate Bill 4. </p>
<p>“That law upends the federal-state balance of power that has existed for over a century, in which the national government has had exclusive authority over entry and removal of noncitizens,” Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in their dissent.</p>
<p>The Biden administration had tried to block Texas’ enforcement of SB 4, maintaining that the state law is “flatly inconsistent with federal law,” <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4540053-supreme-court-pause-texas-law-migrants/">according to a letter</a> U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote to the Supreme Court justices. </p>
<p>The Supreme Court’s decision <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/us/supreme-court-texas-immigration.html">tossed the question of SB 4</a> to an appeals court for a ruling. With this 6-3 ruling, the justices also foreshadowed how they could ultimately rule on SB 4 if a ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is itself appealed to the Supreme Court in the near future. Late on March 19, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-court-wont-halt-texas-law-illegal-border-crossings-2024-03-19/">the 5th Circuit barred enforcement</a> of the law until it heard arguments in the case.</p>
<p>This decision follows shortly after a failed Senate proposal to tighten border security and make it tougher for people to get asylum in the U.S. It also coincides with Americans’ rising <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/02/27/immigration-americans-top-problem-us-poll-election">concern about immigration</a>.</p>
<p>Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been battling with the Biden administration since 2021 over the state’s ability to secure its border with Mexico. Under Abbott’s leadership, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/republicans-governors-national-guard-and-the-texas-border-what-to-know-/7467727.html">Texas has sent Texas National Guard</a> troops and state troopers to its 1,254-mile-long border with Mexico. Texas is the only border state that has built its own wall, partially dividing itself from Mexico. Texas has also constructed <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/02/09/news/texas-on-track-to-build-more-border-wall-in-state-than-trump-gov-abbotts-says/">more than 100 miles</a> of other barriers along the border.</p>
<p>I <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/mark-p-jones">am a scholar</a> of Texas politics and government at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Texas’ attempts to control its border with Mexico and intervene on immigration issues – historically both the responsibility of the federal government – derive in part from the fact that many Texans believe that their Lone Star State is unique. </p>
<p>Texas, for starters, is the largest U.S. state among the lower 48, geographically speaking, and the second-most populous after California. It has a distinct state culture and the history of being an independent republic. </p>
<p>Today, Texas is the most powerful and influential red state, pushing back against the Biden administration on many policy issues. It is also home to a small but growing political movement advocating for Texas to secede from the U.S. and become an independent country.</p>
<p>There is a great deal of truth to the popular saying that everything is bigger in Texas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man is seen from the side, holding both an American flag and a Texas flag, which is red and blue with one white star." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People protest Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s immigration and border policies in Eagle Pass, Texas, in February 2024.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/counter-protesters-wave-flags-across-the-street-from-local-news-photo/1978653675?adppopup=true">Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Border security battles</h2>
<p>Over the past several months, Texas has become increasingly enmeshed in a series of skirmishes with the Biden administration over border security and immigration. Abbott, bolstered by <a href="https://uh.edu/hobby/txprimary2024/">Republican voters</a> and the unanimous support of Texas Republicans who dominate the state Legislature, has made Texas more involved in day-to-day border security and immigration enforcement than any state in recent history. </p>
<p>In December 2023, Abbott signed SB 4, which made it a state crime to cross the border illegally and also gives Texas judges the power to deport undocumented migrants. SB 4 will now be implemented, at least until the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reaches a decision in April.</p>
<p>Abbott’s border security interventions are funded by a 2021 state initiative called <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/operationlonestar">Operation Lone Star</a>. During the program’s first two years, Texas spent <a href="https://www.governing.com/now/2-years-and-4b-later-what-we-know-about-operation-lone-star">US$4.4 billion</a> on a multifaceted strategy that includes, for example, sending Texas <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-expands-border-security-operations-in-eagle-pass#:%7E:text=The%20Texas%20Military%20Department%20acquired,created%20by%20the%20Biden%20Administration.">National Guard troops</a> to the border. In some cases, these National Guard <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4416126-texas-us-legal-standoff-eagle-pass-border/">troops have blocked U.S. Border Patrol agents</a> from patrolling the border. </p>
<p>Now, Texas is spending <a href="https://everytexan.org/2023/10/27/third-special-spending-updated-spending-limits-mean-more-options-for-lawmakers/">$5.1 billion</a> on trying to patrol the border from 2023 through 2025. </p>
<p>This doesn’t include the additional $1.5 billion Texas has allocated for expansion of its <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/border-wall-deportation-bills-18480062.php">border wall</a> over the next few years. </p>
<p>Since 2022, Texas has sent more than 100,000 immigrants who arrived in Texas to <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/texas-transports-over-100000-migrants-to-sanctuary-cities">liberal cities such as New York and Chicago</a>. </p>
<p>And in 2023, Texas constructed a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-buoys-border-immigration-12bc8abddef1c9384b25222b92d0840b">buoy barrier in the middle of the Rio Grande</a>, although a federal appeals court ruled in December that Texas must <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/01/politics/federal-appeals-court-orders-texas-to-remove-controversial-border-buoys-from-rio-grande/index.html">remove those barriers</a> from the river. </p>
<p>The Biden administration has <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/biden-lawsuit-border-law-18588009.php">challenged</a> virtually all of these actions in court.</p>
<p>The federal government argues that Texas’ border and immigration activity is unconstitutional, since only the federal government can enforce immigration law. The <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4416126-texas-us-legal-standoff-eagle-pass-border/">federal government maintains</a> that the new Texas immigration law that allows state authorities to deport migrants also would interfere with the federal asylum process. </p>
<p>In response, Texas says that its border and immigration work is legal, in part because the federal government cannot adequately secure the border. Abbott and other Republicans characterize migrants crossing into Texas as an “invasion,” which they say gives Texas the right to defend itself, as <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-issues-statement-on-texas-constitutional-right-to-self-defense">they say the U.S. Constitution allows</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A middle aged white man in a white shirt sits in a. wheelchair and shakes the hand of a soldier who wears a camo uniform, in a row of other people in camp." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tours the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass in May 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/texas-governor-greg-abbott-tours-the-us-mexico-border-at-news-photo/1240862283?adppopup=true">Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s unique about Texas</h2>
<p>Understanding Texas’ particular history and Texans’ sense of pride for their state helps to better understand the context behind this current conflict. </p>
<p>In Texas, you can’t travel far without seeing the Texas flag fluttering outside of houses and business storefronts. It is quite common to see people carrying Texas flag-themed Koozies, or wearing Texas flag shirts and hats. </p>
<p>Texas is one of the only U.S. states that went directly from being an independent republic – from 1836 to 1845 – to getting statehood. More than <a href="https://www.tshaonline.org/texas-day-by-day/entry/220">nine out of 10 Texans</a> voted for Texas to become part of the U.S. in 1845. </p>
<p>Texas has also been led continuously by a Republican governor since 1992, when George W. Bush was first elected. No Democrat has won any statewide race in Texas since 1994. </p>
<p>Today, Texas’ executive branch, led by Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton, is the country’s most powerful and vocal opponent of the Biden administration. </p>
<h2>A push to secede</h2>
<p>While the Texas state government is challenging the federal government’s immigration and border powers, there has also been a <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/15/texas-secession-texit/">rise in support for</a> a political group called the <a href="https://tnm.me/">Texas Nationalist Movement</a>, which since 2005 has been advocating for Texas to secede from the U.S.</p>
<p>Texas’ Republican political leaders have not embraced this secession movement, often called “TEXIT.” Recently, Matt Rinaldi, the ultra-conservative chair of the Texas Republican Party, kept a Texas secession proposition <a href="https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2023-12-28/texas-gop-rejects-ballot-question-asking-if-state-should-secede">off the Republican primary ballot</a>. </p>
<p>Abbott and other Texas Republican politicians agree with former conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who <a href="https://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2010/02/scalia-no-to-secession-025119">wrote in a letter in 2006,</a> “If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede.”</p>
<p>But these same Republicans still want Texas to have greater state autonomy from the federal government. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The words 'Greetings from Texas' are seen on a colorful illustration, with a large red star, blue bulls and smaller images of fruit and flowers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A vintage postcard from the 1950s offers greetings from Texas, often known as the Lone Star State.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/vintage-illustration-of-greetings-from-texas-the-lone-star-news-photo/583785842?adppopup=true">Found Image Holdings/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Texas pride</h2>
<p>Abbott and other Texas Republicans continue to assert their right to secure the border and deport undocumented immigrants because they say the federal government is failing to do either effectively. </p>
<p>In addition, Republicans continue to use immigration and border security as a top issue to rally Republican and independent voters heading into the 2024 election. </p>
<p>And, while TEXIT is not going to happen, Texas Republicans will continue to vigorously promote Texas autonomy, appealing to their voters’ Texas pride. </p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/military-drones-are-swarming-the-skies-of-ukraine-and-other-conflict-hot-spots-and-anything-goes-when-it-comes-to-international-law-205898">article originally published on Feb. 29, 2024</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226202/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark P Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The Supreme Court announced that Texas can have state authorities arrest and deport undocumented migrants. A lower court has temporarily blocked the law.
Mark P Jones, Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies & Baker Institute Political Science Fellow, Rice University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/224840
2024-03-01T13:29:29Z
2024-03-01T13:29:29Z
Texas fires: With over 1 million acres of grassland burned, cattle ranchers face struggles ahead to find and feed their herds
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579060/original/file-20240229-24-1apaqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C88%2C3960%2C2875&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Over 1 million acres of grassland burn in the Texas Panhandle in late February 2024.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Texas-Wildfires/f64f0576fb9744b2a60210c02d0d58bd/photo">Greenville Fire-Rescue via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Strong winds spread the <a href="https://fire-information-tfsgis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/historical-fire-statistics">largest wildfire</a> in Texas history across <a href="https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/CurrentSituation/">more than 1 million acres</a> of rangeland in the Panhandle, the <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Texas/Publications/County_Estimates/ce_maps/ce_catt.php">heart of the state’s cattle-producing region</a>, and into Oklahoma in late February 2024. Light precipitation on Feb. 29 helped firefighters as they tried to contain the Smokehouse Creek Fire and other blazes threatening homes and livestock, but the heat and <a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=TXZ013&warncounty=TXC065&firewxzone=TXZ013&local_place1=Panhandle%20TX&product1=Red+Flag+Warning&lat=35.3462&lon=-101.38">winds picked up again</a> on March 2. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-panhandle-wildfires-deaths/">At least two people</a> died and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/texas-wildfires-live-updates-biggest-blaze-state-history-spread-rcna141313">scores of structures, including homes, burned</a>.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://experts.okstate.edu/karen.hickman">Karen Hickman</a>, a grassland ecologist at Oklahoma State University and president of the <a href="https://rangelands.org/">Society for Range Management</a>, explained why the fires spread so fast, the risks to livestock and how quickly these ecosystems can recover.</em></p>
<h2>How did the fires spread so far so quickly?</h2>
<p>This region of Texas and Oklahoma is mostly rangeland where cattle graze. A combination of higher-than-average <a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-panhandle-rapidly-growing-fire-766075c32469334c73e53b64bdb9ccbe">temperatures and low humidity</a> had dried out the dormant plants. When the winds picked up following a couple of hot, dry days, all it took was a spark to start a wildfire.</p>
<p>The Texas Panhandle is <a href="https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/high_plains/">mostly shortgrass prairie species</a> that <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/fire_regimes/PlainsGrass_Prairie/all.html">evolved with fire</a>. But Texas also has <a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/conservation-programs/conservation-reserve-program/index">Conservation Reserve Program</a> fields planted with perennial species that might be mid- or tall grasses. Those taller grasses have a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2578">higher fuel load</a> that can feed a fire more than the short grass species. </p>
<p>Across the border, that area of Oklahoma is more rugged and has another problem: a lot of <a href="https://conservation.ok.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Eastern-Redcedar-Invading-the-Landscape.pdf">eastern red cedar</a> that are native but have expanded as invasive species because of the lack of periodic fire. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109815">When mature cedar trees burn</a>, they can send embers flying, increasing the risk to homes and towns.</p>
<p>When fires spread that fast, it often means embers are blowing ahead of the actual fire and across any potential firebreaks that exist.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.marfapublicradio.org/podcast/wonders/2018-09-20/where-the-west-winds-blow-what-causes-the-west-texas-windy-season">wind’s shifting direction</a> – it sometimes changed direction two or three times in a day – also made the fire harder to control. Fire crews and ranchers can try to protect the area ahead of the fire, only to see the wind shift and <a href="https://www.usairnet.com/weather/maps/current/texas/wind-direction/">blow the fire in another direction</a>. It’s dangerous to people and livestock, and it makes it hard to stop the fire’s spread.</p>
<h2>What is in the path of these fires?</h2>
<p>Those lands are either being rested through the dormant season or being grazed by livestock this time of year, and there are new calves, as well. Texas livestock producers have been trying to move their cattle to safety, but in some cases they <a href="https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/fires-kill-livestock-in-ford-county-wildfires-also-causing-large-cattle-loss-in-texas/">had to cut the fences</a> and let the cattle go on their own.</p>
<p>In Oklahoma’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Oklahoma">rougher terrain and canyons</a>, it can be even harder to get the cattle out because they go into the canyons to get away from the fierce winds.</p>
<p>For livestock producers, the immediate needs will be saving and then gathering their herds again. </p>
<p>Some herds will die in the fire, and <a href="https://www.farmprogress.com/livestock/immediate-care-needed-for-cattle-harmed-by-wildfires">cattle will be injured</a>. Fires like these also burn fences and damage the <a href="https://aermotorwindmill.com/pages/how-a-windmill-works">windmills that power wells</a>, and they can melt plastic water tanks. So, many producers will have to find new sources of both food and water for their animals. Homes are also at risk and several have burned.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579059/original/file-20240229-18-ge3zdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cattle in a field with a home, bails of hay and smoke in the background and a charred area nearby." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579059/original/file-20240229-18-ge3zdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579059/original/file-20240229-18-ge3zdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579059/original/file-20240229-18-ge3zdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579059/original/file-20240229-18-ge3zdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579059/original/file-20240229-18-ge3zdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579059/original/file-20240229-18-ge3zdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579059/original/file-20240229-18-ge3zdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cattle rest in a field as smoke rises from a nearby section of the Smokehouse Creek Fire near the town of Canadian, Texas. Homes near several small towns burned in the fire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TexasWildfires/d64cc251575c4ab896f1f4f5b3c72500/photo">AP Photo/Julio Cortez</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The rangelands are dominated by people who are supportive of their neighbors, so typically, the <a href="https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2017/08/10/neighbors-helping-neighbors-montana-producers-shipping-hay-fire-stricken-ranches/553631001/">surrounding counties will offer donations</a>. There are some concerns about hay from areas farther away and the risk of invasive species. The Panhandle saw that with <a href="https://extension.okstate.edu/articles/2021/stotts-fire-ants.html">red imported fire ants</a> that arrived in hay bales after fires in 2018. But the immediate concern for ranchers is to provide food and water for their livestock.</p>
<h2>How quickly can the rangeland recover?</h2>
<p>The grasses will be able to sprout back and recover fairly quickly. Over winter, they are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Faob%2Fmcl195">alive below ground</a>. Only the dead part of the plants above ground burned.</p>
<p>In those systems with perennial plants, once it rains and temperatures rise, the <a href="https://forages.oregonstate.edu/ssis/plants/plant-types/forbs">grasses and forbs</a> will sprout back within a few weeks. The plants will recover nicely as long as we’re <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Faob%2Fmcl195">not in a long-term drought</a>.</p>
<p>The grassland may even see a benefit if the fire removes invasive species like eastern red cedar in Oklahoma. In some areas, people have been hesitant to conduct <a href="https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/fire-effects-in-native-plant-communities.html">prescribed fires</a>, and that has led to an overgrowth of woody plants, such as sumac and sand plum. If the fire clears out some of that overgrowth and the eastern red cedar, the prairie grass and forb species will regenerate in those areas, restoring wildlife habitat.</p>
<p>Where the vegetation burns away, the black surface will increase the soil temperature, activating perennial grasses and promoting resprouting. This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2009.05.011">speeds up their growth</a>.</p>
<p>These are really <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/fire_regimes/PlainsGrass_Prairie/all.html">resilient ecosystems</a>. But the immediate concern in the coming weeks is for cattle producers to find ways to feed and water their livestock while the rangeland’s native plants regrow.</p>
<p><em>This article, originally published March 1, 2024, has been updated with damage to homes and wind gusts picking up again.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224840/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Hickman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The state’s largest wildfire on record tore across the heart of Texas cattle country, and more days of strong winds were forecast. A rangeland ecologist explains why the flames spread so fast.
Karen Hickman, Professor and Director of Environmental Science, Oklahoma State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/223520
2024-02-29T13:42:41Z
2024-02-29T13:42:41Z
This is Texas hold ‘em – why Texas is fighting the US government to secure its border with Mexico
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578702/original/file-20240228-28-s1zpjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Texas National Guard troops try to untangle a migrant caught in razor wire along the Texas-Mexico border on Jan. 31, 2024. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/texas-national-guard-troops-try-to-untangle-an-immigrant-news-photo/1976393392?adppopup=true">John Moore/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are both traveling to Texas border towns on Feb. 29, 2024, and are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/26/biden-trump-border-immigration/">expected to fault each other</a> for chaos in border enforcement and the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/15/migrant-encounters-at-the-us-mexico-border-hit-a-record-high-at-the-end-of-2023/">high number of undocumented migrant crossings</a>.</p>
<p>Their dueling visits follow a failed Senate proposal to tighten border security and make it tougher for people to get asylum in the U.S. They also coincide with Americans’ rising <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/02/27/immigration-americans-top-problem-us-poll-election">concern about immigration</a>.</p>
<p>Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been battling with the Biden administration since 2021 over the state’s ability to secure its border with Mexico. Under Abbott’s leadership, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/republicans-governors-national-guard-and-the-texas-border-what-to-know-/7467727.html">Texas has sent Texas National Guard</a> troops and state troopers to its 1,254-mile-long border with Mexico. Texas is the only border state that has built its own wall, partially dividing itself from Mexico. Texas has also constructed <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/02/09/news/texas-on-track-to-build-more-border-wall-in-state-than-trump-gov-abbotts-says/">more than 100 miles</a> of other barriers along the border.</p>
<p>I <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/mark-p-jones">am a scholar of</a> Texas politics and government at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Texas’ attempts to control its border with Mexico and intervene on immigration issues – historically both the responsibility of the federal government – derive in part from the fact that many Texans believe that their Lone Star State is unique. </p>
<p>Texas, for starters, is the largest U.S. state among the lower 48, geographically speaking, and the second-most populous after California. It has a distinct state culture and the history of being an independent republic. </p>
<p>Today, Texas is the most powerful and influential red state pushing back against the Biden administration on many policy issues. It is also home to a small but growing political movement advocating for Texas to secede from the U.S. and become an independent country.</p>
<p>There is a great deal of truth to the popular saying that everything is bigger in Texas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man is seen from the side, holding both an American flag and a Texas flag, which is red and blue with one white star." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578708/original/file-20240228-28-ctnbfw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People protest Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s immigration and border policies in Eagle Pass, Texas, in February 2024.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/counter-protesters-wave-flags-across-the-street-from-local-news-photo/1978653675?adppopup=true">Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Border security battles</h2>
<p>Texas is now enmeshed in a series of skirmishes with the Biden administration over border security and immigration. Abbott, bolstered by the unanimous support of Texas Republicans who dominate the state legislature, and <a href="https://uh.edu/hobby/txprimary2024/">Republican voters</a>, has made Texas more involved in day-to-day border security and immigration enforcement than any state in recent history. </p>
<p>In December 2023, Abbott signed controversial new state legislation that makes it a state crime to cross the border without a visa. This legislation, which goes into effect in March 2024, also gives <a href="https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2023-12-18/gov-abbott-signs-bill-that-makes-unauthorized-entry-a-state-crime">Texas authorities</a> the <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/15/texas-immigration-law-sb4-border-court-hearing/">right to deport undocumented migrants</a> – which is generally considered the federal government’s responsibility. </p>
<p>Abbott’s border security interventions are funded by a 2021 state initiative called <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/operationlonestar">Operation Lone Star</a>. During the program’s first two years, Texas spent <a href="https://www.governing.com/now/2-years-and-4b-later-what-we-know-about-operation-lone-star">US$4.4 billion</a> on a multifaceted strategy that includes, for example, sending Texas <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-expands-border-security-operations-in-eagle-pass#:%7E:text=The%20Texas%20Military%20Department%20acquired,created%20by%20the%20Biden%20Administration.">National Guard troops</a> to the border. In some cases, these National Guard <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4416126-texas-us-legal-standoff-eagle-pass-border/">troops have blocked U.S. Border Patrol agents</a> from patrolling the border. </p>
<p>Now, Texas is spending <a href="https://everytexan.org/2023/10/27/third-special-spending-updated-spending-limits-mean-more-options-for-lawmakers/">$5.1 billion</a> on trying to patrol the border from 2023 through 2025. </p>
<p>This doesn’t include the additional $1.5 billion Texas has allocated for expansion of its <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/border-wall-deportation-bills-18480062.php">border wall</a> over the next few years. </p>
<p>Since 2022, Texas has sent more than 100,000 immigrants who arrive in Texas to <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/texas-transports-over-100000-migrants-to-sanctuary-cities">liberal cities like New York and Chicago</a>. </p>
<p>And in 2023, Texas constructed a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-buoys-border-immigration-12bc8abddef1c9384b25222b92d0840b">buoy barrier in the middle of the Rio Grande</a>, although a federal appeals court ruled in December that Texas must <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/01/politics/federal-appeals-court-orders-texas-to-remove-controversial-border-buoys-from-rio-grande/index.html">remove those barriers</a> from the river. </p>
<p>The Biden administration has <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/biden-lawsuit-border-law-18588009.php">challenged</a> virtually all of these actions in court.</p>
<p>The federal government argues that Texas’ border and immigration activity is unconstitutional, since only the federal government can enforce immigration law. The <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4416126-texas-us-legal-standoff-eagle-pass-border/">federal government maintains</a> that the new Texas immigration law that allows state authorities to deport migrants also would interfere with the federal asylum process. </p>
<p>In response, Texas says that its border and immigration work is legal, in part because the federal government cannot adequately secure the border. Abbott and other Republicans characterize migrants crossing into Texas as an “invasion,” which they say gives Texas the right to defend itself, as <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-issues-statement-on-texas-constitutional-right-to-self-defense">they say the U.S. Constitution allows</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A middle aged white man in a white shirt sits in a. wheelchair and shakes the hand of a soldier who wears a camo uniform, in a row of other people in camp." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578723/original/file-20240228-24-kgno9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Texas Governor Greg Abbott tours the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass in May 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/texas-governor-greg-abbott-tours-the-us-mexico-border-at-news-photo/1240862283?adppopup=true">Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s unique about Texas</h2>
<p>Understanding Texas’ particular history and Texans’ sense of pride for their state helps to better understand the context behind this current conflict. </p>
<p>In Texas, you can’t travel far without seeing the Texas flag fluttering outside of houses and business storefronts. It is quite common to see people carrying Texas flag-themed koozies, or wearing Texas flag shirts and hats. </p>
<p>Texas is one of the only U.S. states that went directly from being an independent republic – from 1836 to 1845 – to getting statehood. More than <a href="https://www.tshaonline.org/texas-day-by-day/entry/220">nine out of 10 Texans</a> voted for Texas to become part of the U.S. in 1845. </p>
<p>Texas has also been led continuously by a Republican governor since 1992, when George W. Bush was first elected. No Democrat has won any statewide race in Texas since 1994. </p>
<p>Today, Texas’ executive branch – led by Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton – is the country’s most powerful and vocal opponent of the Biden administration. </p>
<h2>A push to secede</h2>
<p>While the Texas state government is challenging the federal government’s immigration and border powers, there has also been a <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/15/texas-secession-texit/">rise in support for</a> a political group called the <a href="https://tnm.me/">Texas Nationalist Movement</a>, which since 2005 has been advocating for Texas to secede from the U.S.</p>
<p>Texas’ Republican political leaders have not embraced this secession movement, often called “TEXIT.” Recently, Matt Rinaldi, the ultra-conservative chair of the Texas Republican Party, kept a Texas secession proposition <a href="https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2023-12-28/texas-gop-rejects-ballot-question-asking-if-state-should-secede">off the Republican primary ballot</a>. </p>
<p>Abbott and other Texas Republican politicians agree with former conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who <a href="https://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2010/02/scalia-no-to-secession-025119">wrote in a letter in 2006,</a> “If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede.”</p>
<p>But these same Republicans still want Texas to have greater state autonomy from the federal government. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The words 'Greetings from Texas' are seen on a colorful illustration, with a large red star, blue bulls and smaller images of fruit and flowers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578703/original/file-20240228-22-c5eetx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A vintage postcard from the 1950s offers greetings from Texas, often known as the Lone Star State.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/vintage-illustration-of-greetings-from-texas-the-lone-star-news-photo/583785842?adppopup=true">Found Image Holdings/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Texas pride</h2>
<p>Abbott and other Texas Republicans continue to assert their right to secure the border and deport undocumented immigrants because they say the federal government is failing to do either effectively. </p>
<p>In addition, Republicans continue to use immigration and border security as a top issue to rally Republican and independent voters heading into the 2024 election. </p>
<p>And, while TEXIT is not going to happen, Texas Republicans will continue to vigorously promote Texas autonomy, appealing to their voters’ Texas pride. </p>
<p><em>This article was updated to reflect that Texas is one of the only states to have first been a republic.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223520/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark P Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Texans’ belief in their state’s exceptionalism has helped fuel support for the Republican state government trying to take border security and immigration enforcement into its own hands.
Mark P Jones, Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies & Baker Institute Political Science Fellow, Rice University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/222483
2024-02-05T13:31:44Z
2024-02-05T13:31:44Z
Why Elon Musk’s ‘self-driving’ of Tesla’s board and its decision to pay him $56B collided with the law – and what happens next
<p><em><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-02/elon-musk-meets-his-match-in-shakespeare-quoting-delaware-judge?sref=Hjm5biAW">Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick</a> has <a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2024/02/01/tesla-musk-case-post-trial-opinion/">blocked Elon Musk’s US$55.8 billion pay package</a>, which <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/court-rejected-elon-musks-558b-pay-package-worth-106846409">Tesla’s board of directors approved in 2018</a> through a process she found to be “deeply flawed.”</em> </p>
<p><em>No CEO of a publicly traded U.S. company has ever been <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/elon-musks-55-billion-tesla-pay-package-struck-down-by-judge-3e619f53?mod=hp_lead_pos9">paid this much</a> for one year’s work, according to Equilar, which tracks corporate leadership data. Pay for the 10 highest-paid executives, including Google’s Sundar Pichai and Apple’s Tim Cook, reportedly <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/05/heres-how-much-the-10-highest-paid-us-ceos-earn.html">maxed out at around $250 million</a> in 2022.</em> </p>
<p><em>The Conversation asked <a href="https://www.udel.edu/faculty-staff/experts/justin-p-klein/">Justin P. Klein</a>, the director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, to explain McCormick’s reasoning.</em></p>
<h2>Why did the judge block Musk’s pay package?</h2>
<p>McCormick’s opinion began with a good question: “Was the richest person in the world overpaid?”</p>
<p>She concluded, in this reference to Musk – whose <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/elon-r-musk/">fortune was estimated to be worth $205 billion</a> before the ruling and consists largely of his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/01/elon-musk-wealth-net-worth-companies/">Tesla shares and stock options, along with his SpaceX stake</a> – that he was. </p>
<p>This legal defeat may have <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-ceo-pay-compensation-tesla-f5ad4ce659a73a1209dc99a583d7b883">knocked Musk out of his perch</a> atop the Forbes list of the world’s richest people, making him the second-wealthiest, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#1e2714563d78">media outlet calculated</a>. </p>
<p>McCormick ruled against Musk in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2024/jan/31/three-cheers-for-the-delaware-judge-who-stood-up-to-elon-musk">Tornetta v. Musk</a>, a lawsuit filed on behalf of an investor who owned only nine Tesla shares – and by extension virtually all of the company’s stockholders. Ultimately, she determined that Musk’s compensation plan was considered and approved by a board of directors that was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-ceo-pay-compensation-tesla-f5ad4ce659a73a1209dc99a583d7b883">not sufficiently independent or objective</a>.</p>
<p>The compensation plan was subject to a vote by the rest of Tesla’s shareholders. But the information they received left out key details and contained inaccurate statements.</p>
<p>This pay package deserved close scrutiny because of its enormity, McCormick observed. She called it the “largest potential opportunity ever observed in public markets by multiple orders of magnitude.”</p>
<h2>What was wrong with Tesla’s board?</h2>
<p>McCormick concluded that many of Tesla’s board members, including <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000156459018009339/tsla-def14a_20180606.htm">his brother Kimbal Musk</a>, had close financial and social relationships with Elon Musk and that they were beholden to him due to these ties.</p>
<p>The board approved this compensation plan without <a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2020/03/19/compensation-committee-guide-2020/">following commonly accepted norms</a>, according to the ruling. Further, McCormick found that the directors allowed Musk to control the process for approving the compensation plan, dictating the terms, amount and timing.</p>
<p>Board members apparently made no efforts to benchmark the plan as compared to <a href="https://ceoworld.biz/2023/05/26/the-highest-paid-tech-ceos-in-the-united-states/">compensation paid to executives of comparable companies</a>, a critical and typical step in any situation like this.</p>
<p>Musk was in control of Tesla, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/07/executive_compensation.asp">a publicly traded company</a>, that should have standard protocols in place regarding its compensation practices.</p>
<p>There was no negotiation between Musk and the compensation committee or the board regarding the amount and terms of the plan, the chancellor found. This is both inconsistent with widely accepted <a href="https://www.huntonak.com/en/insights/six-key-considerations-executive-contract-negotiations.html">compensation setting practices</a> and striking due to the scale of the pay package. </p>
<p>“Musk launched a self-driving process, recalibrating the speed and direction along the way as he saw fit,” McCormick wrote. “The process arrived at an unfair price. And through this litigation, the plaintiff requests a recall.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573203/original/file-20240203-19-w8ldss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large low-lying building with a vast parking lot." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573203/original/file-20240203-19-w8ldss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573203/original/file-20240203-19-w8ldss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573203/original/file-20240203-19-w8ldss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573203/original/file-20240203-19-w8ldss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573203/original/file-20240203-19-w8ldss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573203/original/file-20240203-19-w8ldss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573203/original/file-20240203-19-w8ldss.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tesla corporate headquarters, in Travis County, Texas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-an-aerial-view-the-tesla-corporate-headquarters-is-seen-news-photo/1454072958">Brandon Bell/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What factors are boards supposed to consider in setting CEO pay?</h2>
<p>In deciding what CEOs should earn, boards or compensation committees should consider the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/managing-wealth/guide-ceo-compensation">company’s performance under the leadership of the CEO</a> and the executive’s own personal performance. They should also review what comparable companies take into consideration when making decisions about their own CEO’s compensation.</p>
<p>Other metrics or considerations may be taken into account, too. These may include whether the company has made <a href="https://worldatwork.org/resources/publications/workspan-daily/how-dei-will-shape-executive-compensation-in-changing-legal-climate">progress in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11846-022-00538-4">employee retention</a>, <a href="https://hbr.org/2023/02/linking-executive-pay-to-sustainability-goals">sustainability and environmental performance</a>, worker safety practices, risk management and <a href="https://www.hrpolicy.org/insight-and-research/executive-compensation/executive-pay-legislation-and-regulation/">compliance with laws and regulations</a>.</p>
<p>Around the time of this compensation decision, Musk was the subject of a <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/elon-musk-says-420-price-tesla-buyout-tweet-not-joke-testimony">Securities and Exchange Commission probe</a> over alleged fraud stemming from what the SEC said were <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2018/comp-pr2018-219.pdf">misleading statements</a> regarding his plans to take Tesla private at $420 per share – a part of a tweet widely regarded as a cannabis joke.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-226">settlement Musk reached with the SEC</a> forced him to pay a $20 million fine and step down as the company’s chairman for at least three years. It also required the appointment of two new independent Tesla board members and a requirement that he preclear certain public statements.</p>
<p>The company was not taken private.</p>
<p>In 2023, a <a href="https://electrek.co/2023/02/03/elon-musk-found-not-guilty-in-the-tesla-420-take-private-case/">jury found Musk not liable</a> for <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/03/cars/musk-tesla-tweet-lawsuit-jury/index.html">related losses by Tesla investors</a> who sued over the incident. Tesla shares closed at $187.91 on Feb. 2, 2024, far below that $420 price that unleashed litigation. The company’s share prices closed at <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202401297494/tesla-on-pace-for-worst-month-since-december-2022-data-talk">$409.97 in November 2021</a> – the highest point to date.</p>
<p>The board could have considered this incident a negative factor when making its decisions about Musk’s compensation.</p>
<h2>What process are boards supposed to follow in setting CEO pay?</h2>
<p>In setting CEO compensation, all members of boards or <a href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/governance-insights-center/library/compensation-committee.html">compensation committees</a> should be truly independent and objective, with no interest in the outcome.</p>
<p>They should consider engaging compensation experts and benchmark or seek information on executive compensation at comparable companies.</p>
<p>These decisions require careful consideration of all components of the CEO’s compensation and how the pay package should be structured. That includes how much of the pay should be provided as cash, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/restrictedstock.asp">restricted stock</a>, which may not be sold for a period of time, and <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stockoption.asp">stock options</a>, which provide the right to purchase stock at a predetermined price before a particular time in the future. </p>
<p>When stock prices rise a great deal, stock options soar in value. That’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/business/elon-musk-tesla-pay-package.html">what happened with Musk’s colossal pay package</a>.</p>
<h2>What happens now?</h2>
<p>Musk may decide to appeal to the Supreme Court of Delaware. On the other hand, Musk could ask Tesla’s board, its compensation committee – or both of them – to revisit and revise his compensation plan, taking into account the objections spelled out in the ruling.</p>
<p>That would include both the amount – $55.8 billion – and the process by which it was set.</p>
<p>Musk, however, <a href="https://whyy.org/articles/delaware-elon-musk-wants-tesla-to-vote-on-switching-corporate-registration-to-texas/">appears to be seeking a third option</a>. “Tesla will move immediately to hold a shareholder vote to transfer (the) state of incorporation to Texas,” <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1752922071229722990">he posted on X</a>, his social media platform previously known as Twitter.</p>
<p>Even if Musk were to prevail and change Tesla’s jurisdiction of incorporation, it would not be likely to affect this decision.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1752922071229722990"}"></div></p>
<h2>Is Delaware particularly tough on corporate leaders?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/13/why-more-than-60percent-of-fortune-500-companies-incorporated-in-delaware.html">Delaware is the corporate home</a> of more than 60% of Fortune 500 companies even though it’s the country’s second-smallest state.</p>
<p>One reason for its popularity with businesses of all kinds is that Delaware’s courts are quite experienced, with a great deal of expertise in considering business matters and cases of this kind. Musk’s court case was heard in its <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/chancery">Court of Chancery</a>, a system that primarily decides <a href="https://courts.delaware.gov/chancery/jurisdiction.aspx">corporate legal matters</a>.</p>
<p>Although Musk <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1752455348106166598?s=20">suggested that standards in Delaware are overly strict</a> in another message he posted on X after the ruling, this kind of case is very rare.</p>
<p>One of few similar lawsuits was filed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/business/media/ruling-upholds-disneys-payment-in-firing-of-ovitz.html">against former Disney CEO Michael D. Eisner</a> over his $140 million severance package. In 2005, Chancellor William B. Chandler III of the Delaware Chancery Court let it go, while acknowledging the apparent impropriety of paying an executive so much.</p>
<p>“Despite all the legitimate criticisms that may be leveled at Eisner, especially at having enthroned himself as the omnipotent and infallible monarch of his personal Magic Kingdom,” <a href="https://casetext.com/case/in-re-walt-disney-co-derivative-litigation">Chandler wrote</a>, “I nonetheless conclude, after carefully considering and weighing all the evidence, that Eisner’s actions were taken in good faith.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222483/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin P. Klein directs the advisory board of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance. Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick is an ex officio member of that center's advisory board.</span></em></p>
Musk can’t dodge this ruling by moving Tesla’s incorporation to Texas.
Justin P. Klein, Director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, University of Delaware
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/220634
2024-01-09T17:03:11Z
2024-01-09T17:03:11Z
2023’s billion-dollar disasters list shattered the US record with 28 big weather and climate disasters amid Earth’s hottest year on record
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568310/original/file-20240108-17-d7axzq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=592%2C875%2C1145%2C839&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Flood water filled streets in downtown Montpelier, Vt., on July 11, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/person-walks-through-the-flooded-waters-of-main-street-on-news-photo/1524301769?adppopup=true">Kylie Cooper/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>National weather analysts released their 2023 <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/events/US/1980-2023">billion-dollar disasters</a> list on Jan. 9, just as 2024 was getting <a href="https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/hpcdiscussions.php?">off to a ferocious start</a>. A <a href="https://weather.com/storms/winter/video/midwest-to-see-three-rounds-of-snow">blizzard was sweeping across</a> across the Plains and Midwest, and the South and East faced flood risks from <a href="https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/eastern-us-snow-storm-01-09-24/index.html">extreme downpours</a>. </p>
<p>The U.S. set an unwelcome record for weather and climate disasters in 2023, with <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/">28 disasters</a> that exceeded more than US$1 billion in damage each. </p>
<p>While it wasn’t the most expensive year overall – the costliest years included multiple hurricane strikes – it had the highest number of billion-dollar storms, floods, droughts and fires of any year since counting began in 1980, with <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-struck-with-historic-number-of-billion-dollar-disasters-in-2023">six more than any other year</a>, accounting for inflation. </p>
<p><iframe id="FOf4d" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/FOf4d/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568442/original/file-20240109-27-h4qldd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map shows where disasters that did more than $1 billion in damage hit the United States." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568442/original/file-20240109-27-h4qldd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568442/original/file-20240109-27-h4qldd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568442/original/file-20240109-27-h4qldd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568442/original/file-20240109-27-h4qldd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568442/original/file-20240109-27-h4qldd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568442/original/file-20240109-27-h4qldd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568442/original/file-20240109-27-h4qldd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">2023’s billion-dollar disasters. Click the image to expand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-struck-with-historic-number-of-billion-dollar-disasters-in-2023">NOAA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The year’s most expensive disaster started with an <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151632/relentless-heat-in-the-southwest">unprecedented heat wave</a> that sat over Texas for weeks over the summer and then spread into the South and Midwest, helping fuel a destructive drought. The extreme heat and lack of rain dried up fields, forced ranchers to sell off livestock and restricted commerce on the Mississippi River, causing about <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/events">US$14.5 billion in damage</a>, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/faq">conservative estimates</a>.</p>
<p>Extreme dryness in Hawaii contributed to another multi-billion-dollar disaster as it fueled <a href="https://theconversation.com/mauis-deadly-wildfires-burn-through-lahaina-its-a-reminder-of-the-growing-risk-to-communities-that-once-seemed-safe-211317">devastating wildfires</a> that destroyed Lahaina, Hawaii, in August. </p>
<p>Other billion-dollar disasters included <a href="https://www.weather.gov/tae/HurricaneIdalia2023">Hurricane Idalia</a>, which hit Florida in August; floods in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-intensifies-the-water-cycle-fueling-extreme-rainfall-and-flooding-the-northeast-deluge-was-just-the-latest-209476">Northeast</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/epic-snow-from-all-those-atmospheric-rivers-in-the-west-is-starting-to-melt-and-the-flood-danger-is-rising-203874">California</a>; and nearly two dozen other severe storms across the country. States in a swath from Texas to Ohio were hit by multiple billion-dollar storms.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man with a bicycle walks through a scene of destruction after the fire in Lahaina." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568111/original/file-20240106-25-znwys7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C1920%2C1258&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568111/original/file-20240106-25-znwys7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568111/original/file-20240106-25-znwys7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568111/original/file-20240106-25-znwys7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568111/original/file-20240106-25-znwys7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568111/original/file-20240106-25-znwys7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568111/original/file-20240106-25-znwys7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wildfire left almost the entire city of Lahaina, Hawaii, in ashes in August 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PicturesoftheWeek-Global-PhotoGallery/15a6864806e24d0cbb8b1037cfcf9931/photo">AP Photo/Rick Bowmer</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/el-nino-is-back-thats-good-news-or-bad-news-depending-on-where-you-live-205974">El Niño</a> played a role in some of these disasters, but at the root of the world’s increasingly frequent extreme heat and weather is <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-how-climate-change-affects-extreme-weather-around-the-world/">global warming</a>. The year 2023 was the <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2023-hottest-year-record">hottest on record globally</a> and the <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202312">fifth warmest in the U.S.</a></p>
<p>I am <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shuang-Ye-Wu">an atmospheric scientist</a> who studies the changing climate. Here’s a quick look at what global warming has to do with wildfires, storms and other weather and climate disasters.</p>
<h2>Dangerous heat waves and devastating wildfires</h2>
<p>When greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide from vehicles and power plants, accumulate in the atmosphere, they <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/19/what-is-the-greenhouse-effect/">act like a thermal blanket</a> that warms the planet. </p>
<p>These gases let in high-energy solar radiation while absorbing outgoing low-energy radiation in the form of heat from the Earth. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/earths-energy-budget-is-out-of-balance-heres-how-thats-warming-the-climate-165244">energy imbalance</a> at the Earth’s surface gradually increases the surface temperature of the land and oceans.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SN5-DnOHQmE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How the greenhouse effect functions.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most direct consequence of this warming is more days with abnormally high temperatures, as large parts of the country saw in 2023.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/jpl/nasa-data-shows-fierce-surface-temperatures-during-phoenix-heat-wave/">Phoenix</a> went 30 days with daily high temperatures at <a href="https://apnews.com/article/southwest-extreme-heat-wave-922e965ba3d3e42cbffc2ece12d5c114">110 F (43.3 C) or higher</a> and recorded its highest minimum nighttime temperature, with temperatures on July 19 never falling below 97 F (36.1 C).</p>
<p>Although heat waves result from weather fluctuations, <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-heat-in-north-america-europe-and-china-in-july-2023-made-much-more-likely-by-climate-change/">global warming has raised the baseline</a>, making heat waves more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Maps and charts show extreme heat events increasing in many parts of the U.S., both in length of heat wave season and in number of heat waves per year." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The number of multi-day extreme heat events has been rising. U.S. Global Change Research Program.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.globalchange.gov/indicators/heat-waves">U.S. Global Change Research Program</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That heat also fuels wildfires.</p>
<p>Increased evaporation removes more moisture from the ground, drying out soil, grasses and other organic material, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/human-exposure-to-wildfires-has-more-than-doubled-in-two-decades-who-is-at-risk-might-surprise-you-207903">creates favorable conditions for wildfires</a>. All it takes is a lightning strike or spark from a power line to start a blaze. </p>
<h2>How global warming fuels extreme storms</h2>
<p>As more heat is stored as energy in the atmosphere and oceans, it doesn’t just increase the temperature – it can also <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-extreme-downpours-trigger-flooding-around-the-world-scientists-take-a-closer-look-a-global-warmings-role-213724">increase the amount of water vapor</a> in the atmosphere. </p>
<p>When that water vapor condenses to liquid and falls as rain, it releases a large amount of energy. This is called <a href="https://wxguys.ssec.wisc.edu/2022/08/31/rain-energy-relationship/">latent heat</a>, and it is the main fuel for all storm systems. When temperatures are higher and the atmosphere has more moisture, that additional energy can fuel <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-intensifying-the-water-cycle-bringing-more-powerful-storms-and-flooding-heres-what-the-science-shows-187951">stronger, longer-lasting storms</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two older adults look out a window over a yard turned to mud. The mudline on the house is almost up to the window sill, and the garage's doors have been torn off and are leaning down." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tropical Storm Hilary flooded several areas in Southern California, stranding people for days.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/residents-trapped-in-their-home-peer-out-a-window-while-news-photo/1614093982">Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tropical storms are similarly fueled by latent heat coming from warm ocean water. That is why they only form when the sea surface temperature reaches a <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/tropical/tropical-cyclone-introduction">critical level of around 80 F</a> (27 C).</p>
<p>With <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ocean-warming/">90% of the excess heat</a> from global warming being absorbed by the ocean, there has been a significant increase in the <a href="https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/">global sea surface temperature</a>, including record-breaking levels in 2023.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568113/original/file-20240106-15-yx8vjo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A chart of daily global average ocean temperatures since 1981 shows 2023 heat far above any other year starting in mid-March and staying there through the year." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568113/original/file-20240106-15-yx8vjo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568113/original/file-20240106-15-yx8vjo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568113/original/file-20240106-15-yx8vjo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568113/original/file-20240106-15-yx8vjo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568113/original/file-20240106-15-yx8vjo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568113/original/file-20240106-15-yx8vjo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568113/original/file-20240106-15-yx8vjo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Global ocean heat in 2023 was at its highest in over four decades of records.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/">ClimateReanalyzer.org, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Higher sea surface temperatures can lead to <a href="https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/global-warming-and-hurricanes/">stronger hurricanes</a>, <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/news/2023/07/24keimhurricaneseason.rh.php">longer hurricane seasons</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42669-y">faster intensification</a> of tropical storms.</p>
<h2>Cold snaps have global warming connections, too</h2>
<p>It might seem counterintuitive, but global warming can also <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-arctic-warming-can-trigger-extreme-cold-waves-like-the-texas-freeze-a-new-study-makes-the-connection-166550">contribute to cold snaps</a> in the U.S. That’s because it alters the general circulation of Earth’s atmosphere.</p>
<p>The Earth’s atmosphere is constantly moving in large-scale circulation patterns in the forms of near-surface wind belts, such as the trade winds, and upper-level jet streams. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-arctic-warming-can-trigger-extreme-cold-waves-like-the-texas-freeze-a-new-study-makes-the-connection-166550">These patterns</a> are caused by the temperature difference between the polar and equatorial regions.</p>
<p>As the Earth warms, the polar regions are heating up <a href="https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/climate-change-impacts/warming-polar-regions">more than twice as fast</a> as the equator. This can shift weather patterns, leading to extreme events in unexpected places. Anyone who has experienced a “polar vortex event” knows how it feels when the jet stream dips southward, bringing frigid Arctic air and winter storms, despite the generally warmer winters.</p>
<p>In sum, a warmer world is a more violent world, with the additional heat fueling increasingly more extreme weather events.</p>
<p><em>This article, <a href="https://theconversation.com/2023s-extreme-storms-heat-and-wildfires-broke-records-a-scientist-explains-how-global-warming-fuels-climate-disasters-217500">originally published Dec. 19, 2023</a>, was updated Jan. 9, 2024, with NOAA’s disasters list.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220634/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shuang-Ye Wu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
An atmospheric scientist explains how rising temperatures are helping to fuel extreme storms, floods, droughts and devastating wildfires.
Shuang-Ye Wu, Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/217500
2023-12-19T13:16:33Z
2023-12-19T13:16:33Z
2023’s extreme storms, heat and wildfires broke records – a scientist explains how global warming fuels climate disasters
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564609/original/file-20231209-21-y5rf6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C0%2C5772%2C3767&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Extreme downpours filled downtown Montpelier, Vt., with water in July 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/flooding-in-downtown-montpelier-vermont-on-tuesday-july-11-news-photo/1526471549">John Tully for The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The year 2023 was marked by extraordinary heat, wildfires and weather disasters. </p>
<p>In the U.S., an <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151632/relentless-heat-in-the-southwest">unprecedented heat wave</a> gripped much of Texas and the Southwest with highs well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) for the entire month of July.</p>
<p>Historic rainfall in April <a href="https://theconversation.com/historic-flooding-in-fort-lauderdale-was-a-sign-of-things-to-come-a-look-at-who-is-most-at-risk-and-how-to-prepare-204101">flooded Fort Lauderdale, Florida</a>, with 25 inches of rain in 24 hours. A wave of severe storms in July sent water pouring into <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-intensifies-the-water-cycle-fueling-extreme-rainfall-and-flooding-the-northeast-deluge-was-just-the-latest-209476">cities across Vermont</a> and New York. Another powerful system in December swept up the Atlantic coast with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/12/18/east-coast-storm-winds-flooding-outages/">hurricane-like storm surge</a> and heavy rainfall. The West Coast started and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4_yCYlSnmo">ended the year</a> with flooding and mudslides from <a href="https://theconversation.com/epic-snow-from-all-those-atmospheric-rivers-in-the-west-is-starting-to-melt-and-the-flood-danger-is-rising-203874">atmospheric rivers</a>, and California was <a href="https://theconversation.com/tropical-storm-hilary-pounds-southern-california-with-heavy-rain-flash-flooding-211869">hit in August by a tropical storm</a> – an extremely rare event there.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/mauis-deadly-wildfires-burn-through-lahaina-its-a-reminder-of-the-growing-risk-to-communities-that-once-seemed-safe-211317">Wildfires ravaged Hawaii</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-wildfire-b9d8968c1ce98b009c3ce95fa08a8f40">Louisiana</a> and several other states. And Canada’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-wildfire-season-worst-ever-more-to-come-1.6934284">worst fire season</a> on record <a href="https://theconversation.com/north-americas-summer-of-wildfire-smoke-2023-was-only-the-beginning-210246">sent thick smoke</a> across large parts of North America.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in shorts in flipflops walks among burned out cars. Not much remains of the houses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564611/original/file-20231209-29-1yjn62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564611/original/file-20231209-29-1yjn62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564611/original/file-20231209-29-1yjn62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564611/original/file-20231209-29-1yjn62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564611/original/file-20231209-29-1yjn62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564611/original/file-20231209-29-1yjn62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564611/original/file-20231209-29-1yjn62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A person walks through a scene of destruction after a wildfire left almost the entire city of Lahaina, Hawaii, in ashes in August 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APTOPIXHawaiiFires/28d53ef953524ec8ba61a0c7ec830881/photo">AP Photo/Rick Bowmer</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Globally, 2023 was the <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/record-warm-november-consolidates-2023-warmest-year">warmest year on record</a>, and it wreaked havoc around the world. <a href="https://theconversation.com/el-nino-is-back-thats-good-news-or-bad-news-depending-on-where-you-live-205974">El Niño</a> played a role, but <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-how-climate-change-affects-extreme-weather-around-the-world/">global warming</a> is at the root of the world’s increasing extreme weather.</p>
<p>So, how exactly is global warming linked to fires, storms and other disasters? I am <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shuang-Ye-Wu">an atmospheric scientist</a> who studies the changing climate. Here’s what you need to know.</p>
<h2>Dangerous heat waves and devastating wildfires</h2>
<p>When greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide from vehicles and power plants, accumulate in the atmosphere, they <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/19/what-is-the-greenhouse-effect/">act like a thermal blanket</a> that warms the planet. </p>
<p>These gases let in high-energy solar radiation while absorbing outgoing low-energy radiation in the form of heat from the Earth. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/earths-energy-budget-is-out-of-balance-heres-how-thats-warming-the-climate-165244">energy imbalance</a> at the Earth’s surface gradually increases the surface temperature of the land and oceans.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SN5-DnOHQmE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How the greenhouse effect functions.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most direct consequence of this warming is more days with abnormally high temperatures, as many countries saw in 2023.</p>
<p>Extreme heat waves hit large areas of North America, Europe and China, breaking many local high temperature records. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/jpl/nasa-data-shows-fierce-surface-temperatures-during-phoenix-heat-wave/">Phoenix</a> went 30 days with daily high temperatures at <a href="https://apnews.com/article/southwest-extreme-heat-wave-922e965ba3d3e42cbffc2ece12d5c114">110 F (43.3 C) or higher</a> and recorded its highest minimum nighttime temperature, with temperatures on July 19 never falling below 97 F (36.1 C).</p>
<p>Although heat waves result from weather fluctuations, <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-heat-in-north-america-europe-and-china-in-july-2023-made-much-more-likely-by-climate-change/">global warming has raised the baseline</a>, making heat waves more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Maps and charts show extreme heat events increasing in many parts of the U.S., both in length of heat wave season and in number of heat waves per year." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564634/original/file-20231209-21-2p0af.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The number of multi-day extreme heat events has been rising. U.S. Global Change Research Program.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.globalchange.gov/indicators/heat-waves">U.S. Global Change Research Program</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That heat also fuels wildfires.</p>
<p>Increased evaporation removes more moisture from the ground, drying out soil, grasses and other organic material, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/human-exposure-to-wildfires-has-more-than-doubled-in-two-decades-who-is-at-risk-might-surprise-you-207903">creates favorable conditions for wildfires</a>. All it takes is a lightning strike or spark from a power line to start a blaze. </p>
<p>Canada <a href="https://theconversation.com/arctic-report-card-2023-from-wildfires-to-melting-sea-ice-the-warmest-summer-on-record-had-cascading-impacts-across-the-arctic-218872">lost much of its snow cover</a> early in 2023, which allowed the ground to dry and vast fires to burn through the summer. The ground was also extremely dry in Maui in August when the city of <a href="https://theconversation.com/mauis-deadly-wildfires-burn-through-lahaina-its-a-reminder-of-the-growing-risk-to-communities-that-once-seemed-safe-211317">Lahaina, Hawaii, caught fire</a> during a windstorm and burned.</p>
<h2>How global warming fuels extreme storms</h2>
<p>As more heat is stored as energy in the atmosphere and oceans, it doesn’t just increase the temperature – it can also <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-extreme-downpours-trigger-flooding-around-the-world-scientists-take-a-closer-look-a-global-warmings-role-213724">increase the amount of water vapor</a> in the atmosphere. </p>
<p>When that water vapor condenses to liquid and falls as rain, it releases a large amount of energy. This is called <a href="https://wxguys.ssec.wisc.edu/2022/08/31/rain-energy-relationship/">latent heat</a>, and it is the main fuel for all storm systems.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two older adults look out a window over a yard turned to mud. The mudline on the house is almost up to the window sill, and the garage's doors have been torn off and are leaning down." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564610/original/file-20231209-29-1llu44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tropical Storm Hilary flooded several areas in Southern California, stranding people for days.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/residents-trapped-in-their-home-peer-out-a-window-while-news-photo/1614093982">Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When temperatures are higher and the atmosphere has more moisture, that additional energy can fuel <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-intensifying-the-water-cycle-bringing-more-powerful-storms-and-flooding-heres-what-the-science-shows-187951">stronger, longer-lasting storms</a>. This is the main reason for 2023’s record-breaking storms. Nineteen of the 25 weather and climate disasters that caused <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/">over US$1 billion in damage</a> each through early December 2023 were severe storms, and two more were flooding that resulted from severe storms.</p>
<p>Tropical storms are similarly fueled by latent heat coming from warm ocean water. That is why they only form when the sea surface temperature reaches a <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/tropical/tropical-cyclone-introduction">critical level of around 80 F</a> (27 C).</p>
<p>With <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/ocean-warming/">90% of the excess heat</a> from global warming being absorbed by the ocean, there has been a significant increase in the <a href="https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/">global sea surface temperature</a>, including record-breaking levels in 2023.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564620/original/file-20231209-25-xqm7us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Line chart shows daily ocean temperature records for every year since 1981, 2023 was far beyond any other year starting in mid-May." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564620/original/file-20231209-25-xqm7us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564620/original/file-20231209-25-xqm7us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564620/original/file-20231209-25-xqm7us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564620/original/file-20231209-25-xqm7us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564620/original/file-20231209-25-xqm7us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564620/original/file-20231209-25-xqm7us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564620/original/file-20231209-25-xqm7us.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Global ocean heat in 2023 went far beyond any other year in over four decades of records.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/">ClimateReanalyzer.org, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Higher sea surface temperatures can lead to <a href="https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/global-warming-and-hurricanes/">stronger hurricanes</a> and <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/news/2023/07/24keimhurricaneseason.rh.php">longer hurricane seasons</a>. They can also lead to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42669-y">faster intensification</a> of hurricanes.</p>
<p>Hurricane Otis, which hit Acapulco, Mexico, in October 2023, was a devastating example. It <a href="https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/hurricane-otis-causes-catastrophic-damage-acapulco-mexico">exploded in strength</a>, rapidly intensifying from a tropical storm to a destructive Category 5 hurricane in less than 24 hours. With little time to evacuate and <a href="https://theconversation.com/acapulco-was-built-to-withstand-earthquakes-but-not-hurricane-otis-destructive-winds-how-building-codes-failed-this-resort-city-217147">buildings not designed to withstand a storm that powerful</a>, more than 50 people died. The hurricane’s intensification was the <a href="https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/hurricane-otis-causes-catastrophic-damage-acapulco-mexico">second-fastest ever recorded</a>, exceeded only by Hurricane Patricia in 2015.</p>
<p><iframe id="FOf4d" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/FOf4d/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>A recent study found that North Atlantic tropical cyclones’ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42669-y">maximum intensification rates increased 28.7%</a> between the 1971-1990 average and the 2001-2020 average. The number of storms that spun up from a Category 1 storm or weaker to a major hurricane within 36 hours more than doubled.</p>
<p>The Mediterranean also experienced <a href="https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-09-13">a rare tropical-like cyclone</a> in September 2023 that offers a warning of the magnitude of the risks ahead – and a reminder that many communities are unprepared. Storm Daniel became one of the deadliest storms of its kind when it <a href="https://wmo.int/media/news/storm-daniel-leads-extreme-rain-and-floods-mediterranean-heavy-loss-of-life-libya">hit Libya</a>. Its heavy rainfall overwhelmed two dams, causing them to collapse, killing <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/libya/libya-fears-rain-clouds-and-climate-change">thousands of people</a>. The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/09/05/greece-flooding-daniel-climate-europe/">heat and increased moisture</a> over the Mediterranean made the storm possible.</p>
<h2>Cold snaps have global warming connections, too</h2>
<p>It might seem counterintuitive, but global warming can also <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-arctic-warming-can-trigger-extreme-cold-waves-like-the-texas-freeze-a-new-study-makes-the-connection-166550">contribute to cold snaps</a> in the U.S. That’s because it alters the general circulation of Earth’s atmosphere.</p>
<p>The Earth’s atmosphere is constantly moving in large-scale circulation patterns in the forms of near-surface wind belts, such as the trade winds, and upper-level jet streams. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-arctic-warming-can-trigger-extreme-cold-waves-like-the-texas-freeze-a-new-study-makes-the-connection-166550">These patterns</a> are caused by the temperature difference between the polar and equatorial regions.</p>
<p>As the Earth warms, the polar regions are heating up <a href="https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/climate-change-impacts/warming-polar-regions">more than twice as fast</a> as the equator. This can shift weather patterns, leading to extreme events in unexpected places. Anyone who has experienced a “polar vortex event” knows how it feels when the jet stream dips southward, bringing frigid Arctic air and winter storms, despite the generally warmer winters.</p>
<p>In sum, a warmer world is a more violent world, with the additional heat fueling increasingly more extreme weather events.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217500/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shuang-Ye Wu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The US saw a record number of billion-dollar disasters in 2023, even when accounting for inflation. The number of long-running heat waves like the Southwest experienced is also rising.
Shuang-Ye Wu, Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/216897
2023-12-04T13:27:26Z
2023-12-04T13:27:26Z
Texas is suing Planned Parenthood for $1.8B over $10M in allegedly fraudulent services it rendered – a health care economist explains what’s going on
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562238/original/file-20231128-21-zr2ypf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1087%2C5094%2C2238&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Texas authorities have long sought to kick Planned Parenthood out of the state.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PlannedParenthoodMedicaid/61c31f85fab64d1893cc49aa2c9444ae/photo?boardId=37be9465fcce45d283d5431cccb20a6a&st=boards&mediaType=audio,photo,video,graphic&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=469&currentItemNo=2">AP Photo/Eric Gay</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Planned Parenthood no longer provides abortions in Texas, Louisiana and the other 10 <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/2023/01/six-months-post-roe-24-us-states-have-banned-abortion-or-are-likely-do-so-roundup">states that have essentially banned abortion</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/one-year-after-the-fall-of-roe-v-wade-abortion-care-has-become-a-patchwork-of-confusing-state-laws-that-deepen-existing-inequalities-207390">since the Supreme Court handed down its Dobbs v. Jackson decision</a> in June 2022.</p>
<p>But the nonprofit is still providing other services for patients in those places, including cancer screening, contraception and the treatment of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. And <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/15/texas-abortion-planned-parenthood-lawsuit/">Texas hasn’t given up</a> on its long-running quest to force the group, which <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-planned-parenthood-states-layoffs-equity-8ca79602fd28226538e5f6148a202646">provides reproductive health care</a> in its nearly 600 U.S. clinics, to stop operating within its borders.</p>
<p>Alongside an anonymous whistleblower identified as “Alex Doe,” <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/13/texas-medicaid-planned-parenthood-lawsuit/">Texas authorities are suing Planned Parenthood</a> <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/15/texas-abortion-planned-parenthood-lawsuit/">for more than US$1.8 billion</a> in penalties and fees over what they allege are fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/the-facts-on-united-states-ex-rel-doe-v-planned-parenthood-federation-of-america-the-meritless-case-that-could-shut-down-planned-parenthood">Planned Parenthood denies</a> having committed Medicaid fraud. It calls the lawsuit “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-texas-medicaid-planned-parenthood-14379403b715dd838b0d18efab629db3">another political attack</a>.”</p>
<p>As an economist who <a href="https://www.grahamgardnerecon.com/">studies the health effects of restricted abortion access</a>, I believe that if Texas prevails in this federal lawsuit, Texans will have even less access to sexual and reproductive health care. Notably, <a href="https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=59688">the state ranked 50th</a> in access to high-quality prenatal and maternal health care in 2022, and maternal mortality rates in the state more than <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2023/07/24/maternal-mortality-in-texas">doubled between 1999 and 2019</a>. The elimination of Planned Parenthood facilities across Texas will likely exacerbate the dismal conditions of reproductive care in the state.</p>
<h2>Blocking Medicaid funds</h2>
<p>Medicaid, a government program that helps low-income people get health care, <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-financing-the-basics/.">provides roughly $728 billion in services</a> annually. The federal and state governments split its costs.</p>
<p>In 2016, Texas <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2016/12/20/texas-kicks-planned-parenthood-out-medicaid/">removed Planned Parenthood from its list of qualified Medicaid</a> providers, blocking Planned Parenthood clinics across the state from receiving any federal or state dollars to pay for expenses covered by Medicaid. Lower courts <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/us/texas-planned-parenthood-medicaid.html">initially prevented this policy from going into effect</a>. </p>
<p>But in 2020, the <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/admin/2020/Press/EnBancOpinion.pdf">5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled</a> that the state may exclude Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursement. Since then, Planned Parenthood has continued to operate in Texas, but the availability of health services to the nearly <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-gulf-coast/checkup-2021/texas-medicaid-exclusion">8,000 Planned Parenthood patients who rely on Medicaid</a> in the state has been put at risk. </p>
<h2>New legal salvo</h2>
<p>Texas now alleges that Planned Parenthood defrauded the state by billing expenses through Medicaid between 2016 and 2020 while its litigation was pending. The group counters that it legitimately billed Medicaid while the law was blocked by pending legal challenges. </p>
<p>Although Texas doesn’t dispute that the nonprofit provided the health care services for which it billed the state, and which the state paid for, Texas seeks the repayment of <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/13/texas-medicaid-planned-parenthood-lawsuit/">$10 million in Medicaid reimbursements</a>.</p>
<p>The potential liability is far larger because it also includes interest, legal fees and civil penalties adding up to more than $1.8 billion. Planned Parenthood says <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/statement-from-planned-parenthood-texas-affiliates-and-ppfa-following-oral-arguments-in-baseless-medicaid-false-claims-act-case">the financial burden of the lawsuit</a>, if the state wins, would significantly limit its ability to continue to operate in Texas. </p>
<p>This litigation originated in 2021, when the anonymous whistleblower brought a case against Planned Parenthood under the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/civil/false-claims-act">False Claims Act</a>, which allows an individual to file a lawsuit on behalf of the government.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://clearinghouse.net/case/43987/">state of Texas joined the lawsuit</a> under the direction of Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2022. The case was filed in Amarillo, an area without a Planned Parenthood facility – a jurisdiction that might seem an unlikely choice. There’s one good explanation, however: All cases filed there are heard by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk</a>.</p>
<p>The Trump-appointed judge made headlines in early 2023 when he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-judge-hands-anti-abortion-groups-partial-win-over-abortion-pill-2023-04-07/">suspended the approval of a common abortion-inducing pill</a>. Kascmaryk’s anti-abortion history on the bench makes him a strategic choice to rule on the case against Planned Parenthood.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562240/original/file-20231128-29-q9upvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man in a suit and tie looks askance." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562240/original/file-20231128-29-q9upvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562240/original/file-20231128-29-q9upvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562240/original/file-20231128-29-q9upvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562240/original/file-20231128-29-q9upvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562240/original/file-20231128-29-q9upvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562240/original/file-20231128-29-q9upvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562240/original/file-20231128-29-q9upvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Texas is suing Planned Parenthood as directed by Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TexasAttorneyGeneralIndictment/64e2bf2f0f2547eab6935851fb542be2/photo?Query=ken%20paxton&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=868&currentItemNo=1">AP Photo/Eric Gay</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reduced health care access</h2>
<p>Texas has been curtailing public funding to Planned Parenthood clinics since at least 2011, when the state cut its family planning budget from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056%2FNEJMp1207920">$111 million to $38 million</a>.</p>
<p>Following those cuts, <a href="https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2023-09-15/after-a-decade-of-state-led-attacks-texas-seeks-to-bankrupt-planned-parenthood">82 Texas clinics subsequently closed</a> or stopped providing family planning services, about one-third of which were Planned Parenthood affiliates. Many that remained open <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMp1207920">reduced their hours</a> under the financial strain.</p>
<p>Texas’ publicly funded family planning clinics <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4386528/">served 54% fewer patients after the budget cuts</a>. Then, in 2013, Texas stopped letting abortion providers and affiliates get any funding through the Texas Women’s Health Program – a decision that caused the federal government to remove all financial support to it.</p>
<p>In response, Texas restructured the program under a new name: “<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/05/healthy-texas-women-program-billboards-are-not-enough/">Healthy Texas Women</a>,” entirely funded through the state.</p>
<p>Having lost those funds, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/02/07/defunding-planned-parenthood-was-a-disaster-in-texas-congress-shouldnt-do-it-nationally/">31 of Texas’ remaining 74 Planned Parenthood-affiliated clinics closed</a> by 2017.</p>
<h2>Trial slated for April 2024</h2>
<p>This case, which <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/planned-parenthood-must-face-trial-over-texas-medicaid-fraud-claims-2023-10-24/">goes to trial in April 2024</a>, targets the three remaining Texas Planned Parenthood affiliates that operate roughly 35 clinics – <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-gulf-coast/patients/locations-hours">two of which are in Louisiana</a>.</p>
<p>By late 2023, <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/state-family-planning-funding-restrictions">18 states had abortion-related laws</a> on their books restricting state funds for family planning. Most of these laws target abortion providers, but in only six states does this restriction apply to clinics affiliated with those organizations.</p>
<p>Currently, only Texas prevents Planned Parenthood from receiving any Medicaid funds. Louisiana had an opportunity to join the lawsuit in Texas but instead <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/5/24/23725897/abortion-planned-parenthood-matthew-kacsmaryk-supreme-court-medical-progress-medicaid">settled with Planned Parenthood</a>, which allowed the organization to continue to receive Medicaid funds in the state.</p>
<p>But legislation in Texas often spurs copycat bills elsewhere. A 2022 Texas restriction on abortion procedures after six weeks of gestation was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/28/politics/oklahoma-heartbeat-act/index.html">quickly copied by Oklahoma</a>, <a href="https://www.austinwomenshealth.com/copycat-bans-follow-after-texas-sb-8/">South Dakota</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2022/03/23/idaho-enacts-law-copying-texas-abortion-ban---and-these-states-might-be-next/?sh=1a93969525c0">Idaho</a>. </p>
<p>It’s reasonable to expect that other states may pass similar restrictions on Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. Already, <a href="https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_88fa51ca-1146-11ee-a769-b3bafe8d2051.html">related litigation filed in South Carolina</a> <a href="https://governor.sc.gov/news/2023-06/governor-henry-mcmaster-releases-statement-following-us-supreme-courts-ruling-kerr-v">is pending</a>.</p>
<h2>IUDs and cancer screening</h2>
<p>Planned Parenthood clinic closures and the reimbursement restrictions it faces are reducing the availability of reproductive health services, particularly for low-income people.</p>
<p>After the change in the Healthy Texas Women program, the provision of Medicaid-funded, long-acting reversible contraceptives – a category that includes intrauterine devices (IUDs) and contraceptive implants – fell by 35%, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056%2FNEJMsa1511902">Medicaid-paid obstetric care for people giving birth increased by 27%</a>. </p>
<p>In 2015, Texas prohibited Planned Parenthood from receiving <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2015/08/10/planned-parenthood-be-cut-cancer-screening-program/">state funds for breast and cervical cancer screenings</a> and terminated a contract with Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast to <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2015/12/22/texas-drops-planned-parenthood-hiv-prevention-prog/">financially support its HIV prevention program</a>.</p>
<p>If the court rules against Planned Parenthood, and the ruling stands after the appeals process that would certainly follow such a decision, access to sexual and reproductive health services in Texas will decline further. </p>
<p>While the lawsuit could bankrupt Planned Parenthood affiliates in the state, driving the organization out at last, it does not appear likely that the national organization would have to foot this massive legal bill and face jeopardy on a larger scale.</p>
<p>And I have no doubt that Texas’ remaining reproductive health care clinics would surely experience an overwhelming demand for their services while trying to fill the gaps left behind.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216897/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Graham Gardner is affiliated with the Society of Family Planning. </span></em></p>
This lawsuit is only the latest chapter in a battle between the state and the reproductive health care provider that heated up in 2011.
Graham Gardner, Assistant Professor of Economics, Texas Christian University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/214928
2023-11-05T13:01:57Z
2023-11-05T13:01:57Z
Unpacking Elon Musk’s convoluted U.S.-Mexico border visit
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557510/original/file-20231103-17-agxdj5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C67%2C680%2C438&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Elon Musk and Texas congressman Tony Gonzales stand in front of a group of South American migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/TonyGonzales4TX/status/1708142923626209519">(Twitter/Tony Gonzales)</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/unpacking-elon-musks-convoluted-us-mexico-border-visit" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In late September, Elon Musk, the tech billionaire behind Tesla and SpaceX, set the internet ablaze with his visit to the Texas-Mexico border to provide what he called an “<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/why-did-elon-musk-visit-texas-mexico-border-and-what-did-he-say-about-the-migrants/articleshow/104034433.cms?from=mdr">unfiltered</a>” perspective on the border crisis as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/migrants-cross-into-texas-undeterred-by-razor-wire-or-new-asylum-rules-2023-09-28/">thousands of migrants</a>, mostly from Venezuela, crossed the Rio Grande River.</p>
<p><a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1707565081750290910?s=20">In a video at Eagle Pass, Texas</a>, Musk calls for a “greatly expanded legal immigration system” that would welcome “hard-working and honest” people and “<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1707525800830828619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1707525800830828619%7Ctwgr%5E3df67ff84fb408e2c51eceefcad89b5db37b30d0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailysignal.com%2F2023%2F09%2F29%2Felon-musk-visits-eagle-pass-livestreams-real-story-of-whats-happening-at-southern-border%2F">not let anyone in the country who is breaking the law</a>.”</p>
<p>Many were quick to highlight the absurdity of the world’s richest person, who is himself an immigrant, standing before a group of other immigrants calling for stricter policies. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1708283629665927576"}"></div></p>
<h2>Pro-immigrant but anti-asylum?</h2>
<p>Musk’s position on immigration appears convoluted. On the one hand, he says he is “<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1707525800830828619?s=20">extremely pro-immigrant</a>,” given he is an immigrant to the United States himself. This also makes sense from the perspective of his businesses, which rely on <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7z5px/twitter-employees-on-visas-cant-just-quit">highly skilled migrant workers</a>.</p>
<p>While Musk said he supports legal immigration, he said the U.S. should “not be allowing people in the country if they are breaking the law.” A day before his visit to the border, Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1707146779894951982?s=20">tweeted</a> support for a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-trump-wall-us-mexico-border-2023-9">Trump-style wall</a> to securitize the border. He implied that asylum seekers were entering without evidence to support their claims and they could “literally Google to know exactly what to say” to border officers.</p>
<p>Musk’s peddling of right wing anti-refugee rhetoric isn’t surprising, but the misinformation shared in Musk’s self-proclaimed “unfiltered” video may inadvertently bolster border militarization, increased repatriations and the criminalization of vulnerable asylum seekers. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1707565081750290910"}"></div></p>
<p>For example, during Musk’s border visit, congressman Tony Gonzales shares an anecdote about an asylum seeker he saw that had teardrop tattoos on their face. Musk calls this person a “serial murderer and proud of it” and made the leap that America has become the place people “go to escape the law.” </p>
<p>This kind of language plays into tropes that paint immigrants as dangerous and criminal. However, research has demonstrated that immigrants are not more likely to commit crimes. <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/u-s-citizens-most-likely-to-commit-crimes-than-immigrants/">Research from 2022</a> found U.S. citizens are more than two times more likely to be arrested for a violent crime than undocumented immigrants. </p>
<p>In the video, Gonzales claimed there has been zero repatriation. However, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-border-doesnt-need-elon-musks-citizen-journalism">3.6 million people who have crossed into the U.S. illegally have been repatriated</a> since Biden took office. Soon after Musk’s visit, Biden announced that the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/us-resume-direct-deportation-flights-venezuelan-migrants-rcna119107">U.S. was resuming direct repatriation flights for Venezuelans</a> who unlawfully cross the border and have no legal basis to stay. </p>
<h2>An open border for all of Earth?</h2>
<p>The most troubling and sensationalist claim that Musk makes is that the U.S. southern border is an “<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1707565081750290910?s=20">open border for all of earth…an open border to 8 billion</a>.” Not only is this statement far from the truth, it plays into tropes that immigrants and refugees from the Global South are invading western countries. </p>
<p>It’s a dramatic misconception of the realities of global migration and displacement. The vast majority of refugees are hosted by countries in the Global South. </p>
<p>For example, displacement from <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-venezuela-refugee-crisis-us-border-policies/?fbclid=IwAR0qEfobBJ98gamFou7F0KpdQMo0XvcXivdfeccOs5NGC6-22oxyYbNnplI">Venezuela is now the largest refugee crisis</a> in the world, outpacing refugees from Ukraine and Syria. Of the <a href="https://www.r4v.info/es/refugiadosymigrantes">7.7 million displaced</a>, 85 per cent have moved to neighbouring Latin American countries. Only around <a href="https://www.r4v.info/es/refugiadosymigrantes">700,000 are in the U.S. under temporary protection status</a>, which is only nine per cent of the total displaced population. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1707146779894951982"}"></div></p>
<p>The claim that the U.S. border is open “for all of earth” is plainly wrong, and gives the U.S. credit for what has been a Latin American-led humanitarian response to the Venezuelan crisis. </p>
<p>Musk has been criticized for meddling in international affairs, most recently the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/21/23415242/elon-musk-starlink-ukraine-dod-twitter-david-sacks-russia">Ukraine war</a>. He has <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1576969255031296000?">tweeted a peace proposal</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/19/elon-musk-ukraine-starlink/">provided</a> then <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/07/ukraine-rips-musk-disrupting-sneak-attack-russian-navy.html">shut off Starlink’s satellite</a> network over Crimea and <a href="https://twitter.com/panoparker/status/1318157559266762752">seemingly supported</a> a U.S.-backed coup in Bolivia.</p>
<p>And we are seeing the implications for his misinformation at the border impact the lives of people seeking asylum in the U.S. being portrayed as “serial murderers” and “breaking the law.” As Musk wades into yet another political issue, it is crucial for the public to get their information from credible news sources and research, not billionaires on Twitter.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214928/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yvonne Su does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Elon Musk’s visit to the U.S.-Mexico border played into false tropes that paint asylum seekers as dangerous criminals.
Yvonne Su, Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies, York University, Canada
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/213962
2023-11-02T12:32:47Z
2023-11-02T12:32:47Z
Texas tried to fix its teacher shortage by lowering requirements − the result was more new teachers, but at lower salaries
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553564/original/file-20231012-21-h6g17p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C288%2C5052%2C2592&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New research found that a 2001 Texas policy has reduced teachers' wages. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/photo/black-teacher-talking-to-students-in-class-room-royalty-free-image/166346277?phrase=teacher%2Bin%2Bhigh%2Bschool%2Bclassroom">Jon Feingersh Photography Inc/DigitalVision via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Facing persistent teacher shortages, Texas in 2001 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.101">reduced its student teaching requirements</a> for alternative licensure programs. Our study found that these reduced teacher licensure requirements also led to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231159900">reduced wages for all new elementary school teachers</a> over the next 20 years.</p>
<p>Previously, a new teacher license was obtained through university training and a series of standardized tests. The license signaled that an individual had undergone a specific kind of training and therefore that person’s skills were valued at a certain level by employers. Research has found that licensed professions <a href="https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.14.4.189">typically restrict</a> the number of new entrants, which maintains higher wages for their members and provides incentives for continual professional development.</p>
<p>When Texas reduced its requirements for new teachers in 2001, it helped launch a host of new alternative teacher training programs offered by providers including online companies, for-profit colleges, universities and public school systems. Therefore, candidates seeking teacher licensure could do so faster and more easily than through traditional, university-based pathways.
A decade later, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231159900">161 separate programs</a> were licensing teachers – nearly twice as many as the 88 programs that did so in 2000. By 2007, more than half of the state’s new teachers – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231159900">14,595</a> – were licensed through alternative pathways rather than traditional pathways.</p>
<p>In education, the theory holds that when teachers are required to take <a href="https://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:27:y:2008:i:5:p:483-503">licensure exams</a>, and barriers to entry are raised, it results in fewer new teachers and higher wages. Our study found that when teacher licenses were less rigorous and easier to obtain, it resulted in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231159900">more new teachers, but also lower wages for those teachers</a>. Our study was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231159900">published in AERA Open</a>, a publication of the American Educational Research Association.</p>
<p>Our study examines the base pay – adjusted for inflation – from 2000-2015 for 786,724 new teachers in approximately 1,282 districts in Texas. We found that controlling for changes in district demographics over time, after licensure requirements were relaxed, the average pay for new teachers declined annually by 2% to 13%.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Texas has had <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/bteachershortageareasreport201718.pdf">persistent teacher shortages</a> despite the 2001 policy change, which was designed to fill open positions. The official state list of teacher shortage areas in Texas – mathematics, science, special education – did not change from 1990 to 2018.</p>
<p>This indicates that the policy that lowered requirements for alternatively certified teachers did not successfully address those teacher shortages. Texas has begun to <a href="https://tea.texas.gov/texas-educators/certification/educator-testing/pre-admission-content-test">restore some requirements to get into the teaching profession</a>, such as higher GPAs and passing scores on teacher licensure exams. However, the state remains focused on producing new teachers rather than retaining the existing ones in an effort to staff schools.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>As the U.S. struggles nationwide to fill <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/school-districts-nationwide-struggling-to-fill-teaching-positions/#:%7E:text=According%20to%20a%20recent%20survey,schools%20report%20feeling%20generally%20understaffed.">vacant teaching positions</a> – not just in elementary school but throughout K-12 systems – our study invites states to examine whether expanding licensure programs as a singular strategy is an effective strategy to fill teacher shortages.</p>
<p>Policies that aim to increase the supply of teachers may have the unintended consequence of lowering teacher pay. This may perpetuate cycles of teacher shortages and turnover. Rapidly expanding the supply of new teachers may devalue each license and lower wages.</p>
<p>Districts may, in turn, be trapped into successive rounds of hiring teacher replacements and offering lower salaries. The focus on producing more teachers quickly and cheaply, rather than retaining those in the field, may result in outcomes that are detrimental to the profession’s health.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213962/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Guthery works for the University of Oklahoma and her work has been previously supported by Texas A&M University- Commerce. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren P. Bailes works for the University of Delaware, which has funded some of her research. She has also received funding from the Spencer Foundation. </span></em></p>
Researchers found that lowering restrictions for new teachers had some unintended consequences.
Sarah Guthery, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, University of Oklahoma
Lauren P. Bailes, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Delaware
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/215132
2023-10-26T12:31:24Z
2023-10-26T12:31:24Z
Public schools and faith-based chaplains: Texas’ new combination is testing the First Amendment
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555647/original/file-20231024-15-yneqdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C0%2C2114%2C1409&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When public school counselors are in short supply, should chaplains be allowed to fill the gap?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/unhappy-young-girl-at-the-psychologist-royalty-free-image/1327949832?phrase=chaplain+counsels+a+child&adppopup=true">Vladimir Vladimirov/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1996, a school board in eastern Texas created a program called Clergy in Schools. Beaumont Independent School District recruited volunteer clergy <a href="https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/beaumont-school-district-target-of-lawsuit-over-2023594.php">to counsel K-12 students</a> on topics such as self-esteem, peer pressure and violence. The goal, officials said, was to create volunteer opportunities, encourage conversation about civic values and morality, and enhance safe learning environments.</p>
<p>Clergy in Schools didn’t last long. A federal trial court in Texas <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/224/1099/2490192/">invalidated the program</a> in 2002. The judge found that the program violated <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/">the First Amendment</a>, according to which, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” More specifically, the court held that the program was unconstitutional because it was not neutral with regard to faith and conveyed the message that religion is preferable to a lack of religion.</p>
<p>But now, schools across the state are debating whether to open their doors to clergy. </p>
<p><a href="https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB763/id/2686268">Senate Bill 763</a>, enacted in September 2023, allows school officials to hire unlicensed chaplains, either as staff members or volunteers. Those who can pass background checks will be allowed to perform duties typically provided by counselors, such as mental health support. Local boards have until March 1, 2024, to choose whether to allow chaplain programs in their schools.</p>
<p>SB 763 generates significant questions around the First Amendment. These questions are all the more high stakes given that the Supreme Court has recently <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-supreme-courts-football-decision-is-a-game-changer-on-school-prayer-184619">signaled shifting views</a> about the limits on religious activity in public schools – themes I teach, write and speak about regularly as <a href="https://udayton.edu/directory/education/eda/russo_charles.php">a faculty member</a> specializing in education law.</p>
<h2>Lone Star State</h2>
<p>Across the nation, local boards have difficulty <a href="https://www.tasb.org/services/hr-services/hrx/recruiting-and-hiring/national-school-counselor-shortage-rates.aspx">filling counseling positions with qualified staff</a>. In fact, Texas ranks 23rd in the nation <a href="https://missoulian.com/news/national/most-states-have-a-school-counselor-shortage-heres-where-theyre-needed-the-most/article_1169c039-88da-5f13-8489-3ed8cdf09b76.html">in student-to-counselor ratios</a>, with almost 400 students for every counselor.</p>
<p>However, SB 763 was also enacted amid a seeming push to allow religion to <a href="https://www.expressnews.com/politics/article/republicans-push-christianity-texas-schools-17915163.php">occupy a greater place</a> in Texas’ public schools. </p>
<p>One bill <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/24/texas-legislature-ten-commandments-bill/">requiring officials to display</a> a 16-by-20-inch copy of the Ten Commandments in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/21/texas-bill-ten-commandments-public-schools-religion/">every public school classroom</a> was passed in the state Senate but died on the floor of the House in May 2023. <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/SB01396E.pdf#navpanes=0">Another bill</a>, passed by the Senate and sent to a House committee, would allow boards to require schools to provide students with <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2023/04/21/ten-commandments-and-prayer-in-public-schools-texas-senate-approves-religious-bills/">time to pray</a> or read religious texts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555649/original/file-20231024-23-l229tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The multistory dome of a large building is seen between trees, with two flags flying in front." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555649/original/file-20231024-23-l229tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555649/original/file-20231024-23-l229tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555649/original/file-20231024-23-l229tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555649/original/file-20231024-23-l229tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555649/original/file-20231024-23-l229tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555649/original/file-20231024-23-l229tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555649/original/file-20231024-23-l229tg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Texas legislature has debated several proposals over the past year to give religion more of a role in public schools.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-exterior-of-the-texas-state-capitol-is-seen-on-news-photo/1661520774?adppopup=true">Brandon Bell/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Shifts at SCOTUS</h2>
<p>The Supreme Court, too, has displayed a friendlier attitude toward prayer and religion in public education, as reflected in <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/21-418">Kennedy v. Bremerton School District</a>: its 2022 decision upholding the right of a Washington state football coach <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-supreme-courts-football-decision-is-a-game-changer-on-school-prayer-184619">to pray on the field</a> at the end of games.</p>
<p>In so doing, the justices acknowledged that the Supreme Court abandoned the tests it used over the past 50-plus years to assess whether government actions appeared to endorse religion, and therefore whether they violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment.</p>
<p>The most famous of these was often called “the Lemon test,” referring to the court’s 1971 decision in <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1970/89">Lemon v. Kurtzman</a>. In order to be permissible, the court ruled in Lemon, an activity involving religion and state had to <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/403/602/">meet three criteria</a>: that it have a secular legislative purpose; that its principal or primary effect neither advance nor inhibit religion; and that it not result in “excessive entanglement” between religion and the state – though the court did not define “excessive.”</p>
<p>The court also abandoned what was known as the “endorsement test,” which stems from 1984’s <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/465/668/">Lynch v. Donnelly</a>, in which a man <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1983/82-1256">challenged a Rhode Island city</a> over its Christmas display and Nativity scene – and lost. According to the endorsement test, a policy is permissible if a “reasonable observer” would not think it was endorsing or disapproving of religion. </p>
<p>Finally, in 1992, the court abandoned a test it applied only once, in <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/90-1014.ZD.html">Lee v. Weisman</a>: coercion. The justices invalidated prayer at a public school graduation ceremony on the basis that it coerced people present into listening.</p>
<p>Instead of these tests, the court wrote in 2022’s <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21-418_i425.pdf">Kennedy v. Bremerton</a> that “the Establishment Clause must be interpreted by ‘reference to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/21-418">historical practices and understandings</a>.’” However, it remains to be seen exactly what this means.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555651/original/file-20231024-29-2b6fmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People kneel on a large piece of pavement, looking toward a large white building with columns." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555651/original/file-20231024-29-2b6fmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555651/original/file-20231024-29-2b6fmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555651/original/file-20231024-29-2b6fmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555651/original/file-20231024-29-2b6fmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555651/original/file-20231024-29-2b6fmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555651/original/file-20231024-29-2b6fmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555651/original/file-20231024-29-2b6fmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People kneel and pray as Christian singer-songwriter Sean Feucht performs outside the U.S. Supreme Court after the Kennedy v. Bremerton ruling on June 27, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-kneel-and-pray-as-christian-singer-songwriter-sean-news-photo/1241572598?adppopup=true">Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Crossing the line?</h2>
<p>Even so, SB 763 raises at least three thorny issues about how to assess whether a policy violates the First Amendment.</p>
<p>Initially, assuming the lower courts apply the new test enunciated in Kennedy v. Bremerton – that the First Amendment must be interpreted in light of “historical practices” – there do not appear to be traditions supporting the presence of faith-based chaplains as staff members or volunteers in public schools, regardless of whether they were formally credentialed.</p>
<p>Second is the question of endorsing religion. As noted, the Supreme Court repudiated its earlier tests about whether a policy appears to “endorse” a particular religion or no religion, or coerced people into participating. But the fundamental principle still holds: The First Amendment prohibits government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” It thus appears that SB 763 straddles, if not crosses, the line into establishment. Having faith-based chaplains – a move <a href="https://bjconline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/LETTER_-Texas-Chaplains-Say-No-to-Public-School-Chaplain-Programs.pdf">many Texas chaplains themselves oppose</a> – arguably puts the power of the state behind their actions.</p>
<p>Third is the question of which faiths will be represented and whether the chaplain program would appear to endorse some religions over others. Even if SB 763 were to survive a challenge on establishment clause grounds, one must question whether having chaplains from only some faith traditions is wise in an increasingly pluralistic American society, in which the number of <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated/">people no longer identifying with religion</a> is growing.</p>
<h2>Votes ahead</h2>
<p>Not surprisingly, SB 763 has its supporters and critics. A board member in one Texas district <a href="https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/north-east-independent-school-district-san-antonio-tx-chaplains/">described the bill</a> as “a great opportunity to bring some spiritual guidance into the schools.” Another supporter, without offering a rationale, suggested that affording religion a greater place in public education could help to make schools safer, including <a href="https://www.expressnews.com/politics/article/texas-republicans-tout-christianity-campus-deter-18073417.php">reducing the risk of mass shootings</a>.</p>
<p>Conversely, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2023/08/23/texas-school-chaplains-letter/">more than 100 chaplains</a> from various Christian denominations – including the Catholic Church, United Methodist Church and Seventh-day Adventist Church – as well as Jewish and Buddhist leaders signed <a href="https://bjconline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/LETTER_-Texas-Chaplains-Say-No-to-Public-School-Chaplain-Programs.pdf">a public letter</a> opposing the bill. “It is harmful to our public schools and the students and families they serve,” the signatories wrote, because it neither prevents individuals from proselytizing in schools nor insures that they would have the necessary qualifications to serve students.</p>
<p>Boards have begun to vote on whether to allow chaplains in their schools. So far, boards <a href="https://www.keranews.org/education/2023-10-20/dallas-isd-wont-employ-chaplains-as-counselors">including those in Dallas</a> and <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/news/education/schools/san-marcos-cisd-rejects-school-chaplains/269-026bbf9c-285c-4db5-be3d-14c09b40e678">San Marcos</a> have chosen not to do so, while others such as <a href="https://communityimpact.com/austin/round-rock/education/2023/09/26/round-rock-isd-officials-choose-volunteer-policy-for-local-chaplains/">Round Rock</a> <a href="https://www.ketk.com/news/local-news/mineola-isd-approves-chaplains-as-counselors/">and Mineola</a> have decided to allow chaplains in their schools.</p>
<p>SB 763 raises serious questions about what crosses the line toward establishing religion that, I believe, will likely result in litigation. Thus, both sides – whether in favor of or opposed to having chaplains in schools – should be mindful of the aphorism to “be careful what you wish for.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215132/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles J. Russo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Recent Supreme Court decisions have signaled a shift in how the country’s highest court interprets the limits on religion in schools.
Charles J. Russo, Joseph Panzer Chair in Education and Research Professor of Law, University of Dayton
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/215484
2023-10-13T12:11:57Z
2023-10-13T12:11:57Z
Osiris-Rex: Nasa reveals evidence of water and carbon in sample delivered to Earth from an asteroid
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553639/original/file-20231013-21-8i85py.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C2846%2C1517&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The "coal-like" material from Bennu.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.nasa.gov/details/jsc2023e058642">Nasa / Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebers</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On September 24 this year, a Nasa capsule parachuted down to Earth carrying a precious cache of material grabbed from an asteroid. The space agency has now revealed images and a preliminary analysis of the space rocks it found after lifting the lid off that capsule.</p>
<p>The mission to the asteroid was called <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex/">Osiris-Rex</a>, and in 2020, it collected a sample of material from the asteroid Bennu. Afterwards, it travelled back to Earth and released the capsule containing the rocks into our atmosphere three weeks ago. </p>
<p>The fine black dust and small coal-like rocks shimmering in the capsule are beautiful – and somewhat unassuming. But this handful of space rock has the potential to answer questions about not only how the Earth was created, but
also how water arrived here and how life got started.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFvIuSpACQA">At the Nasa press conference</a> on October 11 held to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-bennu-asteroid-sample-contains-carbon-water/">reveal details about the sample</a>, Dr Francis McCubbin hinted that, with careful storage and preparation, the material could be analysed and used in experiments for years to come. </p>
<p>“Scientists that aren’t even born yet, (will be able to) answer questions about the Universe using technology that has not even been invented,” said the <a href="https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curation.cfm">astromaterials curator</a> at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, where the Bennu sample is being stored.</p>
<h2>Why collect asteroid samples?</h2>
<p>Sometimes material from space comes to Earth without our help, <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/">arriving as meteorites</a>. Nasa has hundreds of meteorite samples in its collection, which are believed to have come from asteroids. Useful analysis can be carried out on these samples.</p>
<p>However, it’s often not possible to track down which asteroids these meteorites came from. This limits the potential of the resulting science. Meteorites <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_915275_en.html">are also contaminated</a> by their journey through the atmosphere and onto the Earth. The Osiris-Rex sample, in contrast, is “pristine”. We can be sure any discoveries made from this sample tell us about Bennu. </p>
<p>Some of the finer dust in the Bennu sample would never have been able to form a meteorite and fall to Earth. Going and retrieving it is the only way we would ever have seen this type of material.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Osiris-Rex sample return capsule shortly after touching down in the Utah desert." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553640/original/file-20231013-22-rk5i1m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553640/original/file-20231013-22-rk5i1m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553640/original/file-20231013-22-rk5i1m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553640/original/file-20231013-22-rk5i1m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553640/original/file-20231013-22-rk5i1m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553640/original/file-20231013-22-rk5i1m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553640/original/file-20231013-22-rk5i1m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Osiris-Rex sample return capsule shortly after touching down in the Utah desert.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.nasa.gov/details/NHQ202309240003">NASA/Keegan Barber</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is not the first asteroid sample delivered to Earth. Two Japanese space agency (Jaxa) missions, <a href="https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/past/hayabusa.html">Hayabusa 1</a> <a href="https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/current/hayabusa2.html">and 2</a>, made deliveries of asteroid material in 2010 and 2020. However, this is the first US mission to do so. It also returned with significantly more material than the Hayabusa missions. </p>
<p>Osiris-Rex delivered an estimated 250g of space rock, compared to Hayabusa 2’s 5g. This means the sample can be distributed to scientists around the world and put on display in museums for the public to enjoy. It also means that some larger rock fragments were included, which gives a unique opportunity to examine how different minerals are arranged in bigger chunks of the asteroid. This unlocks even more scientific potential.</p>
<h2>What have they found?</h2>
<p><a href="https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/101955-bennu/">Bennu</a> is what is known as a “carbonaceous”, or C-Type, asteroid. These contain a large proportion of carbon and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_(astrogeology)">“volatiles”</a> – compounds that can be readily vaporised, like water. These asteroids are believed to be relics from the formation of the Solar System, and so can help explain how the planets, including Earth, came to be. </p>
<p>Analysis of the main portion of the sample has taken longer than expected to get started, but it’s a nice problem to have. The sample collection technique was so successful that the sample was “spilling out” of the container within the return capsule. Because every grain is precious, all of this bonus material must be meticulously collected before the sample canister itself can be opened and preparation of the main body of the sample can begin.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Tiny grain from Bennu sample." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553665/original/file-20231013-15-now15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553665/original/file-20231013-15-now15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553665/original/file-20231013-15-now15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553665/original/file-20231013-15-now15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553665/original/file-20231013-15-now15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553665/original/file-20231013-15-now15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553665/original/file-20231013-15-now15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Magnification of a tiny grain from the sample. The small bright specks in the image on the right (under UV light) reveal the presence of organic compounds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFvIuSpACQA">Nasa</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Still, there have already been some exciting results from the initial analysis. Water has been found locked inside clay minerals from Bennu, which is an incredibly important discovery. One proposed mechanism for how water came to be on Earth and the other inner planets is that water was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-018-0474-9">trapped inside clay minerals</a> like these, which then formed rocks. These were eventually incorporated into planets during the birth of the solar system. </p>
<p>There’s abundant carbon in the sample – nearly 5% by weight – and sulphur. Both elements are essential for life. Carbon is the key ingredient in the organic compounds that make biology possible. Sulphur is an important component of amino acids, which form proteins.</p>
<p>Asteroids like Bennu are thought to have <a href="https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/origin-life-earth-explained">“seeded” Earth with prebiotic compounds</a>: the building blocks of life. Magnetite (an iron oxide) found in the sample has been linked to chemical reactions crucial for the evolution of life. As Dr Daniel Glavin, Osiris-Rex sample analyst, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/nasa-unveils-asteroid-sample-reveal-details-life-earth-rcna119903">summarised</a>: “We picked the right asteroid. And not only that, we brought back the right sample.”</p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>As well as helping answer the big questions of how we and our planet came to be here, finding water on asteroids is also destined to be a part of our future. Water can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be used as rocket fuel. While still some way off, spaceship <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_propellant_depot">refuelling stations</a> are moving out of the realms of science fiction and into reality.</p>
<p>There’s only so much fuel you can take with you on a rocket. Far better to take just what you need to get off the planet and then <a href="https://www.space.com/water-rich-asteroids-space-exploration-fuel.html">fuel up in space</a> for the rest of your journey.</p>
<p>Water can also be used for life support in future bases on the Moon and Mars. So it’s crucial to understand where we can access water in space, and how to extract it. The water on asteroids is one potential source.</p>
<p>Asteroids, once known best for their likely part in the demise of dinosaurs, are enjoying some positive time in the spotlight, showcasing their part in humanity’s past, present and future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215484/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucinda King does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Studying the sample could help answer how water arrived on Earth and how life started.
Lucinda King, Space Projects Manager & Mission Design Lead, University of Portsmouth
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/210517
2023-07-27T12:26:58Z
2023-07-27T12:26:58Z
Federal government is challenging Texas’s buoys in the Rio Grande – here’s why these kinds of border blockades wind up complicating immigration enforcement
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539616/original/file-20230726-21-pfd09i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Buoy barriers are shown in the middle of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 18, 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/buoy-barriers-are-installed-and-situated-in-the-middle-of-news-photo/1554459107?adppopup=true">Brandon Bell/Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Rio Grande is only about 328 feet, or about 99 meters, wide. But the waterway dividing Texas from northern Mexico is deceptively dangerous and routinely <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/05/migrants-risk-death-crossing-treacherous-rio-grande-river-for-american-dream">claims the lives of migrants</a> who try to cross it, but get caught in undetected rip currents or otherwise drown.</em> </p>
<p><em>Now, it’s the site of a legal battle between the U.S. federal government and the state of Texas regarding the right to enact blockades in the river</em>. </p>
<p><em>The U.S. Justice Department announced on July 24, 2023, that it <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-complaint-against-state-texas-illegally-placing-floating-buoy">filed a civil lawsuit</a> against Texas for illegally placing a floating buoy barrier in a section of the Rio Grande that runs about 1,000 feet, or 304 meters, long.</em> </p>
<p><em>Texas Gov. Greg Abbott <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/21/biden-administration-warns-texas-over-floating-barriers-at-border">rejected the Justice Department’s appeal in mid-July </a> to remove the buoys, saying that they were necessary to keep migrants out of Texas.</em> </p>
<p><em>The case raises questions about federal versus state control over the border – as well as whether tactics like buoys are actually effective at deterring migrants. In some cases, they frustrate immigration enforcement efforts in other ways, according to immigration legal scholar <a href="https://gould.usc.edu/faculty/?id=72708">Jean Lantz Reisz</a>.</em> </p>
<p><em>The Conversation’s politics and society editor Amy Lieberman spoke with Reisz to better understand the significance of this conflict.</em></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539617/original/file-20230726-23-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of people are seen walking through knee-deep water, in front of a long row of large orange circular buoys." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539617/original/file-20230726-23-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539617/original/file-20230726-23-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539617/original/file-20230726-23-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539617/original/file-20230726-23-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539617/original/file-20230726-23-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539617/original/file-20230726-23-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539617/original/file-20230726-23-wdarm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Migrants walk between a wire fence and a string of buoys in the Rio Grande on July 16, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/migrants-walk-between-concertina-wire-and-a-string-of-buoys-news-photo/1536221750?adppopup=true">Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who controls this section of the Rio Grande?</h2>
<p>I believe a patchwork of private owners and entities own the section of the Rio Grande where the buoys are located. And on the Mexico side it is the Mexican government – the border goes down the middle. The International Boundary Water Commission manages the Rio Grande border and is jointly run by U.S. and Mexico. </p>
<p>Typically, federal authorities regulate the border territories. All ports of entry are federal, for example. And a state like Texas cannot interfere with U.S. border enforcement. Texas could not claim that it owns this land and thus can erect whatever structures they want on it. And if it impedes the objective of the federal government of securing the border, that is unlawful. </p>
<h2>But the lawsuit’s claims are more specific than this question, right?</h2>
<p>The lawsuit alleges that Texas is violating the <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/59646">Rivers and Harbors Act,</a> which is a federal act that says if a state wants to erect any structure in navigable waters of the United States, it has to seek a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. That has to do with the federal power over interstate and foreign commerce. </p>
<p>Getting a permit like this would have required an investigation of potential humanitarian and environmental consequences to the buoys. I think that, in this case, the Rio Grande is a navigable water that is on the border and the permit would have been denied. </p>
<p>The bigger picture is that a state is impeding the federal government’s jurisdiction. </p>
<h2>How could the buoys complicate federal immigration enforcement?</h2>
<p>The U.S. <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/border-security#:%7E:text=CBP%27s%20top%20priority%20is%20to,narcotics%20smuggling%20and%20illegal%20importation.">has a strategy</a> in enforcing the border that involves physical border patrol enforcement, <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/cbp-small-drones-program">drones</a>, <a href="https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/us-border-surveillance/">heat sensors</a> and so on. So when a state comes and physically blocks off a part of the border, that frustrates the entire strategy. </p>
<p>It means that certain identifiable routes where people are being apprehended are now obstructed. This creates new migration routes, so people might not cross at this particular small section of the river, but they will find another section of the river and cross there, instead. </p>
<p>And if the buoys create an unsafe situation that results in rescue operations of migrants, it adds to the cost – not on enforcing the border, but on rescuing people. </p>
<p>In addition, Mexico’s cooperation is part of U.S. border enforcement strategy, and the buoys affect agreements between U.S. and Mexico over the use of the river. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539618/original/file-20230726-17-fgerr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person with a cowboy hat is seen from behind, talking on the phone as he looks at large trucks with big orange buoys lined up behind them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539618/original/file-20230726-17-fgerr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539618/original/file-20230726-17-fgerr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539618/original/file-20230726-17-fgerr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539618/original/file-20230726-17-fgerr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539618/original/file-20230726-17-fgerr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539618/original/file-20230726-17-fgerr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539618/original/file-20230726-17-fgerr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A person surveys buoy barriers before they are installed in the Rio Grande on July 7, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/person-speaks-on-the-phone-while-surveying-the-preparation-news-photo/1523062022?adppopup=true">Brandon Bell/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How often does this kind of conflict over immigration authority happen?</h2>
<p>There have been previous legal challenges regarding Texas wanting to have control over border enforcement. Issues like state police arresting people who <a href="https://www.khou.com/article/news/special-reports/at-the-border/texas-border-force/285-54daeb32-72d9-4d72-bbfb-af906d744b9a">are in violation of immigration law</a> – those kinds of laws have been passed in states like Texas and Arizona and were found to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-arizona-law-20160915-snap-story.html">violate federal law</a>. </p>
<p>This is because the federal government enforces immigration. The states cannot also <a href="https://cis.org/Arthur/States-Are-Utterly-Dependent-Feds-Secure-Border-Enforce-Immigration-Laws">enforce federal immigration law</a>. States can arrest people suspected of breaking state laws, but not federal immigration laws. </p>
<p>In the 2012 case of <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2011/11-182">Arizona v. the United States,</a> for example, Arizona tried to penalize noncitizens for working without federal work authorization. The state authorized law enforcement to arrest people suspected of being in violation of immigration law. And the court found that Arizona could not do anything that is within the jurisdiction of the federal government, or obstruct the federal government’s objectives when it comes to immigration.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210517/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean Lantz Reisz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Setting up buoys in a section of the Rio Grande is more likely to result in migrants seeking pathways elsewhere, rather than deterring migration altogether.
Jean Lantz Reisz, Co-Director, USC Immigration Clinic and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law, University of Southern California
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/205907
2023-06-08T12:33:47Z
2023-06-08T12:33:47Z
Title 42 didn’t result in a surge of migration, after all – but border communities are still facing record-breaking migration
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530179/original/file-20230605-23-ozcthw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In an aerial image taken on May 12, 2023, a border wall and concertina wire barriers stand along the Rio Grande river between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, left, and El Paso, Texas.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1254537935/photo/us-politics-mexico-latam-migration-title42.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=2_ghoyYPbouvXR0N3fNOR7chB1iDZhpuFE-Vi6H8AGg=">Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>U.S. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/09/politics/title-42-ending-whats-next-explainer-cec/index.html#:%7E:text=Officials%20predict%20that%20lifting%20Title,are%20desperate%20and%20losing%20patience.">government officials</a> and media alike made <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/briefing/migrants-southern-border-surge-title-42.html">widespread predictions</a> that there would be a surge of migration across the U.S.-Mexico border in May 2023. </p>
<p>That’s when the U.S. lifted an emergency health policy called <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-is-title-42-and-what-does-it-mean-for-immigration-at-the-southern-border">Title 42</a> that allowed the government to turn away migrants at the border to prevent the spread of COVID-19. </p>
<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-biden-border-title-42-mexico-asylum-be4e0b15b27adb9bede87b9bbefb798d">Title 42 ended in May 2023</a>, but the number of migrants <a href="https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiNTlmOTY0ZDQtY2M0OS00OTY3LTk4MWQtMTVhYTJmZWIwMzQxIiwidCI6IjY2YThkY2Y5LWVkNzUtNGE2Zi04OGUwLTUxMGRmOWJkZjJhOSJ9">crossing into the border city of El Paso</a> has actually decreased since then. </p>
<p>Even without a recent surge related to Title 42, however, migration across the U.S-Mexico border continues to trend upward and remains at <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/01/13/monthly-encounters-with-migrants-at-u-s-mexico-border-remain-near-record-highs/">record-breaking levels</a>. Compared with the 16,182 migrants that U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered in April 2020, there were 206,239 encounters in November 2022. </p>
<p>For the past four years, we have <a href="https://www.storymodelers.org/absorptivecapacity">researched host communities</a> around the world that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ukrainian-refugee-crisis-could-last-years-but-host-communities-might-not-be-prepared-178482">receive sudden arrivals of a large group of migrants</a>. </p>
<p>In El Paso, Texas, our interviews with government agencies, migrant aid organizations and residents in 2019 and 2022 highlighted what the U.S. southern border region shares with other migrant host communities facing <a href="https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/wmr-2022-interactive/">unprecedented levels of migration</a> and <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/news/unhcr-global-displacement-hits-another-record-capping-decade-long-rising-trend">displacement</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530176/original/file-20230605-27-ddu921.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People are seen lined up with their hands up high on a large fence, with rows of other people waiting near the fence." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530176/original/file-20230605-27-ddu921.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530176/original/file-20230605-27-ddu921.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530176/original/file-20230605-27-ddu921.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530176/original/file-20230605-27-ddu921.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530176/original/file-20230605-27-ddu921.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530176/original/file-20230605-27-ddu921.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530176/original/file-20230605-27-ddu921.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Border Patrol agents search immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, shortly after Title 42 ended in May 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1489491574/photo/pandemic-era-border-policy-title-42-expires.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=R_eZlf0eA6EXKciWmmEqDvJwI0Dn_DN4iuF1hWh__TI=">John Moore/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Borderlands</h2>
<p>Communities along the U.S.-Mexico border – sometimes called the Borderlands – have a long history serving as a <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/hahr/article/62/2/289/149177/Desert-Immigrants-The-Mexicans-of-El-Paso-1880">corridor for migration</a>. </p>
<p>El Paso even carries a name that is rooted in migration, coming from “el paso del norte,” which means “the passage to the north” in Spanish. </p>
<p>El Paso and Juarez, Mexico, are <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2014/05/Ciudad_Juarez_and_El_Paso#:%7E:text=The%20Mexican%2DAmerican%20border%20separates,at%20around%20400%20km%20above">divided only by the Rio Grande River</a> and a <a href="https://kvia.com/news/border/2021/01/05/federal-government-completes-131-miles-of-new-border-wall-in-el-paso-sector/">border wall</a>. They were once united as one city until international boundaries were drawn <a href="https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/el-paso-tx">in 1848</a>. </p>
<p>In the weeks <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/01/05/dhs-continues-prepare-end-title-42-announces-new-border-enforcement-measures-and">leading up to the end</a> of Title 42, an <a href="https://www.ktsm.com/news/gov-of-chihuahua-35000-migrants-in-juarez-waiting-to-cross-to-the-u-s/">estimated 35,000 migrants were waiting in Juarez to cross</a> into El Paso. </p>
<p>U.S. Border Patrol agents generally work to <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/along-us-borders/overview">monitor and manage</a> goods and migration across the country’s border. They are also the ones who apprehend migrants and document their names and other personal information when they enter the U.S.</p>
<p>Typically, when U.S. border officials apprehend migrants crossing the border without documentation, they place them in detention centers. There, people can apply for asylum and await court dates to see if they qualify to stay in the U.S. – or they are deported back across the border.</p>
<p>In some cases, when there is a surge in migration, these detention centers – run by both the government and private companies – get full. So U.S. border officials sometimes <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/us/politics/title-42-border-history-immigration.html#:%7E:text=Whenever%20there%20is%20a%20surge,their%20day%20in%20immigration%20court.">release migrants into local communities</a> to await future court dates. </p>
<p>The U.S. Border Patrol released <a href="https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiNTlmOTY0ZDQtY2M0OS00OTY3LTk4MWQtMTVhYTJmZWIwMzQxIiwidCI6IjY2YThkY2Y5LWVkNzUtNGE2Zi04OGUwLTUxMGRmOWJkZjJhOSJ9">over 13,000 migrants</a> into El Paso in May 2023. About half of those migrants arrived after Title 42 ended. </p>
<p>That number of migrants is similar to trends seen in recent years, and below several peaks in 2022. At the end of last year, El Paso received more than 10,000 migrants in one week.</p>
<p><iframe id="aTDB3" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/aTDB3/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Borderlands’ capacity depends on locals</h2>
<p>Our current research suggests that both real and anticipated increased migration can affect host communities in ways that aren’t captured by the national spotlight – but that still cause friction between host communities and migrants. </p>
<p>So far, El Paso has been able to largely avoid such tension because it has a strong network of local organizations that provide aid that allows migrants to get what they need and pass through the city quickly on their journey to their final destinations – often where friends and family are waiting to sponsor them. </p>
<p>While Border Patrol agents are tasked with apprehending and documenting migrants, it’s nongovernment <a href="https://www.elpasotexas.gov/migrant-crisis/donate/">community workers and volunteers</a> that generally help migrants get <a href="https://cbs4local.com/news/local/how-support-el-paso-texas-nonprofit-organizations-assisting-migrants-paso-del-norte-community-foundation-sacred-heart-church-rescue-mission-annunciation-house-el-pasoans-fighting-hunger-may-9-2023-title-42-immigration-us-mexico-border-donations-volunteer">food, shelter, water and health care</a>.</p>
<p>Those community networks include those who work in local hospitals, legal clinics and migrant shelters, typically providing services free of charge. </p>
<p>A legal advocacy team, for example, told us that its No. 1 goal is to get migrants out of detention and their legal cases processed outside of El Paso, <a href="https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/670/">where the odds of being granted asylum tend to be higher</a>. </p>
<p>But the backlog of migrants risks overwhelming nonprofits’ abilities to respond, extending the time migrants are stuck in the area. That puts pressure on the local judicial system to process migrants, and the resulting buildup of migrants can create tension with host communities. </p>
<p>These workers see the impacts of migration on their communities firsthand – both the beneficial and the burdensome – that can often make or break a host communities’ willingness to continue welcoming migrants.</p>
<p>Volunteer support, public facilities and the amount of time it takes for the government to process migrants are all factors that could challenge border communities like El Paso if they are stretched thin and this process is interrupted. </p>
<p>Across host communities, such simple matters as overflowing public trash cans and overcrowded public transportation can be a <a href="https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/gpis_etds/121/">flashpoint for resentment</a> – these can be visual cues to local communities that the migration response is not being well managed by the government.</p>
<h2>Support is stretched thin</h2>
<p>Rising migration across the U.S. southern border <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/document/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters">over the past decade</a> means that health care and other forms of assistance on both sides of the border have been stretched thin for some time.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, cities like El Paso are dealing with compounding <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-07-28/staff-shortages-choking-u-s-health-care-system">national health care staffing shortages</a>.</p>
<p>That stress on the health care system could open the door for a deteriorating situation. Reports indicate that some <a href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/82203">Borderlands physicians struggle</a> to care for the volume of migrants in need of care – and to also respond to migrants’ complex, acute medical conditions, sometimes the result of their previous <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/inside-the-el-paso-medical-clinics-struggling-to-care-for-influx-of-migrants">inhumane and traumatic journeys</a>. </p>
<p>Physicians in El Paso have told us they were alarmed at patients arriving with life-threatening conditions that could have been treated had migrants received health care at earlier points. They expressed concern about infectious diseases spreading in <a href="https://www.ktsm.com/local/chickenpox-bed-bugs-reported-at-sacred-heart-in-south-el-paso-where-migrants-are-camped/">overcrowded centers and informal settlements</a>, migrants’ deteriorating mental health and their ability to get necessary medications.</p>
<p>In addition to medical professional shortages, it is difficult to recruit volunteers and continue to bring in enough donations to support migrant community work in El Paso <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80387-2_21">over the long term</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530177/original/file-20230605-23-zhhx2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A boy and a woman holding his hand jump across a small river." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530177/original/file-20230605-23-zhhx2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530177/original/file-20230605-23-zhhx2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530177/original/file-20230605-23-zhhx2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530177/original/file-20230605-23-zhhx2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530177/original/file-20230605-23-zhhx2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530177/original/file-20230605-23-zhhx2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530177/original/file-20230605-23-zhhx2g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Immigrants cross the Rio Grande into El Paso, Texas, on May 11, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1489253193/photo/migrant-crossings-at-southern-border-increase-as-title-42-policy-expires.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=74AuYP0ZEuPyTYBKvpULj7_7dYoj8VmukKOtK8DiMWc=">John Moore/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Passing through El Paso</h2>
<p>Changes in migration numbers can quickly overwhelm or impede nonprofits’ abilities to respond, extending the time migrants are stuck in the area. When large numbers pass through, services are stretched thin. But when there are periods with less migration, services risk <a href="https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2022/08/05/annunciation-house-casa-refugiado-migrant-shelter-immigration-border/65390027007/">shutting down for good</a>. That puts pressure on the local system to process migrants, and any buildup of migrants can create tension with transit communities like El Paso. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.unrefugees.org/news/protracted-refugee-situations-explained/">Rises in migration flows can end up lasting</a> a long time, with migrants <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/24/donors-are-cutting-food-aid-refugees-rwanda-thats-devastating-people-unable-work/">stuck for many years as they await processing</a> by government agencies or resettlement opportunities. But what the community of El Paso has done for decades, and what it will need to continue to do to avoid both humanitarian catastrophe and social friction, is to remain “the passage to the north,” keeping migrants moving toward friends and family that will support their stay in the U.S.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205907/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erika Frydenlund receives funding from the Office of Naval Research through the Minerva Research Initiative (grant number N000141912624) ; none of the views reported in the study are those of the funding organization. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra P Leader and Lydia Renee Cleveland do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
When host communities unexpectedly receive large numbers of migrants, the influx can tax local services – and relations between migrants and residents.
Lydia Renee Cleveland, PhD Candidate, International Studies., Old Dominion University
Alexandra P Leader, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Eastern Virginia Medical School
Erika Frydenlund, Research Assistant Professor at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center, Old Dominion University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/206922
2023-06-08T12:31:17Z
2023-06-08T12:31:17Z
Republicans’ anti-ESG attack may be silencing insurers, but it isn’t changing their pro-climate business decisions
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530508/original/file-20230607-19-fldsij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C6%2C3995%2C2661&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Insurers are facing rising costs from effects of climate change.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/aerial-view-of-new-york-city-skyline-at-night-royalty-free-image/1368629737">© Marco Bottigelli/Moments via Getty Imagse</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over recent months there has been an orchestrated pushback against investors and insurers who integrate the risks of climate change into their business models. That pushback – emanating from Republican-led states – is having an impact on how companies speak publicly. But whether it will affect their efforts to respond to climate change is less clear.</p>
<p>The latest targets have been global insurance companies, and their responses offer some insight. </p>
<p>Under pressure, several major insurers, including <a href="https://www.reinsurancene.ws/axa-and-allianz-have-announced-their-exit-from-the-nzia/">AXA, Allianz</a>, <a href="https://www.reinsurancene.ws/lloyds-becomes-the-10th-major-player-to-mark-its-exit-from-nzia/">Lloyd’s</a> and <a href="https://www.reinsurancene.ws/swiss-re-joins-other-major-re-insurers-in-leaving-net-zero-insurance-alliance/">Swiss Re</a>, have pulled out of a United Nations-organized alliance committed to a global goal of net-zero emissions by mid-century. There’s a word for companies going quiet in the face of orchestrated attacks: “<a href="https://twitter.com/Ros_Rodriguez_/status/1663806010538983426">greenhushing</a>.”</p>
<p>But while the insurers’ departures from the alliance might look like a victory for politicians and political donors who want to delay action on climate change, the companies say leaving doesn’t change their business decisions.</p>
<p>I have worked with businesses globally on sustainable development for <a href="https://fletcher.tufts.edu/people/staff/rachel-kyte">over 20 years</a> and follow both what they say and what they do. The insurance industry has obvious reasons to care about climate change and efforts to slow it, starting with the fact that disasters cost them money and the risks are rising.</p>
<h2>The assault on protecting the climate</h2>
<p>Republicans began <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/industry-targets-us-republicans-anti-esg-efforts-2023-04-22/">targeting ESG investors</a> – those who incorporate environmental, social and governance performance standards in making investment decisions – a few years ago as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/company/press/esg-may-surpass-41-trillion-assets-in-2022-but-not-without-challenges-finds-bloomberg-intelligence/">ESG-managed assets grew</a> into the tens of trillions of dollars. Texas led the way in 2021 <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/24/texas-boycott-companies-fossil-fuels/">with a law</a> prohibiting state entities from investing with firms that cut their investments in fossil fuel industries. </p>
<p>In 2022, Republican state attorneys general began to go after the <a href="https://www.gfanzero.com/">Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero</a>, or GFANZ, an umbrella body for insurers, banks, asset owners and asset managers. The influential group had a starting membership of over 400 financial institutions representing over US$130 trillion of assets under management. </p>
<p>One line of attack accuses GFANZ members of <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/judiciary-republicans-woke-companies-pursuing-esg-policies-may-violate">breaking antitrust rules</a>, claiming that when companies participate in groups committed to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, competitors are cooperating in ways that affect prices in violation of U.S. law.</p>
<p><iframe id="A9b1v" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/A9b1v/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>“Net-zero” is shorthand for taking steps to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, an international goal to prevent increasingly severe climate damage that is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-water-cycle-is-intensifying-as-the-climate-warms-ipcc-report-warns-that-means-more-intense-storms-and-flooding-165590">fueling severe storms</a>, <a href="https://www.drought.gov/news/study-shows-climate-change-main-driver-increasing-fire-weather-western-us">heat and wildfires</a>. Clubs have formed across the financial value chain to find solutions. Among them is the U.N.-convened <a href="https://www.unepfi.org/net-zero-insurance/">Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA)</a>, a group of some of the world’s leading insurers and reinsurers. Members commit to transitioning their insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.</p>
<p>In a letter on May 15, 2023, <a href="https://www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com/files/2023/05/2023-05-15-NZIA-Letter.pdf">23 Republican attorneys general</a> took their criticism further and attempted to blame the insurance alliance – rather than the rising cost of disasters like wildfires and hurricanes – for economic ills from rising insurance premiums, fuel prices and inflation.</p>
<p>Facing the threat of lawsuits, whether viable or not, and the potential for reputational harm, several mainly European-based insurers and reinsurers with substantial investments in the U.S. left the group.</p>
<p>The attacks have dampened the public discussion on evolving practices in net-zero pathways and ESG investing, even for those who stay. Fewer firms are keen to draw attention to their progress because, in a global market, the backlash from the U.S. threatens any of them. </p>
<p>GFANZ has stated that the “political attacks are now <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/political-attacks-are-damaging-insurers-climate-efforts-gfanz-2023-05-26/">interfering with insurers’ independent efforts</a> to price climate risk, which will harm policyholders, main street investors and local economies.”</p>
<h2>Silencing climate voices, but not actions</h2>
<p>However, while the insurers might not be speaking out, their assessment of climate trends hasn’t changed, nor has the impact of those trends on their businesses.</p>
<p>When Lloyd’s pulled out of the alliance in late May 2023, the London-based insurance and reinsurance company made clear that it remains “committed to delivering our sustainability strategy including supporting the global economy’s transition.” It said it <a href="https://www.lloyds.com/news-and-insights/news/lloyds-has-decided-to-withdraw-from-the-nzia">continues to</a> support the U.N.’s <a href="https://www.unepfi.org/insurance/insurance/">Principles for Sustainable Insurance</a> and <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a>.</p>
<p>Swiss Re also stressed that it has kept its sustainability strategy the same and that its pullout doesn’t reflect a lesser commitment to climate policies. It remains a member of the <a href="https://www.unepfi.org/net-zero-alliance/">Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance</a>.</p>
<p>Swiss Re Group’s data clearly shows the reason why. In 2021, some <a href="https://www.swissre.com/institute/research/sigma-research/sigma-2022-01.html">$270 billion in losses</a> were attributable to natural catastrophes worldwide. The $111 billion of those losses that were insured represented the fourth highest payout since Swiss Re Institute, the insurer’s research arm, began keeping records in 1970.</p>
<p>The World Meteorological Organization reports that weather and climate disasters such as floods, heat waves and forest fires have <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/09/1098662">increased fivefold in the past 50 years</a>. These disasters have caused environmental harm, the loss of <a href="https://library.wmo.int/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=21930">more than 2 million lives</a> and more than $3.64 trillion in economic damage.</p>
<p>Not talking about these risks doesn’t help homeowners and businesses that rely on insurance, and doing nothing to stop climate change <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2022">worsens the threats</a>. Some consultants and auditors have started sounding the alarm that increasing natural catastrophes could <a href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/financial-services/library/insurance-industry-trends.html">collapse the insurance market model</a> we know today.</p>
<h2>An economy-wide problem</h2>
<p>The insurance industry plays a crucial role in the overall functioning of economies. It promotes resilience by providing a safety net against unexpected events, helping individuals and businesses to recover more quickly. It facilitates commerce and trade; for instance, marine insurance covers the risks of shipping goods, ensuring that trade flows smoothly. It also encourages risk-management practices.</p>
<p>Without insurance, disaster costs would fall heavily on individuals and businesses, hindering economic growth and stability.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man with a tape measure on his belt and camera looks at debris piles left between buildings after Hurricane Michael hit Florida. The siding of the building is also ripped off." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530512/original/file-20230607-28-g6nfvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530512/original/file-20230607-28-g6nfvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530512/original/file-20230607-28-g6nfvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530512/original/file-20230607-28-g6nfvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530512/original/file-20230607-28-g6nfvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530512/original/file-20230607-28-g6nfvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530512/original/file-20230607-28-g6nfvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An insurance adjuster reviews a property in Mexico Beach, Fla., after Hurricane Michael in 2018. The storm caused about $25 billion in damage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-insurance-adjuster-looks-over-damage-to-the-home-of-news-photo/1052458328?adppopup=true">Scott Olson/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Already, as climate risks increase, some regions are becoming increasingly uninsurable. State Farm and Allstate cited wildfire risks when they recently announced they would <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-insurance-companies-are-pulling-out-of-california-and-florida-and-ways-to-fix-the-problem-207172">stop selling new home insurance policies in California</a>, putting pressure on outdated regulation of the insurance industry.</p>
<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>As the United States heads into its long election season, the ESG backlash risks pushing more companies’ transition pathways into the quiet zone and slowing much-needed regulation.</p>
<p>The world is at an inflection point in its climate transition efforts. Capital is <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/global-low-carbon-energy-technology-investment-surges-past-1-trillion-for-the-first-time/">shifting to low-emissions technologies</a> and, in some cases, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/2023/05/17/energy-transition-who-wants-to-become-a-heat-pump-billionaire/393c2a9e-f46a-11ed-918d-012572d64930_story.html">reshaping industries</a> faster than imagined. </p>
<p>Insurers have the ability to accelerate the transition through their underwriting practices and promoting risk mitigation through their substantial investment portfolios. They also recognize that, to protect their balance sheets and for the sake of the planet, society needs to pick up the pace in the transition to net zero.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Kyte does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A ‘greenhushing’ campaign is targeting insurers, who have the power to accelerate the transition to cleaner energy in how they write policies and invest.
Rachel Kyte, Dean of the Fletcher School, Tufts University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/205813
2023-06-05T12:08:48Z
2023-06-05T12:08:48Z
Saying that students embrace censorship on college campuses is incorrect – here’s how to discuss the issue more constructively
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528662/original/file-20230526-23-mtq53t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=68%2C43%2C5682%2C3785&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's not true that college students reject challenging ideas wholesale and oppose conservative views.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/male-college-professor-gestures-during-lecture-royalty-free-image/1213738982?phrase=college+campus+class&adppopup=true">SDI Productions/E+/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The claim that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/08/us/ut-austin-free-speech.html">college students censor</a> viewpoints with which they disagree is now common. Versions of this claim include the falsehoods that <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/free-speech/2023/04/13/shouting-down-speakers-who-offend">students “shut down</a>” most invited speakers to campuses, reject challenging ideas and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/08/19/the-growing-partisan-divide-in-views-of-higher-education-2/">oppose conservative views</a>. </p>
<p>Such cynical distortions dominate discussions of higher education today, misinform the public and threaten both democracy and higher education.</p>
<p>Indeed, <a href="https://firstamendmentwatch.org/deep-dive/classes-are-over-but-the-campus-free-speech-debate-still-rages/">politicians in states</a> such as <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23574019-dec-28-2022-memo?responsive=1&title=1">Florida</a>, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2019/05/17/texas-free-speech-college-campus-legislation/">Texas</a> and <a href="https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2023-05-17/republican-bill-free-speech-college-campuses-passes-ohio-senate">Ohio</a> argue that a so-called “free speech crisis” on college campuses justifies stronger government control over what gets taught in universities. </p>
<p>Since 2020, numerous state legislatures have attempted to censor forms of speech on campuses by citing exaggerations about students and their studies. Passing laws to ban certain kinds of speech or ideas from college campuses is no way to promote true free speech and intellectual diversity. <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/here-are-the-states-where-lawmakers-are-seeking-to-ban-colleges-dei-efforts">The most common targets of such censorship</a> are programs that discuss race, gender, sexuality and other forms of multiculturalism.</p>
<p>My concerns over public discourse about higher education extend from <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/campus-misinformation-9780197531273?cc=us&lang=en&">my book</a> on popular misinformation about universities and why it threatens democracy. In it, I show that many negative perceptions of students and universities rest on factual distortions and exaggerations.</p>
<p>The character of public debates about higher education is important. Millions of Americans rely on a healthy system of university education for professional and personal success. Rampant cynicism about higher education, leading to <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/07/26/public-support-higher-education-wobbling">declines in public support</a> for it, only undermines their pursuits.</p>
<p>Based on my research, I offer alternative ways to frame debates about higher education. They can lead to discussions that are more constructive and accurate while better protecting fundamental American values such as free speech and democracy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528663/original/file-20230526-28782-m9kgkc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a dark suit standing at a lectern with the sign 'Florida, the education state' on it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528663/original/file-20230526-28782-m9kgkc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528663/original/file-20230526-28782-m9kgkc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528663/original/file-20230526-28782-m9kgkc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528663/original/file-20230526-28782-m9kgkc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528663/original/file-20230526-28782-m9kgkc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528663/original/file-20230526-28782-m9kgkc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528663/original/file-20230526-28782-m9kgkc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One bill signed in May 2023 by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, includes restrictions that bar public colleges in Florida from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/florida-governor-ron-desantis-takes-questions-from-the-news-photo/1255657321?adppopup=true">Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Avoid stereotypes about college students</h2>
<p>The idea that college students are hostile to opposing viewpoints is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/03/the-myth-of-the-free-speech-crisis">false</a>. Pundits and media personalities have promoted this falsehood aggressively. Such figures <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/free-speech-grifting">have benefited</a>, politically or financially, from sensationalism about a college “free speech crisis.”</p>
<p>In opinion polls, college students typically <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/03/16/the-campus-free-speech-crisis-is-a-myth-here-are-the-facts/">express stronger support</a> for free speech and diverse viewpoints than other groups. Partisan organizations often <a href="https://reason.com/2017/03/15/students-at-elite-colleges-are-the-most/">cherry-pick</a> that data to make it seem otherwise. But poll results tell only part of the story about college campuses today.</p>
<p><a href="https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=1122">Several thousand institutions</a> make up U.S. higher education. The system includes hundreds of thousands of students from different backgrounds. College campuses are often more demographically and intellectually diverse than surrounding communities.</p>
<p>Judgments about higher education based on sweeping generalizations about college students conflict with the full realities of campus life. A wider range of perspectives, including from students themselves, can enrich debates about university education.</p>
<h2>2. Consider all forums for free speech in universities</h2>
<p>Universities protect free speech <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/free-speech-crisis-campus-isnt-real/591394/">more effectively</a> than do other parts of society. They don’t do so perfectly, but more effectively.</p>
<p>Universities are major centers for the study of the First Amendment, the free press, human rights, cultural differences, international diplomacy, conflict resolution and more. Many institutions require students to take basic speech and writing courses that enhance their skill in argument and debate.</p>
<p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/142218/colleges-right-reject-hateful-speakers-like-ann-coulter">Manufactured outrage</a> about college students who protest invited speakers fuels sensationalism about free speech on campuses. Despite occasional disruptions over bigoted speakers, universities offer <a href="https://www.pennpress.org/9780812250077/free-speech-on-campus/">numerous forums for free speech</a>, open debate and intellectual diversity.</p>
<p>Just one large university holds thousands of classes, meetings, performances and other events on a daily basis. People freely express their views and pursue new ideas in those settings. Now multiply that reality by several thousand different institutions.</p>
<p>Debates over free speech in higher education can be improved by acknowledging the many forums in which people speak freely every day.</p>
<h2>3. Recognize the true threats to free speech on campuses</h2>
<p>For the past several years, many state legislatures have promoted the falsehood that universities are hostile to various ideas. The most commonly cited examples are conservative ideas, traditional expressions of patriotism and great works of Western literature.</p>
<p>The notion of hostility to such ideas on college campuses has surfaced in numerous bills that create <a href="https://www.aaup.org/article/political-interference-academic-freedom-and-free-speech-public-universities#.ZGY-waXMI2z">new forms of state interference</a> in education. Thirty-five <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/here-are-the-states-where-lawmakers-are-seeking-to-ban-colleges-dei-efforts">pieces of legislation</a> banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in colleges have been introduced in state legislatures. So far, three of them have been signed into law, while four are pending final legislative approval.</p>
<p>Tenure for faculty members, which protects independent thought, is also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-colleges-and-universities-florida-state-government-texas-education-4f0fe0c5c18ed227fabae3744e8ff51d">under assault</a> in states such as Florida and Texas. Politicians in those states justify ending tenure protections by claiming that professors teach students to censor free speech.</p>
<p>Such rising government interference creates a genuine threat to free speech on college campuses and in society beyond. <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/3675842-banned-book-authors-say-new-wave-of-censorship-is-most-dangerous-yet/">A historic increase in state censorship</a>, which began with higher education, has spilled over into censorship of materials about race, gender, sexuality and multiculturalism in K-12 schools and public libraries.</p>
<p>Advocacy organizations like the <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/the-aclus-fight-against-classroom-censorship-state-by-state/">ACLU</a> and the <a href="https://www.aaup.org/issues/political-interference-higher-ed">American Association of University Professors</a> have condemned this censorship. So have <a href="https://pen.org/conservatives-oppose-educational-gag-orders-too/">numerous conservative leaders</a>.</p>
<p>Informed scrutiny of university policies and what faculty members teach is always welcome. But cynical distortions have fueled anti-democratic censorship of universities, not constructive efforts to improve them.</p>
<h2>4. Understand the role of academic freedom</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528665/original/file-20230526-11640-dg7men.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Many graduates in academic gowns walking past a huge crowd in a stadium." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528665/original/file-20230526-11640-dg7men.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528665/original/file-20230526-11640-dg7men.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528665/original/file-20230526-11640-dg7men.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528665/original/file-20230526-11640-dg7men.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528665/original/file-20230526-11640-dg7men.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528665/original/file-20230526-11640-dg7men.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528665/original/file-20230526-11640-dg7men.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Academic freedom isn’t a luxury found only in the Ivy League. It exists at community colleges such as Long Beach City College in California, whose June 9, 2022, graduation ceremony is seen here.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/long-beach-city-college-graduation-ceremony-allowed-news-photo/1402026204?adppopup=true">Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The ability of citizens to exercise academic freedom is not only vital in education. It’s also training for democracy.</p>
<p>Academic freedom includes the freedom to attend a university of one’s choice. The freedom to learn what one chooses in that university. The freedom of an institution to offer a wide range of subject matters to students. And the freedom to teach or conduct research without political interference.</p>
<p>These freedoms are not reserved for Ivy League universities. U.S. higher education includes state schools and <a href="https://educationusa.state.gov/your-5-steps-us-study/research-your-options/community-college">community colleges</a> that serve middle- and working-class communities. Those institutions are the backbone of many professions, from health care and technology to engineering and education.</p>
<p>The quality of public debate over free speech in higher education matters. Government interference with colleges does not punish elites. It rewards deeply cynical views of higher education and restricts a freedom that should be available to all Americans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205813/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bradford Vivian does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The quality of public debate over free speech in higher education matters. And the debate right now gets the facts all wrong.
Bradford Vivian, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, Penn State
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/205985
2023-05-28T11:32:31Z
2023-05-28T11:32:31Z
As teams from the U.S. Sun Belt proceed to the Stanley Cup finals, has the NHL forgotten its Canadian fans?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528121/original/file-20230524-7504-oejtzw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C62%2C3772%2C2445&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague celebrates after scoring against the Edmonton Oilers during Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series on May 12 in Las Vegas.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/John Locher)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/as-teams-from-the-u-s--sun-belt-proceed-to-the-stanley-cup-finals--has-the-nhl-forgotten-its-canadian-fans" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Hockey is supposed to be Canada’s game. Yet the last two Canadian-based NHL teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/maple-leafs-eliminated-from-playoffs-after-3-2-loss-against-panthers-1.6396932">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> and the <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/edmonton-oilers-eliminated-in-second-round-by-golden-knights/c-344396382">Edmonton Oilers</a>, have been eliminated from the tournament. This lengthens the <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/canadas-stanley-cup-drought-hits-30-years-after-golden-knights-oust-oilers/">three-decade drought</a> since a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup. </p>
<p>The Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, and Carolina Hurricanes made it to the final four teams vying for the Stanley Cup. <a href="https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/sports/nhls-final-four-comprised-of-only-sun-belt-teams-for-first-time/3229451/">For the first time in NHL history</a>, the final four are located in the U.S. Sun Belt in places Canadian snowbirds usually go to escape the snow and ice, not play on it.</p>
<p>The Florida Panthers will play against the winner of the Western Conference Final for the Stanley Cup.</p>
<p>What does the success of these teams mean for the NHL? And should Canadian hockey fans be frustrated with the success of non-traditional hockey markets at the expense of Canadian teams?</p>
<h2>The NHL expands southward</h2>
<p>The fact that the final four teams are from non-traditional markets in the United States represents a success for the NHL’s Sun Belt expansion strategy. The plan was to seek new revenue by expanding the game to large U.S. cities with no hockey history. </p>
<p>NHL superstar <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/gretzky-trade-to-los-angeles-shocked-hockey-world/c-679887">Wayne Gretzky’s 1988 trade to Los Angeles</a> was the perfect catalyst to start the expansion strategy. <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-expansion-history/c-281005106">The addition of the San Jose Sharks in 1991</a> as an inter-state rival to Gretzky’s Kings began this process. Next were new teams in Tampa Bay, Miami and Anaheim. The Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix, and the Hartford Whalers to North Carolina. </p>
<p>Additional NHL teams were added in Nashville, Atlanta (since moved to Winnipeg) and Columbus, Ohio. The NHL targeted these unlikely destinations while ignoring Canadian markets like Québec City and Hamilton despite <a href="https://mowatcentre.munkschool.utoronto.ca/the-new-economics-of-the-nhl/">research suggesting Canada could support more franchises</a>. The team in Minnesota was moved to Dallas, and an expansion team was added in Las Vegas, resulting in more teams being based in the U.S. Sun Belt than Canada.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528122/original/file-20230524-27-7d3729.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Disappointed men in blue hockey jerseys stand in an ice rink." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528122/original/file-20230524-27-7d3729.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528122/original/file-20230524-27-7d3729.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528122/original/file-20230524-27-7d3729.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528122/original/file-20230524-27-7d3729.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528122/original/file-20230524-27-7d3729.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528122/original/file-20230524-27-7d3729.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528122/original/file-20230524-27-7d3729.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares and teammates react after losing to the Florida Panthers in an NHL Stanley Cup playoff game in Toronto on May 12.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Sun Belt expansion strategy was not without its <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/bettmans-sunbelt-strategy-hits-a-rut/article1198429/">problems</a>, and some argued that strong markets in Canada and elsewhere had to <a href="https://mowatcentre.munkschool.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/publications/19_the_new_economics_of_the_nhl.pdf">subsidize</a> some of the weaker expansion teams. However, most of these new teams have <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2017/01/23/Franchises/Sun-Belt.aspx">achieved success</a>. </p>
<p>Since 1993 — the last time a Canadian-based team won the Stanley Cup — Sun Belt teams have won eight times, while Canadian-based teams have lost in the finals on six occasions. Four losses were at the hands of Sun Belt teams: in 2004 Calgary lost to Tampa Bay, the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers in 2006, Anaheim defeated Ottawa the following year and most recently Tampa Bay beat Montréal in 2021.</p>
<h2>Canadian hockey vs. the Sun Belt</h2>
<p>Many Canadians might feel frustrated this year with four unconventional hockey markets left to compete for the Stanley Cup. Disappointment might be made worse by comparing the four U.S. cities left in the playoffs with traditionally hockey-crazy markets like Toronto or Edmonton. </p>
<p>Texas, North Carolina, Nevada and Florida have a combined population of 65 million people — almost ten times the combined population of Edmonton and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). But according to <a href="https://www.usahockey.com/membershipstats">2022 USA Hockey registration reports</a>, those four states have less than 50,000 players in organized hockey.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the GTA alone <a href="https://gthlcanada.com/about-gthl/">has more players</a> in hockey. Edmonton, a city of one million people, had <a href="https://www.hockeyedmonton.ca/content/quikcard-edmonton-minor-hockey-week-2023">10,000 kids participate</a> in a single minor hockey tournament last year.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528126/original/file-20230524-23-z0j3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a green hockey jersey shoots a puck toward a goaltender in a white jersey." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528126/original/file-20230524-23-z0j3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528126/original/file-20230524-23-z0j3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528126/original/file-20230524-23-z0j3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528126/original/file-20230524-23-z0j3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528126/original/file-20230524-23-z0j3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528126/original/file-20230524-23-z0j3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528126/original/file-20230524-23-z0j3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill blocks a shot by Dallas Stars defenseman Joel Hanley during Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference finals in Dallas on May 23.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/LM Otero)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Perhaps there are fewer players in the U.S. states because of the dearth of hockey rinks. <a href="http://sk8stuff.com/m_clubs.asp">Texas, North Carolina, Nevada and Florida have fewer than 75 rinks in total</a>. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/recreation/skating-winter-sports/public-leisure-skating/#location=&lat=&lng=">GTA</a> and <a href="https://www.edmonton.ca/activities_parks_recreation/arenas">Edmonton</a> have more indoor rinks than each of the four U.S. states. </p>
<p>Fewer players and rinks undoubtedly contribute to the lack of NHL players produced in these four U.S. states. Only 22 players born in the four states have played more than 100 games in the NHL. This compares to the <a href="https://www.quanthockey.com/">347 players from the GTA and Edmonton</a>.</p>
<h2>Tickets and ratings</h2>
<p>It’s not surprising that there are more players and rinks in Canada, but what about fans? Three of the remaining teams in this year’s playoffs are in <a href="https://theathletic.com/3200274/2022/03/23/florida-panthers-remain-the-nhls-best-deal-for-fans-but-the-others-may-surprise-you/">the cheapest eight NHL markets for tickets</a>. That suggests demand is not driving up ticket prices in these non-traditional markets. Toronto has the league’s most expensive tickets, while small-market Edmonton has the 14th most expensive tickets. </p>
<p>While it is difficult to access television ratings for specific regions, we know that Canadians are hockey consumers. This year, the Toronto-Florida series averaged around <a href="https://brioux.tv/blog/2023/05/08/round-2-ratings-suggest-leaf-fans-just-cant-look/">3.5 million viewers in Canada</a> compared to <a href="https://twitter.com/Zone_NHL/status/1659209293315579911">1.378 million in the U.S.</a> meaning that, per capita, 22 times more Canadians watched the series.</p>
<p>The Vegas-Oilers series averaged <a href="https://mediaincanada.com/2023/05/02/ratings-up-4-for-first-round-of-stanley-cup-playoffs/">1.7 million viewers in Canada</a> compared to less than <a href="https://twitter.com/Zone_NHL/status/1659209293315579911">1.2 million in the U.S.</a> resulting in almost 13 times more Canadian viewers per capita.</p>
<p>Perhaps Canadians have a right to be disappointed with four non-traditional hockey markets left to battle for the Cup, particularly when comparing hockey culture between the two regions. But as the old adage in sports goes: just wait until next year.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205985/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Valentine does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Should Canadian hockey fans be frustrated with the success of non-traditional hockey markets at the expense of Canadian teams?
John Valentine, Associate Professor Health & Community Studies, MacEwan University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/203639
2023-05-03T18:30:37Z
2023-05-03T18:30:37Z
Fed rate hikes, recession fears and political backlash leave ESG investors at a crossroads
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523943/original/file-20230502-26-p3xlrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5464%2C3631&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">ESG investing looks for companies that do well on environmental, social and governance benchmarks. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/directly-above-the-downtown-district-royalty-free-image/1328074262">Zhengshun Tang/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Federal Reserve <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20230503a.htm">raised interest rates</a> again on May 3, 2023, by a quarter point, making it the <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/openmarket.htm">Fed’s 10th rate hike</a> since March 2022 in an ongoing fight to tame inflation. These rate hikes have been reverberating through the economy, raising prospects of a recession amid heightened <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w31048">concerns about the fragile state of banks</a>. </p>
<p>The rate hikes are also rattling sustainability-focused investing, better known as ESG investing.</p>
<p>The trend toward ESG investing, which puts pressure on companies to meet environmental, social and governance benchmarks, has almost redefined asset management over the past decade. ESG funds today are a <a href="https://www.ussif.org//Files/Trends/2022/Overview%20infographic.pdf">multitrillion-dollar market</a>.</p>
<p>However, the high uncertainty around interest rates today, along with the prospects of a looming recession and a <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/now/larry-fink-face-esg-says-213102226.html">political backlash</a>, has put the future of ESG investors at a crossroads.</p>
<p>I <a href="https://warrington.ufl.edu/directory/person/7627/">specialize in sustainable finance</a>, and my recent work has documented the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022109022001296">impact that tough economic times</a> can have on ESG investing demand. Investments into U.S. sustainable mutual funds have <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1133418/us-sustainable-funds-suffer-a-worse-quarter-than-conventional-peers">visibly slowed</a> since 2022, suffering their worst net flows in five years. Here are how three critical factors can affect investors’ zeal for socially conscious investing going forward.</p>
<p><iframe id="KYfr3" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/KYfr3/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Interest rate uncertainty</h2>
<p>One of the primary arguments that big institutional investors like BlackRock make for ESG investing is that it <a href="https://www.blackrock.com/ch/individual/en/themes/sustainable-investing">creates long-term value for shareholders</a>. Companies that pay careful attention to environmental, social and governance issues are believed to be better prepared for distant future risks, including regulatory risks and physical risks from climate change.</p>
<p>However, heightened uncertainty about interest rates poses a challenge today. That’s because higher rates can disproportionately affect the present value that investors assign to long-term investment outcomes. Let me explain.</p>
<p>Within the past year, the Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark lending rate from almost zero to a target <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20230503a.htm">range of 5% to 5.25%</a> to combat inflation. In financial markets, higher interest rates lead to higher discount rates. That means that future cash generated by long-term investments is considered to be worth considerably less at today’s higher interest rates.</p>
<p>The more distant an asset’s value lies in the future, the more heavily it will be discounted in value when rates are high. So, long-duration investments – like most ESG investments – are especially sensitive to changes in interest rates.</p>
<p>This economic mechanism was also part of the backdrop of the recent rout in tech stocks and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-svb-and-signature-bank-failed-so-fast-and-the-us-banking-crisis-isnt-over-yet-201737">series of bank failures</a> that started with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/silicon-valley-bank-how-interest-rates-helped-trigger-its-collapse-and-what-central-bankers-should-do-next-201697">collapse of Silicon Valley Bank</a>. </p>
<h2>Looming recession</h2>
<p>Another factor that could affect ESG investing is the potential for an economic downturn.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.12547">research shows</a>, investors do not necessarily make ESG investments for greater long-term returns, but often for altruistic reasons or due to personal preferences to hold greener assets. For these ESG investors, a looming recession could change their perspective on these “luxuries.”</p>
<p>In an early warning about this possibility, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022109022001296">a recent study</a> I conducted with an economist at the Rotterdam School of Management found that retail investors showed signs of shying away from investing in sustainable mutual funds during the early months of the COVID-19 shock in 2020. This was a period when many households experienced layoffs and furloughs, which likely pushed them to set aside luxuries to prioritize protecting the values of their 401(k)s, IRAs and other investment portfolios.</p>
<p>In other words, investors may be all for ESG, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/investors-are-all-for-esg-except-that-is-when-times-are-tough-11675527842">except when times are tough</a>.</p>
<p><iframe id="Yun0K" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Yun0K/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Prominent economists, such as former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, have warned of a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-07/larry-summers-sees-higher-chance-of-recession-fed-nearing-the-end#xj4y7vzkg">likely recession</a> as inflation and the Fed’s battle against it persist. The International Monetary Fund also <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2023/04/11/world-economic-outlook-april-2023">lowered its global economic growth outlook</a> from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.8% in 2023. </p>
<h2>Political backlash</h2>
<p>Finally, recent political friction and anti-ESG policies across states have started to create headwinds for pension funds and large institutions that serve them.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/desantis-signs-sweeping-anti-esg-legislation-florida-2023-05-02/">Florida</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/esg-woke-investing-kansas-culture-war-vetoes-20842bdda84432add49f267adb897df3">Kansas</a> passed laws in recent weeks and <a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/03/11/esg-battlegrounds-how-the-states-are-shaping-the-regulatory-landscape-in-the-u-s/">several other states</a> including <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/24/texas-boycott-companies-fossil-fuels/">Texas</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/your-money/anti-esg-investing-kentucky.html">Kentucky</a> have taken actions to restrict the ability of state public pension funds to invest in companies based on their ESG performance, citing concerns about fraudulent greenwashing and potential fiduciary duty violations, referring to the obligation institutional investors have to seek the highest returns for the lowest risk possible.</p>
<p>These restrictions can severely limit the capacity for ESG investing by institutional investors, which have played a significant role in driving the growth of ESG investing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Lark Fink, in business attire and glasses, sits in a news studio being interviewed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523942/original/file-20230502-321-8ju3yp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523942/original/file-20230502-321-8ju3yp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523942/original/file-20230502-321-8ju3yp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523942/original/file-20230502-321-8ju3yp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523942/original/file-20230502-321-8ju3yp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523942/original/file-20230502-321-8ju3yp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523942/original/file-20230502-321-8ju3yp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Blackrock CEO Larry Fink, shown during an earlier interview, told Bloomberg in 2023: ‘For the first time in my professional career, attacks are now personal. They’re trying to demonize the issues.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/blackrock-chairman-ceo-laurence-d-fink-appears-on-opening-news-photo/470074732">Taylor Hill/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3837706">concerns about greenwashing</a> and <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3887716">high fees</a> in ESG investing are not totally unwarranted, these political interventions can also have unintended consequences.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4123366">recent study</a> from economists at Wharton and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago found that a Texas law enacted in 2021 prohibiting municipalities from contracting with banks with ESG policies had a distorting side effect on those municipalities’ borrowing costs. The policy ended up raising the cost of public finance, meaning the law ultimately cost taxpayers.</p>
<h2>Navigating the crossroads</h2>
<p>As companies hold their 2023 annual meetings, the discussions among corporate officials, investors and stakeholders will serve as an important barometer for the current state and future of ESG investing.</p>
<p>Due to high interest rate uncertainty, prospects of a recession and political upheaval, ESG is under pressure. Perceived in recent years as a paradigm shift in how market mechanisms can address harms to society, stakeholders are now <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/they-helped-create-esg-two-decades-later-some-see-a-mess/">scrutinizing ESG investing</a> with a critical lens regarding how strongly it can persist and how much impact it can have.</p>
<p>The next few years will be its most important stress test yet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203639/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sehoon Kim does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Three forces are pulling down ESG’s once-rapid rise in the investment world.
Sehoon Kim, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Florida
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202098
2023-04-25T19:40:55Z
2023-04-25T19:40:55Z
Willie Nelson at 90: Country music’s elder statesman still on the road again
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522719/original/file-20230424-26-r6a7i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5841%2C3987&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Willie Nelson's face is as iconic as his voice, his songs and his beat-up old guitar.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/willie-nelson-performs-in-concert-during-farm-aid-at-news-photo/1427451117">Gary Miller/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Willie Nelson’s unofficial theme song, “<a href="https://youtu.be/JYUMZ-r5GN0">On the Road Again</a>,” remains accurate as he turns 90 on April 29, 2023. The country music legend is <a href="https://willienelson.com/pages/tour">on tour</a>, with dates scheduled into October 2023.</p>
<p>Assessing Nelson’s legacy is challenging because there are so many Willies to assess. There is historical Willie Nelson, child of the Depression. There is iconic Willie Nelson, near embodiment of Texas myth. There is outlaw Willie Nelson, revolutionizing the country music industry. There is activist Willie Nelson, <a href="https://www.farmaid.org/">Farm Aid’s</a> co-founder and biofuel pioneer. There is Willie Nelson the songwriter of rare and poignant gifts, and more Willie Nelsons yet to be named.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.txst.edu/history/people/faculty-staff/mellard.html">Texas music historian</a>, I find that Nelson’s legacy also challenges appraisal because the concept assumes closure, a pastness, while the man at 90 still seems to be active everywhere. The LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas recently announced the <a href="https://lbj.utexas.edu/willie-nelson-endowment-uplifting-rural-communities#:%7E:text=The%20endowment%20leverages%20The%20University,and%20adapting%20to%20natural%20disasters.">Willie Nelson Endowment Uplifting Rural Communities</a>. Nelson is headlining a star-studded tribute concert weekend in honor of his 90th birthday at the <a href="https://variety.com/2023/music/news/willie-nelson-hollywood-bowl-tribute-kacey-musgraves-neil-young-chris-stapleton-1235500221/">Hollywood Bowl</a> on April 29 and 30, 2023. And the country outlaw is a current nominee for the <a href="https://www.rockhall.com/willie-nelson">Rock & Roll Hall of Fame</a>.</p>
<p>While Nelson’s story is vast, it can be distilled down to this: He sprang from the Texas cotton fields and earned his spurs in the state’s dance halls before becoming one of Nashville’s signature songwriters in the 1960s. He then returned to Texas a prodigal son, fostering Austin’s musical ascent and, as the story goes, brokering a peace between the warring rednecks and hippies. He redefined country music’s image and industry through the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/outlaw-music">outlaw revolt</a> of the 1970s. He catapulted to pop stardom in the 1980s but always went out on the road making music with his friends, night after night.</p>
<h2>From Texas to Nashville and back</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522698/original/file-20230424-18-s22du1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Large letters handwritten on a piece of brown paper held together by yellowing strips of cellophane tape" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522698/original/file-20230424-18-s22du1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522698/original/file-20230424-18-s22du1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522698/original/file-20230424-18-s22du1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522698/original/file-20230424-18-s22du1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522698/original/file-20230424-18-s22du1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522698/original/file-20230424-18-s22du1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522698/original/file-20230424-18-s22du1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The cover of the songbook Willie Nelson wrote at age 12.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy of The Wittliff Collections.</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Born on April 29, 1933, in a small town between Waco and Dallas, Nelson and his sister <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/11/1086000679/bobbie-nelson-a-country-music-pioneer-and-willie-nelsons-sister-dies-at-age-91">Bobbie</a> took to music at a young age. Nelson joined his first band at 10 and was a songwriter by 12. We know this in part from a curious artifact in the <a href="https://www.thewittliffcollections.txst.edu/research/a-z/nelson.html">Wittliff Collections</a> at Texas State University. Nelson’s first songbook has all the doodles of a child’s arts and crafts project. The songs inside, though – “Hangover Blues,” “Faded Love and Wasted Dream,” “I Guess I Was Born to Be Blue” – speak to honky-tonk themes far beyond Nelson’s years.</p>
<p>He spent the next years chasing the life in those songs, hitting the road as an itinerant performer. Like most aspiring country artists, Nelson ended up in Nashville. In 1961, he joined <a href="https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/ray-price">Ray Price</a>’s band, the <a href="https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/the-ray-price-cherokee-cowboys-proving-ground/">Cherokee Cowboys</a>. Price had been a roommate of Hank Williams Sr.’s, and the Cherokee Cowboys built on Williams’ legacy, at various times including not just Nelson but also his pals <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/johnny-bush-whiskey-river-dead-obit-1077077/">Johnny Bush</a>, <a href="https://thejohnnypaycheck.com/">Johnny Paycheck</a> and <a href="https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/roger-miller">Roger Miller</a>. </p>
<p>Nelson moved from success to success as a songwriter, with Ray Price singing “Night Life,” <a href="https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/faron-young">Faron Young</a> singing “Hello Walls” and <a href="https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/patsy-cline">Patsy Cline</a> singing “Crazy.” He likely would have made it to the Country Music Hall of Fame with this early songwriting alone. He did record, but Nelson’s flamenco guitar, jazzy phrasing and eccentric lyricism did not fit the mold of 1960s Nashville. Facing personal and professional challenges that culminated in his house’s burning down, Nelson left Tennessee for Texas by decade’s end.</p>
<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/5CoWDYGBMxnAmKZvVcQZJh?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p>There had already been inklings of the countercultural turn that came next. Willie had a soulful cover of the Beatles’ “Yesterday” on a 1966 live album. In 1971, his resonant voice opened “Yesterday’s Wine,” before any music began, with a New Age declaration: </p>
<p>“There is great confusion on Earth,” Nelson mused, “and the power that is has concluded the following: Perfect man has visited Earth already, and his voice was heard; the voice of imperfect man must now be made manifest. And I have been selected as the most likely candidate.” </p>
<p>This was not <a href="https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/chet-atkins">Chet Atkins’ country music</a>. The qualities that made this imperfect man a Nashville outsider transformed him into the most prominent symbol for a new cosmic cowboy style that was coming together in Austin venues like the <a href="https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/armadillo-world-headquarters">Armadillo World Headquarters</a> and events like Nelson’s own annual <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/04/04/timeline-definitive-history-of-willie-nelsons-fourth-of-july-picnic/5539958007/">Fourth of July Picnic</a>, which is scheduled for its <a href="https://news.pollstar.com/2023/04/21/willie-nelson-announces-50th-anniversary-4th-of-july-picnic/">50th anniversary</a> on July 4, 2023.</p>
<p>Willie Nelson’s classic band came into shape while gigging in Texas with sister Bobbie on piano, <a href="https://www.mickeyraphael.com/pages/about.html">Mickey Raphael</a> on harmonica, <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/willie-nelson-bassist-dan-bee-spears-dies-at-62-464776/">Bee Spears</a> on bass, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jody-payne-willie-nelson-guitarist-dead-at-77-178982/">Jody Payne</a> on guitar and <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/paul-english-willie-nelson-band-outlaw-country-952745/">Paul English</a> on drums. They were a family band – in the country sense like <a href="https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/carter-family">the Carter Family</a> – but also in the hippie sense, a roving carnival akin to <a href="https://explore.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/show/sixties/walkthrough/kenkesey">Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters</a>. The group’s sound mixed traditional country with the improvisations of psychedelia and jazz. You can hear the crackling combination in <a href="https://youtu.be/Qn8A72wnOZM">live performances from the period</a>, including the pilot episode of the long-running PBS television program “<a href="https://acltv.com/history-of-acl/">Austin City Limits</a>.”</p>
<h2>Rise of the outlaws</h2>
<p>Nelson’s albums from the 1970s blazed new paths for country music. Nelson secured complete creative control for his album “Red-Headed Stranger,” released in 1975, and its success struck a blow in support of artists’ independence from the constraints of the country music industry in Nashville, a rebellion that took further root with “Wanted! The Outlaws” the following year. That album – a collaboration with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/15/arts/music/tompall-glaser-country-artist-in-outlaw-movement-dies-at-79.html">Tompall Glaser</a>, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music/jessi-colter-biography">Jessi Colter</a> and frequent partner <a href="https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/waylon-jennings">Waylon Jennings</a> – named a movement.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qn8A72wnOZM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Willie Nelson’s band performed on the pilot episode of ‘Austin City Limits’ on Oct. 17, 1974.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Outlaw country was in part a marketing move for country artists who wore their hair long, leaned into rock’s grit or wore biker leather. On another level, though, Nelson and Jennings lodged a successful critique of industry practices for country artists who wanted to use their own bands in the studio, have a greater say in the material they recorded, and be regarded as serious artists rather than simply the label’s hired help. </p>
<p>The outlaw years took Willie to a new class of stardom. He made films with Robert Redford and duetted with Julio Iglesias. </p>
<p>There were twists in the path, though. In 1990, the outlaw image turned literal in a high-profile dustup with the IRS. The loss of his son Billy the next year was a much more harrowing setback. Through it all, he kept on the road, kept recording and stuck with family, community and song.</p>
<h2>Advocate and elder statesman</h2>
<p>It was, perhaps, these ups and downs that made Nelson a prominent advocate for others. </p>
<p>He held the door open for the sorts of folks who had traditionally had a hard time breaking into country music. He has consistently showcased artists and issues from just outside the bounds of traditional country, from early support for Black artist <a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music/charley-pride-biography">Charley Pride</a> and benefits for the United Farm Workers in the 1970s to his recording of the gay-themed “<a href="https://youtu.be/2FdUjkKApGc">Cowboys are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other</a>” in 2006. More recently, in a moment when country music’s gatekeepers <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/country/her-country-marissa-moss-interview-1235078910/">have not been generous with women artists</a>, Nelson has championed new voices like <a href="https://www.kaceymusgraves.com/">Kacey Musgraves</a>, <a href="https://www.margoprice.net/">Margo Price</a> and <a href="https://allisonrussellmusic.com/">Allison Russell</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522721/original/file-20230424-3152-sj0dw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two bearded men, one Black and middle-aged and the other white and elderly and wearing a straw hat, stand together at a podium on a stage" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522721/original/file-20230424-3152-sj0dw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522721/original/file-20230424-3152-sj0dw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522721/original/file-20230424-3152-sj0dw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522721/original/file-20230424-3152-sj0dw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522721/original/file-20230424-3152-sj0dw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522721/original/file-20230424-3152-sj0dw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522721/original/file-20230424-3152-sj0dw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">William Barber and Willie Nelson shared the podium during The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival on July 31, 2021, in Austin, Texas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/william-barber-and-willie-nelson-speak-during-the-poor-news-photo/1331689799">Rick Kern/Getty Images for MoveOn</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nelson has been an elder statesman for a very long time, but he has chosen to stay in the thick of things, even as the wheels on the bus begin to slow. Members of the Family Band that traveled so many miles with him have been exiting the stage of late: Bee Spears died in 2011, Jody Payne in 2013, Paul English in 2020 and sister Bobbie in 2022. Nelson’s sons Lukas and Mikah have often joined the band in the meantime, as has Paul’s brother Billy English. </p>
<p>Things change, seasons pass, but there is continuity, too, in Nelson’s world. </p>
<p>He reminds us that eccentricity is among the most traditional of country music’s verities. In a single concert, the joking wink to mortality of “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” can share the set with a rousing gospel closer, Nelson singing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” or “I’ll Fly Away” as he points skyward, imploring the audience to join in on what he calls “the big finish.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202098/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Mellard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Willie Nelson is an icon who rose to the top of an industry by challenging it – showing that you can be a counterculture figure and activist while remaining as American as apple pie.
Jason Mellard, Director of the Center for Texas Music History, Texas State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202117
2023-03-23T19:45:06Z
2023-03-23T19:45:06Z
Mexico’s help to American women who need abortions should inspire Canada
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517197/original/file-20230323-936-uzlqj5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3384%2C2152&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Abortion rights demonstrators hold signs during a rally at the Texas Capitol in May 2022. The state has the most extreme anti-abortion laws in the U.S., and Mexican abortion referral services are now helping American women who require abortions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Eric Gay)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When a draft of an upcoming United States Supreme Court decision curtailing legal abortion access in the U.S. leaked in May 2022, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-provide-abortion-access-american-women-1.6440238">Karina Gould</a>, Canada’s minister of families, children and social development, declared that Americans seeking abortions would be welcomed north of the border.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1521882387285749763"}"></div></p>
<p>A month later the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/dobbs_v._jackson_women's_health_organization_(2022)">overturned the landmark 1973 <em>Roe v. Wade</em></a> decision that provided constitutional protection for legal abortion in the U.S. via its <em>Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization</em> ruling giving state legislatures the power to regulate the procedure. </p>
<p>Mexican abortion referral organizations like <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/21/health/mexico-abortion-assistance-cec/index.html">Las Libres</a> immediately noticed an uptick in English-speaking American women inquiring about abortions south of the border. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/11970/abortion-across-borders">Cross-border abortion travel is not new</a>. Assisted by formal and ad hoc cross-border referral networks, American women who could manage the costs travelled abroad to countries like Mexico, Canada and Great Britain for abortions before 1973, although most travelled domestically to the few states that had already legalized abortion. </p>
<p>After 1973, a powerful anti-abortion movement arose to chip away at legal abortion stateside, resulting in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1363/psrh.12024">numerous barriers</a> to timely abortion provision. These measures compelled Americans to travel within and across states for abortion access, compounding the effects of those barriers.</p>
<h2>The Texas ‘heartbeat’ law</h2>
<p>Texas is possibly the most extreme example of a state that increasingly restricted access to abortion services, even prior to <em>Dobbs</em>. The state’s anti-abortion efforts culminated in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/abortion-law-texas.html">“heartbeat” law</a> in 2021 that made abortion illegal after six weeks of gestation, with no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. </p>
<p>Ordinary citizens can enforce this law — and become eligible to receive a financial reward — by turning in those who perform, aid or abet an abortion. These mechanisms <a href="https://theconversation.com/jim-crow-tactics-reborn-in-texas-abortion-law-deputizing-citizens-to-enforce-legally-suspect-provisions-167621">resemble Jim Crow racism</a> and <a href="https://19thnews.org/2021/09/texas-abortion-law-people-of-color/">vigilantism against people of colour</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jim-crow-tactics-reborn-in-texas-abortion-law-deputizing-citizens-to-enforce-legally-suspect-provisions-167621">Jim Crow tactics reborn in Texas abortion law, deputizing citizens to enforce legally suspect provisions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Even before the Supreme Court’s 2022 <em>Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organization</em> decision, Texas abortion referral organizations like <a href="https://janesdueprocess.org/">Jane’s Due Process</a> and the <a href="https://www.lilithfund.org/">Lilith Fund</a> materialized to counter the negative effects of the state’s anti-abortion legislation on the most vulnerable. </p>
<p>Those <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/02/texas-abortion-out-of-state-people-of-color/">who could afford to travel</a> to neighbouring states for abortions did so. But disadvantaged by poverty, comparatively few racialized and low-income women could do the same, while <a href="https://doi.org/10.7916/cjgl.v30i1.2727">undocumented and migrant Latina women</a> were burdened further by coercive immigration controls and inland border surveillance.</p>
<p>Post-<em>Dobbs</em>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/08/1161859646/denied-abortions-5-texas-women-sue-the-state-saying-the-bans-put-them-in-danger">the impact of the harmful restrictions on Texas abortions</a> are all too real, even for the relatively privileged. </p>
<p>But safe and legal abortion is disproportionately unattainable for those from <a href="https://www.hmsreview.org/issue-7/texas-heartbeat-bill">marginalized communities</a>, deepening pre-existing health-care, economic, regional, gendered and <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/2023/01/inequity-us-abortion-rights-and-access-end-roe-deepening-existing-divides">racialized inequities</a>.</p>
<h2>Mexican networks helping women</h2>
<p>Abortion referral networks have now expanded rapidly to assist millions of women of reproductive age living in states — the majority, like Texas, clustered in the southern U.S. — where abortion is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html">almost completely banned</a>. </p>
<p>Of particular interest are <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/12/23387280/abortion-us-mexico-border-collectives-risk-roe-wade">Mexican abortion referral networks</a> that draw upon decades of experience with tenuous abortion provision in Mexico to assist American citizens and undocumented migrants seeking abortions. </p>
<p>The Mexican networks speak to the value of different forms of mobility across <a href="https://nnirr.org/programs/seeking-border-justice/border-militarization-policy/">a militarized and racialized southern border that is historically a migration flashpoint</a>, and they might also inspire the revival of cross-border abortion referral networks along the Canada-U.S. border if necessary. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Women sit in a meeting room at long tables festooned with red and green tablecloths." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517198/original/file-20230323-1499-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517198/original/file-20230323-1499-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517198/original/file-20230323-1499-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517198/original/file-20230323-1499-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517198/original/file-20230323-1499-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517198/original/file-20230323-1499-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517198/original/file-20230323-1499-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mexican and U.S. abortion advocates gather in Matamoros, Mexico to discuss their co-ordinated efforts to support women in the U.S. seeking abortion services under increasingly restrictive state laws in January 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Maria Verza)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/10/mexico-abortion-access-americans">Red Transfronteriza</a>, an abortion referral network of approximately 30 Mexican and American abortion rights groups, guides those travelling across the border for clinic abortions and mails abortion pills to U.S. addresses, using the internet to <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/04/texas-abortion-mexico-volunteer-networks/">assist those</a> using the medication to self-manage abortions in their own homes. </p>
<p>Usually a combination of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/02/medication-abortion-now-accounts-more-half-all-us-abortions">abortion pills are used in more than half of all first-trimester abortions in the U.S.</a> Some 20 years after receiving U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, they’re now under attack. </p>
<h2>Abortion pills bans</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/wyoming-governor-signs-law-outlawing-use-abortion-pills-2023-03-18/">Wyoming has now become the first state</a> to ban medication abortion. Yet a year before the <em>Dobbs</em> decision, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/24/texas-abortion-medication-law-abbott/">Texas limited the number of gestational weeks when abortion pills can be prescribed legally and penalized the mailing of abortion pills</a>.</p>
<p>A federal judge in Texas <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/07/texas-judge-halts-fda-approval-of-abortion-pill-00091096">has also issued a preliminary ruling in invalidating the Food and Drug Administration’s 23-year-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone</a>.</p>
<p>Also in the state, a Texas man <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/11/1162805773/texas-man-sues-abortion-pills">sued his ex-wife’s friends</a> for helping her access a medication abortion to end her pregnancy.</p>
<p>An anti-abortion organization, <a href="https://adflegal.org/article/what-fda-hasnt-told-you-about-mifepristone">Alliance Defending Freedom</a>, also filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Texas challenging the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, citing safety concerns. </p>
<p>If successful, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/02/01/1153593174/mifepristone-abortion-pill-federal-texas-lawsuit-restrict-access-nationwide">the lawsuit</a> could pull mifepristone off the market throughout the U.S. even though <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00529-9">studies confirm its safety</a> and, when used with misoprostol, its efficacy in ending pregnancies with minimal side-effects. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man speaks into a microphone behind a sign that reads Cancel Chemical Abortion Cartels." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517200/original/file-20230323-1201-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517200/original/file-20230323-1201-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517200/original/file-20230323-1201-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517200/original/file-20230323-1201-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517200/original/file-20230323-1201-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517200/original/file-20230323-1201-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517200/original/file-20230323-1201-ghfgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An anti-abortion activist speaks during a protest over a plan to sell abortion pills at the Walgreens drugstore chain at Walgreens headquarters in Deerfield, Ill., in February 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Canadian ramifications</h2>
<p>The post-<em>Dobbs</em> era has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/04/abortion-canada-roe-v-wade-united-states-supreme-court/">important ramifications</a> that Canada should prepare for. The cross-border abortion referral networks now operating between Texas and Mexico model the kind of abortion provisions that are medically and technologically pertinent in the 21st century.</p>
<p>But first, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2022/05/government-of-canada-strengthens-access-to-abortion-services.html">Canada’s federal government</a>, and its provincial and territorial partners, must commit to equal access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services such as sex education, contraception and abortion. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman dressed in red robes and a white bonnet holds a French sign that read It's No Longer Fiction." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517204/original/file-20230323-14-rrbk6o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517204/original/file-20230323-14-rrbk6o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517204/original/file-20230323-14-rrbk6o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517204/original/file-20230323-14-rrbk6o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517204/original/file-20230323-14-rrbk6o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517204/original/file-20230323-14-rrbk6o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517204/original/file-20230323-14-rrbk6o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A woman dressed as a handmaid from Margaret Atwood’s ‘A Handmaid’s Tale’ takes part in a protest to denounce the U.S. Supreme Court’s anti-abortion decision in June 2022 in Montréal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Abortion access in Canada is still hampered by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2013.02.001">longstanding barriers</a> that play out regionally, necessitating travel for abortion services within Canada and sometimes to the U.S. They <a href="https://www.actioncanadashr.org/resources/reports-analysis/2022-12-14-trends-barriers-abortion-care">must be resolved</a>, including addressing the uneven provision of medication abortion in the country. </p>
<p>British Columbia’s decision to offer <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/free-contraception-bc-explained-1.6764286">free coverage of prescription contraceptives</a> this April is a hopeful sign. </p>
<p>The federal government should encourage the adoption of that commitment nationally — and signal its significance on the <a href="https://www.actioncanadashr.org/about-us/media/2023-03-14-new-data-shows-vast-majority-canadians-believe-global-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights">international stage</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202117/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christabelle Sethna receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lori A. Brown does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Mexico abortion referral networks are assisting American citizens and undocumented migrants seeking abortions. The model could provide inspiration for similar networks at the Canada-U.S. border.
Christabelle Sethna, Professor, Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Lori A. Brown, Professor, School of Architecture, Syracuse University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200813
2023-03-20T12:42:57Z
2023-03-20T12:42:57Z
Secession is here: States, cities and the wealthy are already withdrawing from America
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515905/original/file-20230316-20-kjjhgl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C3%2C2117%2C1406&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Acts of secession are happening across the U.S.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/poster-map-united-states-of-america-with-royalty-free-illustration/610663444?phrase=U.S.%20map&adppopup=true">Vector Illustration/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, wants a “<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-refuses-back-national-divorce-proposal/story?id=97390020">national divorce</a>.” In her view, another Civil War is inevitable unless red and blue states form separate countries. </p>
<p>She has <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/texas-republican-bill-secession-referendum-1234691622/">plenty of company</a> on the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/21/secession-donald-trump-449348">right</a>, where a host of others – <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/12/13/how-seriously-should-we-take-talk-of-us-state-secession/">52% of Trump voters</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-wants-parts-of-the-country-to-secede--at-least-in-their-minds/2020/10/22/7f4bc048-148f-11eb-ad6f-36c93e6e94fb_story.html">Donald Trump himself</a> and <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/are-texas-republicans-serious-about-secession/">prominent Texas Republicans</a> – have endorsed various forms of secession in recent years. Roughly <a href="https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/new-initiative-explores-deep-persistent-divides-between-biden-and-trump-voters/">40% of Biden voters</a> have fantasized about a national divorce as well. Some on the <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/140948/bluexit-blue-states-exit-trump-red-america">left</a>
urge a domestic breakup so that a new <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/secession-constitution-elections-senate/">egalitarian nation</a> might be, as Lincoln said at Gettysburg, “brought forth on this continent.” </p>
<p>The American Civil War was a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWpe3lsWZpQ">national trauma</a> precipitated by the secession of 11 Southern states over slavery. It is, therefore, understandable that many <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/02/states-disunion-secession-movements-richard-kreitner/673191/">pundits and commentators</a> would <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/sean-hannity-marjorie-taylor-greene-secessionist">weigh in</a> about the <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3869319-us-secession-is-a-great-idea-for-russia/">legality, feasibility and wisdom</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/05/opinion/national-divorce-civil-war.html">of secession</a> when others clamor for divorce. </p>
<p>But all this secession talk misses a key point that every troubled couple knows. Just as there are ways to withdraw from a marriage before any formal divorce, there are also ways to exit a nation before officially seceding.</p>
<p>I have <a href="https://communication.cofc.edu/about/faculty-staff-listing/lee-michael.php">studied secession</a> for 20 years, and I think that it is not just a “<a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3884444-what-if-marjorie-taylor-greenes-secessionist-fantasy-came-true/">what if?</a>” scenario anymore. In “<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/we-are-not-one-people-9780190876517?lang=en&cc=us">We Are Not One People: Secession and Separatism in American Politics Since 1776</a>,” my co-author and I go beyond narrow discussions of secession and the Civil War to frame secession as an extreme end point on a scale that includes various acts of <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674276604">exit</a> that have already taken place across the U.S. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515909/original/file-20230316-26-oqmrry.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A blond woman in a pink jacket stands in front of many lights and a marquee that says 'Marjorie Taylor Greene'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515909/original/file-20230316-26-oqmrry.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515909/original/file-20230316-26-oqmrry.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515909/original/file-20230316-26-oqmrry.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515909/original/file-20230316-26-oqmrry.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515909/original/file-20230316-26-oqmrry.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515909/original/file-20230316-26-oqmrry.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515909/original/file-20230316-26-oqmrry.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wants red and blue states to separate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/rep-marjorie-taylor-greene-speaks-during-the-annual-news-photo/1470988997?phrase=Marjorie%20Taylor%20Greene&adppopup=true">Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Scaled secession</h2>
<p>This scale begins with smaller, targeted exits, like a person getting out of jury duty, and progresses to include the larger ways that communities refuse to comply with state and federal authorities. </p>
<p>Such refusals could involve legal maneuvers like <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/nullification-definition-and-examples-5203930">interposition</a>, in which a community delays or constrains the enforcement of a law it opposes, or <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315081595-5/overturned-america-nullification-brown-board-education-albert-samuels">nullification</a>, in which a community explicitly declares a law to be null and void within its borders. At the end of the scale, there’s secession.</p>
<p>From this wider perspective, it is clear that many acts of departure – call them secession lite, de facto secession or soft separatism – are occurring right now. Americans have responded to increasing polarization by exploring the gradations between soft separatism and hard secession. </p>
<p>These escalating exits make sense in a <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Why-Were-Polarized/Ezra-Klein/9781476700366">polarized nation</a> whose citizens are sorting themselves into <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/U/bo27527354.html">like-minded neighbhorhoods</a>. When compromise is elusive and coexistence is unpleasant, citizens have three options to get their way: Defeat the other side, eliminate the other side or get away from the other side.</p>
<p>Imagine a national law; it could be a mandate that citizens brush their teeth twice a day or a statute criminalizing texting while driving. Then imagine that a special group of people did not have to obey that law. </p>
<p>This quasi-secession can be achieved in several ways. Maybe this special group moves “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILcUScfebJ4">off the grid</a>” into the boondocks where they could text and drive without fear of oversight. Maybe this special group wields political power and can buy, bribe or lawyer their way out of any legal jam. Maybe this special group has persuaded a powerful authority, say Congress or the Supreme Court, to grant them unique <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/12/6/16741840/religious-liberty-history-law-masterpiece-cakeshop">legal exemptions</a>.</p>
<p>These are hypothetical scenarios, but not imaginary ones. When groups exit public life and its civic duties and burdens, when they live under their own sets of rules, when they do not have to live with fellow citizens they have not chosen or listen to authorities they do not like, they have already seceded.</p>
<h2>Schools to taxes</h2>
<p>Present-day America offers numerous hard examples of soft separatism. </p>
<p>Over the past two decades, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/7/27/16004084/school-segregation-evolution">scores</a> of wealthy white communities have separated from more diverse school districts. Advocates cite local control to justify these acts of school secession. But the result is the creation of <a href="https://harvardcrcl.org/opting-out-school-district-secession-and-local-control/">parallel</a> school districts, both relatively homogeneous but vastly different in racial makeup and economic background.</p>
<p>Several prominent district exits have occurred in the South – places like <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/05/resegregation-baton-rouge-public-schools/589381/">St. George, Louisiana</a> – but instances from <a href="https://edbuild.org/content/fractured#intro">northern Maine to Southern California</a> show that school splintering <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/14/1111060299/school-segregation-report">is happening nationwide</a>. </p>
<p>As one reporter <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/9/6/20853091/school-secession-racial-segregation-louisiana-alabama">wrote</a>, “If you didn’t want to attend school with certain people in your district, you just needed to find a way to put a district line between you and them.”</p>
<p>Many other examples of legalized separatism revolve around taxes. Disney World, for example, was classified as a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/business/desantis-disney-world-district.html">special tax district</a>” in Florida in 1967. These special districts are functionally separate local governments and can provide public services and build and maintain their own infrastructure. </p>
<p>The company has saved millions by avoiding typical zoning, permitting and inspection processes for decades, although Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-01/what-did-disney-actually-lose-from-its-florida-battle-with-desantis">has recently challenged</a> Disney’s special designation. Disney was only one of 1,800 special tax districts in Florida; there are <a href="https://gfrc.uic.edu/special-districts-americas-shadow-governments/">over 35,000</a> in the nation.</p>
<p>Jeff Bezos paid no federal income taxes in 2011. Elon Musk paid <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax">almost none</a> in 2018. Tales of wealthy individuals <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/25/1119412217/how-the-ultrawealthy-devise-ways-to-not-pay-their-share-of-taxes">avoiding taxes</a> are as common as stories of rich Americans buying <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-affluenza-texas-case-20131213-story.html">their way out</a> of jail. “Wealthier Americans,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/20/magazine/secession-of-the-successful.html">Robert Reich lamented</a> as far back as the early 1990s, “have been withdrawing into their own neighborhoods and clubs for generations.” Reich worried that a “new secession” allowed the rich to “inhabit a different economy from other Americans.” </p>
<p>Some of the nation’s wealthiest citizens pay an <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax">effective tax rate</a> <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57383869">close to zero</a>. As one investigative reporter put it, the ultrawealthy “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57383869">sidestep the system in an entirely legal way</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515921/original/file-20230316-20-londr7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A lot of people applauding as they sit at a meeting." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515921/original/file-20230316-20-londr7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515921/original/file-20230316-20-londr7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515921/original/file-20230316-20-londr7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515921/original/file-20230316-20-londr7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515921/original/file-20230316-20-londr7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515921/original/file-20230316-20-londr7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515921/original/file-20230316-20-londr7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Spectators applaud after the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors unanimously votes to pass a Second Amendment sanctuary resolution at a meeting in Buckingham, Va., Dec. 9, 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/GunSanctuariesVirginia/dfa46843d6df44f799a5a408248a4f0a/photo?Query=Second%20Amendment%20Sanctuary&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=14&currentItemNo=12">AP Photo/Steve Helber</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>One nation, divisible</h2>
<p>Schools and taxes are just a start. </p>
<p>Eleven states dub themselves “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/us/politics/missouri-gun-law.html">Second Amendment sanctuaries</a>” and refuse to enforce federal gun restrictions. Movements aiming to carve off rural, more politically conservative portions of blue states <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2023/01/10/county-secession-local-efforts-to-redraw-political-borders/">are growing</a>; 11 counties in Eastern Oregon <a href="https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2023/02/15/idaho-house-passes-nonbinding-measure-calling-for-formal-greater-idaho-talks/">support seceding</a> and <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/campaign-to-join-idaho-gains-support-of-two-more-oregon-counties/">reclassifying themselves</a> as “Greater Idaho,” a move that Idaho’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/greater-idaho-movement-lawmakers-house-rural-oregon-counties-join-state-2023-2">state government supports</a>. </p>
<p>Hoping to become a separate state independent of Chicago’s political influence, over two dozen rural Illinois counties have passed <a href="https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-politics/27-counties-in-illinois-have-passed-referendums-to-explore-seceding-from-state-heres-where/2993937/%22">pro-secession referendums</a>. Some <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/are-texas-republicans-serious-about-secession/">Texas</a> Republicans back “Texit,” where the state becomes an independent nation. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.vermontpublic.org/programs/2017-11-03/what-would-it-look-like-if-vermont-seceded">Separatist ideas</a> come from the Left, too. </p>
<p>“<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/calexit-explainer-california-plans-to-secede-2016-11">Cal-exit</a>,” a plan for California to leave the union after 2016, was the most acute recent attempt at secession. </p>
<p>And separatist acts have reshaped life and law in many states. Since 2012, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/07/us/20230306-oklahoma-marijuana-vote-five-charts-dg/index.html">21 states</a> have legalized marijuana, which is <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/8/20/17938372/marijuana-legalization-federal-prohibition-drug-scheduling-system">federally illegal</a>. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/09/15/red-states-send-migrants-blue-states-sanctuary-cities-are-crucial/">Sanctuary cities and states</a> have emerged since 2016 to combat aggressive federal immigration laws and policies. Some <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/dozens-elected-prosecutors-say-will-refuse-prosecute-abortion-care-rcna35305">prosecutors and judges refuse</a> to prosecute women and medical providers for newly illegal abortions in some states. </p>
<p>Estimates vary, but some Americans are increasingly opting out of hypermodern, hyperpolarized life entirely. “Intentional communities,” rural, sustainable, cooperative communes like <a href="https://www.ic.org/directory/east-wind-community/">East Wind in the Ozarks</a>, are, as The New York Times reported in 2020, proliferating “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/t-magazine/intentional-communities.html">across the country</a>.”</p>
<p>In many ways, America is already broken apart. When secession is portrayed in its strictest sense, as a group of people declaring independence and taking a portion of a nation as they depart, the discussion is myopic, and current acts of exit hide in plain sight. When it comes to secession, the question is not just “What if?” but “What now?”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200813/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael J. Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Secession talk evokes fears of a second Civil War. But one scholar says secession is already happening in the US under a variety of guises.
Michael J. Lee, Professor of Communication, College of Charleston
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200393
2023-02-28T13:25:32Z
2023-02-28T13:25:32Z
Which state you live in matters for how well environmental laws protect your health
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512228/original/file-20230224-2030-q1yzwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1453%2C0%2C3198%2C2035&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pesticide use on school playing fields varies from state to state. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/kids-play-football-on-outdoor-field-children-score-royalty-free-image/1409423595">matimix/iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Your child could go to gym class on Monday morning and play soccer on a field that was sprayed over the weekend with <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/training/toxmanual/modules/4/lecturenotes.html">2,4-D, a toxic weedkiller</a> that has been <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29912510/">investigated as possibly causing cancer</a>. Alternatively, the school grounds may have been treated with a lower-toxicity weedkiller. Or maybe the grounds were managed with safe, nontoxic products and techniques.</p>
<p>Which of these scenarios applies depends in large part on your state’s laws and regulations today – more so than federal regulations.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.texasagriculture.gov/Regulatory-Programs/Pesticides/Structural-Pest-Control-Service/School-Integrated-Pest-Management">Texas</a> requires all school districts to adopt an integrated pest management program for school buildings; IPM prioritizes nonchemical pest control methods and includes some protections regarding <a href="https://schoolipm.tamu.edu/files/2019/10/Texas-School-IPM-laws-and-rules.pdf">spraying of grounds</a>. <a href="https://www.mass.gov/doc/333-cmr-14-protection-of-children-and-families-from-harmful-pesticides/download">Massachusetts</a> also restricts pesticide use on school grounds. Illinois requires IPM for school buildings only <a href="http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/ipm/faq.htm">if economically feasible</a>. States also vary greatly in the education and technical assistance they provide to implement these practices.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two men with sprayers connected to hoses walk across a lawn, spraying it. One has a backpack container with liquid inside." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512230/original/file-20230224-1844-53a7ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chemical pesticides can be harmful to human health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/two-pest-control-technicians-with-portable-spray-royalty-free-image/145091307">Huntstock/Brand X Pictures via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is involved in some baseline pesticide functions, <a href="https://peer.org/beyond-2020-pesticides/">shortcomings of the main pesticide law</a>, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-the-epas-lax-regulation-of-dangerous-pesticides-is-hurting-public-health-and-the-us-economy/">along with industry influence</a>, can leave vulnerable groups like children inadequately protected from these exposures. </p>
<p>EPA registers products for use based on a finding that they do not cause an “unreasonable” risk but <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24758543">considers economic costs and benefits</a>, an approach that can result in decisions that pose health risks. And required labels may <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854748/">omit ingredients</a> considered trade secrets.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://publichealth.uic.edu/profiles/susan-kaplan/">environmental health lawyer and professor</a>, I teach, write and think about the pros and cons of one level of government or the other overseeing environmental health – the impact of the natural and human-made environment on human health. Pesticides on school grounds are just one example of the problem of uneven protection from one state to the next.</p>
<h2>Congress eased off, states stepped in</h2>
<p>State policy choices have become more important for limiting people’s exposure to pollution and toxins as the federal government has increasingly retreated from major environmental health lawmaking.</p>
<p>Many of the country’s major environmental health laws were <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/insights-on-law-and-society/volume-19/insights-vol--19---issue-1/environmental-law---politics/">passed in the 1970s</a> on the momentum of the environmental movement and with bipartisan support that is rarely seen today. </p>
<p>For example, the Clean Air Act amendments of 1970 <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL30853">required U.S. EPA to regulate</a> a wide range of air pollutants, in some cases based explicitly on protecting human health. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/23/archives/tough-new-cleanair-bill-passed-by-senate-73-to-0-a-tough-cleanair.html">They were approved</a> 374-1 in the House and 73-0 by the Senate and signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon signed the law that created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1971.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A 1970s-era photo of cars on a freeway with 'Santa Monica' on the sign." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512236/original/file-20230224-1665-fk4obc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Concerns about smog from vehicles that choked cities like Los Angeles helped lead to environmental laws in the 1970s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/rush-hour-traffic-leaving-downtown-los-angeles-in-santa-news-photo/1387469939">Bettmann Archive/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One analyst has written that groups that pressed legislators for environmental protection later splintered into groups advocating for and against environmental laws, reflecting an emerging debate over the <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-politicized-the-environment-and-climate-change-52239">appropriate extent of regulation</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time, after the success of many federal environmental health laws, attention turned to problems that are <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/environmental-protection-the-states-race-to-the-bottom-or-race-to-the-bottom-line/">harder for Washington to solve</a>. With state environmental programs growing, some suggested that the U.S. EPA’s role should shift <a href="https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1319&context=wmelpr">from compelling to catalyzing</a> – from requiring specific pollution-reducing actions to helping states act by providing increased information and help with compliance. Yet this view acknowledged that under this scenario, residents of some states would enjoy stronger environmental health protections than others.</p>
<p>Reflecting this dynamic and the extent of political division in the U.S., even when the federal government does create tougher environmental regulations, they are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/5c675cd468e648e7b97d4988bbb3d05e">often reversed</a> by the succeeding administration or challenged in court.</p>
<h2>Sometimes, states should make the decisions</h2>
<p>In some cases, it makes sense to leave decisions to states. A health department in a western state may focus on protecting vulnerable groups from wildfire smoke, given the growth of blazes in that part of the country. Some states may welcome fracking operations while others prefer to keep them out.</p>
<p>States can also serve as laboratories of innovation, and the experiences of state programs and policies can inform federal actions.</p>
<p>But this regulatory patchwork creates inequities. If you live in one of the <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/states-have-adopted-californias-vehicle-standards-under-section-177-federal">dozen-and-a-half states</a> that follow California’s tailpipe emissions standards rather than the less stringent federal standards, you probably benefit from reduced air pollution. </p>
<p><iframe id="wKn2o" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/wKn2o/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The same holds for East Coast residents within the confederation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which limits greenhouse gas emissions – and other air pollutants in the process. A <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP6706">recent study that compared RGGI states</a> with neighboring non-RGGI states concluded that data “indicate that RGGI has provided substantial child health benefits,” including a reduction in childhood asthma cases.</p>
<p>Drinking water limits or labeling requirements for PFAS – perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – also <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2022/09/22/states-take-on-pfas-forever-chemicals-with-bans-lawsuits">vary by state</a>. PFAS are found in products from nonstick cookware to some personal care products, and they have been linked with a range of troubling health effects. Because of their toxicity, broad scope of contamination and longevity in the environment, <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/ag-healey-calls-on-us-senate-to-pass-legislation-to-protect-the-public-from-highly-toxic-forever-chemicals">18 states’ attorneys general</a> are asking for a federal law.</p>
<h2>How you can hold lawmakers to account</h2>
<p>Environmental health often suffers from a cycle of panic and neglect. People worry about a concern like the chemical <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Alar_and_apples">alar used on apples</a>, until the next issue erupts. The public can keep up pressure on state and federal decision-makers to consider how the environment affects health in an array of ways:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>One person can be dismissed as an outlier, so start a group or join other groups that have similar interests.</p></li>
<li><p>Research the problem and best practices and possible solutions, like program or policy development, education or stepped-up enforcement. Then call, email and send letters to elected representatives and request a meeting to clearly and concisely explain your concerns and ideas.</p></li>
<li><p>Identify a “champion” – someone in a position to spearhead a change, like a school nurse or facilities manager – and reach out to them.</p></li>
<li><p>Get the issue into the local news media by writing op-eds and social media posts. Be sure to communicate benefits of the action you’re advocating, like improved school attendance or financial return on investment.</p></li>
<li><p>Attend public meetings and speak on the issue during the public comment period. Successes at the local level can provide examples for state officials.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Kaplan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
An environmental health lawyer explains why some states have weaker rules than others, and how you can make your concerns heard.
Susan Kaplan, Research Assistant Professor of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/198494
2023-02-10T13:52:39Z
2023-02-10T13:52:39Z
Two years after its historic deep freeze, Texas is increasingly vulnerable to cold snaps – and there are more solutions than just building power plants
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508675/original/file-20230207-31-lk5791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C9%2C5988%2C3989&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Snow on cattle drive sculptures in Dallas after a winter storm, Feb. 3, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/snow-lies-on-the-ground-and-on-the-backs-of-sculptures-at-news-photo/1238170684"> Emil Lippe/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Texans like to think of their state as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxSEIK2Ire4">the energy capital of the world</a>. But in mid-February 2021, the energy state ran short of energy. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.weather.gov/fwd/Feb-2021-WinterEvent">intense winter weather outbreak</a>, informally dubbed Winter Storm Uri by the Weather Channel, swept across the U.S., bringing snow, sleet, freezing rain and frigid temperatures. Texas was hit especially hard, with all 254 counties under a winter storm warning at the same time. </p>
<p>Across the state, sustained arctic temperatures <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/media/february-2021-cold-weather-outages-texas-and-south-central-united-states-ferc-nerc-and">froze power plants and fuel supplies</a>, while energy demand for home heating climbed to <a href="https://www.puc.texas.gov/agency/resources/reports/utaustin_(2021)_eventsfebruary2021texasblackout_(002)final_07_12_21.pdf">all-time highs</a>. Cascading failures in the electric power and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102106">natural gas sectors</a> left millions of people in the dark for days. At least 246 people died, <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/weather/winter-storm/here-is-why-death-totals-from-winter-storm-uri-may-vary/269-f2bf277f-74d9-443b-ab2e-ff89f336f3ec">possibly many more</a>, and economic damage estimates damages reached <a href="https://www.dallasfed.org/research/economics/2021/0415">US$130 billion</a>.</p>
<p>Water systems, which require energy for pumping and treatment, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S2345737621500226">also were severely damaged</a>. At least <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/weather/10-million-texans-still-under-boil-water-notice-and-many-are-without-water/287-c50e9f51-aed4-4398-b40d-dc830de82f83">10 million people</a> were under boil-water notices during and after the storm, sometimes for weeks. Low-income and minority residents, who had fewer resources to find alternative housing and make repairs, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2516-1083/aca9b4">suffered the worst impacts</a>. </p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.webberenergygroup.com/">energy researchers based in Texas</a>, we have spent much of the past two years analyzing why the state was so unprepared for this event and how it can do better. A common knee-jerk reaction to disasters that cause widespread power outages is to call for building more “firm” power plants – those that use fuels like coal or natural gas and are designed to deliver power at any time of day or night. But coal and gas plants, and their fuel supplies, can fail spectacularly. </p>
<p>We think it is important to think beyond just building more power plants. Our findings spotlight other solutions that can be cleaner, cheaper and faster to put in place.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vh-yuvBq3bg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Texans describe their experiences during Winter Storm Uri and its lasting impacts.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Planning for winter</h2>
<p>Analyses after Uri revealed that a <a href="https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/the-texas-power-crisis-didn-t-have-to-happen">lack of winterization</a> in the electric and gas sectors was a critical cause of systemwide failure. The Texas legislature enacted <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-electric-grid-failure-warm-up/">new winterization requirements for electricity generators</a>. But it did not do the same for natural gas producers, which provide fuel to about <a href="https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2022/02/08/ERCOT_Fact_Sheet.pdf">40% of Texas power plants</a> and <a href="https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2021/04/28/ERCOT_Winter_Storm_Generator_Outages_By_Cause_Updated_Report_4.27.21.pdf">weren’t able to deliver</a> during the storm. </p>
<p>Since then, Texas saw significant drops in natural gas production during winter cold snaps in January and February 2022. As happened during Uri, production at many gas wells was halted because water and other liquids that come to the surface with the natural gas froze when they hit a frozen wellhead, creating an ice dam and stopping the flow of gas into pipelines. </p>
<p>In December 2022, Winter Storm Elliott caused more <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-power-plants-outages-freeze/">drops in gas production</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/duke-energy-apologizes-for-winter-storm-outages-as-ferc-nerc-open-investig/639583/">power outages</a> across the Southeast U.S. These events show that winter reliability risks are not specific to Texas.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1621659665263124480"}"></div></p>
<h2>Cold weather challenges</h2>
<p>Our research shows that winter peak electricity demand in Texas – driven by electric space heating – has become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.104173">more sensitive to cold temperatures</a> over the past 20 years. Winter peaks are also growing faster and are more erratic than summer peaks. We know that every summer is going to be hot, but we don’t know for certain that winter will be cold, which makes it harder to plan. </p>
<p><iframe id="xAnvl" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/xAnvl/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Texas is at the forefront of a national shift to heating homes with electricity instead of oil or gas. About 60% of homes in Texas use either <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=47116">heat pumps or electric resistance heating</a>.</p>
<p>Heat pumps shift home winter energy demand from carbon-emitting sources like natural gas to electricity. They can also cool buildings more efficiently than older air conditioning units. However, heat pumps that aren’t rated for low temperatures can <a href="https://theconversation.com/electric-heat-pumps-use-much-less-energy-than-furnaces-and-can-cool-houses-too-heres-how-they-work-154779">use more energy</a> to heat in the winter than to cool in the summer. Better minimum efficiency standards can help <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/heat-pumps/can-heat-pumps-actually-work-in-cold-climates-a4929629430/">mitigate this challenge</a>. </p>
<p>The shift to electricity for heating indicates that within the next few decades, electricity demand in Texas is likely to regularly peak in winter rather than summer. Meanwhile, lower-demand shoulder seasons in spring and fall – the times when fossil fuel and nuclear power plants normally go offline for maintenance – are getting shorter, as heat waves start earlier and winter storms push <a href="https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2302.00185">later into the spring</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1620949318223147008"}"></div></p>
<h2>What do we do now?</h2>
<p>These trends are making it harder for grid planners and operators to ensure sufficient power capacity is always available, especially in winter. In addition to making sure Texas has enough generating capacity online, here are three areas where we believe the state should do more: </p>
<p>– Promote energy efficiency.</p>
<p>Currently the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranks Texas <a href="https://www.aceee.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/u2206.pdf">29th among the states</a> for its policies and programs to save energy and promote energy efficiency. Adopting policies such as stricter building codes and minimum appliance efficiency standards would reduce consumers’ energy bills. It also would lower <a href="https://www.aceee.org/press-release/2021/10/energy-upgrades-texas-homes-could-avert-blackouts-lower-cost-proposed-gas">peak demand</a> during extreme events. And if outages still occur, well-insulated houses will stay warm or cool for longer, reducing risks to occupants.</p>
<p>– Increase investment in <a href="https://www.energy.gov/oe/demand-response">demand response</a>.</p>
<p>Demand response programs offer electricity customers incentives to turn off noncritical appliances, like pool pumps or water heaters, for short periods to reduce overall load on the grid during periods of high demand. For real-time balancing of supply and demand on the grid, turning off 500 megawatts of noncritical demand is functionally equivalent to turning on a 500-megawatt power plant. While Texas has made some progress in this area, <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2021-12/2021%20Assessment%20of%20Demand%20Response%20and%20Advanced%20Metering%20DEC%202021_0.pdf">it is below average</a> relative to its peers.</p>
<p>Our research shows that Texas could free up <a href="https://www.me.utexas.edu/news/1683-energy-efficiency-resilience-in-extreme-weather-events">7 gigawatts or more of electric generating capacity</a> through demand response, which would double what it has available today. </p>
<p>Increasing demand response can be cheaper than building new power plants. While a new wind or solar farm might cost $1,000 or more per kilowatt of generating capacity, demand response programs cost about <a href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1373278">$200 per kilowatt</a> of demand that can be turned off. </p>
<p>It’s also faster. Technicians can install thousands of remote-controllable thermostats or appliance switches in months, compared with the years of lead time required to site, license and build new power plants.</p>
<p>– Connect Texas’ isolated power grid to the Western and Eastern interconnections.</p>
<p>Most electricity in the U.S. is generated and sold over two large grids that cover nearly all of the lower 48 states. Texas has kept its <a href="https://www.ercot.com/about/profile">own grid</a> inside state lines as a way to <a href="https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2021-07-22/texas-electric-grid-february-blackouts-the-disconnect">minimize federal regulation of its power sector</a>. While there are some very weak direct-current ties to those grids, Texas utilities can’t import meaningful amounts of power when supplies are scarce, or export it when they have a surplus and neighboring states need support. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508671/original/file-20230207-14-fw7y1i.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="US map showing Western and Eastern Interconnect and ERCOT grids." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508671/original/file-20230207-14-fw7y1i.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508671/original/file-20230207-14-fw7y1i.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508671/original/file-20230207-14-fw7y1i.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508671/original/file-20230207-14-fw7y1i.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508671/original/file-20230207-14-fw7y1i.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508671/original/file-20230207-14-fw7y1i.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508671/original/file-20230207-14-fw7y1i.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most of Texas gets power from the state grid, managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which has limited interconnections with grids that deliver power over the rest of the continental U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ercot.com/files/assets/2022/12/13/ERCOT-Maps_Interconnection-Map.jpg?">ERCOT</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Expanded grid connectivity would make electricity supply in Texas more reliable and enable generators to export low-carbon power from the state’s abundant wind and solar farms. Rapid growth in wind and solar generation in Texas has saved the state’s consumers <a href="https://www.ideasmiths.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IdeaSmiths_CFT_ERCOT_RE_FINAL.pdf">billions of dollars</a> while making a lot of money for <a href="https://www.ideasmiths.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Economic-Impact-of-Renewable-Energy_JAN2023.pdf">rural landowners and local governments</a>. </p>
<p>Those economically beneficial renewable power plants will eventually saturate the limited Texas market. Opening access to consumers in other states by connecting Texas to other grids would continue to spur economic growth and job creation in rural areas and would give the state grid a lifeline during extreme events. Our ongoing research shows that this would be a cheaper and cleaner way to assure reliability than just adding more natural gas power plants. </p>
<p>Texas officials often tout the state’s “<a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/apr/27/texas-leading-the-charge-in-all-of-the-above-energ/">all of the above” energy strategy</a>, but that vision focuses heavily on production. In our view, an approach that employs every tool in the toolbox – including efficiency, demand response and increased grid connectivity – would better serve the state.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198494/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael E. Webber receives funding from variety of government agencies, foundations, and industry, including financial institutions and energy companies. A full list of supporters is available at <a href="http://www.webberenergygroup.com">http://www.webberenergygroup.com</a>. He is on the board of GTI Energy, CTO at Energy Impact Partners, and co-founder and Chairman of IdeaSmiths LLC, an engineering consulting firm. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors, Energy Impact Partners, GTI Energy, or
IdeaSmiths LLC. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by the University of Texas
at Austin in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Drew Kassel receives funding from META Technologies, Artesion, Grid United (GU), and the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors or the University of Texas at Austin.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua D. Rhodes receives funding from variety of government agencies, foundations, and industry, including financial institutions and energy companies. A full list of academic supporters is available at <a href="http://www.webberenergygroup.com">http://www.webberenergygroup.com</a> and list of public consulting reports, including those that funded them, is available at <a href="https://www.ideasmiths.net/reports-publications/">https://www.ideasmiths.net/reports-publications/</a>. He is on the board of Catalyst Cooperative, and co-founder and CTO of IdeaSmiths LLC, an engineering consulting firm. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors, clients, the University of Texas, Columbia University, or IdeaSmiths LLC. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by the University of Texas at Austin in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Skiles receives funding from the University of Texas at Austin and from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-1610403. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Texas at Austin or the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>
Texas wasn’t prepared to keep the lights on during Winter Storm Uri, and it won’t be ready for future cold weather unless it starts thinking about energy demand as well as supply.
Michael E. Webber, Josey Centennial Professor of Energy Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
Drew Kassel, PhD Student in Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
Joshua D. Rhodes, Research Scientist, The University of Texas at Austin
Matthew Skiles, PhD Student in Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/196470
2023-02-07T13:34:48Z
2023-02-07T13:34:48Z
Hurricane Harvey more than doubled the acidity of Texas’ Galveston Bay, threatening oyster reefs
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507440/original/file-20230131-4643-5mjeyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C0%2C5400%2C3564&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Seabirds forage on an oyster shell island on the Texas Gulf Coast.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-american-oystercatcher-haematopus-palliatus-foraging-on-news-photo/1449679985">Jon G. Fuller/VW Pics/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most people associate hurricanes with high winds, intense rain and rapid flooding on land. But these storms can also change the chemistry of coastal waters. Such shifts are less visible than damage on land, but they can have dire consequences for marine life and coastal ocean ecosystems. </p>
<p>We are oceanographers who study the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=u7D6sQgAAAAJ&hl=en">effects of ocean acidification</a>, including on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MOYxO9MAAAAJ&hl=en">organisms like oysters and corals</a>. In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00608-1">recent study</a>, we examined how stormwater runoff from Hurricane Harvey in 2017 affected the water chemistry of Galveston Bay and the health of the bay’s oyster reefs. We wanted to understand how extreme rainfall and runoff from hurricanes influenced acidification of bay waters, and how long these changes could last. </p>
<p>Our findings were startling. Hurricane Harvey, which generated massive rainfall in the Houston metropolitan area, delivered a huge pulse of fresh water into Galveston Bay. As a result, the bay was two to four times more acidic than normal for at least three weeks after the storm.</p>
<p>This made bay water corrosive enough to damage oyster shells in the estuary. Because oyster growth and recovery rely on many factors, it is hard to tie specific changes to acidification. However, increased acidification certainly would have made it harder for oyster reefs damaged by Hurricane Harvey to recover. And while our study focused on Galveston Bay, we suspect that similar processes may be occurring in other coastal areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507436/original/file-20230131-5037-8ovozq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Satellite photo of Houston and the gulf coast immediately after Harvey." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507436/original/file-20230131-5037-8ovozq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507436/original/file-20230131-5037-8ovozq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507436/original/file-20230131-5037-8ovozq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507436/original/file-20230131-5037-8ovozq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507436/original/file-20230131-5037-8ovozq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507436/original/file-20230131-5037-8ovozq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507436/original/file-20230131-5037-8ovozq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This satellite image, taken six days after Harvey made landfall, shows Galveston Bay and other rivers and bays around Houston filled with brown sediment-laden floodwaters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/90866/texas-waters-run-brown-after-harvey">NASA Earth Observatory</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Vast quantities of water</h2>
<p>Scientists predict that climate change will make hurricanes stronger and <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3184/a-force-of-nature-hurricanes-in-a-changing-climate/">increase the amount of rain they produce</a> over the next several decades. Changes in ocean chemistry, caused by runoff from these storms, are becoming an increasing threat to many marine ecosystems, especially coastal reefs built by oysters and corals. </p>
<p><a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/estuary.html">Coastal estuaries</a> like Galveston Bay, where rivers meet the sea, are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world. Galveston Bay is the largest bay on the Texas coast and one of the largest in the U.S.; it covers about 600 square miles, roughly half the size of Rhode Island. Its extensive oyster reefs provide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145132">about 9% of the national oyster harvest</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/reviewing-hurricane-harveys-catastrophic-rain-and-flooding">Hurricane Harvey</a>, the wettest tropical cyclone in U.S. history, made landfall on the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 26, 2017. Harvey stalled at the coast for four days, sitting over both land and ocean. </p>
<p>Maintaining contact with warm Gulf of Mexico waters fueled the storm with both energy and rainfall, allowing it to persist and drop extreme amounts of rain directly onto Houston and surrounding areas – <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-made-the-rain-in-hurricane-harvey-so-extreme-83137">up to 50 inches in four days</a>. All of that rain and floodwater had to go somewhere, and much of it flowed into Galveston Bay. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YzQGgyrxXiI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">These videos show the scale of flooding across Houston from Hurricane Harvey.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Climate change and ocean acidification</h2>
<p>The ocean acidification issues that we study are a <a href="https://theconversation.com/global-warmings-evil-twin-ocean-acidification-19017">well-known effect related to climate change</a>. Human activities, mainly burning fossil fuel, emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The ocean absorbs about one-third of these emissions, which alters ocean chemistry, making seawater more acidic. </p>
<p>Acidification can <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ocean-acidification/effects-ocean-and-coastal-acidification-marine-life">harm many forms of marine life</a>. It is especially dangerous for animals that build their shells and skeletons out of calcium carbonate, such as oysters and corals. As seawater becomes more acidic, it makes these structures harder to build and easier to erode. </p>
<p>Oysters fuse together as they grow, creating large rocklike underwater reefs that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbFQ5EndLso">protect shorelines from wave erosion</a>. These reefs <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/oyster-reef-habitat">provide habitat</a> for other creatures, such as barnacles, anemones and mussels, which in turn serve as food sources for many fish species. </p>
<p>Rising atmospheric CO₂ levels are acidifying oceans worldwide. As our study shows, local events like tropical cyclones can add to global acidification. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"661924520496922624"}"></div></p>
<h2>Stormwater from Harvey caused extreme coastal acidification</h2>
<p>The main cause of the unprecedented acidification that occurred after Hurricane Harvey was the excessive amount of rainfall and runoff that entered Galveston Bay. To help manage large-scale flooding in the Houston area, the city released large volumes of water from reservoirs for more than two months after Harvey. These releases extended the time during which stormwater entered Galveston Bay and increased its acidity. </p>
<p>Scientists use the pH scale to measure how acidic or basic (alkaline) water is. A pH value of 7 is neutral; higher values are basic, and lower values are acidic. The pH scale is logarithmic, so a decrease of one full unit – say, from 8 to 7 – represents a tenfold increase in acidity. </p>
<p>Rainwater is more acidic than either river water or seawater, which pick up minerals from soil that are slightly basic and can balance out absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Rainwater’s pH is around 5.6, compared with <a href="https://datastream.org/en/guide/ph">between 6.5 and 8.2 for rivers</a> and <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-acidification">about 8.1 for seawater</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508452/original/file-20230206-25-fdap84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Th pH scale with values for common substances." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508452/original/file-20230206-25-fdap84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508452/original/file-20230206-25-fdap84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508452/original/file-20230206-25-fdap84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508452/original/file-20230206-25-fdap84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508452/original/file-20230206-25-fdap84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508452/original/file-20230206-25-fdap84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508452/original/file-20230206-25-fdap84.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The pH scale shows how acidic or basic substances are.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what-acid-rain">USEPA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Galveston Bay contains a mix of fresh water from rivers and salty seawater from the Gulf of Mexico – oysters’ preferred habitat. We collected water samples in the bay two weeks after Harvey and found that the bay was made up almost entirely of river water and rainwater from the storm. </p>
<p>Since rainwater, river water and seawater all have different chemistries, we were able to calculate that rainwater made up almost 50% of the water in the bay. This means that acidic rainwater from Harvey replaced the basic seawater within the bay after the storm. The average bay water pH had dropped from 8 to 7.6, a 2.5-fold increase in acidity. Some zones had pH even as low as 7.4 – four times more acidic than normal. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507432/original/file-20230131-24-p6tcnw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bar charts showing combinations of seawater, river water and rainwater in Galveston Bay before and after Hurricane Harvey." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507432/original/file-20230131-24-p6tcnw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507432/original/file-20230131-24-p6tcnw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507432/original/file-20230131-24-p6tcnw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507432/original/file-20230131-24-p6tcnw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507432/original/file-20230131-24-p6tcnw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507432/original/file-20230131-24-p6tcnw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507432/original/file-20230131-24-p6tcnw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">These charts show how rainfall and runoff from Hurricane Harvey altered the composition of Galveston Bay after the storm made landfall on August 25, 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00608-1">Tacey Hicks, modified from Hicks et al., 2022</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This extreme acidification lasted for more than three weeks. Bay waters became corrosive not only to more sensitive larval and juvenile oyster shells, but to adult oyster shells as well. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrc.20378">Scientists had predicted</a> that increasing CO₂ could cause this scale of coastal acidification but did not expect to see it until around the year 2100. </p>
<p>The fresh water from Harvey also caused a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145132">severe oyster die-off</a> in the bay because oysters need slightly salty water to survive. Harvey struck in the middle of oyster spawning season, and acidification may have slowed reef recovery by making it harder for young oysters to form new shells. Officials at the <a href="https://tpwd.texas.gov/">Texas Parks and Wildlife Department</a> have told us that four years later, in late 2021, some Galveston Bay oyster reefs still showed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00608-1">very low additions of new oysters</a>. </p>
<h2>Other coastal areas at risk</h2>
<p>Only a few studies, including ours, have analyzed how tropical cyclones affect coastal acidification. In our view, however, it is highly possible that other storms have caused the kind of extreme acidification that we detected in the wake of Harvey. </p>
<p>We reviewed the 10 wettest <a href="https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/tcmaxima.html">tropical cyclones in the U.S. since 1900</a> and found that nine, including Harvey, caused large amounts of rain and flooding in coastal areas with bay or estuary ecosystems. Other storms didn’t produce as much rainfall as Harvey, but some of the affected bays were much smaller than Galveston Bay, so less rain would have been needed to replace seawater in the bay and cause a similar level of acidification to what Harvey produced.</p>
<p>We think that this likely has already occurred in other places struck by hurricanes but went unrecorded because scientists weren’t able to measure acidification before and after the storms. As climate change continues to make tropical cyclones larger and wetter, we see storm-induced acidification as a significant threat to coastal ecosystems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196470/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tacey Hicks received funding from Texas Sea Grant to support the publication of this study. Tacey Hicks is currently affiliated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Texas Sea Grant as part of the John A Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Shamberger receives funding from the National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy, and US Environmental Protection Agency.</span></em></p>
Climate change is making oceans more acidic globally. Now, scientists are finding that large storms can send pulses of acidic water into bays and estuaries, further stressing fish and shellfish.
Tacey Hicks, PhD Candidate in Oceanography, Texas A&M University
Kathryn Shamberger, Associate Professor of Oceanography, Texas A&M University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/192377
2022-12-12T13:37:14Z
2022-12-12T13:37:14Z
Local nonprofits play a key role in recovery from disasters – while also having to get back on their own feet
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500071/original/file-20221209-33805-3510zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=200%2C166%2C5359%2C3200&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In mid-2018, nearly a year after Hurricane Harvey, this church's gym in Texas was still serving as a warehouse for donated goods.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bethel-baptist-church-lead-pastor-jaime-garcia-unloads-news-photo/1021656748?adppopup=true">Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When hurricanes, floods and other kinds of disasters throttle a community, people from all over often rush to give those in need money, bottled water, diapers and all sorts of goods.</p>
<p>These donations often land at the doorsteps of local nonprofits that are then tasked with distributing them. But while these groups help their communities recuperate, they have to get back on their feet too and can falter if they don’t get what they need.</p>
<p>As an urban planning researcher who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=AV-vNJUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">focuses on disaster recovery</a>, I have seen that this process is usually <a href="https://www.chamberofecocommerce.com/images/Organizations_at_Risk.pdf">long and difficult for local nonprofits</a> due to their competing responsibilities. Nonprofits must juggle obligations to serve their communities in new ways while still maintaining their usual operations and rebuilding their own facilities.</p>
<h2>Pivoting after Hurricane Harvey</h2>
<p>I led a research project with other scholars for my dissertation about how nonprofits and small businesses fared in <a href="https://tamucoa-juiceboxinteract.netdna-ssl.com/app/uploads/2022/05/Business-Disruption-and-Recover-Post-Hurricane-Harvey-in-Southeast-Texas.pdf">Southeast Texas after Hurricane Harvey</a>. The Category 4 hurricane initially made landfall along the Gulf Coast near Rockport, Texas, in August 2017. The storm <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/30/harvey-has-unloaded-24-5-trillion-gallons-of-water-on-texas-and-louisiana/">dumped more than 30 trillion gallons of rainwater</a> over a six-day period. The equivalent of a <a href="https://www.hcfcd.org/About/Harris-Countys-Flooding-History/Hurricane-Harvey">year’s worth of rain</a> fell in much of the region in less than a week. </p>
<p>The floodwaters damaged or destroyed thousands of homes, businesses, churches and buildings used by other nonprofits. Authorities estimate that Harvey caused more than 60 deaths and some <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/climate/hurricane-harvey-climate-change.html">US$125 billion in economic damage</a>. </p>
<p>We interviewed the directors of 30 nonprofits located in Beaumont and Port Arthur, two small Southeast Texas cities, to understand the challenges they experienced as they helped their communities while rebuilding their own operations. The nonprofits included churches and other faith-based institutions, health care providers, private schools and providers of other educational services.</p>
<p>We encountered church staff who had rescued people, and nonprofits, including health care organizations, social service groups and private schools, that <a href="https://www.goldenpasslng.com/newsroom/foundation-for-setx-announces-golden-pass-hurricane-harvey-recovery-fund-grant-recipients">essentially became relief groups</a> by giving away water, clothes and other essential items to those in need. </p>
<p>My research team and I learned that the 30 heavy-lifting nonprofits we studied played an important role in helping their communities recover – regardless of their usual work and mission.</p>
<h2>Role of leadership</h2>
<p>In some cases, whether an organization could thrive after Hurricane Harvey was also influenced by who was leading it.</p>
<p>A total of 21 of the nonprofits had leaders who were women, veterans, racial minorities or had more than one of those characteristics. These organizations reported higher levels of damage, longer disruptions of their power, water and telephone access, and slower recovery of operations compared with the other nine organizations, all of which were led by white men. </p>
<p>This disparity echoed other findings that groups led by women, <a href="https://www.swords-to-plowshares.org/toolbox-article/the-hard-truth-about-veteran-funding">veterans</a> and people of color often <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/nonprofit-black-women-racial-discrimination/2021/07/11/e23cb810-d2da-11eb-a53a-3b5450fdca7a_story.html">get less funding</a>. </p>
<p>The local nonprofits in these small cities that tended to fare best throughout the recovery process were those that received support from larger nonprofits in neighboring cities; groups with ample savings, donations, staff and volunteers; and those with access to disaster recovery information and cleaning supplies.</p>
<h2>Serving many roles in their communities</h2>
<p>While even the smallest nonprofits generally do serve multiple roles, they often acquire new responsibilities after disasters. We found that 12 of the 30 nonprofits found themselves offering new services after Hurricane Harvey.</p>
<p>For example, several churches that primarily held religious services for small groups of congregants became distribution centers serving the entire community – including people with other faith traditions. These churches distributed food, diapers, clothes, gift cards and cleaning supplies. </p>
<p>Close ties with their communities equipped the local nonprofits we studied to pitch in after Harvey by becoming distribution sites. Some of the organizations identified families that were in need but may not have wanted to collect supplies from a public distribution site. </p>
<p>Some of these nonprofits helped emergency responders quickly locate and identify people who had preexisting conditions that had prevented their evacuation.</p>
<p>Several of the groups also used their connections with bilingual neighbors to help the responders <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764007310524">convey important information</a> in languages like Spanish and Vietnamese to help local residents who hadn’t mastered English obtain trustworthy information.</p>
<h2>Survival and recovery</h2>
<p>As these nonprofits supported the local community, they themselves had to deal with their own hardships caused by Hurricane Harvey. We found that nearly half needed to repair or replace offices, entire buildings, inventory, machinery or other items. </p>
<p>Many had to find a new place to operate or replace damaged equipment. Several said they lost staff and volunteers who moved away, changed jobs or even died as a result of the storm. Those disruptions interfered with their ability to keep up the services they usually provide and to sustain the new operations their post-Harvey reality required.</p>
<p>Being forced to make do with less money and fewer staff members and volunteers dragged out the recovery process. A year after the storm, all 30 of the nonprofits were still operating, but 24 of them hadn’t fully resumed all of their pre-Harvey operations and programming or completed repairs to their damaged buildings. </p>
<p>More recent data I have collected indicates that many of the 30 nonprofits still had not fully recovered by 2022 – five years after Hurricane Harvey. </p>
<h2>Impact of disasters on nonprofits</h2>
<p>Other researchers have observed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23303131.2021.1946455">donations to local nonprofits increase</a> immediately after disasters. But those funds dramatically decrease after the initial response and rescue phase. Those local nonprofits are then left to fend for themselves as they manage their own recovery. </p>
<p>Many of the organizations we studied said they needed more funding after Harvey to continue providing their usual services while also taking on local disaster recovery efforts.</p>
<p>Most, even if they got new funding, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00415-w">couldn’t use it to quickly bounce back</a>.</p>
<p>It is important to acknowledge that this small data set, taken from two small communities in Texas a year after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, isn’t necessarily representative of what always happens to local nonprofits after a disaster.</p>
<p>However, my findings are in line with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764215591183">previous research</a> about what happens to nonprofits after a disaster: It <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24459718">deprives their communities</a> of much-needed support.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192377/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joy Semien is a funded doctoral candidate at Texas A&M University. She receives funding from NSF and NOAA-RISA. She also owns L.E.E.D. With Joy LLC, where she consults on various research projects. </span></em></p>
Research conducted in Southeast Texas casts light on the toll disasters can take on groups that serve as pillars of their communities.
Joy Semien, Research Assistant at the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.