Although still in its infancy, the USC Schwarzenegger Institute has already generated extensive media coverage in connection with its mission and activities.
Swedish youth activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday called on leaders to inform the public about climate change without sugarcoating "the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced." Most people have no clue about the scale of the climate emergency because they "have not been told, or more importantly, told by the right people," said Thunberg, who has inspired millions of young people across the globe to participate in the Fridays for the Future school strikes. Deutsche Welle
Los Angeles County is investigating whether an eviction notice sent to a 102-year-old womanat her longtime home in Ladera Heights violated temporary renter protections approved by lawmakers last year. Thelma Smith, 102, has rented in a small complex in an unincorporated area of Ladera Heights for nearly three decades. She received an eviction notice in March, telling her to move out of her Craftsman-style home by the end of June so the landlord’s daughter could move in. Los Angeles Times
As a former California governor and a former president of the California State Senate, we know pollution is a threat we must address head-on. One of us is a Democrat and one of us is a Republican. We come from different backgrounds and experiences. But asthma and other lung diseases have no party affiliation. Pollution never asks if you lean to the right or the left before it fills your lungs. The Sacramento Bee
What do weightlifting and gerrymandering have to do with the fight against climate change? Arnold Schwarzenegger explains in an exclusive interview on the Political Climate podcast. The former California governor and global environmental leader has been tackling the related issues of climate change and pollution for years by working across the political aisle. In this episode, Schwarzenegger explains why he still believes in working with people of all political stripes. Greentech Media
Previous essays in this series have addressed fundamental flaws in the Constitution: the ill-defined nature of presidential powers, the malapportionment of the Senate, the Electoral College. But I wish to draw my readers’ attention to a less central, but still important defect: the requirement, stated in Article II, Section 2, that presidents be “natural-born” citizens. Vox
Political Climate is back after a four-month hiatus. Did we miss anything? Well, there was the Democrats' Green New Deal resolution and launch of the new House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. There was also the introduction of a Republican-backed clean energy plan and the kickoff of a climate-centric presidential election. So there’s that. Greentech Media
"Political Climate," a podcast that tracks the politics and substance of global warming policy, has new partners and wider ambitions. What's new: It's now backed by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute and Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. The first episode of the new season landed this morning. Axios
Former Secretary of State John Kerry, the man who negotiated and signed the landmark Paris climate accord on behalf of the United States, is working on a new initiative that will seek to punish President Trump and other politicians for failing to combat climate change. “Regrettably, President Trump has eliminated American leadership and replaced it [with] know-nothing denial,” Kerry said in an interview Thursday. Los Angeles Times
Ambient air pollution, like smoking, can seldom be definitively linked to individual cases of debility or premature death, but it greatly increases the risks. In Choked, Beth Gardiner reports that it cuts short about 7 million lives worldwide every year. Recent research suggests the actual number is closer to 9 million, or roughly one in nine of all deaths. Whatever the precise figure, air pollution – principally nitrogen oxides and tiny particles known as PM2.5 – kills more people than smoking, and more than Aids, diabetes and traffic accidents combined. The Guardian
Move over, Speaker Pelosi and your shade-y clap: The latest Washington woman to be inducted into the She-ro Hall of Fame is longtime NPR reporter Nina Totenberg. Totenberg, who is considered the dean of the Supreme Court press corps, is being hailed as everyone’s #mood now that a clip of her purposefully striding over to former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in front of the court Tuesday has gone viral. The Washington Post
