Awareness

Defunding the EPA

Have you chosen a political issue on which you have decided to focus?  There is plenty to do.  Consider this.

The new presidential administration plans to cut the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget by $800 million.  Ken Kimmel, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists has stated that “the inevitable consequence of budget cuts of that magnitude would be a reversal of about the last 50 years of improvements in air quality, improvements in water quality and greater safety from chemicals that cause disease in people”.  Read the full story.

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The George Washington Bridge in heavy smog, photographed during the early 1970s before many of today’s clean air protections were put in place. (Photo from the US National Archives/Flickr).

Here are more climate change stories.

Objectivity, Neutrality and Truth

Trust in “news” as well as other sources of “truth” is a developing topic here at seekingGood.  When does conviction stand in the way of objectivity, or does it? Can it be that not taking a stand endangers objectivity, rendering us complicit in a lie?  When does a habit of normalizing acquiescence result in notions of “truth” we might abhor under other circumstances?  Sound complicated?  It is. (If nuance is your cup of tea, here is a story for you).

Lewis Wallace, a former journalist for Marketplace, attempted to draw attention to these issues—and was fired.  The first video presents a brief overview of Mr. Wallace’s situation.

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This second video presents a more in-depth description, as well as Mr. Wallace reading the blog post that created the stir.

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We should all ponder the pitfalls of neutrality as we attempt to find Good in this new Public Space of contemporary life.  Want more on these issues of media reliability?  Explore these stories.

Stuff to do This Week – Jan 29th

jennifer-hofmann-image-1If you would like something specific to do this week, take a look at Jen Hofmann’s Action list for the week–January 29th-Feb 4th.  The are specific things you can do, email and phone call scripts (in case you do not know what to say) and some news.  You might also want to subscribe to her weekly list directly.

(Note: Since a lot of people are accessing this document, it might not load right away.  Or it might seem like a broken link.  If so, just try it again.)

A National Conversation

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Public radio station WNYC is broadcasting a series of live, call-in programs called “Indivisible”.  The series is scheduled for four days a week, at 9pm EST, Monday thru Thursday during the first 100 days of the new presidential administration.  Anyone can call in to discuss the topic of the night at one of 130 radio stations across the country.  You can listen live or hear past shows.  If nothing else, these shows can help us all break out of our respective ideological cocoons and hear other viewpoints.  The shows are thought provoking to say the least.  Tip: Focus on a caller who does not share your views and imagine that the voice is coming from an real person, with feelings, hopes and disappointments—just like you and me.