Justice Samuel Alito did not recuse himself from considering the petition, despite significant financial conflicts of interest in implicated cases. For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted oil companies’ request to weigh in on whether climate accountability lawsuits are preempted by federal law — setting the stage for a battle that could determine if dozens of similar cases are allowed to move toward trial. The decision means the court will hear arguments from ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy to overturn an earlier ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court,…
Posts published in “Opinion”
President Donald Trump has all but dismantled U.S. efforts to curb pollution that’s warming the planet and harming human health. Yet with every federal blow to climate action, states have launched a counterpunch. Take Colorado: After Trump and congressional Republicans ended federal EV tax credits, the state juiced its own clean-car incentives. California has meanwhile inked a deal with the United Kingdom to cooperate on clean energy and climate efforts. And several other states are considering “climate superfund” laws, which seek to hold fossil fuel companies financially responsible for climate change–induced damages.…
Wielding a golden gavel and a playlist featuring the Beach Boys, Donald Trump ushered in a new era of international humiliation at the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-led Board of Peace. The new body, while established by Trump, has been tasked by a UN Security Council resolution to administer Gaza’s reconstruction efforts. But Trump has also suggested his ambitions for the board go far beyond Gaza, saying it would “almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly.” Trump has demanded that world leaders pony up…
The search for rare earths for energy transition is often regarded as a form of neo-colonialism, and today it is the area in which this phenomenon manifests itself most clearly, especially due to its geopolitical and economic effects. However, there are other neo-colonial practices that are less visible but with equally negative consequences at the local level. One of these is the export of waste to Africa and Asia by Western countries, particularly the export of plastic, clothing, and electronic waste. The export of waste to the Global South is…
The cocaine market exploded between 2014 and 2023. Production in Colombia increased more than sevenfold to nearly 2,700 tonnes, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Behind the scenes, drug traffickers find equally illicit ways to pay their suppliers and foot soldiers, or to spend the proceeds of their criminal trade. Their solution? Money laundering. It is estimated that 25% of the funds collected is laundered. Criminals generally launder money in three stages: firstly, they inject it into the financial system; secondly, they layer it with…
In January 2026, the death of Renée Good, a mother of three in Minneapolis, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, and the subsequent fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, by federal agents, sparked outrage and protests within the US. Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu of Massachusetts Institute of Technology swiftly diagnosed the malady in a Project Syndicate piece. This could be “a turning point,” he declared. The killings represented “a key distinguishing feature of authoritarian governments” – the ability to deploy excessive force against opponents. The Trump…
Red flags that both job seekers and employers should watch for, in an era of AI slop and application scams. Hello world, My name is Andrew Losowsky, and I’m Product Director & Editor at The Markup and CalMatters. A few months ago, we wanted to hire a new engineer. Hiring is always a lengthy process, but this time I had to wade through what felt like an ocean of generative AI slop. Fake and exaggerated resumes have always existed, but now, thanks to the rise of AI tools, it’s incredibly…