The Baines Report
By Alejandro Hernandez Amidst the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the Ukrainian counter-offensive in September, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 77th session went mostly under the radar. Citizens around the world usually ignore these sessions, even though the UN is the largest international organization in the world working on the most important challenges […]
By Kathleen Hillery Human-accelerated climate change is the most urgent crisis of our time. Each successive iteration of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change hammers home the increasingly desperate environmental come-back necessary to prevent cascading disruption to ocean currents, biodiversity, and humanity’s way of life. Scientists have published robust studies confirming human activity has caused […]
By Ardian Shaholli As the child of Albanian immigrants, it took a trip to the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum in Dec. 2019 for me to fully appreciate my ancestral homeland’s heroics during World War II. My parents and grandparents had told me stories about the nation’s robust rescue efforts during the war. However, […]
On Nov. 13, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference – also known as COP26 – came to an end with mixed results. The two-week conference held in Glasgow, Scotland had two main goals: coordinate international efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and provide countries an opportunity to update their Nationally Determined […]
By Bella Steinhauer Singapore, one of the world’s only city-states, prides itself on being a multiracial and multicultural society. The island nation – located on the southern tip of Malaysia – has a citizen population that comprises four main ethnic groups: Chinese (74.3%), Malays (13.5%), Indians (9%), and Eurasians (3.2%), commonly classified as “Other.” A […]
By Abdullah Dowaihy Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres started the general assembly debate by telling leaders that “the world must wake up,” because it is “on the edge of an abyss.” The Secretary General also warned world leaders are “moving in the wrong direction” given that human rights are backsliding, there is […]
A Rocky Start to Repairing Relationships By Kate Munro During a July 11, 2019 speech in New York City, candidate Joe Biden promised “as president, I will do more than just restore the historic partnerships, I will lead an effort to reimagine them to better meet the challenges we’re grappling with today in the next […]
By Kathleen Hillery Experts project Iran may cross the nuclear threshold this month, meaning Iran would have the technology and enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon—without actually having built one. Recently elected Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has delayed negotiations to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), possibly to allow his […]
What does it really mean to stop climate change? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently made headlines around the world with the release of its Sixth Assessment Report on the state of the global climate. The report presents a variety of potential scenarios for the future based on how much the planet warms […]
Student-Led Divestment Initiatives Drive Change on College Campuses Student and community groups have the power to play a significant role in advocating for divestment initiatives and sustainable goals. Recent examples of campus activism have shown us what students can accomplish. On Feb. 6, 2020, Georgetown University Board of Directors announced that the university would divest […]