FAST COMPANY 05/08/25 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Steve Cohen The Trump administration is trying to axe a HUD program that helps retrofit old buildings. It’s a mistake. Even in this new era where hundreds of words are getting erased from U.S. government websites, one wouldn’t imagine a word […]
National Analysis
DOGE Cuts Devastate Our Natural Disaster Preparedness
NEWSWEEK 04/29/25 By Dr. Michael Shank and US Congresswoman Yvette Clarke As we enter tornado and Atlantic hurricane season in the United States, with the Midwest already experiencing devastating damage from multiple storms this month, the Trump administration is actively undermining our nation’s ability to predict, plan, prepare for, and […]
Clean Energy Can Thrive Under the Trump Administration
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH 04/24/25 By Michael Shank and Ed Potosnak Americans have been feeling the pinch in recent months. There’s a reason the cost of eggs is a dinner table conversation — and frankly, the cost of everything else, including our power bills. There’s a selfish economic reason motivating many Americans […]
Climate Change Is Forcing Americans to Move—And They Need Help
NEWSWEEK 02/19/25 By Dr. Michael Shank and US Congresswoman Clarke With President Donald Trump’s administration removing climate change language from federal government websites, withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate agreement, ending climate disaster response within the Department of Homeland Security, and discussing plans to get rid of the […]
Bring Back the Inspectors General Trump Fired
FAST COMPANY 02/14/25 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Steve Cohen If President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are serious about making the U.S. government more efficient, then Trump needs to reinstate the dozen-plus independent inspectors general who were recently fired from his administration. These independent inspectors were tasked with […]
An Apolitical Win: Solar Power on Habitat Houses
APOLITICAL 02/07/25 By Dr. Michael Shank With newly elected President Donald Trump declaring a national energy emergency last month to boost fossil fuels, while planning to gut environmental policies of the previous administration, there is one clean energy that’ll stay in the mix — and that’s solar power. Trump’s recently […]
RFK Jr.’s Approach to Toxics Could Unite Republicans and Democrats
THE HILL 01/28/25 By Michael Shank With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Senate confirmation hearing now scheduled for this week, there’s a lot of discussion about what Kennedy will or won’t do as secretary of Health and Human Services in President Donald Trump’s administration. Estimates are wide-ranging, but there’s one lens […]
Buildings Contain Tons of Toxic Plastic—and Big Oil Wants to Add More
FAST COMPANY 01/21/2025 By Michael Shank Here’s what we should be using instead. There’s wide consensus that single-use plastics are bad for environmental and human health, which is why eight in 10 Americans support a national policy reducing their use. The fossil fuel industry, in response, is finding new homes […]
Trump’s Embrace of Fossil Fuels Threatens National Security
NEWSWEEK 01/21/25 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Raul Grijalva With 2024 going down as the globe’s hottest year on record, and with devastating fires in California signaling a new climate-changing normal, President Donald Trump and his administration are doing exactly the thing a warming planet doesn’t need. Trump is […]
Three Ways to Restore the Public’s Trust in Government
APOLITICAL 01/10/25 LINKEDIN 01/10/25 By Michael Shank New Research Identifies Three Trust-Building Pathways for Political Candidates and Campaigns A new poll published this month shows a surge in Republican trust in the accuracy of the national vote count for the U.S. presidential election. Roughly 6 in 10 Republicans reported “a great deal” […]