Illuminate | Illuminate News

Some of Our Most Popular Articles:

Feb 19
1 min

Scientists Successfully Cloned an Endangered Species for the First Time - Welcome Elizabeth Ann

American scientists have successfully cloned an endangered species for the first time, a remarkable achievement that will boost conservation efforts in the US. US Fish and Wildlife: "Black-footed ferret recovery efforts aimed at increased genetic diversity and disease resistance took a bold step forward Dec. 10, 2020, with the birth of “Elizabeth Ann,” created from the frozen cells of “Willa,” a black-footed ferret that lived more than 30 years ago." Elizabeth Ann was born to

Jan 11
3 min

Trump's Visit to the "Wall" this Week, Another Symbol of His Failed Presidency

Donald Trump is planning a trip to his "Big Beautiful Wall" this week as he closes out his chaotic term of office. That is fitting because it's the perfect symbol for his failed presidency, his lies, bigotry, and distain for the environment and expertise. Let's count the ways. 1. Bigotry: Right-wing talk radio personalities had been advocating for a wall along the southern border for years and Trump understood the "barbarians at the gates," symbolism, combining racism, xenoph

Dec 21, 2020
2 min

Brazil's Trump, Jair Bolsonaro Claim's Covid Vaccine Could Turn People into Crocodiles

If Brazil's right wing president Jair Bolsonaro wasn't burning down the Amazon, few would care that he's stark raving mad. However, Bolsonaro's anti-environmental policies are exacerbating climate change, destroying the habitat of thousands of species and driving indigenous tribes from their homes. Reuters: "Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest surged to a 12-year high in 2020, official government data showed on Monday, with destruction soaring since President Jair Bol

Sep 9, 2020
2 min

Trump Lies About His Environmental Record in Outrageous Florida Speech

Donald Trump's environmental record is so bad that even Republican EPA directors have publicly criticized his policies, but that didn't stop him from claiming that he is a "great environmentalist," while speaking in Jupiter, Florida yesterday. The President is obviously an adherent of the "big lie" school of politics, bending the truth so audaciously that one might wonder how he retains a straight face. Los Angeles Times: “He’s ignoring science, he’s ignoring experts and now

Aug 13, 2020
2 min

Six Former Republican & Democratic EPA Heads Call For a Policy "Reset" at the Environmental Agency

Six former administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] who served under both Republican & Democratic Presidents issued a report yesterday, calling for a "reset" at the agency to address the nation's growing list of environmental challenges. While the letter and report didn't specifically name Donald Trump as the problem, the recommendations for change addressed many of the policies the current administration has implemented, including Trump's efforts to underm

Jun 9, 2020
3 min

Even as Covid-19 & Protests Rage, Trump Continues His Assault on the Environment

I taught an environmental law and policy class in the Spring and, unfortunately, one of the consistent themes was Donald Trump's efforts to roll-back environmental protections, both domestically and internationally. There has never been a presidential administration so intent on gutting green regulations at the behest of polluters. As much of the world is ramping up efforts to battle micro-plastics in our oceans, climate change, species extinction, toxic chemicals in our air

May 27, 2020
1 min

Poll Shows Very Few Voters Trust Trump on Environmental Issues, Especially Climate Change

New polling data shows that voters trust former Vice-President Joe Biden to manage the nation's environment and he has a wide lead over Donald Trump on the issue. The survey conducted by Morning Consult/Politico found that Biden leads Trump by 19% [48-29%] on the issue of which candidate voters "trust more to handle" environmental concerns. Biden's lead on the issue has a lot to do with Trump's failure to address, or even acknowledge, climate change. An earlier Morning Consul

May 19, 2020
1 min

Good Environmental News: Renewable Sources Have Surpassed Coal in Generating Our Electricity

According to a study by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEFA), renewable sources of electricity such as solar, wind, and hydropower, surpassed coal this Spring. Coal was once the backbone of America's energy grid, but has become relatively more expensive compared to natural gas and renewable sources. Moreover, coal is a much dirtier fuel, releasing more greenhouse gases per unit of energy than any other electricity source. Reuters: "The boost for re

May 16, 2020
1 min

Trump's EPA Won't Regulate Chemical Linked to Fetal & Infant Brain Damage

Little by little, Donald Trump is undermining the Environmental Protection Agency's [EPA] mission to regulate toxins in the air and water that damage human health and that effort continued this week. The New York Times reported Thursday that Trump administration officials at the EPA have decided not to impose limits on perchlorate, "a toxic chemical compound that contaminates water and has been linked to fetal and infant brain damage." New York Times: "The decision by Andrew

Apr 22, 2020
3 min

15 Habits to Adopt for a More Sustainable Lifestyle

Happy Earth Day! The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, so this is the 50th anniversary. We have made some progress since then. America's air, rivers and lakes are a bit cleaner because of the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, but we continue to face numerous environmental challenges like climate change, mass extinctions, over-fishing, ocean acidification, deforestation, mountains of plastic, and a global shortage of clean drinking water. So, adopting a sustainable lifesty

Apr 2, 2020
2 min

Using CRISPR to Cure Rare Form of Blindness, Taiwan Bans Many Plastics & a Plan to Restore Oceans

We are focusing on some much needed good news today. 1. CRISPR advances. For the first time, scientists used the gene-editing tool CRISPR inside a human body to repair mutations in the CEP290 gene that causes a rare form of inherited blindness called Leber congenital amaurosis type 10. Most people with this mutation are born blind or become blind early in life. It's an important milestone for the gene-editing tool which may eventually revolutionize how we treat a variety of i

Mar 31, 2020
2 min

Trump Guts Fuel Efficiency Standards & Admits Republicans Don't Want Increased Voter Turnout

Fuel Efficiency Standards. The Trump administration is expected to announce today that it's overturning Obama-era automobile fuel efficiency guidelines as it continues to gut America's plan to combat climate change. It's the clearest signal yet that the administration won't take part in international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. New York Times: The new rule, written by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation, would allow cars on

Mar 27, 2020
2 min

Trump's EPA Uses Virus Crisis as Pretext to Relax Oversight of Polluting Industries

One of the most consistent themes of the Trump administration has been their efforts to undermine America's environmental regulations. The administration has gutted more than 90 environmental rules and regulations since the President took office including their decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement and reducing emissions standards, clean water rules, and bans on pesticides. Continuing those efforts, the EPA issued a statement yesterday saying that it would allow

Mar 5, 2020
3 min

Beverage-Makers & Other Companies That Sell Their Products in Single Use Plastic Containers Sued

Plastic waste is everywhere on our planet now, from the deepest parts of our oceans to the tops of the highest mountains on earth. We are literally drowning in the stuff. It's polluting our oceans and rivers, filling our landfills and spoiling our beaches, and it's responsible for killing over 1 million marine animals each year including sea turtles, sharks, birds and fish. And, there is increasing evidence that it's impacting our health. Small pieces of plastic, called "micr

Feb 27, 2020
2 min

States Across the Country Have Banded Together to Combat Trump's Climate Change Ignorance

In response to Donald Trump's decision to withdraw America from the Paris Climate Agreement and gut federal regulations meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 24 states and Puerto Rico have now joined the Climate Action Alliance. The Alliance is a bipartisan coalition of governors that have promised to meet the original carbon emission reduction goals created as the result of the Paris agreement. Most, but not all, are "blue" states with Democratic governors and legislatur

Feb 26, 2020
1 min

Virginia Defies Trump Administration by Banning Offshore Drilling Along Its Coastline

In a direct rebuke to the Trump administration, Virginia's House of Delegates voted this week to ban oil and gas development off the state’s coastline. Governor Ralph Northam is expected to sign the bill. He has long opposed offshore drilling because of its impact on the environment and potential harm to the state's vital tourism industry. Virginia joins California and other Atlantic coast states in rejecting Trump administration efforts to open up most of the nation's coasta

Feb 18, 2020
3 min

"Clean Meat" is Getting Closer to Reality & It Will be a Game-Changer

"Clean Meat" is one of the names that has been given to the process of using animal cells to grow real meat in a lab, replacing slaughter houses and reducing our carbon footprint. It sounds a bit like science fiction but it's already here and you will see clean meat [also called cultured meat] products in restaurants and grocery stores in the not so distant future. It has the potential to change the world. In 2013 Dr. Mark Post of Maastricht University cooked and ate the firs

Feb 4, 2020
2 min

UK Carbon Tax has been Incredibly Successful in Decreasing the Use of Coal & Reducing CO2 Emissions

A new Cambridge University study has determined that the United Kingdom's tax on carbon, instituted in 2013, has led to a 93% reduction in coal-fired electricity, and resulted in a surge in the use of natural gas and renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Moreover, the tax has led to greater energy conservation as proponents had hoped. Coal now generates less than 1% of the country's electricity, and is expected to be totally phased out by 2025. And, in 2019, renewable

Jan 22, 2020
2 min

Exciting Cancer Research & Iceland Finally Stops Whaling

Cancer Breakthrough: A team of researchers at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom has found that a newly-discovered part of our immune system could be used to treat a wide variety of cancers. They discovered a new type of T-cell in our blood that could be adapted, genetically modified, to hunt and kill most types of cancer cells. T-cells are white blood cells which help our body to fight infections and other threats. Science Alert: "In T-cell therapy – the most common fo

Jan 1, 2020
10 min

10 Issues and Trends that Will Define America's Public Policy Debate in the 2020s

Predicting the future is fraught with difficulties, and it's especially hard today because the pace of innovation is at an all-time high and new technologies have a broader impact on our culture and public policy than at any time in history. However, there are demographic, social and political trends that are a bit easier to predict with some precision and they will have a substantial impact on America in the 2020s [20s]. Moreover, there are also some long-term public policy

2 3 4 5

Beautiful Handmade Mixed Huipile Guatemalan Patchwork Quilt Sets. See them here.

Images of the Week

1/20

Please visit our Friends at Feline Design: Making superior quality cat furniture in the US since 1986.

About Us

Policies & Terms of Use

Illuminate Our World

News, Current Research, Art, Photography, Culture, & Fair Trade Shopping

Scientists Successfully Cloned an Endangered Species for the First Time - Welcome Elizabeth Ann

Trump's Visit to the "Wall" this Week, Another Symbol of His Failed Presidency

Brazil's Trump, Jair Bolsonaro Claim's Covid Vaccine Could Turn People into Crocodiles

Trump Lies About His Environmental Record in Outrageous Florida Speech

Six Former Republican & Democratic EPA Heads Call For a Policy "Reset" at the Environmental Agency

Even as Covid-19 & Protests Rage, Trump Continues His Assault on the Environment

Poll Shows Very Few Voters Trust Trump on Environmental Issues, Especially Climate Change

Good Environmental News: Renewable Sources Have Surpassed Coal in Generating Our Electricity

Trump's EPA Won't Regulate Chemical Linked to Fetal & Infant Brain Damage

15 Habits to Adopt for a More Sustainable Lifestyle

Using CRISPR to Cure Rare Form of Blindness, Taiwan Bans Many Plastics & a Plan to Restore Oceans

Trump Guts Fuel Efficiency Standards & Admits Republicans Don't Want Increased Voter Turnout

Trump's EPA Uses Virus Crisis as Pretext to Relax Oversight of Polluting Industries

Beverage-Makers & Other Companies That Sell Their Products in Single Use Plastic Containers Sued

States Across the Country Have Banded Together to Combat Trump's Climate Change Ignorance

Virginia Defies Trump Administration by Banning Offshore Drilling Along Its Coastline

"Clean Meat" is Getting Closer to Reality & It Will be a Game-Changer

UK Carbon Tax has been Incredibly Successful in Decreasing the Use of Coal & Reducing CO2 Emissions

Exciting Cancer Research & Iceland Finally Stops Whaling

10 Issues and Trends that Will Define America's Public Policy Debate in the 2020s

Images of the Week

Follow Us

Please visit our Friends at Feline Design: Making superior quality cat furniture in the US since 1986.