The article in the Conversation 22 percent of men without college don’t have jobs. Here’s why they’re being left behind. by Erin Wolcott (6/7/2018) makes two points: But the unemployment rate doesn’t tell the full story because it only includes people actively looking for work. People who report not having looked for work in …
Read More »How fast is Antarctica melting (and a quick calculus project)?
A recent NYT article, Antarctica Is Melting Three Times as Fast as a Decade Ago by Kendra Pierre-Louis (6/13/2018), states clearly that Antarctica is melting, well, three times faster than a decade ago, which is a rate of change statement. Rapid melting should cause some concern since: Between 60 and …
Read More »How much are the oceans warming?
A year ago Climate Central posted the article Oceans Are Heating Up with a graph of sea surface temperature anomalies while providing context on issues of ocean warming: 93 percent of the excess heat absorbed by the climate system goes into our oceans, creating major consequences. While more extreme storms and rising …
Read More »What are the symptoms of inequality?
The Guardian article, Trump’s ‘cruel’ measures pushing US inequality to dangerous level – UN warns by Ed Pilkington (6/1/18) lists some symptoms two of which are: Americans now live shorter and sicker lives than citizens of other rich democracies; The US incarceration rate remains the highest in the world; The article lacks …
Read More »Do people in poverty work?
The EPI article, 50 years after the Poor People’s Campaign poverty persists because of a stingy safety net and a dysfunctional labor market by Elise Gould and Jessica Schieder (5/24/2018), answers the question with a graph (reposted here) and this: The bottom bar shows us that, among those working-age individuals who …
Read More »What is the state of the Rio Grande?
The NYT article, In a Warming West – the Rio Grande Is Drying Up by Henry Fountain (5/24/2018) answers the question. Even in a good year, much of the Rio Grande is diverted for irrigation. But it’s only May, and the river is already turning to sand. “The effect of long-term warming …
Read More »How old is Arctic sea ice?
The NYT article In the Arctic, the Old Ice Is Disappearing by Jeremy White and kendra Pierre-Louis (5/14/2018) notes In the Arctic Ocean, some ice stays frozen year-round, lasting for many years before melting. But this winter, the region hit a record low for ice older than five years. In fact, …
Read More »What is the Great Gatsby curve?
The Great Gatsby curve represents the correlation between income inequality and intergenerational income elasticity. In short, the greater the income inequality in a country the greater the relationship between a child’s income and their parent’s income. The Atlantic article, The 9.9 Percent Is the New American Aristocracy: The class divide is already toxic, …
Read More »What are the prospects for new college grads?
EPI has an answer with its report Class of 2018 College edition by Elise Gould, Zane Mokhiber, & Julia Wolfe (3/10/18). The report has 16 key findings and 10 graphs (the graphs and associated data are available). For example, Women make up about half of 21- to 24-year-olds, but well over half (57.3 percent) …
Read More »What is the CEO to worker pay gap?
U.S. Publicly held companies now have to report CEO and median worker salaries (this was part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010) and Bloomberg has an article, Alphabet CEO Page Makes a Tiny FractionCompared to Its Median Employee by Alicia Ritcey and Jenn Zhao (5/15/18), with an interactive graph …
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