Nation magazine
Mark Hertsgaard is an investigative editor for the Nation. He is author of Hot: Living through the Next Fifty Years on Earth and On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency.
PROFILE
Mark Hertsgaard
Guest
FROM Mark Hertsgaard
To the Point
Two inexperienced leaders and the prospect of nuclear war President Trump shook much of the world yesterday with his comment on future threats from North Korea. "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen." North Korea's Kim Jung Un responded by saying he's reviewing plans to target America's airbase on the island territory of Guam. Today, some White House advisors are urging calm, but there's renewed concern about what might happen in one of the world's most dangerous regions. What more needs to be done to avoid catastrophic miscalculation by either side?
To the Point
Paris Climate Talks… More Progress than Expected? The deadline for the UN Climate Change summit in Paris is Friday, with the stated goal of keeping global warming under 2° Celsius. Today, John Kerry says they might do better than that. While the Secretary of State acknowledged that the announced targets will make a "major dent" in global emissions, he cautioned that "they will not hold the warming to…what scientists tell us we need to avoid the worst impacts. Or 1.5, whatever, we need to go as low as we can, as many people in this hall are demanding." That sounds like an insignificant difference, but it’s not -- especially for the world’s poorest, most vulnerable nations, as we hear from Mark Hertsgaard, who is covering the talks for The Nation .
Which Way, L.A.?
Governor Brown: On His Way to Paris On his way to the Climate Summit in Paris, Governor Jerry Brown spoke to reporters and radio hosts today. I asked him what he hopes to accomplish since California has no official role. He says California's a "catalyst" for change in the fight against greenhouse emissions. Is that's consistent with his support for fracking, diverting cap-and-trade fees to high-speed rail and watching the oil industry score a big victory in Sacramento?
Which Way, L.A.?
Governor Brown Announces Stricter Greenhouse Gas Goals When it comes to the fight against climate change, Jerry Brown has raised Arnold Schwarzenegger by setting tough new goals for reducing greenhouse emissions. The current Governor spoke today at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills. Mark Hertsgaard is an independent reporter and author of Hot: Living through the Next Fifty Years on Earth .
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Almonds Almonds are an $11 billion business in California, but they’ve come under scrutiny for being water intensive to grow. They’ve become like the Hummer during times of high gas prices: a symbol of waste or extravagance that might not make sense during drought conditions. But have almonds been unfairly-maligned? Is the fault not in almonds, but ourselves, or rather, other water issues?
To the Point
Taming Water Use in the Wild West Yesterday, after four years of drought, Governor Jerry Brown stood on dry grass where the snow pack is normally five feet deep and announced the state's first-ever mandatory restrictions on the use of water — escalating water wars between urban and agricultural users. The shortage of water's unprecedented, but the competition is nothing new -- and it's not just in California, which gets much of its water from winter snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. People in Las Vegas and Phoenix, as well as Los Angeles, are pitted against the farmers who feed the rest of the nation and other parts of the world. Will states with no choice but to share water get together to resolve a crisis that's never going away?
Recommended
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
Left, Right & Center
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.