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Paid family leave is good for workers and businesses
With Labor Day weekend behind us, it’s time for most of us to get back to work. But this November, Coloradans will get to decide if new parents can be paid to stay home. For most nations, the plethora of scientific evidence has already provided a resounding “yes” to paid family leave. Across multiple disciplines, […]
Conspiracy theorists are on the rise in Colorado
If coronavirus made toilet paper a hot commodity, conspiracy theorists may soon leave us with a growing shortage of aluminum foil. Conspiracy theories in Colorado used to be (almost) fun. From wild tales of a 32-foot demon stallion nicknamed Blucifer, to decades of speculation on airport tunnels, the Illuminati, hidden secrets of mountain defense centers […]
University faculty should unionize amid COVID-19
I love my job as a university lecturer — I just wish I got paid more than $22,500 per year to do it. As the school year starts, coronavirus is quickly escalating classroom challenges. Teachers who previously worried about lack of pay, no textbooks and too-large class sizes now also face unfamiliar digital infrastructures and […]
Colorado wildfires should rekindle action on climate crisis
Amidst the chaos of a novel coronavirus and historic presidential elections, Coloradans have been starkly reminded of another threat looming large — climate change. As of Tuesday, over 134,000 acres are burning in Colorado. The Pine Gulch Fire is already the fourth largest fire in the state’s history (and growing), and most of the fires […]
Vaccine nationalism could backfire on America
As the number of COVID-19 cases tops 20 million worldwide, scientists are racing to find a vaccine. Many countries are collaborating. America, by and large, is not. Vaccine development has long been a globalized process. Between research, procurement of materials and manufacturing, vaccine production all but requires regional cooperation. Especially for a new disease like […]
Colorado’s low vaccination rates may complicate COVID-19 recovery
The novel coronavirus is a mere 120 nanometers in diameter. That’s roughly 700 times smaller than the diameter of a single human hair. It’s hard to fathom something so small wreaking such big havoc, yet here we are, still facing unprecedented challenges caused by a tiny, spiky virus that as of eight months ago wasn’t […]
Schools can reopen when adults follow the rules
If a gin and tonic is your pastime of choice, your local bar is open until 10 p.m. But if education is your right, be ready to stay at home a little longer. There had been much to celebrate in Colorado’s early response to COVID-19. We were among the first states to successfully “flatten the […]
Masks are simple, mask science is not
Last Thursday, Gov. Jared Polis issued a statewide mask mandate. The announcement came on the heels of an uptick in statewide COVID-19 cases and immediately prompted backlash by some Republican leaders. Mask wearing, like so many things, has become unreasonably partisan despite prominent health organizations and scientists widely supporting mask mandates. In the midst of […]
Colorado can reduce abortions without banning them
Abortion access is back on the ballot this November. Anti-abortion groups will claim the best way to reduce late-term abortions is to ban them. They are wrong. During the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, there is zero fetal viability outside the uterus. There is also zero indication of neural development for pain or perception by […]
Turn ‘tough on crime’ into ‘effective on crime’
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the Colorado state Legislature passed sweeping bipartisan police reform. It took a mere 16 days to pass, yet it’s only the beginning. Today’s criminal justice system is not only steeped in racial and gender bias, it’s at odds with emerging science. A growing number of long-held practices are […]
How operatives use ‘dark tech’ to sway voters
With the 2020 general election underway, voters once again can expect to be inundated with ad hominem attacks for the next four months. But gone are the days of mass adverts and generic robocalls. Today’s political marketing is far more sophisticated. While campaigns have always relied on targeting voters, no election has ever been more […]