Coal and fracking don’t work like other declining industries, and that matters for Democrats.
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Robinson MeyerIn 2016, Trump won PA by 44,292 votes.
A new study suggests that up to 18,000 of those votes came from coal towns in decline.
I wrote about how the fossil-fuel industry has a seemingly magical power at the ballot box—and why that matters in 2020
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Cases are rising in all but nine states. Unlike the past two waves, this one has no epicenter.
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Robinson MeyerNEW: The US is sleepwalking into a new peak in coronavirus infection.
New case counts have returned to late June levels. Hospitalizations are up 40% since a month ago.
And unlike previous waves, this surge has no epicenter. Cases are rising in 41 states.
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Robinson MeyerThe new surge in cases is almost three different waves at once:
1. An explosion of rural cases, dominated by the Great Plains and West.
2. A swing-state surge in the upper Midwest and PA.
3. A pandemic-fatigue creep in the Northeast.. and PA again.
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Robinson MeyerSpeaking as a climate and energy reporter, I thought the biggest news of last night was that the US is surging toward record levels of coronavirus infection and the president doesn’t have a plan for it, or even seem to understand that it’s happening.
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"There's a fair amount of climate coverage that is like a commuter leaning on their horn, in a traffic jam. It's very loud. It tells everyone around them something they already knew. And, at the end of the day, nobody's moved anywhere."
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Robinson MeyerThis is a really kind story by @SarahScire about what we’re trying to do with climate coverage at The Atlantic.
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The world is getting hotter, and the divide between rich and poor is getting bigger. In the Earth’s new gilded era, heat will be the defining human-rights issue.
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Robinson Meyer11/ Read Vann Newkirk II on how the heat crisis is here.
From Cambodia to Florida, an unnoticed epidemic of kidney failure is afflicting people who work outside. It is the defining human-rights crisis of our time
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It’s bad for you, and the environment. If you can afford to avoid it, you probably should.
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Robinson Meyer12/ Read @aznfusion on how to think about your gas stove:
- How bad is the indoor air pollution it causes, really?
- What are the alternatives? (Are they… actually good?)
- What if you’re a renter and can’t do anything about your stove?
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Robinson Meyer13/ And finally read Lawrence Weschler (!!!) on the case for determined engagement with climate change—and how to find the path between the Scylla of climate denial, and the Charybdis of climate despair
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Robinson Meyer14/ We’ll have more to share soon.
For now—and to make sure you see everything that’s coming!—subscribe to The Weekly Planet: theatlantic.com/newsletters/si…
The first issue goes out next Tuesday.
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Robinson Meyer3/ Today, I’m thrilled to introduce Planet, The Atlantic’s new section devoted to climate change.
We want to be your source of stellar reporting, expert information, and thoughtful analysis about how to live at this moment.
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Experts were already divided on the right way to deploy rapid tests. Then the White House barged ahead.
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Robinson MeyerThe Trump admin is starting to roll out 15min coronavirus tests nationwide. But its strategy has inflamed a debate about the right way to fight the pandemic, and worried even scientists who advocate for a rapid approach.
New, from me and @alexismadrigal
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The West Wing was mostly empty, cleared of aides who were sick or told to work from home, and staff in the White House residence were in full personal protective equipment.
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Robinson Meyer‘the president himself was not tested every day, according to two people familiar with the practices’
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The news that Trump has mild symptoms tell us nothing about what the disease might have in store for him, physicians who treat Covid-19 warn.
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Robinson Meyer“One of the common early symptoms among elderly Covid patients is a drop in mental acuity or periods of mild confusion — which would be a disconcerting turn of events, if it were to happen to a sitting president.”
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What I saw inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue today should raise alarm.
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Robinson Meyer“This afternoon, Secret Service agents checked to see if I was armed, but no one asked if I was ill. … When I passed by aides at their desks today, virtually none was wearing a mask.”
A now prophetic piece, from late August, by @PeterAtlantic
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The OED is the definitive record of the English language, featuring 600,000 words, 3 million quotations, and over 1,000 years of English.
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Robinson MeyerI hadn’t realized that the UK has already developed warring pronunciations of COVID-19. Some people say it /kəʊvɪdn/, like the “o” in cocaine; others say /kɒvɪd/, like the “o” in hobbit. The OED has audio
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Donald Trump made it so, and Chris Wallace let him.
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Robinson Meyer“The modern presidential debate was invented in 1960. We may have seen the end of its useful life this evening,” writes @JamesFallows
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Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are at an all-time high in the state.
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Robinson MeyerI’m worried about what’s happening in Wisconsin, which has crashed through its all-time case and hospitalization records in the past few days.
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Americans have been forced to exercise some patience during what some have called the dumbbell and kettlebell shortage. “There’s no dumbbells. Like weights are hard to come by right now,” said Fort Benning Senior Platoon Trainer John Gensburger....
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Robinson MeyerOne of the best things I’ve bought during the pandemic is dumbbells from @GoldensCastIron. The weights have no branding or artifice at all, they’re plainly heavy pieces of metal made by an American grill company to meet a demand shock. It’s very charming.
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A controversial guideline saying people without Covid-19 symptoms didn’t need to get tested for the virus came from H.H.S. officials and skipped the C.D.C.’s scientific review process.
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Robinson MeyerThis story has unfolded slowly so let’s be clear:
The Trump admin forced the CDC, over the “strenuous objections” of agency scientists, to adopt a testing policy that (1) had no medical purpose and (2) advised AGAINST testing potential super spreaders.
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A little-noticed indicator was flashing red before any of the blazes began.
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Robinson MeyerHow fast has wildfire season changed?
In 2018, I wrote about the concerning news that six of California’s 10 largest fires on record had happened in the past decade.
Today, five of California’s 10 largest fires on record have happened *since July.*
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