Commentary

Comment: Wildfire smoke driving up medical bills, credit debt

After the 2018 Camp Fire in California, average debt increased by $1,400 up to 30 miles away.

Comment: Missouri must ask if it got man’s execution wrong

The state executed a man Tuesday, as questions around his innocence were ignored by officials.

Comment: Microsoft deal doesn’t yet signal nuclear power revival

Its deal to restart Three Mile Island is a good sign, but new plants will have to follow in the long term.

Comment: Why Microsoft should help restart a nuclear plant

A restart at Three Mile Island could help relaunch an energy technology that’s especially needed now.

FILE - A man walks on a mountain of plastic bottles as he carries a sack of them to be sold for recycling after weighing them at the dump in the Dandora slum of Nairobi, Kenya on Dec. 5, 2018. The U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA) unanimously voted Wednesday, March 2, 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya to start to create a legally binding global treaty to address plastic pollution in the world's oceans, rivers and landscape. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Comment: For plastic recycling, are we just ‘chasing arrows’?

U.S. regulators considering a crack-down on deceptive claims by producers of plastic packaging.

FILE - A man walks on a mountain of plastic bottles as he carries a sack of them to be sold for recycling after weighing them at the dump in the Dandora slum of Nairobi, Kenya on Dec. 5, 2018. The U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA) unanimously voted Wednesday, March 2, 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya to start to create a legally binding global treaty to address plastic pollution in the world's oceans, rivers and landscape. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Comment: High cost of cofffee should wake us to climate crisis

Drought is killing coffee crops, driving up prices, but also driving farmers from their jobs and towns.

Comment: Long prison sentences aren’t protecting public safety

Research shows very long sentences don’t deter crime, aren’t desired by most victims and are too costly.

Comment: Don’t assume Proud Boys aren’t still ‘standing by’

A survey of militia members loyal to Trump show significant numbers ready to use intimidation and violence.

Comment: Farmers can turn carbon from climate threat to solution

Regenerative farming techniques transfer carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to soil and organisms.

Comment: Hydrogen a clean energy, but not with fossil loopholes

Federal rules to encourage ‘green’ hydrogen production are threatened by loopholes to benefit fossil fuel.

Comment: Report promises a reckoning on how we teach history

Until we and our kids have a better understanding of U.S. history, we can’t confront our toughest problems.

Comment: Republicans don’t trust states’ voters on abortion

The issue was returned to the states, yet GOP lawmakers are trying to keep voters from making that decision.

Students attend an English as a Second Language class at Fulton Elementary School in Springfield, Ohio on Aug. 27, 2024. Businesses needed workers, and Haitians, many already authorized to work, heard living costs were low. But the newcomers have strained resources, and that has fueled tension. (Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times)

Comment: Haitians endure a century of hate, lies, meddling

Since 1915, Haiti and Haitians have been subjected to U.S. interference, libel and exclusion.

Students attend an English as a Second Language class at Fulton Elementary School in Springfield, Ohio on Aug. 27, 2024. Businesses needed workers, and Haitians, many already authorized to work, heard living costs were low. But the newcomers have strained resources, and that has fueled tension. (Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times)

Comment: Art started as a ‘prison hustle’; it provided much more

In prison, my art provided necessities. It became a way for me to express myself and find inner peace.

Comment: Fentanyl overwhelmed Oregon’s approach to addiction

While under-resourced, a public-health approach wasn’t wrong, but it couldn’t handle fentanyl’s lethality.

Comment: Washington farmers urge voters to reject I-2117

The Climate Commitment Act has flaws that must be fixed, but it is vital to sustainable agriculture.

Comment: American won’t be rid of demagoguery when Trump goes

A recent poll shows significant numbers of Republican voters hold authoritarian and racist viewpoints.

Comment: Coordinate efforts to prevent substance abuse, suicide

Abuse of drugs and alcohol can increase the risk of suicide ideation, attempts and death.

Comment: Give taxpayers details on state workers’ contract deals

The workers’ union criticized a proposal without providing details; shouldn’t taxpayers judge for themselves?

Comment: Health care is on the ballot this November

With health care a significant cost for all, voters should weigh the positions of candidates for office.