Supreme Court Considers Whether Biden Can Undo Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” Policy

Apr 27 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on whether to strike down the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forced tens of thousands of non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases played out in U.S. courts, often in extremely dangerous conditions. Biden suspended the policy, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, shortly after taking office, but Texas and Missouri challenged the move. “This is a pretty outrageous idea that a new president coming into office is not allowed to dismantle his predecessor’s programs that he disagrees with,” says Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council. Still, Reichlin-Melnick says the justices seem torn on their decision and that the Biden administration’s amended version of “Remain in Mexico” still puts asylum seekers at extreme risk of violence. We also hear from asylum seekers about conditions they faced in Mexico under the program.

Juan González: In Surprise Move, Gorsuch Challenges U.S. Colonialism in SCOTUS Ruling on Puerto Rico

Apr 27 2022

Puerto Rican elected officials from both the island and the United States are on Capitol Hill today to support the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act, which would establish a process for determining the status of the U.S. territory. This comes after the Supreme Court recently supported the Biden administration’s claim that Puerto Ricans are not entitled to claim full Supplemental Security Income benefits unless they move to the mainland. Democracy Now! host Juan González analyzes the developments and highlights conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch’s surprising concurring opinion in the latest Supreme Court decision, which he calls “one of the clearest and most eloquent statements exposing U.S. colonialism that’s ever been issued by a Supreme Court justice, at least in my lifetime.”

Can We Cool the Planet? | Full Episode I NOVA | PBS

2020 Dec 1

As global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are wondering if we need solutions that go beyond reducing emissions. From sucking carbon straight out of the air, to geoengineering our atmosphere to physically block out sunlight, to planting more than a trillion trees, the options may seem futuristic or tough to implement. But as time runs out on conventional solutions to climate change, scientists are asking the hard questions: Can new, sometimes controversial, solutions really work? And at what cost?

0:00 – 4:56: Introduction 4:56 – 7:12: Understanding the scale of Earth’s carbon problem 7:12 – 25:23: How scientists can capture CO2 from the air 25:23 – 37:36: Solar radiation management 37:36: Working with nature to sequester carbon

A NOVA Production by Mangrove Media LLC for GBH Boston in association with ARTE France.

© 2020 WGBH Educational Foundation

All rights reserved

This program was produced by GBH, which is solely responsible for its content. Some funders of NOVA also fund basic science research. Experts featured in this film may have received support from funders of this program.

Funding for NOVA is provided by Draper, the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the NOVA Science Trust, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.

Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Zero I NOVA I PBS

April 19 2022

Most experts agree that the key to avoiding worsening effects from a changing climate is to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero, and through a strategy called “prevention,” humans can significantly cut emissions.

Explore how scientists approach the challenge, and discover the technologies that will help get us there.