The Takeaway

Can Bureaucracies Be Sustainability Innovators?

How India’s Coal-Dependent Government Has Harnessed Its Power to Build Better and Cleaner

Bureaucracies are often thought of as stiflers of innovation and growth. But the Indian government, one of the biggest bureaucracies in the world, has made some surprising gains in the fight against climate change. In November of last year, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed India to net-zero emissions by 2070. But the country, and its energy bureaucracy, which was built around carbon-emitting energy, already has made large-scale advances toward sustainability.

How did India do it, and how might the country’s entrenched …

by Talib Jabbar |

Read More

More In: The Takeaway

Why Can’t All Californians Breathe Clean Air?

How Communities and Coalitions Are Working Toward a Future Where Race and Income No Longer Determine Pollution Levels

by Jackie Mansky |

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously this week to phase out fossil fuel sites and ban new oil and gas wells.

That kind of victory was once inconceivable for California’s …

To Begin Again, We First Have to Look Back | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

To Begin Again, We First Have to Look Back

Recognition, Acknowledgement (and the Occasional Floral Bath) Are Key to Renewal

by Jackie Mansky |

At the beginning of last night’s Zócalo event, “How Do We Begin Again?,” moderator Gustavo Arellano asked everyone watching live at the ASU California Center at the Herald Examiner and …

Meet the ‘Mediators’ Who Connect Scientists and the Public | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Meet the ‘Mediators’ Who Connect Scientists and the Public

Fossil Preparators Are a Panacea to a Closed-Off Field—And Their Work Offers a New Model for Research

by Talib Jabbar |

How do colossal Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops fossils get from the ground to the natural history museum? And could that process—which involves not just paleontologists but a largely uncredited group …

Is a Merit-Based System Worth Aspiring For? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Is a Merit-Based System Worth Aspiring To?

It Can Be a Safeguard Against Nepotism and Corruption. It Might Not Make Society More Equal

by Sarah Rothbard |

Should society judge people based on merit? How do 21st-century institutions measure merit, and how should they measure merit? And what is merit, anyway? These were three of the thorny …

Hello Blockchain, Bye-Bye Resumes | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Hello Blockchain, Bye-Bye Resumes

Could Digital Learning and Employment Records (LERs) Create a Fairer Hiring Process?

by Jackie Mansky |

The resume has been around for hundreds of years, and is one of the most vital parts of the hiring process for workers, employers, and educators. But what resumes leave …


By continuing to use our website, you agree to our privacy and cookie policy.

✕

Get More Zócalo

No paywall. No ads. No partisan hacks. Ideas journalism with a head and a heart.

You may opt out or contact us anytime.

×