With the COVID-19 pandemic preventing many of us from visiting family this Thanksgiving, we may be able to sidestep the usual tension that comes from touchy dinner conversations. But for those of us who are lucky enough to break bread with loved ones, heated discussions may ultimately end up on the metaphorical table.

Along with the election, climate change is likely to be among the controversial topics. After all, President-elect Joe Biden did name global warming’s existential threat as one of his four priorities when he takes office in January. …

Personal responsibility is deeply ingrained in the American ethos. From Abraham Lincoln (“you cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today”) to Bill Clinton (“Let us all take more responsibility not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities and our country”), America’s leaders have lifted up this laudable characteristic of owning your actions.

In the environmental space, preaching personal responsibility in the United States dates back at least a half-century. In 1971, a famous TV public service announcement depicted a landscape rife with pollution and litter. A Native American character is shown shedding a tear while a narrator explains, “People start pollution. …

In a recent discussion with a colleague about the media’s coverage of climate change, he questioned whether criticizing journalists’ reporting on the existential threat was valid.

“Is ‘both sides-ism’ really that big of a problem in climate reporting?” the environmental advocate with decades of experience asked about journalists’ efforts to offer competing views (including discredited denialist perspectives) on the reality of climate change. “I may be trapped in my own bubble, but in the news I read and listen to, the media do not appear to be giving equal time to the climate science outliers.”

Tragically, recent events are a reminder that the media still has a ways to go in terms of painting a clear picture of the realities of climate change. …

Every climate action advocate has a pressing problem: Getting not only skeptics but also those who believe in climate change to understand we need to act right now.

For too many, climate change is something that’s in the future. And studies show that when something is relegated to the future, humans are genetically predisposed to put it on the back burner. As Jane McGonigal put it in a 2017 Slate article: “Your brain acts as if your future self is someone you don’t know very well and, frankly, someone you don’t care about.” Economists call this the “social discount rate”. …

Anyone who has played a sport knows that it’s very difficult to go against their team’s way of thinking. Clubs value everyone “being on the same page” and standing together in the name of unity. In fact, many believe that an exceptional esprit de corps translates into great success.

This concept is generally known as “team chemistry” and, in baseball, it’s been credited as the special sauce in many World Series championships. …

When baseball returns, one thing is certain: There will be no LOOGYs. For nearly three decades, the Left-handed, One Out Guy (LOOGY) has been a staple on Major League Baseball rosters. Akin to a batter primarily kept around to pinch hit, a LOOGY’s main job was performing a niche function — enter a game to leverage a lefty-on-lefty advantage against a single hitter.

But when baseball’s potentates made plans last year to try to speed up the game, they decided each pitcher who makes an appearance be required to face at least three batters (unless there is injury or illness) or end a half-inning. …

Sometimes, metaphorically speaking, it’s good to see how the sausage is made. In my case, I had that chance when it comes to administering elections.

In 2018, I wanted to give back to my community, so I took a position working as an election judge for the Denver Elections Division. During the primaries, I served in the county’s central counting room, tallying votes and adjudicating ballots when voter intent wasn’t perfectly clear.

In the midterms that same year, I took an election judge supervisor position, running a voter service and polling center and overseeing a team of 14. …

The environmental, health and consumer advocacy group U.S. PIRG has been around for nearly 50 years. It features policy wonks who, for decades, have been grappling with essential issues that face Americans. Nevertheless, even our smartest and most well-versed staff members recognize the limits of their knowledge and often seek out experts on specific subjects.

That was the case recently when we called for a reasoned and on-point plan for COVID-19 testing. In that situation, we looked to former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner David Kessler. …