Back to work. Kids back to school (in the next room). Tough for them.

Didn't see many people or do much over Christmas, obviously, but so nice to have some time to wind down.

2021 has got to be a big year for climate. Some thoughts: 1/11

Of course COP26 is *the* big climate happening. Crucial chance to step up global co-operation. With a Biden-led Whitehouse, that's very possible.

But in terms of wider outreach, I worry that COPspeak galvanises climate wonks & no-one else. Big engagement challenges here... 2/11
For business, it's about putting some flesh on those much-welcomed net zero pledges which have sprung up everywhere. Many companies are over-reliant on carbon removals, which is hidden in the 'net' bit of net zero. 3/11

https://t.co/mN56J6HPPS
Now that many businesses and governments have strong stated climate ambitions, it's a tough job - and one that will probably fall to NGOs and campaigners - to scrutinise plans, and separate bluff from genuine action. 4/11
For government, it's about looking across the whole economy, understanding that climate policy is investment policy, infrastructure policy, tax policy (I could go on). And that covid recovery is also climate policy. 5/11
Encouraging signs in the UK at the very end of 2020, with the publication of the long-awaited Energy White Paper, followed by @hmtreasury's net zero review - signalling that a crucial part of government now sees itself as part of the solution. 6/11

https://t.co/pg18eK96XG
We're still waiting for a decision from @RobertJenrick at @mhclg on whether government will allow a new coal mine in Cumbria, resulting in 9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per yr. Hard for govt to claim climate credibility if they let this through. 7/11

https://t.co/uTButoWyzh
2020 was the year of climate deliberation, with the @NetZeroUK Climate Assembly UK & many, many local assemblies & juries.

In 2021, we'll need to work to make sure their insights and reccs are used, and that deliberation is built into policymaking. 8/11

https://t.co/wMPvPvwAdD
This will remain the focus of my work in 2021 and beyond - how we build a proper politics of climate change that puts citizen engagement at its heart, and how we can use deliberative methods to ensure that climate policy works for people. 9/11

https://t.co/qlSYYvrNos
Stepping back a bit, this episode of @TPpodcast_, a talk by David Runciman, is really worth a listen - about the need for experimentation in politics. David highlights climate (alongside devolution) as *the* challenge for UK politics. 10/11

https://t.co/IjkstF6zIb
There are reasons for optimism. Climate is on the political agenda like never before. But the climate crisis is intensifying. We need the painstaking detailed work on strategy and policy, but we also need protest and outrage. It's going to be quite a year. 11/11

More from Society

So, as the #MegaMillions jackpot reaches a record $1.6B and #Powerball reaches $620M, here's my advice about how to spend the money in a way that will truly set you, your children and their kids up for life.

Ready?

Create a private foundation and give it all away. 1/

Let's stipulate first that lottery winners often have a hard time. Being publicly identified makes you a target for "friends" and "family" who want your money, as well as for non-family grifters and con men. 2/

The stress can be damaging, even deadly, and Uncle Sam takes his huge cut. Plus, having a big pool of disposable income can be irresistible to people not accustomed to managing wealth.
https://t.co/fiHsuJyZwz 3/

Meanwhile, the private foundation is as close as we come to Downton Abbey and the landed aristocracy in this country. It's a largely untaxed pot of money that grows significantly over time, and those who control them tend to entrench their own privileges and those of their kin. 4

Here's how it works for a big lotto winner:

1. Win the prize.
2. Announce that you are donating it to the YOUR NAME HERE Family Foundation.
3. Receive massive plaudits in the press. You will be a folk hero for this decision.
4. Appoint only trusted friends/family to board. 5/
This is a piece I've been thinking about for a long time. One of the most dominant policy ideas in Washington is that policy should, always and everywhere, move parents into paid labor. But what if that's wrong?

My reporting here convinced me that there's no large effect in either direction on labor force participation from child allowances. Canada has a bigger one than either Romney or Biden are considering, and more labor force participation among women.

But what if that wasn't true?

Forcing parents into low-wage, often exploitative, jobs by threatening them and their children with poverty may be counted as a success by some policymakers, but it’s a sign of a society that doesn’t value the most essential forms of labor.

The problem is in the very language we use. If I left my job as a New York Times columnist to care for my 2-year-old son, I’d be described as leaving the labor force. But as much as I adore him, there is no doubt I’d be working harder. I wouldn't have stopped working!

I tried to render conservative objections here fairly. I appreciate that @swinshi talked with me, and I'm sorry I couldn't include everything he said. I'll say I believe I used his strongest arguments, not more speculative ones, in the piece.

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The first ever world map was sketched thousands of years ago by Indian saint
“Ramanujacharya” who simply translated the following verse from Mahabharat and gave the world its real face

In Mahabharat,it is described how 'Maharishi Ved Vyasa' gave away his divine vision to Sanjay


Dhritarashtra's charioteer so that he could describe him the events of the upcoming war.

But, even before questions of war could begin, Dhritarashtra asked him to describe how the world looks like from space.

This is how he described the face of the world:

सुदर्शनं प्रवक्ष्यामि द्वीपं तु कुरुनन्दन। परिमण्डलो महाराज द्वीपोऽसौ चक्रसंस्थितः॥
यथा हि पुरुषः पश्येदादर्शे मुखमात्मनः। एवं सुदर्शनद्वीपो दृश्यते चन्द्रमण्डले॥ द्विरंशे पिप्पलस्तत्र द्विरंशे च शशो महान्।

—वेद व्यास, भीष्म पर्व, महाभारत


Meaning:-

हे कुरुनन्दन ! सुदर्शन नामक यह द्वीप चक्र की भाँति गोलाकार स्थित है, जैसे पुरुष दर्पण में अपना मुख देखता है, उसी प्रकार यह द्वीप चन्द्रमण्डल में दिखायी देता है। इसके दो अंशो मे पीपल और दो अंशो मे विशाल शश (खरगोश) दिखायी देता है।


Meaning: "Just like a man sees his face in the mirror, so does the Earth appears in the Universe. In the first part you see leaves of the Peepal Tree, and in the next part you see a Rabbit."

Based on this shloka, Saint Ramanujacharya sketched out the map, but the world laughed