DC Politics & Sustainability Weekly

Colleagues in Climate Action and Sustainability,

Below please find this week’s lists of events, reports, peer-reviewed studies, news and commentary, and podcasts

Included in the list of more than 40 are events at American, George Washington, and Georgetown. Reports from three DC-based organizations—C2ES, Gallup, and Oil Change International—are highlighted. And among the topics addresssed by the selected news writers and commentators, including podcasters, are early signs and possible impacts of the “Super El Nino,” the hantavirus as yet another climate warning, and the ironic consequences of the war in Iran for climate policy and psychology (the waning of petromasculinity?).

Here in DC, we’re in for a week of global weirding: temperatures in the 90s at the beginning but dropping into the 60s at the end. Sweat(er) weather.

Best,

Michael

P.S. If you would like to offer advance notice of an upcoming event at your institution, just include the necessary details and links in a reply to this email.

The Climate, Politics & Sustainability Weekly – Mon., May 18^th – Sun., May 24^th       

Advance Notice for Upcoming Event

June 2–3 – Multi-Day – Upwell: A Wave of Ocean Justice – ACP/Azul/Green 2.0/UOL @ MLK Libr.

June 21 — 11 AM Thrs. – Africa Rising: Youth & Climate Justice, A Convening – WW Climate Ed. 

Multi-Day Event This Week

    May 20–21 – Multi-Day – International Water Security Conference –  Org. of American States  

DC Events – In-Person and/or Online

– Mon., May 18 @ 10:00 AM – Latino Entrepreneurs and Future of US Economic Growth – Brookings

– Mon., May 18 @ 12:00 PM – Wired for Equity: Bridging Disability Gaps in Classroom – New America

– Mon., May 18 @ 01:00 PM – Generation AI Starts Early: AI in the Nursery – Brookings Institution

– Mon., May 18 @ 02:00 PM – The College Search in a Time of Economic Uncertainty – AEI 

– Tues., May 19 @ 09:00 AM – All Day – The 2026 CAP IDEAS Conference – Cntr for Amer. Prog.

– Tues., May 19 @ 10:00 AM – One Nation Under God? Freedom of Rel. at Founding & Now – AU-WAMU

– Tues., May 19 @ 11:00 AM – Should the United States Withdraw Troops from Germany? – Cato Inst.

– Tues., May 19 @ 11:00 AM – Understanding China’s Economy & the Housing Bust – Peterson IIE

– Tues., May 19 @ 12:00 PM – Leadership & Risk in Uncertain World, w Dr. Deborah Wituski – GU

– Tues., May 19 @ 12:00 PM – The AI Agenda: Trump Admin’s Approach to AI Literacy – New Amer.

– Tues., May 19 @ 12:00 PM – Europe and the Iran War: w Fassbender, Lieven, O’Neal – Quincy Inst.

– Tues., May 19 @ 04:30 PM – The Big, Beautiful Federal Scholarship Tax Credit – Amer. Ent. Inst.

– Wed., May 20 @ 09:00 AM – A Conversation with CMS Leadership: Mehmet & Carlton – BPC

– Wed., May 20 @ 10:30 AM – Convers. w Undersecr. for Public Diplomacy, Sarah B. Rogers – Hudson  

– Wed., May 20 @ 11:00 AM – Fútbol Diplomacy and North American Disintegration – Stimson Center

– Wed., May 20 @ 12:00 PM – The Republican Civil War: The Divided American Right – AEI

– Wed., May 20 @ 12:15 PM – Sen. Bernie Moreno on Colombia’s 2026 Elections – Atlantic Council

– Wed., May 20 @ 12:30 PM – HT Win a Trade War: An Optimistic GT An Anxious Economy – PIIE

– Wed., May 20 @ 01:00 PM – Scrubbing the Skies: Core Framework for Carbon Removal – AU IRCR

– Wed., May 20 @ 02:00 PM – Trump v. Barbara: Birthright Citizenship at Supreme Court – Cato Inst.

– Wed., May 20 @ 02:00 PM – Half Day – World Bank Surveys 20^th Anniversary Forum – GW-IIEP

– Wed., May 20 @ 03:00 PM – Instructional Illusions: What We Get Wrong abt Good Teaching – AEI

– Wed., May 20 @ 03:00 PM – Congressman Michael McCaul on American Global Leadership – CEIP

– Wed., May 20 @ 07:00 PM – HT Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford, w T. Baker – P&P

– Wed., May 20 @ 07:00 PM – AI for Good: How Real People Are Using AI to Fix Things – P&P Wharf

– Thrs., May 21 @ 08:30 AM – 1^st Annual Women in Leadership Conf.: From Pipeline to Power – CGD

– Thrs., May 21 @ 10:30 AM – Homelessness, Housing Markets, & Federal Policy – Bipartisan Pol. Cntr.

– Thrs., May 21 @ 12:00 PM – Last Branch Standing, Sarah Isgur on the Supreme Court – Cato Inst.

– Thrs., May 21 @ 12:30 PM – Crypto Use Is Taxing: Can Congress Fix Framework? – Cato – on the Hill

– Thrs., May 21 @ 01:00 PM – Health Data and AI at Scale: Policy Choices for US – Atlantic Council

– Thrs., May 21 @ 01:00 PM – Security through Cooperation: Attempts at Russian-US Accord – Quincy

– Thrs., May 21 @ 06:30 PM – Red Lives: Our Years in Communist Party, V1. 1950–2000 – B&P Takoma  

– Thrs., May 21 @ 06:30 PM – Liar’s Kingdom: HT Stop Trump’s Deceit & Save America – P&P Wharf

– Thrs., May 21 @ 07:00 PM – Mayor Bowser’s Problematic Approach to Policing DC – B&P 14^th

– Frid., May 22 @ 10:00 AM – How Defense Integration Could Entrench US Support for Israel – Quincy

– Frid., May 22 @ 10:00 AM – Addressing Info. Challenges in Africa’s Crit. Mineral Sector – Stimson Cntr  

– Frid.,  May 22 @ 03:00 PM – Monthly Climate Change Briefing – May 2026 – Environmental Law Inst.

– Frid., May 22 @ 07:00 PM – Race in America, Panel w F. Berry, K. Boykin, ME Dyson, A. Ryan – P&P

– Frid., May 22 @ 07:00 PM – HT Win a Trade War: An Optimistic GT Anxious Economy – P&P Wharf

       Note: If any part of the title for an event has been italicized, then it’s focused on an author interview or book discussion.

New Reports and Books

Securing the Critical Battery Materials Supply Chain in the Southeast United StatesA Roadmap from Local Investment to Global Competitiveness by S. Gagnon-Rodriguez & P. Trousdale (Center for Climate & Energy Solutions 2026, 39 pages, free download)

Insurance: The Hidden Market Force Threatening Affordable Housing by A. Casey et al (Climate & Community Institute 2026, 33 pages, free download)

The State of Higher Education 2026—Valued But Out of Reach: The Reality of Higher Education Today by Lumina Foundation (Gallup 2026, 28 pages, free download)

Pipe Dreams: How Oil and Gas Fail to Deliver Economic Development in Africa by G. Muttit et al (Oil Change International & Power Shift Africa 2026, 33 pages, free download)

UN 80 Initiative: Progress and Next Steps: A Comprehensive Guide to UN 80 Initiative Work Packages by UN Secretariat (United Nations 2026, 48 pages, free download)  

Peer-Reviewed Studies

Energy Policy (Sept) – “Energy Poverty Convergence in Fragmented World: … Non-OECD Countries”

Journal Applied Ecology (May) – “Identification of Camera Trap Images by Artificial Intelligence …”

Jrnl of Env Psych. (June) – “Narratives of Youth Climate Activism: Exploring Meaning Making”

Nature Cities (AdvOn) – “Global Mapping of City-Level Econ. Growth Decoupling from FFs”

Nature CC (May) – “Promising Climate Prog. from Net-Zero Ambitions to Paris Agreement Goal”

Popular Commentary, News and Analysis

American Prospect (05.13) – “Trump Has Created a Climate Opportunity [He Raised the Price of FFs]”

Anthropocene (05.07) – “Tree Bark Emerges as an Unlikely Contender in Carbon Capture”

Grist (05.15) – “The Surprising Climate Fix That Republicans and Democrats Both Love: Apartments”

Guardian (05.16) – “Declare Climate Crisis a Global Public Health Emergency, Experts Tell WHO”

The Independent (05.13) – “All of World’s 50 Hottest Cities in Late April Were in One Country: India”

ICN (05.16) – “What the US Would Lose If It Eliminates the National Center for Climate Research”

New Republic (05.15) – “The Hantavirus Is Also a Climate Warning” by Mark Hertsgaard

New York Times (05.11) – “The Hole in the Ice at the End of the World: 10 People, 8 Weeks, 3000 Feet”

Wash. Post (05.14) – “Where Extreme Heat Could Threaten the World Cup, Endangering Players & Fans”

Yale Climate Connections (05.13) – “Something Startling Is Happening in the Gulf of Mexico”

Podcasts & Radio Stories

Climate One – Podcast (05.15) – “Protest and Beyond: Annie Leonard on What You Can Do”

Deutsche Welle – Living Planet (05.13 link to 02.20 ep.) – “Why Some Men Tune Out CC”

Global Optimism – Outrage & Optimism (05.14) – “The Jet Fuel Crisis: What’s Next for Aviation?”

Heated – Podcast (05.14) – “The Hantavirus Is a Climate Story, w Centre for Biosecurity Studies”

Heatmap – Shift Key (05.13) – “What’s Truly Baffling about the Strait of Hormuz Energy Crisis”

Inside Climate News – Sunday Morning (05.17) – “What to Expect as El Nino Approaches”  

Planet Critical – Podcast (05.14) – “The Myth of Individual Responsibility, w M. Maniates”

RFF – Resources Radio (05.12) – “What does Landman Get Right? Fracks & Fictions of Oil Ind.”

Volts – Podcast – “Electrifying Industrial Steam’ (05/13) / “Telling the Story of the Grid” (05/15)

Vox – America Actually (05.15) – “The Data Center War: We Ask People about Their Opposition”