'Trade spats are a sign of how the costs of a long war are only now sinking in'
'France's pot shot at Ukrainian chicken says a lot'
Lionel Laurent at Bloomberg
A "fight over food in Europe shows the growing problem of weariness" of Ukraine's allies as its war drags on, says Lionel Laurent. Polish farmers are protesting shipments of cheap Ukrainian grain. French poultry farmers are "calling for a halt to cheap Ukrainian chicken imports," and the government, losing ground to far-right rivals, is promising "to protect protesting farmers." Subsidizing them might help, but so would making it clear what defeat on Europe's border would look like.
'An EPA squeeze on fossil fuels'
The Wall Street Journal editorial board
The EPA recently is "slashing" ambient air quality rules, says The Wall Street Journal editorial board. It's reducing the standard for fine particulate matter — generated in fossil-fuel combustion — by 25%. But 84% of this pollution comes from "non-industrial sources" like road dust and agriculture. The change could make permitting harder for "everything from new gas-fired power plants to semiconductor factories and highway construction," yielding "negligible public-health benefits" but big costs. "Climate trumps all in the Biden administration."
'Recycling doesn't work — and the plastics industry knew it'
Kate Aronoff in The New Republic
"Hardly any plastics can be recycled," says Kate Aronoff. One study found that between 1990 and 2015 90% of plastics "ended up in a landfill, were burned, or leaked into the environment." Another study concluded that "just 5 to 6 percent are successfully recycled." The petrochemical industry knew decades ago recycling was no solution, but insisted it worked to ward off potential plastic bans. "Plastics are a plague, and the executives who produce them should be made into pariahs."
'"Work longer" is no solution for people who can't afford to retire'
Teresa Ghilarducci in the Los Angeles Times
America's retirement system is "severely broken," says Teresa Ghilarducci. "Most Americans do not have enough money to retire on," so they keep working. Many workers 75 and older — "the fastest-growing age segment of the workforce" — are "stuck in low-paying, physically demanding" jobs. A "Gray New Deal," with subsidized, guaranteed retirement accounts and advanced-funded pensions, and expanded Social Security, would save money and lives. "Working until you drop is not a civilized plan for a civilized society."
