ExxonMobil Refuses to Give Scientists the Floor: Reflections from a Corporate Shareholders’ Meeting

Robert E. Forbis Jr. UCS Science Network, UCS

June 12, 2018 10:19 AM EDT

It was with great anticipation that I attended the ExxonMobil Shareholders Meeting last month at the invitation of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). My attendance was facilitated via proxy from Mercy Investment Services. In doing so, I joined a multitude of interested parties—some of whom had traveled great distances—to engage ExxonMobil’s CEO Darren Woods in discussions concerning a wide array of topics including, but certainly not limited to, climate change. Alas, none of us (representatives of the Union of Concerned Scientists or others who had come prepared with questions about climate change or environmental issues) were called upon. We were, in fact, studiously avoided. Read more >

Photo: Michael Fleshman/CC BY-SA 2.0 (Flickr)

Supreme Court Ignores Science, Enables Voter Purging, But Data May Have Final Say

Michael Latner, Kendall Science Fellow

June 12, 2018 9:57 AM EDT

The Supreme Court, in a narrow 5-4 decision, has upheld a restrictive Ohio election law that initiates a process to purge eligible voters from its voter list if they fail to vote in a single election. A number of other states and localities have also implemented voter list purging tactics, and it is expected that this decision will result in additional states adopting more restrictive voter list purges. Read more >

Photo: ArtBrom/Flickr

Will Chevron Show Leadership in Climate Solutions? Notes From the 2018 Shareholders’ Meeting

Dr. Tessa Hill UCS Science Network, UCS

June 7, 2018 1:42 PM EDT

Last week, I joined the Union of Concerned Scientists at the Chevron shareholders’ meeting in San Ramon, CA. We were there to ask why Chevron leadership, and shareholders, have not pushed for more meaningful action to meet global emissions targets that would keep climate warming well below 2 degrees celsius.

It’s Time to Implement Stronger Autonomous Vehicle Testing Standards

Richard Ezike, Kendall Science Fellow

June 6, 2018 4:43 PM EDT

The widespread introduction of autonomous vehicles could potentially bring about many benefits, most importantly the benefit of improved safety. Autonomous vehicles are being tested in several states and provinces, California has been working with testing companies under a regulatory framework, while states like Arizona have allowed free reign to the companies to test the vehicles on the public roads, with a backup human in the driver seat to compensate for any failures in the software. However, what happens if the driver gets distracted and loses focus? Or when the autonomous system doesn’t have a sufficient way of warning the driver that they need to take over? Read more >

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