Carolina Journal Radio No. 808: Expert analyzes Cooper’s N.C. emissions order

Gov. Roy Cooper has signed an executive order calling on state agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to have North Carolina follow through on dictates of the Paris climate agreement, even though the Trump administration has pulled the United States out of that agreement. Donald van der Vaart, John Locke Foundation senior fellow and former N.C. environmental secretary, dissects Cooper’s order and analyzes its implications. Many American cities appear to face a state of decline. The group Strong Towns endorses action that would help reverse that decline. Development director Bo Wright discusses Strong Towns’ recommendations. That includes the roles public and private actors should take. After less than three years on the job, UNC System President Margaret Spellings has announced plans to resign in March. Despite the surprise announcement, Spellings told reporters she is proud of the system’s accomplishments during her tenure. She outlined some of those accomplishments during a recent news conference. Today’s college students have embraced activism to a degree last seen in the 1970s. But former Yale professor William Deresiewicz recently cautioned a Duke audience against treating college as a way to promote that activism. Deresiewicz made a plea for a traditional liberal-arts education that forces people to think, reason, and question their beliefs. The federal government has granted North Carolina a waiver to make major changes in its Medicaid program. Among the changes is a shift from a fee-for-service system to one in which the state allots a set amount of funding to address care for each Medicaid patient. Statewide and regional groups will contract with state government to manage its Medicaid services. Dan Way, Carolina Journal associate editor, discusses waiver details and assesses the significance for Medicaid’s future.