SWC’s Fast Five

Why – day light savings, people don’t vote, your state may still mostly use coal and a record-setting third quarter GDP growth rate is nothing to write home about.

So, here’s this week’s Fast Five:

1 A vaccine that works

One of the world’s leading COVID-19 experimental vaccines produces an immune response in both young and old adults, raising hopes of a path out of the gloom and economic destruction wrought by the novel coronavirus.

2 While the U.S. energy mix is an election issue, market forces lead the change in the way the nation makes electricity. Find out here how your state does it.

More coal power plants closed in the last four years than in the four years prior to those as utilities found it more economical to switch to cheaper natural gas and, increasingly, renewable power.

3 Third quarter GDP grew 7 percent – fastest growth ever! Don’t get excited.

The economy is still in a hole as large as the worst point of many past recessions. While the economy has revived considerably since last spring, it is far short of its level before the pandemic. And progress is slowing.

4 Why many Americans don’t vote. It’s really complicated.

Most Americans don’t fall neatly into any one voting category. High voter turnout this year shouldn’t be taken as a sign that Americans are newly confident in their electoral system. Instead, the driving emotion seems to be desperation.

5 The non-travel-induced jet lag, aka, daylight savings

Parents of small children often dread the annual time change. But with an understanding of how the time change affects sleep, and a bit of planning, you can help ease the transition for you and your family.