Today is Election Day 2021. It may be an off-year, "but there are still some important races going on across the country." / Wake Up to Politics

Tressie McMillan Cottom: To talk about what Kyrsten Sinema is wearing—denim vest et al—is to take her power and politics seriously. / The New York Times

World leaders promise to end deforestation by 2030. President Biden wants to limit global methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by the end of the decade. / BBC News, The Guardian

Something else to watch for: a green-tinged international infrastructure initiative to rival China's new Silk Road. / Foreign Policy

How quickly can the world "scrub greenhouse gases out of the global economy?" Because the deadline is about 11 years from now. / Scientific American

From the 1950s to 2008, Chevron dumped toxic sludge in unlined "ponds"—and now California faces massive groundwater contamination. / Grist

California condors are found to be capable of facultative parthenogenesis, or asexual reproduction (i.e., no males necessary). / WIRED

Unrelated/related: Which jobs most often pair together among married couples. / Flowing Data

How do zoos persuade animals to get the coronavirus vaccine? Bribes and positive reinforcement. / The Washington Post

Glenda V. Roberts: Had I done Ancestry.com sooner, I could have gotten a kidney transplant two years earlier. / STAT

"The first crop of garlic grown on a large scale in Iceland was so well received that it sold out in a day," / Iceland Monitor

A "Reflexion House" in the woods of Quebec features mirrored glazing to reflect the surrounding trees. / Bourgeois/Lechasseur Architects

Clouds come alive in Vorja Sánchez's ghostly retouched photographs. Artist Cecilia Paredes literally loses herself in her work. / Colossal, LensCulture

See also: Wole Soyinka is tired of reading his own obituaries (it's been going on for years). / The Associated Press

Nick Paumgarten signs up to wear nearly every fitness and energy tracker, and doesn't enjoy himself. / The New Yorker

Headline of the week so far: "Thanksgiving is almost here. Should you care?" / Grub Street

And in case you missed it, the best "mundane" Halloween costumes from Japan this year. / Twitter