By Alun Hubbard, University of Tromsø | – I’m standing at the edge of the Greenland ice sheet, mesmerized by a mind-blowing scene of natural destruction. A milewide section of glacier front has fractured and is collapsing into the ocean, calving an immense iceberg. Seracs, giant columns of ice the height of three-story houses, are […]
Has the Ukraine War Kicked off the 4th Modern Exodus of Jews from Russia?
By Stephen Hall, University of Bath | – It’s not the first time that Jews have felt it necessary to flee Russia, but the invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the fourth wave of exiles in the past hundred years. Since Vladimir Putin became president for the second time in 2012, the authorities have become […]
Hunger is increasing worldwide but Women bear the Brunt of Food Insecurity
By Carol Richards, Queensland University of Technology; and Rudolf Messner, Queensland University of Technology | – Recent UN data on food insecurity paints a bleak picture of a growing international problem: global hunger is not only growing but it disproportionately affects women. Similarly, the international humanitarian aid organisation, CARE, estimates that 150 million more women […]
Ukraine War being Fought around Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant: What could Possibly Go wrong?
By Najmedin Meshkati, University of Southern California | – Russian forces occupy Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar. Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting nearby, and shelling has damaged power and communication lines to the plant, prompting fears for the plant’s safety and evoking painful […]
How Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act strengthens EPA’s future ability to take on Big Carbon and the Supreme Court
By Patrick Parenteau, Vermont Law School | – The new Inflation Reduction Act is being justly celebrated as the most significant piece of federal legislation to address the climate crisis to date. It includes about US$370 billion in incentives for everything from solar panels to electric vehicles. But there’s some confusion around what it allows […]
58% of human infectious diseases can be worsened by climate change – we scoured 77,000 studies to map the pathways
By Tristan McKenzie, University of Gothenburg; Camilo Mora, University of Hawaii; and Hannah von Hammerstein, University of Hawaii | – Climate change can exacerbate a full 58% of the infectious diseases that humans come in contact with worldwide, from common waterborne viruses to deadly diseases like plague, our new research shows. Our team of environment […]
The Inflation Reduction Act’s Incentives are a Start to a Green Energy Revolution, but Now comes the Hard Work
By Daniel Cohan, Rice University | – The new Inflation Reduction Act is stuffed with subsidies for everything from electric vehicles to heat pumps, and incentives for just about every form of clean energy. But pouring money into technology is just one step toward solving the climate change problem. Wind and solar farms won’t be […]
Slavery and War are tightly Connected – but we had no Idea just how Much until we crunched the Data
By Monti Datta, University of Richmond; Angharad Smith, United Nations University and Kevin Bales, University of Nottingham | – Some 40 million people are enslaved around the world today, though estimates vary. Modern slavery takes many different forms, including child soldiers, sex trafficking and forced labor, and no country is immune. From cases of family […]
Shelling of Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant exposes multiple risks – a nuclear expert tells us what they are
By Ross Peel, King’s College London | – Shelling has recently intensified at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, raising international safety concerns. Ukrainian staff continue to operate the massive plant under strict control and stressful conditions. Both Russia and Ukraine are blaming one another for the continued attacks, and damage. Disinformation and fake news […]