“WE HAVE THE BODY BAGS READY.” Though it was more than 25 years ago, I still feel the chill that ran through my body in a conference room in the wetlands of Northern California. I was a graduate student on a multi-university, interdisciplinary wetland restoration project team. We, a group of scientists from the south…
(Bloomberg) — Asian equities came under pressure after a tech selloff hit Wall Street Friday, with chip shares among the losers. Hong Kong was an outlier as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. surged. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.2% with chipmakers pushing the Nikkei-225 index down by 1.8%. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc….
Epidemiologist and human microbiome scientist Wang Leyao, a scholar for the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), has returned to China amid drastic research funding cuts initiated by the White House. Wang joined the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (Smart) as a senior research fellow at the Institute of Human Immunology last month,…
Canada’s worst wildfire season on record tarnished the country’s air quality and had similar effects on pollution in parts of the United States, according to a new report. University of Chicago researchers on Thursday released their annual Air Quality Life Index, a situational update on air pollution and how it impacts life expectancy. The AQLI…
Cuts to science agencies in the United States are causing “turmoil” in regional research projects run by universities across Australia. Under US President Donald Trump, the US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had its budget slashed and thousands of jobs cut. The NOAA collects real-time data from satellites, airplanes, weather balloons, radar and maritime…
Just before news broke in July of a chikungunya outbreak in Foshan, Guangdong province, I was on a field trip with a group of students in Pok Fu Lam. It was a sultry day; recent rains had increased the humidity. It was impossible not to sweat. As we made our first stop to begin an…
Keith Lambert and his family cope with the extreme heat of summertime Chicago by going in and out of their house as quickly as possible and making sure their insulated shades are always drawn. “It’s really just minimizing the exposure,” Lambert said. “Its about doing your best to manage your cooling touch points.” Lambert is…
Inflation in the United Kingdom rose to 3.8% in July, prompting concerns that rail fares will climb sharply next year. The Campaign for Better Transport, a passenger lobby group, expects fares in England to rise by as much as 5.8%. For climate goals, the risk is that flying will be more attractive than rail. Rail…
TALATAN, China — High on the Tibetan plateau, Chinese government officials last month showed off what they say will be the world’s largest solar farm when completed — 610 square kilometers (235 square miles), the size of the American city of Chicago. China has been installing solar panels at a blistering pace, far faster than…
Despite loud calls to make the fashion industry more sustainable—and ambitious commitments from brands—the sector’s climate impact just hit record highs, jumping over 7 percent from the year prior. After several years of flat—and even declining—environmental impact for the fashion industry, this sudden spike is a true wake-up call. Fashion’s climate footprint already drives a…