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Top headlines
Lead story
Americans have seen disaster after disaster over the past few weeks, from the Maui wildfires’ near total destruction of Lahaina, Hawaii, to the flash flooding underway from the first tropical storm to hit Southern California since 1939. That’s on top of the extreme summer heat across the South and fires in Canada that have forced entire towns to evacuate and sent hazardous smoke pouring into the U.S.
When climate-related disasters get overwhelming, policymakers start looking closer at geoengineering, hoping for a fast way to slow global warming, whether it’s by blocking the Sun’s rays or sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Geoscientist David Kitchen of the University of Richmond explains the geoengineering methods that are being discussed – including some receiving billions of dollars from the U.S. government – and why tinkering with Earth’s systems without better understanding the potential consequences is a costly gamble.
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Stacy Morford
Environment + Climate Editor
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Geoengineering includes techniques to reflect solar energy.
Elvis Tam/500px via Getty Images
David Kitchen, University of Richmond
Some geoengineering techniques are better understood than others. The US is investing in capturing carbon dioxide from the air, but ideas to block the Sun’s rays are raising big concerns.
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Environment + Energy
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Sarah DeYoung, University of Delaware
Animal shelters and other organizations that support pets and their owners after disasters will still need help months after the media has moved on.
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Nicholas Grondin, University of Tampa
Forecasters warned of ‘potentially historic rainfall’ and ‘dangerous to locally catastrophic flooding.’ A hurricane scientist explains what El Niño, a heat dome and mountains have to do with the risk.
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Politics + Society
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Dov Waxman, University of California, Los Angeles
What will happen in Israel after more than half a year of pro-democracy demonstrations against the conservative government’s judicial overhaul?
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Valerie M. Fridland, University of Nevada, Reno
Long treated as a sign of anxiety or a delaying tactic, ‘filled pauses’ are a linguistic trick to signal that what you are about to say might be complicated.
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International
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Mihaela Papa, Tufts University; Frank O'Donnell, Boston College; Zhen Han, Sacred Heart University
BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – compose 41% of the world population and almost a third of global GDP.
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Andrew Weaver, University of Victoria
The devastating wildfire that destroyed the historic Maui town of Lahaina was still making headlines when Yellowknife issued an evacuation order.
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Ethics + Religion
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Kristy Nabhan-Warren, University of Iowa
A scholar of Roman Catholicism explains why Pope Francis’ visit to Mongolia, home to fewer than 1,500 Catholics, is significant.
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J. Nicholas Reid, Reformed Theological Seminary
Mesopotamia’s prisons were built for detaining people, not punishing them. But they shaped powerful ideas about justice and reform that aren’t so different from today’s.
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Science + Technology
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William Brady, Northwestern University
Social media companies’ drive to keep you on their platforms clashes with how people evolved to learn from each other. One result is more conflict and misinformation.
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Kris Pardo, University of Southern California
Astronomer Caroline Herschel’s work discovering and cataloging astronomical objects in the 18th century is still used in the field today, but she didn’t always get her due credit.
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Bradley Wade Bishop, University of Tennessee
The phrase ‘research data management’ might make your eyes glaze over, but it’s actually this behind-the-scenes work that allows for large-scale scientific discoveries and collaborations.
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Health + Medicine
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Geoffrey Bradford, West Virginia University
An ophthalmologist explains how important tears are to keeping your eyes feeling good and working well – whether you’re on dry land or swimming in a body of water.
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Reader Comments 💬 |
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“All hairs have phases. The simplest way of thinking about them is growth, transition and rest. For the hair on our head, the growth phase is years long. For our eyebrows and eyelashes, it’s about one month. After the month of growth, the hair stops growing, hangs out for a few weeks, and then begins falling out. The cycle repeats over and over. Our cells are genetically programmed so that the growth phase is shorter for eyelashes and eyebrows.”
– Author Tara S. Carpenteron the story Why does your hair curl in the summer? A chemist explains the science behind hair structure
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