At the United Nations climate conference this week, leaders from around the world are discussing the extraordinary damage that global warming is doing to their countries, particularly the poorest – and how to limit the risks yet to come.
We often hear about the sudden destruction from weather disasters, like the flooding that inundated a third of Pakistan this past summer. But climate change is also fueling health crises around the world: Wetter conditions bring malaria-carrying mosquitoes, extreme heat stresses the heart, poor air quality harms the lungs, and the list goes on.
Next week, the U.N. forecasts that Earth’s population will hit 8 billion humans, all trying to survive in this hotter, riskier world. Dr. Maureen Lichtveld, dean of the University of Pittsburgh’s Schools of Public Health, explains four key ways climate change and population growth are raising the global health threat.
Also today:
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Stacy Morford
Environment + Climate Editor
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Infectious diseases like COVID-19 top the list of health concerns.
Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images
Maureen Lichtveld, University of Pittsburgh
The father of ecological economics and a founding architect of sustainable development showed the economy's reliance on the environment. It was revolutionary.
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Economy + Business
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Alec Stubbs, UMass Boston
What if the best parts of two competing visions for a solution were brought together?
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Jon D. Erickson, University of Vermont
The father of ecological economics and a founding architect of sustainable development showed the economy's reliance on the environment. It was revolutionary.
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Politics + Society
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Thom Reilly, Arizona State University
Voters mostly did not cast their ballots for chief election administration officials who deny the 2020 election. But the hyperpartisan trend could further erode trust in elections.
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Linda C. McClain, Boston University; Nicole Huberfeld, Boston University
Abortion rights were on the ballot in five states during the midterm elections – all broke in favor of abortion-rights advocates.
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Derek T. Muller, University of Iowa
What’s it like for an election law scholar to work at a polling place on Election Day? A law school professor sees how election laws work – or keep election workers guessing – at the ground level.
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Ethics + Religion
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David W. Stowe, Michigan State University
The genre of contemporary Christian music has been around for decades, but the line between CCM and secular pop music has always been blurry.
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Environment + Energy
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Antonia Hadjimichael, Penn State
Flash droughts can develop within a few weeks, causing water shortages, damaging crops and worsening fire risks.
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Arts + Culture
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Terri Lynn Helge, Texas A&M University
Universities, museums and other charities that find themselves saddled with names that have become sullied must choose among a few bad options.
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Health + Medicine
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David Howell, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
While high-profile concussions in the NFL have brought renewed attention to the gravity of head injuries, they can also occur on the playground or during junior varsity practices – with lasting effects.
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Education
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Paul L. Morgan, Penn State
By kindergarten, white and Asian students are three to four times as likely as Black and Hispanic students to display advanced math skills.
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Podcast 🎙️
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation
Momentum is growing for the restitution of objects, such as the Benin Bronzes, stolen during colonialism. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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