In The News

Disagreement on COVID-19 Policy: Global Policy

Benjamin Cashore and Steven Bernstein April 9, 2020
The world has more than 1.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 with more than 80,000 dead, and numerous countries tackle the public health crisis with mixed results. World leaders are in a hurry to reopen economies, and even public health experts have differed on how to contain the disease’s spread, with approaches ranging from the early prevention to delays and denials. Professors Benjamin...

Face Mask Data: Ars Technica

Beth Mole April 5, 2020
East Asia quickly endorsed masks to fight spread of COVID-19, while the United States and Europe, following the lead of the World Health Organization, initially urged reserving such equipment for health providers. That thinking evolved, with health experts recommending cloth masks for citizens while maintaining social distance, washing hands, avoiding crowds and keeping a distance of six feet in...

COVID-19 Travels 4 Meters? SCMP

Stephen Chen March 11, 2020
China has identified more than 80,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, almost three times more than the rest of the world. The high numbers permit research that aids understanding the disease's spread. Officials advise keeping a safe distance up to 2 meters meter or 6 feet. Yet researchers tracked infections during a January 22 bus trip and suggest a bus passenger with symptoms infected travelers...

Hot Water Blob and Seabird Deaths: EcoWatch

Sam Nickerson January 18, 2020
As the planet warms, oceans absorb far more heat than the air. Researchers report patches of warm water in the Pacific, from New Zealand to Alaska. The University of Washington reported on one that killed more than 1 million seabirds. One patch stretched for 1000 miles, increasing temperatures by more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit and killing more than 1 million seabirds, report University of...

Genetic Sequence of New Virus in China: STAT

Helen Branswell January 10, 2020
Global health officials monitor reports of a new lung disease infecting about 60 people near Wuhan, China, a city of 11 million people. Researchers suspect that an animal species transmitted the virus, and researchers in China “generated a full genetic sequence… a key step in efforts to learn more about the cause of an outbreak of unusual pneumonia,” reports Helen Branswell for STAT News. “The...

Vanishing Birds: LA Times

Joan Easton Lentz December 25, 2019
Birds are in decline, according to scientific and amateur surveys. Invasive species, logging, development, climate change and pollutants are among the culprits. A study released in September suggests North America has 3 billion fewer birds than 50 years ago. “The Anthropocene – our era of human domination – has filled local lagoons with condo developments, polluted rivers and drained salt marshes...

Sondland Deposition

November 6, 2019
US President Donald Trump often approaches foreign affairs topics as a dealmaker, hedging and withholding commitment in search of better terms. US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland describes the struggle of diplomats to discern the president’s goals and their concern that he might not follow through after they have given their word to overseas counterparts. Sondland's deposition also...