In The News

Human-to-Human Spread of Coronavirus: NBC News

Eric Baculinao, Dawn Liu, Yuliya Talmazan and Janis Mackey Frayer January 21, 2020
Chinese health officials have identified about 300 cases of the new coronavirus, with dozens of other cases waiting for verification. About 95 percent of the cases are linked to the Wuhan area. Still, authorities around the globe have increased screenings at airports and other travel hubs to prevent rapid spread, similar to SARS in 2003. China’s government has also confirmed human-to-human...

The Cruelty of Live Animal Exports: Guardian

Hilary Osborne and Bibi van der Zee January 20, 2020
The human population tripled since 1950 and the global trade in farm animals has more than quadrupled. “Every year nearly 2 billion farm animals are loaded on to trucks or ships and sent to new countries in journeys that can take days and sometimes weeks,” reports the Guardian. “Every day, at least 5 million animals are in transit.” The animals are grown and fattened in areas that can support...

The Accidental Sewing Machine Revolution: BBC News

Tim Harford January 20, 2020
There is a long history of companies embracing and spurring social progress, intentionally or not. Tim Harford recounts the history of the sewing machine. A workshop owner rented out space to would-be inventors in 1850 and asked Isaac Merritt Singer, a reported womanizer with three families who did not know about one another, for assistance with a failed sewing machine. Singer spotted problems...

African Farmers Take on Big Chocolate: FT

David Pilling January 19, 2020
Ghana and Ivory Coast produce about two thirds of the world’s cocoa. David Pilling, writing for the Financial Times, questions why such nations cannot break free of poverty, and then explains how many farms are small, producing just a few bags of pods each year. “Ghana supplies about one-fifth of all cocoa beans, for which it earns about $2bn a year, less than one-fiftieth of the value of the...

Taal Volcano Magma Still Rising: Rappler

January 19, 2020
Taal Volcano began exploding on January 12, the 12th time since the year 1900. “State volcanologists maintained Alert Level 4 for Taal Volcano in the province of Batangas on Saturday, January 18, which means a hazardous eruption could still occur ‘within hours to days,’” reports Rappler. “The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said magma is still rising within Taal, as...

US Agriculture Is Victim of Broken WTO: Agri-Pulse

Bill Tomson January 18, 2020
Members of the World Trade Organization, 25 years old, express concerns about processes. The WTO can no longer settle disputes of 164 members after the Trump administration blocked appointments of appellate judges to the body that decides cases. The body has one of three minimum judges; dozens of cases are now on hold. “The U.S. ag sector is keen to see suits filed that would challenge the...

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...