On Sept. 5, over 230 medical journals from across the world came together to publish a joint statement demanding “urgent action to keep average global temperature increases below 1.5 C, halt the destruction of nature and protect health.” Authors of the statement believed that action had to be taken immediately — it was not possible to wait for the COVID-19 pandemic to fade. The joint statement, which NPR referred to as “unprecedented” in a Sept. 7 article, involved prominent members of medical journals from around the world.
The dark underbelly of the crystal trade
After spending years being dismissed as a mystical, new-age spiritual fad, healing crystals have seeped into the mainstream through a combination of social media aesthetics and the wellness juggernaut. Despite general economic stagnation during the pandemic, the sales of near-gemstones like amethysts and clear quartz skyrocketed in 2020. Since 2015, demand for crystals has more than doubled in the U.S.
Coming back to college: what you need to know about the delta variant
While students settle back into campus life, the delta variant is an increasingly large threat. Currently, the delta variant is the predominant cause of COVID-19 cases rising in the United States. According to an article published online by Yale Medicine, The delta variant is a highly contagious strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It was first identified in India in December 2020. It rapidly spread and dominated the virus cases of India and the United Kingdom before arriving in the U.S. in March.
Dealing with the wasps: advice from a yellow jacket expert
No matter how tightly you hold the cover of your take-out container as you walk from the Dining Commons, the wasps, or more precisely, the yellow jackets, always try to sneak in your boxes. Many students are concerned for their safety when eating outside, and also curious about whether it is possible to remove the yellow jackets. The potential of being stung and having an allergic reaction is also an issue.
‘Last Ice Area’ begins melting earlier than predicted
The image of melting Arctic ice has long been used to represent the future consequences of climate change. Despite this reputation, one region of the Arctic left scientists shocked when it began to show signs of melting. Scientists aboard an icebreaker in August 2020 were shocked when their satellites identified a route through a large glacier in the Wandel Sea.
Climate change-driven heat waves reveal cracks in U.S. infrastructure
Built with the climate and weather conditions of the 20th century in mind, today’s infrastructure is not adapted to the changing climate. Unprecedented heat waves in the Pacific Northwest are threatening the local infrastructure, causing warped highways, closed public transit and rolling blackouts. Local residents, many of whom lack air conditioning, are facing power outages due to the heat.
As unknown illness strikes wild bird population, states urge residents to take down feeders
Scientists are perplexed by an unidentified illness infecting birds in multiple states across the country. Wildlife authorities in Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky began receiving reports of diseased birds in late May. Since the initial reports, birds with similar symptoms have also been spotted in Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
Homes are no longer insured sufficiently against the increasing dangers of flooding
The increased flooding caused by climate change creates a hidden financial risk for homeowners that the insurance industry is failing to address. A recent study from the First Street Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to quantifying flood risk in the U.S., found the current flood risk to homes to be vastly underestimated by insurance companies. The study identified almost 4.3 million homes with a substantial flood risk, and found if all of these homes were properly insured against this risk through the National Flood Insurance Program, insurance premiums would need to multiply almost five-fold.