NewsPronto

 
Times Advertising


.

The Conversation

Scott Pruitt's approach to pollution control will make the air dirtier and Americans less healthy

  • Written by Robert Percival, Professor of Environmental Law, University of Maryland
Smog alert in Cleveland, Ohio, July 20, 1973.USEPA

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s ethical lapses and extravagant spending habits have distracted the public from what he is doing to roll back important environmental protections.

Pruitt helped persuade President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris climate accord,...

Read more: Scott Pruitt's approach to pollution control will make the air dirtier and Americans less healthy

I teach refugees to map their world

  • Written by Brian Tomaszewski, Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technologies, Rochester Institute of Technology
A scene from Zaatari refugee camp, Jordan.Brian Tomaszewski, CC BY-SA

I first visited the Zaatari refugee camp in early 2015. Located in northern Jordan, the camp is home to more than 80,000 Syrian refugees. I was there as part of a research study on refugee camp wireless and information infrastructure.

It’s one thing to read about refugees...

Read more: I teach refugees to map their world

How lessons from childhood cancer care could improve adult cancer care

  • Written by Leonard L. Berry, University Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Mays Business School; Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Texas A&M University
Cancer care for adults could be improved if caregivers provided the empathy they provide to children, the authors suggest. ESB Professional/Shutterstock.com

A cancer diagnosis is a firestorm that turns lives upside down. It may not be life-ending, but it almost always is life-changing.

Few life experiences are crueler than childhood cancer, but this...

Read more: How lessons from childhood cancer care could improve adult cancer care

The GOP's poor arguments for doubling down on SNAP's work requirements

  • Written by Patricia Smith, Professor of Economics, University of Michigan
More than 40 million Americans rely on SNAP for groceries.AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Republicans aim to tighten the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s work requirements as part of the farm bill Congress is debating.

These changes would cut spending on this nutritional benefit for the poor – commonly called SNAP or food stamps –...

Read more: The GOP's poor arguments for doubling down on SNAP's work requirements

Privatizing essential human services like the VA can come at a high social cost

  • Written by Sebastian Jilke, Assistant Professor, Rutgers University Newark
For-profit service providers may use discrimination as a way to make more money.wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com

Over the years, countries have privatized dozens of services and activities once the sole domain of governments, such as the provision of electricity and water, road operations, prisons and even health care, with the ostensible aim of...

Read more: Privatizing essential human services like the VA can come at a high social cost

70 years of instant photos, thanks to inventor Edwin Land's Polaroid camera

  • Written by Ann Elsner, Professor of Optometry, Indiana University
It's been 70 years of instant photography, thanks to Edwin Land, on the left.AP Photo

It probably happens every minute of the day: A little girl demands to see the photo her parent has just taken of her. Today, thanks to smartphones and other digital cameras, we can see snapshots immediately, whether we want to or not. But in 1944 when 3-year-old...

Read more: 70 years of instant photos, thanks to inventor Edwin Land's Polaroid camera

Wildfire risks are high again this year – here's what travelers need to know

  • Written by Ragan Adams, Coordinator, Veterinary Extension Specialist Group, Colorado State University
The Berry Fire burns in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, August 27, 2016.AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File

Memorial Day marks the traditional opening of the summer travel season. This year the American Automobile Association projects that more than 41.5 million Americans will hit the road over Memorial Day weekend, nearly 5 percent more than last...

Read more: Wildfire risks are high again this year – here's what travelers need to know

Why the EPA's 'secret science' proposal alarms public health experts

  • Written by Bernard Goldstein, Professor Emeritus, Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh
The landmark Harvard Six Cities study found a strong link between air pollution and health risks.Pixabay

Later this month, the EPA could finalize a controversial rule to limit what scientific research the agency can use in writing environmental regulations.

I write as an academic who has been involved in air pollution issues for over 50 years and a...

Read more: Why the EPA's 'secret science' proposal alarms public health experts

Venezuelans are boycotting their presidential election

  • Written by Marco Aponte-Moreno, Assistant Professor of Global Business, St Mary's College of California
Despite his 20 percent approval rate, President Nicolas Maduro is almost assured a win in Venezuela's May 20 election. The opposition says the vote is a "farce."REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Venezuela’s May 20 presidential election may be an election in name only.

Nicolás Maduro is widely expected to be reelected as Venezuela’s...

Read more: Venezuelans are boycotting their presidential election

Diet soda may be hurting your diet

  • Written by Eunice Zhang, Clinical Fellow of Preventive Medicine, University of Michigan
Coca-Cola is the world's most popular carbonated soft drink. The original is made with sugar, but the others contain artificial sweeteners that are now linked to a rise in obesity and diabetes.By Chones/shutterstock.com

Artificial sweeteners are everywhere, but the jury is still out on whether these chemicals are harmless. Also called non-nutritive...

Read more: Diet soda may be hurting your diet

More Articles ...

  1. What is 5G? The next generation of wireless, explained
  2. Why America needs a new approach to school desegregation
  3. A peek into the lives of Puerto Rican Muslims and what Ramadan means post Hurricane Maria
  4. Donald Glover and the state of 'black genius'
  5. The Iran nuclear deal could still be saved, experts say
  6. In the US, fairy-tale royal weddings clash with reality
  7. Yanny or Laurel? It's your brain not your ears that decides
  8. Tom Wolfe elevated journalism into enduring literature
  9. Brazilian candidate still crushing his rivals from jail
  10. The orgasm gap: Picking up where the sexual revolution left off
  11. Supreme Court delivers a home run for sports bettors – and now states need to scramble
  12. Should I kill spiders in my home? An entomologist explains why not to
  13. What is doxxing, and why is it so scary?
  14. War on fake news could be won with the help of behavioral science
  15. What are halal foods?
  16. US and Europe face an 'increasingly loveless marriage' after Trump's Iran deal withdrawal
  17. Some tropical frogs may be developing resistance to a deadly fungal disease – but now salamanders are at risk
  18. Studying poop samples, scientists find clues on health and disease
  19. Tax law's 'opportunity zones' won't create opportunities for the people who need it most
  20. US embassy in Jerusalem opens amid violence: 4 essential reads
  21. How understanding pain could curb opioid addiction
  22. Is bigger really better?
  23. Gender is personal – not computational
  24. Maria Agnesi, the greatest female mathematician you've never heard of
  25. Bangladeshi rappers wield rhymes as a weapon, with Tupac as their guide
  26. Trump proposal to weaken project reviews threatens the 'Magna Carta of environmental law'
  27. Why the offshore wind industry is about to take off
  28. What can we learn from the way graduates are decorating their caps?
  29. How weakened US fossil fuel regulations threaten environmental justice in Colorado
  30. Rethinking reporting on polls in time for midterm elections
  31. The next big discovery in astronomy? Scientists probably found it years ago – but they don't know it yet
  32. Recreational ancestry DNA testing may reveal more than consumers bargained for
  33. Why bullshit hurts democracy more than lies
  34. Women on the 2018 ballot are busting perceptions of motherhood and leadership
  35. Smart windows could combine solar panels and TVs too
  36. Americans are more anxious than before
  37. Science teachers sacrifice to provide lab materials for students
  38. The science of the plot twist: How writers exploit our brains
  39. Your shampoo, hair spray and skin lotion may be polluting the air
  40. Mad Magazine's clout may have faded, but its ethos matters more than ever before
  41. What torching Iran deal says about US commitment to nuclear security
  42. Paraguay elige un presidente que recuerda a viejos tiempos de dictadura
  43. Identifying with others who control themselves could strengthen your own self-control
  44. Supreme Court to rule on your First Amendment right to silence
  45. Trump's deregulatory record doesn't include much actual deregulation
  46. Why the betrayal of Bill Cosby, Eric Schneiderman and other influential men is deeper than you think
  47. Chemotherapy timing could influence how well the treatment works
  48. Paraguay's new president recalls an old dictatorship
  49. No, the war in Afghanistan isn't a hopeless stalemate
  50. 4 ways 'internet of things' toys endanger children