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How energy storage is starting to rewire the electricity industry

  • Written by Eric Hittinger, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Rochester Institute of Technology
Grid-scale energy storage systems may make it easier to rely completely on renewable energy.petrmalinak/Shutterstock.com

The market for energy storage on the power grid is growing at a rapid clip, driven by declining prices and supportive government policies.

Based on our research on the operation and costs of electricity grids, especially the benefi...

Read more: How energy storage is starting to rewire the electricity industry

School resource officers can prevent tragedies, but training is key

  • Written by Elizabeth Englander, Professor of Psychology, and the Director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC), Bridgewater State University
Police in front of Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting on March 20, 2018, in Great Mills, Md.Alex Brandon/AP

Despite legitimate concerns about the effects of placing school resource officers in the nation’s schools, the reality is having these officers on a school’s campus can literally save lives and avert tragedy.

That...

Read more: School resource officers can prevent tragedies, but training is key

Public support for animal rights goes beyond keeping dogs out of overhead bins

  • Written by Garrett M. Broad, Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Fordham University
Dogs can become as close to you as any other person – but are they 'legal persons'?Olena Yakobchuk/Shutterstock.com

A French bulldog named Kokito recently died aboard a United Airlines plane after a flight attendant ordered his owner to place him in an overhead bin.

Public outrage ensued. Proposed bipartisan legislation, now pending in the...

Read more: Public support for animal rights goes beyond keeping dogs out of overhead bins

Red state, blue state: How colors took sides in politics

  • Written by David Scott Kastan, George M. Bodman Professor of English, Yale University
For decades, each party simply used a combination of red, white and blue. palbrigo/shutterstock.com

When Americans hear some pundits projecting a “blue wave” in the 2018 midterm elections, they understand that this is a prediction of a big Democratic victory. Blue of course symbolizes the Democratic party, while red represents the GOP.

T...

Read more: Red state, blue state: How colors took sides in politics

How do forensic engineers investigate bridge collapses, like the one in Miami?

  • Written by Martin Gordon, Professor of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology
What caused this bridge to collapse?AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

On March 15, a 950-ton partially assembled pedestrian bridge at Florida International University in Miami suddenly collapsed onto the busy highway below, killing six people and seriously injuring nine. Forensic engineers are taking center stage in the ongoing investigation to find out what...

Read more: How do forensic engineers investigate bridge collapses, like the one in Miami?

I treat patients on Medicaid, and I don't see undeserving poor people

  • Written by Audrey M Provenzano, General Internist, Instructor of Medicine, Harvard University
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin with President Trump on Jan. 11, 2018, a day before Trump gave the go-ahead for Medicaid work requirements.AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

As more states join Kentucky in trying to impose work requirements for people who receive Medicaid, I could not help but think of a patient of mine whom I’ll call Linda.

Linda is a healthy...

Read more: I treat patients on Medicaid, and I don't see undeserving poor people

Regulating Facebook won't prevent data breaches

  • Written by William H. Dutton, Professor of Media and Information Policy, Michigan State University
Facebook already controls how its users' data can be gathered and shared. It's university ethics boards that need to join the digital age. Shutterstock

After revelations that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica allegedly appropriated Facebook user data to advise Donald Trump’s 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, many are calling for...

Read more: Regulating Facebook won't prevent data breaches

After Tempe fatality, self-driving car developers must engage with public now or risk rejection

  • Written by Andrew Maynard, Director, Risk Innovation Lab, Arizona State University
An autonomous vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian on March 18.ABC-15.com via AP

On Sunday evening, March 18, an Uber SUV hit and killed a pedestrian in the Arizona city of Tempe. In a place where vehicle-related pedestrian fatalities are unfortunately a regular occurrence, this shouldn’t have stood out as particularly unusual. But what...

Read more: After Tempe fatality, self-driving car developers must engage with public now or risk rejection

Bombed into oblivion: The lost oasis of Damascus

  • Written by Karen Pinto, Professor of History, Boise State University
Syrians go on a picnic on Friday, March 14, 2008 in Ghouta, before the destruction of the region. (AP/Bassem Tellawi)

Ghouta, the one-time oasis of Damascus, is being destroyed. Every day brings with it news of renewed bombing, deadly chemical attacks and starved or crushed bodies, accompanied by desperate scenes of mass exodus.

Located a mere...

Read more: Bombed into oblivion: The lost oasis of Damascus

Asians could opt out of naming a country of origin on the 2020 census, a policymaker's nightmare

  • Written by Jennifer Lee, Professor of Sociology, Columbia University

A proposal to change the race question for the 2020 census would give Asians the option to mark their race as “Asian,” and also check off or write in their national origin as Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian, Vietnamese and so on.

For the first time in the history of the census, which began in 1790, “Asian” would be a...

Read more: Asians could opt out of naming a country of origin on the 2020 census, a policymaker's nightmare

More Articles ...

  1. A clue for how to reduce HIV transmission when using hormonal contraceptives
  2. Threat assessments crucial to prevent school shootings
  3. Think Facebook can manipulate you? Look out for virtual reality
  4. Facebook is killing democracy with its personality profiling data
  5. Tariffs won't save American steel jobs. But we can still help steelworkers
  6. Buried, altered, silenced: 4 ways government climate information has changed since Trump took office
  7. Eager to dye your hair with 'nontoxic' graphene nanoparticles? Not so fast!
  8. On his 250th birthday, Joseph Fourier's math still makes a difference
  9. Some officials want to ban school suspensions – here's how that could backfire
  10. Merit matters in US immigration, but agreeing on what 'merit' means is complicated
  11. Silver nanoparticles in clothing wash out – and may threaten human health and the environment
  12. Why Denmark dominates the World Happiness Report rankings year after year
  13. MS-13 is a street gang, not a drug cartel – and the difference matters
  14. Trump believes he can make an Israeli-Palestinian deal. Don't hold your breath
  15. Kurdish troops fight for freedom — and women's equality — on battlegrounds across Middle East
  16. Why Americans are unhappier than ever – and how to fix it
  17. Recent stock market sell-off foreshadows a new Great Recession
  18. You're probably paying more for your car loan or mortgage than you should
  19. Sessions suing California is the latest battle in a centuries-old war for power over immigration
  20. A history of loneliness
  21. My Lai: 50 years after, American soldiers' shocking crimes must be remembered
  22. Black holes aren't totally black, and other insights from Stephen Hawking's groundbreaking work
  23. Xi's indefinite grasp on power has finally captured the West's attention – now what?
  24. Thomas Eakins: Brilliant painter, gifted photographer ... sexual predator?
  25. Just competing in March Madness is a fundraising win for the schools
  26. Americans should welcome the age of unexceptionalism
  27. Why Wikipedia often overlooks stories of women in history
  28. Stephen Hawking warned about the perils of artificial intelligence – yet AI gave him a voice
  29. Sustainable cities need more than parks, cafes and a riverwalk
  30. Zero tolerance discipline policies won't fix school shootings
  31. What is a tariff? An economist explains
  32. Fearless leader or lame duck? Putin's certain triumph heralds fresh uncertainty
  33. Pompeo's rise will make Mideast war more likely
  34. Can Haspel bring the CIA in from the cold?
  35. Haspel is Trump's chance to reset his bad start with the CIA
  36. Stephen Hawking as accidental ambassador for assistive technologies
  37. In Pennsylvania's 18th, a very important, unimportant election
  38. Colombian guerrilla leader ends controversial presidential bid, giving peace a chance
  39. Controversial brain study has scientists rethinking neuron research
  40. The man responsible for making March Madness the moneymaking bonanza it is today
  41. What to expect when a college assigns students to random roommates
  42. Does cloud seeding work? Scientists watch ice crystals grow inside clouds to find out
  43. Where does the controversial finding that adult human brains don't grow new neurons leave ongoing research?
  44. What the National School Walkout says about schools and free speech
  45. Why do gun-makers get special economic protection?
  46. Could the open government movement shut the door on Freedom of Information?
  47. How Trump can avoid the setbacks that doomed North Korean nuclear talks in the past
  48. Booze and basketball: Why binge drinking increases during March Madness
  49. Why bland American beer is here to stay
  50. People are stranded in 'transit deserts' in dozens of US cities