The Conversation

Is your drinking water safe? Here's how you can find out

Written by Susan Boser, Extension Educator, Water Resources, Pennsylvania State University

Six million people in Pennsylvania and neighboring states get their drinking water from the Susquehanna River. Major pollution sources include agriculture, urban development and industry.Nicholas A. Tonelli, CC BY

America’s drinking water infrastructure is aging and in serious need of modernization. Pipes are overdue for replacement, and...

A big hurdle do-good companies face

Written by Saerom Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Consumers often distrust mission-driven groups that earn profits. Brian A Jackson/Shutterstock.com

Have you ever wondered who collects the clothes you stuff into that donation drop box in your neighborhood? Chances are, you assumed it was a nonprofit, but that box actually may instead belong to a for-profit social venture. If you don’t know...

Are State Department cuts a major setback for genocide prevention?

Written by Nadia Rubaii, Co-Director, Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention, and Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

There are many indications that human rights and international justice are not priorities for President Donald Trump’s administration.

As Foreign Policy has reported, one of the likely victims of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s reorganization and cuts at the State Department...

When do moviegoers become pilgrims?

Written by S. Brent Rodriguez-Plate, Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Hamilton College

Pilgrims at Lourdes.Nick Thompson, CC BY-NC

Among the millions of travelers heading out for the summer holidays, some are choosing an unlikely destination: a rusted bus on the edge of the Alaskan wilderness.

Fairbanks Bus 142 (aka the “magic bus”) is where the 24-year old Chris McCandless died in 1992. Well-educated and economically...

Welfare as we know it now: 6 questions answered

Written by Laura Hussey, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

When President Bill Cllinton officially ended welfare as we knew it, he was flanked by women who had received Aid to Families with Dependent Children.Reuters/Stephen Jaffee

President Donald Trump’s proposed budget would slice US$21.7 billion over a decade, or 13.1 percent, from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) –...

Creating a high-speed internet lane for emergency situations

Written by Nirmala Shenoy, Professor of Information Sciences and Technologies, Rochester Institute of Technology

In an emergency, responders' telecommunications could get delayed by overloaded networks.City of Hampton, Virginia

During large disasters, like hurricanes, wildfires and terrorist attacks, people want emergency responders to arrive quickly and help people deal with the crisis. In order to do their best, police, medics, firefighters and those who...

Concussions and CTE: More complicated than even the experts know

Written by Russell M. Bauer, Professor, Clinical & Health Psychology and Neurology, University of Florida

Youngsters leave a football field in 2015 after playing at halftime at a game between the Buffalo Bills and the Carolina Panthers. AP Photo/Bill Wippert

For many, American football is a beautiful game that is simple to enjoy but complex to master. Choreographed with a mixture of artistry and brutality, it features the occasional “big...

Why you may not need all those days of antibiotics

Written by Brad Spellberg, Chief Medical Officer, Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, University of Southern California

Green colonies of allergenic fungus Penicillium from air spores on a petri dish. Penicillin was the first antibiotic. Satirus/Shutterstock.com

A recent article in the British Medical Journal set off a bit of a firestorm with its claim that “the antibiotic course has had its day.” The authors challenged the very widespread belief that...

Is Congress' plan to save Puerto Rico working?

Written by Edwin Meléndez, Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning and Director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College

Puerto Ricans are increasingly fed up with austerity. AP Photo/Danica Coto

A year ago, Congress cobbled together a plan to try to save Puerto Rico from its US$123 billion debt and pension crisis without costing American taxpayers a penny.

The law, signed by former President Barack Obama on June 30, 2016, effectively steered Puerto Rico into...

Nutrient pollution: Voluntary steps are failing to shrink algae blooms and dead zones

Written by Donald Scavia, Professor of Environment and Sustainability; Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan

Harmful algae bloom in Lake Erie, Oct. 13, 2011.NASA Earth Observatory, CC BY

Summer is the season for harmful algae blooms in many U.S. lakes and bays. They occur when water bodies become overloaded with nitrogen and phosphorus from farms, water treatment plants and other sources. Warm water and lots of nutrients promote rapid growth of algae that...