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Bargain-hunting robocars could spell the end for downtown parking – cities need to plan ahead now

  • Written by Corey Harper, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
What does a future full of AVs mean for all the spaces reserved for downtown parking?Kris Cros/Unsplash, CC BY

Imagine a scene from the near-future: You get dropped off downtown by a driverless car. You slam the door and head into your office or appointment. But then where does the autonomous vehicle go?

It’s a question that cities would be...

Read more: Bargain-hunting robocars could spell the end for downtown parking – cities need to plan ahead now

Curious kids: Why don't hummingbirds get fat or sick from drinking sugary nectar?

  • Written by Jessica Pollock, Research Biologist at Intermountain Bird Observatory, Boise State University
Hummingbirds flap their wings 800 times per minute.Dino Hans Farnese/Shutterstock.com

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.


Why don’t hummingbirds get fat or sick from drinking sugary nectar? – Dhruv, age 15,...

Read more: Curious kids: Why don't hummingbirds get fat or sick from drinking sugary nectar?

Changes for a landmark agreement mean immigrant children face harsher treatment in US

  • Written by Kevin Johnson, Dean and Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, University of California, Davis
Immigrants line up in the dining hall at the U.S. government's newest holding center for migrant children in Carrizo Springs, Texas. AP/Eric Gay

The Trump administration is trying to terminate the Flores settlement, a legal agreement that determines how immigrant children are treated in U.S. immigration detention.

The 1997 settlement established...

Read more: Changes for a landmark agreement mean immigrant children face harsher treatment in US

400 years of black giving: From the days of slavery to the 2019 Morehouse graduation

  • Written by Tyrone Freeman, Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Director of Undergraduate Programs, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, IUPUI
Two of the top donors who made constructing the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture possible were black.AP Photo/Susan Walsh

When African American businessman Robert F. Smith declared during a Morehouse College commencement speech that he would pay off the student loan debt of the entire 2019 graduating class of...

Read more: 400 years of black giving: From the days of slavery to the 2019 Morehouse graduation

How to have an all-renewable electric grid

  • Written by David Timmons, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Boston
An all-renewable grid will mean more electricity and more transmission lines.Russ Allison Loar/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

The main solution to climate change is well known – stop burning fossil fuels. How to do this is more complicated, but as a scholar who does energy modeling, I and others see the outlines of a post-fossil-fuel future: We make...

Read more: How to have an all-renewable electric grid

Don't ban new technologies – experiment with them carefully

  • Written by Ryan Muldoon, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
It's a mess, but is it all bad?EHFXC/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

For many years, Facebook’s internal slogan was “move fast and break things.” And that’s what the company did – along with most other Silicon Valley startups and the venture capitalists who fund them. Their general attitude is one of asking for forgiveness...

Read more: Don't ban new technologies – experiment with them carefully

How Hong Kong's protests are affecting its economy

  • Written by Allen Morrison, Professor of Global Management, Arizona State University
The Hong Kong protests have drawn massive and diverse crowds.AP Photo/Kin Cheung

After nearly three months of unrest, the demonstrations in Hong Kong show no signs of slowing down.

What began as opposition to a controversial extradition bill has morphed into a broader movement to defend Hong Kong’s wider social and political freedoms....

Read more: How Hong Kong's protests are affecting its economy

White nationalists' extreme solution to the coming environmental apocalypse

  • Written by Alexandra Minna Stern, Professor of American Culture, History, and Women's Studies, University of Michigan

White nationalists around the world are appropriating the language of environmentalism.

The white nationalist who allegedly massacred 22 people in El Paso in early August posted a four-page screed on the chatroom 8chan. In it, the shooter blames his attack on the “Hispanic invasion of Texas” and the impending “cultural and ethnic...

Read more: White nationalists' extreme solution to the coming environmental apocalypse

Increasing numbers of Americans support gun background checks

  • Written by Kent E. Portney, Professor and Director, Texas A&M University
Some states have universal background checks for gun purchases.Lutsenko_Oleksandr/Shutterstock.com

In the aftermath of the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, public debate once again turned to what Congress should do to reduce gun violence.

One of the challenges that many policymakers face is understanding the views of the general...

Read more: Increasing numbers of Americans support gun background checks

Politicians don't seem to laugh at themselves as much anymore

  • Written by Frank T. McAndrew, Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, Knox College
Ronald Reagan at the end of his debate with Walter Mondale, Oct. 22, 1984, Kansas City, Mo. AP/Ron Edmonds

As the 2020 presidential campaign gets underway, one of the key factors that shapes our perceptions is how the candidates use – or do not use – humor.

One kind of humor that is in shorter supply among politicians than it once was...

Read more: Politicians don't seem to laugh at themselves as much anymore

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