The Conversation

Can sun umbrellas ever become fashionable again in America?

Written by Jonathan Coopersmith, Professor of History, Texas A&M University

In Asia, umbrellas are commonly used as a form of sun protection.AP Photo/Kin Cheung

Many of us apply sunscreen when we go to the beach. But walking outside under the fierce summer sun – even if it’s to run a quick errand – can be taxing: We sweat, we get exhausted, we burn and we expose ourselves to dangerous UV rays.

In Asian...

Feral pigs harm wildlife and biodiversity as well as crops

Written by Marcus Lashley, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology, Mississippi State University

Wild boar in a swamp in Slidell, Louisiana.AP Photo/Rebecca Santana

They go by many names – pigs, hogs, swine, razorbacks – but whatever you call them, feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are one of the most damaging invasive species in North America. They cause millions of dollars in crop damage yearly and harbor dozens of pathogens that threaten...

Amazon fires are destructive, but they aren't depleting Earth's oxygen supply

Written by Scott Denning, Professor of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University

Fire consumes an area near Jaci Parana, state of Rondonia, Brazil, Aug. 24, 2019.AP Photo/Eraldo Peres

Fires in the Amazon rainforest have captured attention worldwide in recent days. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who took office in 2019, pledged in his campaign to reduce environmental protection and increase agricultural development in the...

Democrats turn a venerable legal tool into a declaration of war

Written by Austin Sarat, Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

The Supreme Court in JuneAP/J. Scott Applewhite

Legal briefs, in even the most high profile cases, rarely make headlines. They are technical documents intended to persuade judges in a case about particular points of law.

In American law schools, students now take courses to help them master the arcane genre of brief writing. Their persuasiveness dep...

Poland invites nationalism in its commemoration of WWII by moving location and inviting Trump

Written by Rebecca M. Townsend, Assistant Professor of Communication, University of Hartford

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Piłsudski Square, Warsaw. Rebecca M. Townsend

Every year, Poland commemorates where World War II broke out on Sept. 1, 1939: the Baltic Seacoast peninsula of Westerplatte in Gdańsk in the precise spot and time, 4:45 a.m., where German ships opened fire on Poland.

It will be different this year.

For the 80th...

Catholic Church sex abuse: The difference a Pennsylvania grand jury made in lives of survivors

Written by Brian Clites, Instructor and Associate Director, Case Western Reserve University

The Pennsylvania grand jury report may have played a role in helping survivors come to grips with their past.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

It has been one year since the Pennsylvania grand jury report named 300 sexually abusive Roman Catholic priests in the state. After an 18-month investigation, the grand jury concluded that “over one thousand child...

Setting the historical record straight for the critics of The New York Times project on slavery in America

Written by Kelley Fanto Deetz, Lecturer in American Studies, University of Virginia

Screen Shot of the New York Times homepage for its series, "1619."New York Times

Four hundred years after the event, the New York Times has published a special project focusing on the first Africans arriving in 1619 at Point Comfort, Virginia, and the legacy of slavery in the U.S.

“No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been...

The Amazon is burning: 4 essential reads on Brazil's vanishing rainforest

Written by Catesby Holmes, Global Affairs Editor, The Conversation US

Nearly 40,000 fires are incinerating Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, the latest outbreak in an overactive fire season that has charred 1,330 square miles of the rainforest this year.

Don’t blame dry weather for the swift destruction of the world’s largest tropical forest, say environmentalists. These Amazonian wildfires are a human-ma...

Removing mini-shampoos from hotel rooms won't save the environment

Written by Yossi Sheffi, Professor of Engineering; Director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The movement to ban miniature toiletries isn't likely to make a dent in the global plastic crisis.vaidehi shah/Flickr, CC BY

InterContinental Hotels Group will replace mini-shampoos and conditioners with possibly more efficient bulk products by the year 2021.

But environmental activists shouldn’t rejoice just yet.

The announcement is yet...

Why do college textbooks cost so much? 7 questions answered

Written by Amie Freeman, Scholarly Communication Librarian, University of South Carolina

Textbook prices are taking a toll on student finances.alphaspirit/Shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: The high price of college textbooks has long been a sore point for students. Even though the price reportedly went down by 26% since January 2017 – the first decrease in years – the overall trend in recent years has been a steady...