December 14, 2020 | Articles
Originally published by PBS on September 14, 2020 The devastating wildfires tearing across California, Oregon, Washington, and several other Western states are an increasingly familiar scene, as blazes have become larger and more destructive over the past several decades. Seven of the top 10 most destructive fires in California’s history…...
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December 14, 2020 | Articles
Originally published by WIRED on September 14, 2020 Climate change is making wildfires bigger, fiercer, and deadlier, fueling a new kind of despair on the West Coast—and beyond. Grief has settled over the western U.S., along with the thick haze of smoke pouring from dozens of massive wildfires up and…...
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December 14, 2020 | Articles
Researchers at the University of Washington Publish New Population Projections The Lancet published new population projections by researchers at the University of Washington in July, and they are quite a departure from the United Nations projections. According to these new projections, the global population will peak in 2064 at 9.73…...
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December 14, 2020 | Articles
My iPhone died on Election Day. It was disorienting. I’d grown accustomed—even addicted—to endless micro doses of what passes for reality in these hyperkinetic times. Instead, as final figures trickled in, I followed developments on a device descended from Philo Farnsworth’s image dissector (my television). If there is one thing…...
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December 14, 2020 | Articles
Last year, I traveled with a group of fellow physicians to the Philippines to perform anesthesia for a marathon of surgeries in a region just north of Manila. On numerous occasions while I was preparing to induce anesthesia, our patient would stop me, pull me close to her face, and…...
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December 14, 2020 | Articles
In a strikingly clear message to those who would erode abortion rights in this nation, nearly 59 percent of Colorado voters struck down a proposed ban on abortions after 22 weeks of gestation. Women and doctors should be making these medical decisions, not politicians. … Women from across the nation…...
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December 14, 2020 | Articles
Never have I been gladder to see a year end—2020 has been a doozy, to put it mildly. A global pandemic, racial unrest more heightened than we’ve seen in decades, and a West Coast set ablaze, in part, by pyrotechnics at a gender reveal celebration. This year has been tragic,…...
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December 14, 2020 | Articles
This past year threw unprecedented challenges into all of our activities here at Population Connection, including Membership Relations. Our usual outreach events—tabling at farmers markets, hosting film screenings, attending community festivals and marches, and sending staff speakers around the country—haven’t been possible. So, we’ve pivoted to providing educational, interactive events…...
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August 31, 2020 | Articles
Billions Will Suffer as Climate Warms A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences warns that as the earth’s average temperature rises, increasing numbers of people will be living in climate conditions most similar to those seen in the Sahara Desert today. The study’s authors concluded…...
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August 31, 2020 | Articles
When asked what brings about political change, former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan has often been cited as replying, “Events, dear boy. Events.” Looking past its peculiar phrasing and dubious provenance, there is truth here. More than 200 years of rapid population growth can be thought of as an event.…...
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