At the 9th Our Ocean Conference in Athens, Mongabay’s Elizabeth Claire Alberts interviewed oceanographer and marine biologist Sylvia Earle about the pressures facing our oceans, actions needed to turn things around, and how to find hope for the future. Earle has been a trailblazer in her career as a scientist, with more than 225 publications […]
Year: 2024
The Idyllic Life: Pest or Pleasure?
It’s fully feeling like springtime now in the Midwest, and we’re thinking more about our outside spaces. We’re watching our perennial plants grow again after
Tips for Hunting for Wild Mushrooms in Iowa
AMES, Iowa – In Iowa, mushroom hunting is quite common. However, knowing the peak time to hunt for a particular mushroom can be challenging. Chelsea
Iowa Central Spring 2024 Student Art Show Results
The Iowa Central Art, Design and Photography programs The Iowa Central Art, Design and Photography programs held their annual spring student art show and reception
NASA plans to put rail system on Moon by 2030
(Photo by Mike Petrucci via Unsplash) By Dean Murray via SWNS America is set to put a railway on the Moon by 2030. NASA has announced they are funding a rail system to support daily operations of a sustainable lunar base. Dubbed FLOAT (Flexible Levitation on a Track), the project has this month been selected […]
Tesla layoffs now an ongoing “bloodbath”
Tesla’s layoffs expanded over the weekend with staff involved in software, service and engineering all reporting that they’d gotten their pink slips. The 10 percent workforce reduction announced earlier by CEO Elon Musk is, Electrek’s Fred Lambert writes, closing in on 20 percent. The layoffs were expected after CEO Elon Musk made an example of Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s former […]
What’s Keeping the US From Allowing Better Sunscreens?
Michael Scaturro May 7, 2024 When dermatologist Adewole “Ade” Adamson sees people spritzing sunscreen as if it’s cologne at the pool where he lives in Austin, Texas, he wants to intervene. “My wife says I shouldn’t,” he said, “even though most people rarely use enough sunscreen.” At issue is not just whether people are using […]
Billions of cicadas are about to emerge from underground in a rare double-brood convergence
John Cooley, University of Connecticut and Chris Simon, University of Connecticut In the wake of North America’s recent solar eclipse, another historic natural event is on the horizon. From late April through June 2024, the largest brood of 13-year cicadas, known as Brood XIX, will co-emerge with a midwestern brood of 17-year cicadas, Brood XIII. […]
Grain fund bill had support but ran out of time
by Jared Strong, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 1, 2024 There is consensus among state lawmakers to update a fund that protects farmers when corn and soybean buyers go bankrupt, but a bill related to that goal failed this year because others took priority, according to a lawmaker who managed it. “We ran a little bit […]
UpLift to continue despite new law banning local government funding
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 2, 2024 Although Iowa has a new law preventing local governments from funding guaranteed income programs, the UpLift program in Iowa plans to continue through outside support. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed House File 2319 into law Wednesday. The measure prevents cities and counties from implementing programs that support […]