UCS Science Network

UCS

Through our Science Network, UCS collaborates with nearly 20,000 scientists and technical experts across the country, including physicists, ecologists, engineers, public health professionals, economists, and energy analysts. Science Network Voices gives Equation readers access to the depth of expertise and broad perspective on current issues that our Science Network members bring to UCS. The views expressed in Science Network posts are those of the author alone.

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Jo Zimny Photos/Flickr

Farmers Markets and Wicked Opportunities

Alfonso Morales, Ph.D., Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor

August 5, 2020 2:07 PM EDT

“Wicked problems” like COVID-19 and climate change have no ending point. Not simply because we do not (yet) have a technical solution, but because our social institutions, principally our economic and political institutions, have not the flexibility required to respond robustly. However, we have ways forward, through embracing what I call “wicked opportunities.” As we continue to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic and the food and farm system vulnerabilities it has exposed, from food insecurity to worker exploitation to brittle supply chains, I’d like to suggest one critical wicked opportunity: the farmers market. Read more >

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U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Kamaile O. Long

A Pivotal Moment in US-Russian Arms Control

Daniel Puentes, Ph.D. candidate and Chelsie Boodoo, Ph.D. student

July 17, 2020 5:09 PM EDT

Nuclear weapons have plagued the international security environment since the first atomic weapon was successfully detonated at the Trinity test site in July 1945. Today, the situation has grown more complicated as arms control agreements and treaties are dismantled in an “America First” attitude adopted by the current administration. Read more >

U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Kamaile O. Long
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mtiger88/Flickr

Prominent Claims that Policing is Not Racially Biased Rest on Flawed Science

Dean Knox, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Operations, Information, and Decisions, and Jonathan Mummolo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Affairs

July 16, 2020 1:36 PM EDT

Following George Floyd’s killing and ensuing social unrest, policing has ascended to the top of the nation’s political agenda. Yet many politicians and pundits dismiss concerns over systemic racial bias in policing, with some calling it a “myth.” These claims rest on deeply flawed science that has nonetheless been circulated widely and uncritically by major news outlets that span the political spectrum. Read more >

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Paige Greenwood

I Chose Protesting for Black Lives Matter Over Writing My PhD Dissertation 

Paige Greenwood, Neuroscience Doctoral Candidate

July 8, 2020 6:19 PM EDT

These past few weeks, I’ve had to make a choice between writing my doctoral dissertation and protesting for the safety and protection of Black Lives. I chose the latter. Read more >

Paige Greenwood
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Louisiana National Guard member prepares to do COVID-19 screening
Louisiana National Guard

Roundup: Without Federal Coordination, Many States See Rising COVID-19 Cases

Liz Borkowski

July 8, 2020 5:58 PM EDT

The second three months of 2020 saw some progress in the fight to control the COVID-19 crisis, but with a vacuum of consistent, science-informed federal leadership the US became one of the few countries to see its case numbers plateau rather than drop—and case counts are now growing with alarming speed in states that relaxed standards too quickly. Read more >

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