News Updates

Representatives from 195 countries—but not the United States—recently met to shape plans aimed at protecting the world’s animal and plant species, especially in light of what a meeting organizer called the “close linkage” between climate change and biodiversity loss. This concern aligns with Maureen Kearney’s observation in Issues that climate change and biodiversity loss are inextricably linked problems. Solving them, she writes, will require “developing a cohesive climate-biodiversity agenda for bold, synergistic, and integrative action.” This agenda must then be “implemented in a similarly integrative manner, by designing policies that are systems-based and mutually reinforcing in beneficial ways.”

As US electric-vehicle manufacturers work to increase their output, the nation is seeing a boost in efforts to domestically mine and process lithium, a critical ingredient in the rechargeable batteries that power EVs, the AP reports. Boosting lithium supplies is among a comprehensive set of steps that John D. Graham, Keith B. Belton, and Suri Xia recommend in Issues to bolster the US electric-vehicle industry. Some of the proposed actions might not be “typical of a country that cherishes free-market capitalism,” they write, but there might be “no choice” if the United States is to catch China in this market.

India faces dual challenges of providing enough energy to lift millions of its citizens from poverty while reducing its sizable emissions of greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants, an AP report says. In Issues, Kartikeya Singh writes that one useful step would be for India to transform its “inspector raj,” the entrenched network of regulatory bureaucracies left from colonial times. Importantly, he writes, India should merge its numerous energy ministries into a single ministry devoted to leading a full transition to a cleaner and sustainable energy system that can support new jobs and other opportunities for its citizens.

Australia has announced plans to partner with the United States in building Australia’s new Defense Space Command to develop broader military capabilities to counter threats, and also to expand cooperative satellite activities to boost its space knowledge and capabilities. The plans reflect what Paul Harris describes in Issues as a decades-long bond between the two nations in space and other areas of research. But he adds that as the global science landscape shifts, most notably with the rise of China, how the United States responds will have huge implications for both its longtime scientific partners and the greater scientific enterprise.

One proposed way to automate trucking—having self-driving trucks handle the bulk of long-haul trips with humans taking the wheel only at the start and end—could replace up to 90% of human driving time, according to a study from researchers at the University of Michigan. They suggest that this automation could affect up to 500,000 long-haul trucking jobs. In Issues, Steve Viscelli takes a hard look at the future of autonomous trucking. This shouldn’t be solely a matter of how technology can increase productivity, he writes. Government regulators and the industry should also pay greater attention to the compensation and safety of human truckers, as well as to trucking’s impacts on infrastructure and the environment.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has approved the release of millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes in several counties in Florida and California, part of expanded trials aimed at combatting the transmission of diseases such as Zika and dengue fever. In Issues, Robert M. Friedman, John M. Marshall, and Omar S. Akbari offer a close look at this approach and others, especially so-called gene drive technologies, for biological pest management. As the science advances, the authors write, policymakers and regulators need to develop responses that reflect the latest developments and the diversity of approaches and applications.

The federal government is warning states that if they want to win funds from the new infrastructure program to widen roads and ease traffic flow, they will have to prioritize improving safety for all roadway users, including walkers, bicyclists, and electric-scooter riders. In Issues, Megan S. Ryerson and her colleagues offer suggestions for doing this. By outfitting cyclists and pedestrians with devices to track their eye and head movements in response to varying roadway designs and traffic levels, the group has identified a variety of strategies and technologies to better protect nonautomotive users of urban streets designed for cars.