News Updates

Mark Sagoff, an esteemed philosopher and scholar, recently died at age 82. “Dr. Sagoff’s work over more than five decades sought to bridge the disciplines of economics, public planning and conservationism,” the Washington Post observed. He was also a regular contributor to Issues. Writing in 2008, he provided an early voice examining the fundamentally new pest control methods emerging from genetic engineering. While noting their potential benefits, he pointed out that “no federal legislation deals specifically” with their regulation. The government, he concluded, “will have to confront the significant ethical, legal, and social questions that third-generation biotechnology raises.”

For the first time, the United Nations’ climate summit acknowledged the major role that agriculture plays in climate change, the Guardian reports. Writing in Issues, Alan R. Townsend, Peter M. Vitousek, and Benjamin Z. Houlton were early advocates of this position, focusing particularly on the impact of nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilizers. The good news, the authors note, is that improving their use is feasible “with current knowledge and technology and without suffering major economic blows,” and would “mitigate a host of other environmental challenges, increase food security, improve human welfare, lessen some national security concerns, and probably save money.”

Following a critical report from federal safety investigators, Tesla is recalling nearly all its cars on US roads for a software update intended to prevent drivers from misusing the vehicle’s “autopilot” system. Will this be enough to improve—and prove—their safety? In Issues, Marjory S. Blumenthal and Laura Fraade-Blanar evaluate what that might mean. There currently are no generally accepted methods for measuring or communicating the safety of self-driving vehicles, the authors maintain. They propose several approaches for both bridging this knowledge gap and communicating the findings effectively to policymakers and the public.

Several companies are proposing to open offshore octopus farms, saying they would help relieve pressure on wild populations and provide a valued foodstuff. But there are objections, the Washington Post recently reported, quoting the environmental scientist Jennifer Jacquet and citing her coauthorship of “an influential essay” in Issues. After reviewing what she and her cowriters consider the practical and ethical problems with raising octopuses in captivity, they call on “governments, private companies, and academic institutions to stop investing in octopus farming now and to instead focus their efforts on achieving a truly sustainable and compassionate future for food production.”