Plus: Hantavirus outbreak; AI interfaces to Epstein files
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Top headlines
Lead story A few years ago, offshore wind was on its way to becoming a booming industry in the U.S. Companies were leasing huge tracts of ocean for future wind farms. On shore, states, businesses and communities began investing hundreds of millions of dollars in building the support infrastructure that the industry would need well into the future. Construction got underway. But those dreams of economic development and good American jobs are now at risk. In a highly unusual move, the Trump administration, which has been trying to halt leases and permitting for wind farms, has started offering to pay wind energy developers hundreds of millions of dollars to abandon their offshore wind plans and invest in fossil fuel projects instead. The companies behind three U.S. wind farm projects have agreed to the terms, while still investing in the growing global offshore wind industry. So what does that mean for Americans who were counting on that electricity, and the jobs and economic development it promised? We asked Christopher Niezrecki of UMass Lowell, Ben Link of Johns Hopkins University and Zoe Getman-Pickering of UMass Amherst, three experts on offshore wind and sustainable energy. As they explain, the economic impact goes far deeper than just the $2 billion in U.S. taxpayer-funded buyouts. [How faith and religion drive the world. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, This Week in Religion.] |
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Stacy Morford Senior Environment, Climate and Energy Editor |
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Wind farm construction means jobs and locally produced power. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Christopher Niezrecki, UMass Lowell; Ben Link, Johns Hopkins University; Zoe Getman-Pickering, UMass Amherst Communities have been laying the groundwork for offshore energy projects for years and counting on the jobs and energy supply. |
Health + Medicine |
Daniel Pastula, University of Colorado Anschutz Hantavirus cases are usually rare, but the strain in the outbreak is the only one thought to be transmitted from person to person. Eliza Zhitnik, UMass Amherst; Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, UMass Amherst A large review of existing literature shines a light on the little-known condition and points to the need for a better understanding of who is at risk and how to prevent and treat it. |
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Science + Technology |
Matthew N. Hannah, University of Wisconsin-Madison People have created their own online platforms to probe the millions of Epstein file documents, fostering new conspiracies that link to older ones like QAnon. Kimia Shirzad, Penn State; Jen Agans, Penn State Young people don’t all contribute in the same way, and understanding the broader picture is the starting point for adults who want to support them.
💬 Comments open Robert M. Thorson, University of Connecticut Thoreau’s work as a pioneering physical scientist is almost invisible in popular culture, according to a geologist and Thoreau historian. |
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Politics + Society |
Michael J. Socolow, University of Maine The profusion of video access to anywhere on earth, at any time of day or night, was unimaginable before Turner’s work to make CNN conceivable and then real. Austin Sarat, Amherst College The Supreme Court created a test 40 years ago to root out racial bias in jury selection. Here, a death penalty scholar explains why it’s not working. Kate Perepezko, Miami University Pennsylvania’s proposed paid leave may not be enough for sandwich generation caregivers, who are raising children and supporting aging parents. |
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Ethics + Religion |
Samira Mehta, University of Colorado Boulder As birth control became increasingly accepted, some supporters’ views were based in religious beliefs about what motherhood should look like. |
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International |
Lena Surzhko Harned, Penn State Moscow’s influence is Eastern Europe has been slipping of late, including with the loss of a stalwart ally in Hungary. The battleground, as ever, remains Ukraine. Guilherme Casarões, Florida International University Bilateral meeting between both presidents sent a clear signal to Lula’s domestic audience: the relationship with Washington is not broken, and it does not require a Bolsonaro to fix it. |
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Education |
Paul L. Morgan, University at Albany, State University of New York New research shows that for every 10 boys identified with autism, only about two girls in a comparable situation were identified. |
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Podcast 🎙️ |
Gemma Ware, The Conversation Economist Jiao Wang talks to The Conversation Weekly podcast about the way China has diversified its export markets away from the west. |
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The Conversation News Quiz 🧠 |
Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation Here’s the first question of this week's edition: The Trump administration has unveiled a cartoon mascot (shown here with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum) to promote the mining and burning of coal. What is the mascot's name?
- A. BBL (Big Beautiful Lump)
- B. Clinker
- C. Sooty Joe
- D. Coalie
Test your knowledge |
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About The ConversationWe're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. |
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