In the News
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April 16, 2020
Research by Eric Kort, associate professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, found that offshore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico emits half a teragram of methane each year — roughly the same climate impact as driving 31 billion miles in an average car. “We have known onshore oil and gas production often emits more methane than inventoried. With this study we show that this is also the case for offshore production, and that these discrepancies are large,” Kort said.
Reuters -
April 15, 2020
Elizabeth Birr Moje, professor and dean of the School of Education, says K-12 students will lose some school learning by this fall, but cautioned against labeling them as “behind.” “Not only is everyone — globally — in the same position, it is also the case that we have accelerated our expectations for children in dramatic ways in the last 30 years,” she said.
Bridge Magazine -
April 15, 2020
To be prepared for the next pandemic, Mahshid Abir, associate professor of emergency medicine, says the federal government would have to start continuously funding preparedness measures so stockpiles of medical supplies remain fresh: “You’re basically investing in events that are ultimately unlikely to ever occur. So it’s very hard to convince people that, oh, well, something may happen, so on a continuous basis fund x, y and z activities just in case it happens.”
CNBC -
April 15, 2020
“The economic answer is spending the money at some local business allows them to buy from or pay someone else, which allows that next person to spend, which then allows the next person to spend, and so on. The psychological answer is to consider spending the money on something that someone else needs,” said David Dunning, professor of psychology, on what people should do with their stimulus checks.
Forbes -
April 14, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic will drive jobless rates higher than those during the Great Recession as the national unemployment rate is expected to reach 16 percent in May and average 14 percent during the second quarter, said Gabriel Ehrlich, director of the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, and colleagues. Their economic forecast calls for an even bleaker outlook for Michigan — an unemployment rate of 23 percent in the second quarter.
Detroit Free Press -
April 14, 2020
Albert Shih, professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, says the material that makes up the inner layer between two outer layers of fabric that form the shape of an N95 mask is the most important part of the mask, but is the hardest to produce and is in short supply: “This material is not easy to obtain or make, and you cannot just start a new line. You have to show that the microbes won’t penetrate it and get into the lungs.”
CBS News -
April 14, 2020
Trish Koman, faculty research program manager in the College of Engineering’s Multidisciplinary Design program, and research investigator in environmental health sciences in the School of Public Health, says there’s a relationship between increasing air pollution and an increasingly worse effect from the coronavirus: “There’s a causal connection between particulate matter and premature mortality from cardiovascular disease and respiratory causes so we already know that air pollution can cause populations to be more vulnerable and susceptible to a variety of respiratory and cardiovascular ailments.”
ABC News -
April 13, 2020
“With this virus shutting down the workplace, people have lost not only social interactions with best friends who don’t happen to live in their home, but also interactions with the wide variety of supportive, friendly, casual relationships at work and in public that make for a rich social texture. I think loneliness, despair and a sense of drifting are going to be prominent,” said Sagar Parikh, professor of psychiatry, and health management and policy, and associate director of the U-M Depression Center.
(Editor’s note: The Record is re-running this item from Monday because the story link was inadvertently broken.)
Healio -
April 13, 2020
“For some things demand will snap back immediately. Those jobs — dentists, health care, barber shops — there’s a backlog of demand. Then there’s a similar category, like restaurants and bars, where people may be cooped up for so long that they’re desperate to go out to eat or get a drink. … And for some industries, like retail and airlines, things may never get back to normal,” said Erik Gordon, clinical assistant professor of business.
CNBC -
April 13, 2020
“Imagine if all that data was being fed to your veterinarian in real time and they’re sending back data. The idea of well-being for the pet, its weight, how far it’s walking,” said Lionel Robert, associate professor of information, commenting on a new streaming camera that can dispense treats for your pet, snap photos and send you a notification if your dog is barking.
The New York Times
